Jesper now looked a little hopeful, “OK… what is it?”
“As I told you before my friend, I know your actual ruin. It is not money. I will not pay you for your services, as I have no more money, I used everything I have to construct the site where we will be doing our jump. It is almost complete now. But when your actual ruin is found and handled your life will be complete, and will find joy that you never would have ever dreamed possible. All your wildest dreams will suddenly come true in a one moment.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Again, I have to mention this, but I already knew that you wouldn’t believe me. I expected this. I know this my friend. Now unfortunately, you’re simply going to have to take this one on faith. Just trust me for the next 24 hours, please. Once you see what I am about to show you, all will explained far better than I could ever put into words. But you have to physically see it to believe it.”
“Hmphf” Jesper snorted, “The entire world is coming to an end, there is nothing we can do to stop it, where all going to die and now I’m suppose to see some miracle come out of nowhere and I’m supposed to feel all better about it!? Is that what you’re telling me?”
The Stranger didn’t hesitate, “YES! Yes. Yes my friend, that is EXACTLY what I’m telling you. Just take me on faith this one time. Now I know that you have had quite a shock. What you need now is some food and a good rest. Just take it easy for the remainder of the night, I am not going to answer any more questions for now. I will see you in the morning and then after a good breakfast we are going to take a trip into the city.” The Stranger rose from his chaise, took one final sip of his tea and bowed, “I wish you a good night’s sleep. We will continue this tomorrow. I am your friend and I will help you through what is to come, believe me. Good night.”
Calmly, with a placid gait, the stranger made his way out the door. Almost absent-mindedly he shut off the lights in his exit. In his wake lay one Jesper Allen Verros, veiled within a stolid stare into the void contemplating a future that would soon be as black as the confines of his office, now washed in darkness. He stared on into the black as the hours rolled on into morning. His fate was sealed, destiny was calling and there was no escape.
* * *
The stranger had to pick Jesper out of his chair the next morning as he had sat transfixed the whole night in his office chair. The two had a quiet breakfast without questions, without the usual fanfare that would be Jesper’s life, a life of wealth and abundance. They simply ate and paid for their meal as if they were strangers, no words, just eating. Two men, knowing what would soon transpire. The clock was ticking now. If the stranger’s calculations were right, they only had five years left.
Finally, words, Jesper spoke up, “Can you at least tell me where we are going now?”
“Yes, we will be travelling the Bullet train to Osaka. We are going to the heart of the city. Osaka is 500 miles from here and we have to be there by 7:00 PM tonight. I’m afraid I can’t really tell you more than that right now. Remember my friend, faith. Faith!”
The hours came and went. The passing time did little to ease Jesper’s conscience. If anything the anticipation just made it worse.
“You realize of course that I am in no condition to lead a people, no not a people, ALL MANKIND back into civilization do you? I could barely run my own company.”
“Oh I have faith, I don’t think you have done too poorly for yourself.” The stranger glanced at Jesper’s Bulgari Chronograph luxury watch adorning his wrist, “Tell you what, you have faith in me if I have faith in you OK? We’re almost there, and it’s taken me quite a while to find it.” he smiled another one of his consoling smiles.
They were in the nightclub district of Osaka. The stranger just continued on and pushed through the crowds. Finally after a time they were on what would be the equivalent of Broadway in the Western Continent. Various stage plays and shows were featured on brightly lit marquis. A stream of luminescence seemed to brighten the darkness of the night above. A beacon of life in the skies, they had arrived at their destination. Again Jesper was in shock to see that the stranger had tickets to the 7:00 show. As he passed the two tickets through the window he looked over at Jesper, “Faith.” he said again and smiled.
They made their way to the seats, front row. After getting some snacks for the both of them, they settled in their seats.
“Let’s try and relax tonight OK? We don’t have to do very much tonight, just relax and enjoy what you see OK? I know you can do it.” They sat enjoyed the preamble, Jespers leafed through the brochure in confusion, this was to be a play about a love story, a couple torn apart through war named Caractere du Couer .
“I still don’t see why we are here? Or what this has to do with anything, as far as I’m concerned we are wasting…”
The stranger eased him off with a, “Shhhh… the show is just about to begin. Remember… faith. When you see it you will know. You see my friend, what you said is true, you would not be able to lead man out of the dark ages, it would be impossible for you.”
