PROLOGUE

The dim room was full of the buzzing of electricity, and a rank smell permeated every inch of the air. The side walls were covered from top to bottom with countless screens displaying graphs of data in jargon. The back wall had thick wires that looked like black snakes frozen in time as they were writhing in pain. The wires all coalesced at one point on the wall; the back of a large chair, which looked like a repurposed electric chair. Within the chair was a disheveled looking middle aged man, with unkempt hair and a glaze over his eyes that made him look dead. Above his head, a bowl full of needles, saws, and various other sharp implements hung. Lights within the bowl illuminated the sharp instruments, making them the most visible things in the room. Above the back of the chair, two rows of glowing orange Nixie bulbs were installed within the wall. The top row read “2088 : 09 : 03 : 18 : 34 : 48 : 05”. The last two digits changed constantly. The second row of bulbs was off.

The door opposite to the chair swung open, and a blond middle aged man wearing glasses and a lab coat walked in.

“Hello! How are you feeling? Any second thoughts yet?” He said, addressing the man in the chair.

“Good. No second thoughts.” The man responded briefly, not looking up to speak to the man with glasses.

“Excellent. Then we’ll proceed shortly. Actually, we’re going to proceed ahead of schedule. Seems someone ratted us out.”

“I see. How long until enforcers get here?”

“Less than five minutes. This building worked well when they didn’t know we were here, since they didn’t think to search so close by, but now that they know... Well, they can act pretty quick.”

“Do we have enough time?”

“Plenty. And once we finish this, we’ll have all the time in the world, and more.”

“You make it sound like we’ve already won.”

“Because we have! I know it may not seem like it to you, since you’ll have a lot of work to do, but the rest of us are done after this. There’s really no way for them to turn this around once we send you back. As long as you maintain your determination, it’s checkmate.” He said while fiddling with the console in the center of the room.

“Ah, that isn’t to say your work will be easy though, because it definitely won’t be.” He quickly adds.

“Yeah, I’m aware.” The man in the chair said, a cold tone in his voice.

“Good. Then, it’s time to calibrate this thing. First, your destination.”

The man in glasses quickly typed something into the console, then the second row of Nixie bulbs flashed on, and displayed “2048 : 09 : 03 : 18 : 30 : 00 : 00”.

“Your destination time is September the third, at approximately six thirty PM, twenty forty eight; forty years ago today. Your goal is to prevent the rise of a dangerous and oppressive government, and then to further ensure the stability of an ordinary system of government for the rest of your natural life. Are you still certain you’d like to proceed?”

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“Yes.” The man said, and looked up with a cold determination in his eyes.

“Excellent. Now,” he pulled out a piece of paper, and adjusted his glasses as he read from it, “Ahem! ‘Please acknowledge that you are aware of, and at peace with, the risks and side effects associated with use of the time machine to return to the past. By making use of the machine, you will be unable to truly die unless you report to a qualified operator of the machine and confirm your mission has been accomplished. If you are unable to do so, you may put not just yourself, but the entire world at risk of becoming trapped within a time lo-”

“Enough. You don’t have to read this to me. Just start it up.”

“I’ll take that as an acknowledgment.”

After putting the paper down, the man with glasses picked up a syringe of clear liquid with a slightly yellow hue to it, and walked up to the man in the chair.

“This will only hurt for a second.” He said as he injected the man with the liquid.

As soon as the last drop entered the man’s arm, he quickly returned to the console, and began rapidly typing.

Within a few seconds, the chair powered on, and the bowl of sharp objects began descending towards the top of the disheveled man’s head.

“I hope we meet again in your next life, though it’s sad to think I won’t remember you.” The man in glasses said, stepping away from the console.

“Don’t worry, we’ll meet again, some… day…” The man in the chair spoke slowly, and passed out right as he finished his sentence.

Just as he did, a pounding noise erupted from the door.

“Looks like this is it. Either my machine works, or I die.” The man in glasses spoke to himself, pacing the room as indescribably horrifying noises came from the machine as it finally made contact with the unconscious man’s head.

“Either way, couldn’t it be considered death? Either my physical body dies, or the memories it contains. Couldn’t both be considered the death of the current me?”

The lights in the room started to glow brighter and brighter, and the monitors on the walls began exploding from the electricity surging through the whole building.

“Though, I suppose there is a difference. Because one of the possibilities is the end, and the other is merely the beginning.”

All at once, the door exploded, and men wearing heavy suits of navy blue armor burst through.

“Put your fucking hands in the air!” One of them screamed.

“Oh, of course sir! How could I not? The current situation is far too exciting to contain!” The man in glasses exclaimed, bursting into a fit of laughter as he extended his arms into the air.

His laughter was cut short, as the armored man fired his weapon three times. Two shots hit the chest, and the final one was placed right between the eyes.

“Sir!” One of the armored men in the back yelled at the one in the front, but it was too late.

In an instant, the power surge reached its apex, and the whole building lost power, leaving both it, and the rest of the world, pitch black.