3 years later

Arthur emerged from the bathroom, only wearing a towel, his chest and muscles now more defined and chiseled. His long, dark hair fell down to the middle of his back, still dripping from the shower. He walked to his room, where he put on a pair of loose fitting, gray sweatpants, and a large light blue hoodie. He walked down the stairs to the kitchen, where everyone was already eating at the table. Steven was in the middle of placing another pancake onto Albert's plate when he noticed Arthur walk in.

“Ah, Arthur! Ready for some breakfast? How many pancakes do you want?”

“Two, please.”

He sat down after bringing a plate, fork, and knife over to the table. Steven placed a stack of two pancakes onto his plate, dousing them in syrup.

Sofia spoke up, still having a little food in her mouth.

“Got any plans for today Arthur?”

“Not really.” He said as he cut off a large chunk of a pancake.

“In that case, do you wanna go to the movies with me? There's a new one I've been wanting to see.”

“Sure.”

“Yay!” Sofia smiled as she continued to eat her breakfast.

“Oh by the way, Arthur, we have something to discuss. Come talk to me after your little date.”

“It's not a date!” Sofia yelled, her cheeks bright red.

“Sure.” Arthur responded.

“Come on Arthur, let's go!” Sofia jumped out of her seat and grabbed Arthur's hand as she ran out of the room.

“So, what's this movie about?” Arthur said as he and Sofia walked into the movie theater.

“I don't know.”

“Shouldn't you have found out what the movie’s about before you decide to see it?”

“Isn't it more exciting this way?”

“I guess…”

They got their tickets and made their way to their seats, sitting down and talking as the previews played.

The movie began, and the theater went silent. The movie was about an ordinary man, claiming to be a mad scientist, who’s world was shaken when he and his friends accidently created a machine that allowed them to send emails back in time.

Arthur and Sofia walked out of the theater, excitedly talking about the movie.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“That was amazing!” Sofia said, grabbing Arthur's hand.

“Yeah, it was pretty good.” He pulled his hand from hers, and rested it in his pocket.

“Wanna go get something to eat?”

“I can't. Steven needs me for something.”

“Oh come on, live a little! I'm sure Steven can wait an hour or two.”

“I'm sorry Sofia, I can't.”

Sofia turned away from him, pouting.

“You're so boring!”

“Yeah, I know.”

They made it back to the orphanage, and Sofia immediately went up to her room, still upset.

Arthur unlocked the basement door with the key Steven had given him 3 years ago and walked downstairs, where Steven and Charlie were already waiting.

“Took you long enough.” Charlie said, lightly punching Arthur in the elbow.

“Good, you're here.” Steven turned around and walked up to them with his hands behind his back.

He walked over to a whiteboard and picked up a marker.

“We will now go over the plan.”

He turned towards the whiteboard and wrote ‘operation Hermes’ in large letters.

“We must strike first. If we deal the first blow, we’ll gain a major advantage later on in our fight against the dystopia.”

He began drawing a diagram of a small building.

“We’ve gained information about a meeting full of important government officials going on in 2 days. We have reason to believe that this meeting may be about plans to create the dystopia that appears in the future. Two of the people attending this meeting are known to be important figures in the dystopia. The plan is as follows:

Arthur will sneak into the building and make his way into the ceiling. From the ceiling, he will enter the ventilation system in order to bypass the security and make it to the area of the building where the meeting is being held. Then, he will re-enter the ceiling area from the vents. If he went the right way, he should be in the ceiling above the meeting room at this point. He will have a small silenced pistol on him, as well as a knife. If he hears any talk of the dystopia after the meeting begins, he will drop in from the ceiling and kill everyone in the room. If he doesn't, he will leave the same way he came in after the meeting has ended and the building has been emptied.”

He dropped the marker and turned towards Arthur and Charlie.

“Any questions?”

Charlie shook his head.

Arthur raised his hand and spoke.

“What are the names of the two men who become figures in the dystopia?”

“Shouldn't you know that? You're the one who told us about them.” Charlie said.

“I do know them. I just think we should clarify because of that.” He pointed at a camera positioned on a stool in the back, recording the discussion.

“Yes, I agree.” Steven said, walking away from the whiteboard.

“Their names are Johnathan Bates and William Nelson.”

He stepped in between Arthur and Charlie, rested his hands on their shoulders, and spoke into the camera.

“With that, we will begin operation Hermes.”

He walked over to the camera and turned off the recording.

He began to walk up the stairs, stopping to tell Arthur something.

“Get good sleep Arthur. You're going to need it.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Arthur headed back to his room.

Will things really go as planned?

He was in deep thought as he got himself ready for bed.

It's too strange. The only names I recognized on the list were the two who ended up in the dystopia. Shouldn't I recognize the others if this meeting is about the dystopia?

He took off his clothes, putting his pajamas on.

And even if this meeting is not about the dystopia, shouldn't I at the very least recognize the other names from something? They're all powerful, important figures in this time, and yet…

It's almost like they didn't exist at all in the future.