Slowly, a darkness engulfed the theater, the orchestra began its soothing, moving intro as the curtains unveiled. And gradually the light fell upon the stage with a reassuring respledence, the cold unforgiving darkness that had consumed them parted way to fall upon that for which they had all been waiting. It fell upon her.
Quietly, above the sound of the ascending Clarinets and brass, the stranger whispered into Jespers ear, “You see my friend, you would never have been able to lead man, not all mankind, into prosperity again, but… she can.”
What was a void in his heart was suddenly filled, Jesper once again had purpose for his existence, somehow, some way, what this man was telling him was true. This woman held a light in her eyes that could not be denied, it lit up the whole theater, the city, it lit up his whole world! No matter how bleak the future looked now, he would no longer travel it alone.
* * *
The play went on and Jesper was mesmerized by the performance, not of the ensemble, but only of the one woman. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He leaned over, “Who is she?”
“Hahaha! Does she seem strangely familiar to you?”
“She does! I mean this is love at first sight! How did you know that she would have this effect on me? Will she even know who I am?”
“Well you see, when you travel through time enough like myself, you learn a few things about life. For instance, what you think is love at first sight, is really just a recognition of noticing a person you have known before. You see my friend, your ruin in life is not that you need money, or wealth or power, you simply seek companionship. You have been looking for your soulmate.”
The stranger let the words hang in the air for a while as the play continued. The audience was enthralled. A brief repose lead to a musical interlude as the woman let free her heavenly voice filling the rafters with melody .
From the depths we are born, as the seas we change and into night we fade,
Born from a love within, yet stressed and through time decayed,
Pray our wayward paths stay strong,
And let us always belong,
Never swayed,
Chosen as a seed within our hearts our lambent light awakens not yet mature,
And is pushed out into an unforgiving world so cold and impure,
Pray our wayward paths stay strong,
And let us always belong,
Let us endure,
As the song completed, the curtains folded in as the orchestra faded into outro and once again the theater swam in darkness. The first intermission began.
“Please you have to tell me her name.” said Jesper.
The stranger leaned over to him, “I have found for people to live through certain patterns of existence. For instance, I know I can usually find you near the end of each cycle and I can easily leak you the technology of temporal shift to the point of workability. You in particular tend to do the same things over and over again through yo
ur lives. So I can count on you. You tend to make the same decisions, make the same aquaintances, and find the same or similar mates. You have probably known her for some time before and I know for a fact you will meet her again. There just may be a great amount of time in between for it to happen again. But here she is, her name is Esmarelda.”
“Will she have the same reaction in seeing me?”
The stranger looked him over, Jesper had a bit of a haggard look about him, hair unkempt, “Yes, but you might want to do something about you appearance, you should fix yourself up. We are going to meet her after the show. Don’t worry you’ll do fine. Just remember, she will recognize you immediately, don’t get put off by her social veneer, she may try to appear aloof, but inside she will have a burning interest for you so don’t let that fool you. ”
“Do you actually know her?”
“Yes I made it a point to become aquainted with future leader of our planet. When the performance concludes, I will introduce you.”
* * *
Both the stranger and Jesper made their way backstage towards the dressing rooms. Accompanied by an aide the stranger requested audience and it was only moments later they found themselves confronted by a lady in a half laced corset beneath an attenuate white satin evening gown.
Seeing the stranger, she opened her arms wide and consumed him in a passionate embrace, “I haven’t seen you in ages! How are you?! You look quite… Oh! Umm… who is your friend over here?”
Her gaze seemed to size up Jesper over the next few moments and for just a brief instant, it was as if a recognition had overtaken her. But as swiftly as it had come, her reaction flitted away.
“This here is my friend Jesper Verros. Her runs the SiTI over in the lower continent, he will be helping me on some future projects. I have arranged for all of us to converse over some Veal Marsala alongside a Frozen Peach Belini if you don’t mind?”
“That sounds lovely, let me get myself ready and I’ll be right out.”
As they dined, time stretched from night to the hours of early morning. The sun tentatively poked its weary head across the eastern horizon marring an azure sky with its subtle tangerine hues. It was only then the two newfound sweethearts realized that they had been talking all night that their companion had already left, long ago.
In his place stood a note.
Esmarelda laughed, “Oh look he left us something. Would you like to do the honors or should I?”
