Morvex Ecthelion walked through the open elevator doors at the end of the corridor, alarm claxons blaring in his ears. Morvex strode to the back wall of the elevator and turned, nodding to the five Orlesians who stepped in behind him. The last of the group, Morvex’s personal bodyguard Gereth Thruntrist, pulled a small bundle from his pack and unrolled it on the floor of the elevator. Moving quickly, Gareth uploaded a retinal scan to the small box lying on the bundle. The top of the box glowed amber then opened, a pair of contact lenses sliding upward. Gareth slipped the lenses into his eyes then stood and faced the screen on the wall, tapping the surface and selecting the security menu.
The screen flashed red and scanned Gareth’s eyes, “Hello Dr. Hamachi,” a voice sounded from the walls, “Please verify your security override code, beginning with your four-digit command identifier.”
Gareth took a deep breath, “2279, Hamachi, Thomas Akira. Security override Charlie, delta, delta, lima, Oscar, one, seven, two, one, nine.”
“Security override verified, doors closing. Distance to core, one hundred seventeen kilometers. Travel time to core, approximately two minutes. Engaging safety protocols,” A loud thud on the outside of the elevator car made them jump, “Protocols engaged. Do not attempt to exit before all protocols have been removed.”
Almost imperceptibly the elevator moved downward, allowing its own momentum to build toward freefall before engaging its propulsion system. Morvex looked around the elevator, the five other faces fixed on his, “How long has it been, hmm? How many years to arrive here? You have stood by me, stood with me, through everything. You know I’m not one for speeches-”
“Then why start now? It’s finally quiet,” Jorphin Meldros said, smirking, “Besides, my friend, you’re really not good at it.”
Morvex laughed, pounding Jorphin on the shoulder, “No, I suppose I’m not, old friend. I am grateful to be here with all of you.”
The elevator slowed, then stopped. Another thud sounded from outside, then the doors slid open on a dim hallway. The sterile, white tile of the floor and walls stretched in front of them, unbroken by adjoining hallways, ending in a blank white wall. Morvex stepped out, the other filing out behind, and the elevator doors slid shut. The outer doors of the elevator were the same tile and, when the doors slid fully closed, formed a seamless wall. The six Orlesians stood in the hallway, the solid walls at either end giving them the feeling they were standing in a long, rectangular box. Morvex walked toward the far wall, some four or five hundred meters away. The click of the heels of Morvex’s boots filled the hall as he strode confidently down the featureless corridor. The already dim lighting of the hallway flickered and a low rumble, like distant thunder, shook the floor. Morvex stopped, spun on his heels, and looked back to his companions as the corridor began to spin.
“To me, now!” Morvex yelled, sprinting for the middle of the corridor. The force of the spinning hallway pulled him back toward the elevator, his boots sliding on the slick tile. As the toe of Morvex’s boot lost its purchase, a hand clamped down on his forearm and he was pulled to his feet.
Jorphin slid his arm under Morvex’s and steadied him, “Careful now, welesio,” he said, “Don’t go getting yourself killed, or your father will never let me hear the end of it.”
“Why is it I’m only your godson when you’re lecturing me, Jorphin?” Morvex grunted as he pulled himself to the center of the corridor. He felt the pull on him lessen as he reached the large square of tile that was the corridor’s axis. The group sat with their backs to the wall, bracing their feet on the floor as the spinning slowed, then stopped. Morvex stood and looked from one end of the hallway to the other.
“Did anyone else notice that the walls at the ends of the corridor didn’t move?” Morvex asked.
“Security measure to confuse us? We still only have two options, how effective could that be? We just need to check both walls,” Shoren Klothor, New Orlesia’s War Minister, said and moved toward one end of the hall. When he reached the bare, white wall a small screen activated. “Ah, see? A control panel. Come, Gareth, use the retinal scanner.”
“Non-human lifeform detected. Initiating security sweep,” a neutral, computerized voice announced. A flash of blinding light filled the hallway, disorienting the Orlesians, “Five non-human lifeforms detected. One human lifeform detected. Security protocol gamma one initiated, please authorize security override, beginning with your four-digit command identifier.”
Gareth breathed a sigh of relief, “2279, Hamachi, Thomas Akira. Security override Charlie, delta, delta, lima, Oscar, one, seven, two, one, nine.”
“Command identifier recognized, override authorized. Please authorize secondary security override, beginning with command identifier.”
Jorphin closed his eyes, picturing the code and hoping his memory served, “6815, Baxter, Calvin James. Security override kilo, Oscar, Victor, alpha, Romeo, one, nine, seven, two, nine.”
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“Command identifier recognized, override authorized. Opening entry chamber.”
The wall irised open onto a small chamber lined with protective equipment and Morvex stepped in, his companions following. The door irised shut and the chamber went dark. Morvex squinted as his eyes slid into the infrared spectrum, the light sconces in the chamber were blazing with infrared light, throwing the chamber into an eerie, negative relief.
“Prepare for entry protocol. Perfluorocarbon released. Continue breathing normally as pressure is equalized,” the computer voice announced.
The chamber began filling with a viscous, clear liquid and Morvex held up a hand at the other’s sharp intakes of breath, “It is oxygen rich. We can breathe the fluid; however, I should warn you, expelling it will be painful.”
The chamber filled quickly, and Morvex pushed down the instinctive panic that flared as it climbed past his nostrils. He worked to control his breathing, feeling the liquid saturate his lungs and wincing at the strange feeling of trying to exhale it. The chamber filled completely, the last of the air pushed out through ventilation tubes. Morvex opened his eyes, his vision blurring in the liquid. Reaching into a pouch on his thigh, he removed a small case, opened it, pushed a small metallic capsule into his mouth and bit down. The capsule dissolved immediately and Morvex winced as the nanites flooded his mouth and throat, forming a microscopic mesh.
“It hurts to breathe,” Jorphin coughed, “Does it get easier?”
“Once the nanites are in place and can fully facilitate cycling the liquid through your lungs, you’ll hardly notice. If you heard that, I’ll assume communications are functioning,” Morvex said, “Gareth, your intelligence is impeccable as usual. We have three minutes until the event, but this area won’t be affected. However, the elevator may not escape the effects of the pulse so, we may need to find another way out.”
“What he means,” Gareth said, “Is he isn’t sure if the elevators will work, so he has already figured out an alternative.”
Morvex smiled and nodded, then turned to the heavy pressure hatch in the wall opposite them. On the wall next to the hatch, Morvex keyed a small screen and the pressure hatch opened with a series of clicks as the locking bars slid back. The hatch floated open and the Orlesians crowded the entrance. The room beyond the hatch was perfectly black, the inky darkness made more surreal by the bright ball of light blazing in the center of the room. The pure, white light of the ball seemed to only brighten its own immediate area. Morvex breathed out a sigh, the strange feeling of the fluid cycling through his lungs making his eyes burn slightly. He stepped toward the light, walking slowly to the outer edge and disappearing into it. His eyes flared and he squeezed them shut against the brilliance of it. Slowly, after what seemed an eternity, Morvex was able to open his eyes and squint. In the center of the ball of light stood a small, white plinth on which rested a small, rectangular box.
“Caution, approaching temporal anomaly. Failure to comply with safety protocols may result in injury, death, or permanent displacement,” The computer voice said, the words distorted in the liquid filled room.
***
Morvex stared across the table at Gareth, waiting for his reaction. The impassive face of the Orlesian was impossible to read, and Morvex’s eyes narrowed, “What is it? What are you having trouble with?”
“You want to know what part of this I’m struggling with? Morvex, I’m struggling with the very premise of it. Walk me through how you know.”
“Remember my time on Earth? We thought they were planning to reestablish our colonial ties and we wanted to find out how?”
“Of course, you were there three years and found nothing,” Gareth said.
“Nothing of use at the time. But I definitely found something,” Morvex said, leaning forward, “In the mid-22nd century, by their keeping, humans were experimenting with gravitational forces and faster-than-light-travel. What they stumbled onto was much more dangerous. While testing a device they built to establish a stable matter-dark matter bubble to bend space-time around a ship, the test resulted in a tear in the fabric of space-time. Decades of research and trials showed that the tears could be manipulated, even controlled, to create small, stable gateways in time and space.”
“You’re talking about time travel, Morvex. The entire idea is ludicrous, imagine the paradoxes even simple time travel would create. Einstein may have been a genius by human standards, but even his work doesn’t allow for moving forward and backward in time. No Orlesian research into time or gravity allows for time travel. Now you’re telling me that the humans have had this technology for hundreds of years and it was never used?” Gareth asked.
“Humans are emotional, impulsive, and, as a species, they lack common sense or critical thought. But do not infer stupidity from that, humans are self-preservationists at their base. Humanity recognized the danger and took steps to prevent the technology from ever being used, even by them. The facility is not controlled by the One Earth government, it is protected by it, but the facility is staffed by an independent group,” Morvex reached across the table and plucked a pastry from the plate in the center, “They call themselves the Sentinels, a quasi-religious organization who indoctrinates its members like a cult. The Sentinels believe that the ability to alter or interfere in past events, no matter how trivial, is dangerous to the universe’s very existence.”
“Is it not? Changing events could have dramatic effects on the future, something as simple as waking up moments later or earlier could change everything.”
“Changing everything is exactly what we need to do, Gareth. By harnessing the power of this technology, we can rewrite Orlesian history as we know it. Imagine walking on our home world, our own sun shining down on children who have only ever known peace.”
“Or we could destroy everything, Morvex. If we tear down the fabric of reality, we could wipe Orlesians from existence,” Gareth retorted.
“It comes down to picking moments, Gareth,” Morvex said, leaning back in his chair, “We don’t just change things wholesale, but nudge events at key moments on the timeline into our favor. I can’t do it alone, old friend, I need you and the others by my side if this is going to work.”
Gareth leaned back, searching Morvex’s face. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, “Alright, Morvex, show me the plan.”