Jesper playfully took it out of her hand and read, “It looks like I am no longer needed her for this evening. I will find you in the morn. Please find me at the Osaka train station at noon. I’m afraid the time for play has come to an end. We have important matters to discuss. I will see you then.”
“Uuuuu, ‘important matters’ he says. What do you suppose that could be all about?” said Esmarelda as she flung her hair back alluringly.
A stoic aspect came over Jesper, “No I’m afraid he’s right. Has he not told you anything?”
“Anything about what?”
“Well about the future, and what’s to come?”
“No. Is something supposed to happen?” she looked at him innocently.
Jesper with a sudden startling pang of sobriety realized his role. He had to explain to those young yet naïve eyes all that would come to pass. She really had no idea of what her role would be in it. He would have to be her anchor through these times. There was no one better to console her and to be her partner. It was all coming together now. Resolute, he began to fill the role he had been destined to lead, but where to start?
“Ez, tell me… tell me what you know of time shifting?”
* * *
The following day, Ez and Jesper found the Stranger standing alone by the signpost near the tram station, staring off into the horizon oblivious to his oncomers.
“We’re here.”
The Stranger shifted his view over to them, “Oh! Good. Yes I’m glad you made in time. I trust Jesper filled you in, is that right?”
“It’s unbelievable!” cried Esmarelda, “I can’t believe all of this,” she motioned to the station and people , “all of this is going to be gone?! The Sumerian Confederates and the Triumverate Conglomeration had just signed a peace treaty 2 years ago barring all nuclear conflict. How can you be so sure?”
“Because of the glass Ezzy, the green glass. In the wake of every nuclear blast of magnitude you will always find a deposit of green glass which builds up. Over the ages, almost one hundred thousand years from now these remnants will be recovered in caves away from erosion. It is this glass which has to carefully analyzed and dated and then placed as to location so that I can plan my jumps to arrive at the correct point in the atomic age where I can introduce time shifting successfully.
“It is perfectly true that a cease fire has been ordered, but the attack will be launched at a time of false security when those who would otherwise guard all Silos become lax. The attack will come as a surprise and the counterattack will be an autonomous reaction. The planet will be wiped out again. But I am going to take you to the one spot where some life may survive, the southern-most region by the Agrarian peninsula. It is away from the equator and isolated enough not to be a major target. But the fallout will cover the whole planet and you will have to be prepared.”
Esmarelda seemed deflated “So there is just nothing we can do?”
“No there is plenty we can do, when we arrive at the site, I will show to the information packets and how to evolve the planet again, hopefully much more quickly. But then from there I will have to jump to the first cycle of this planet and leave you I’m afraid. That will be my final jump to the past.”
After riding the tram they made their way onto the train outbound for the countryside once again.
In a sudden spurt of inventiveness Jesper thought to ask, “Do we succeed?”
The stranger looked up at him, “You’ve never actually asked me that before!” a little taken aback he said, “The future is not fixed. You can make it anything you want it to be, but you have to work at it. I cannot promise you that you will make it, I can only give you your chance and let you go from there. I have found the green glass, it is real. It is as real as the glass I will show you on the site for the first cycle. You have your future to live to together providing you do exactly as I tell you. Just work hard at it and you will be OK.”
“So we don’t make it do we?” asked Jesper
“You have a chance to accelerate the next cycle. That is all I can tell you.”
The train sped on.
* * *
Over the period of the next two years, Jesper, Esmarelda as well as two others, Trank a technical engineer and Grosh, a biological expert, drilled and drilled for the future that would soon be theirs. It was hard work and painful knowing the truth.
Political relations seemed to be in as good a condition as they had ever been. No one would ever have been the wiser. The stranger after having been on travel throughout the world then returned to review their progress and decided to call a meeting.
It began with the usual preamble, a series of encouraging words and then he got down to brass tacks.
“I will be leaving you tomorrow. We have prepped the temporal chassis and shifting chamber to allow me to go back 124,618 years, 5 months, 3 days, 17 hours, 23 minutes and 30 seconds in time. If the calculations are correct I should be able to make it directly into the atomic age. With your help the jump should prove a success. But you will never see me again in this form.”
“What do you really hope to accomplish, I mean won’t it end in disaster just like the rest?” asked Jesper.
“No, it won’t! I will accelerate that civilization into the Space Age. It is really the only hope this planet has.”
“But why didn’t you just do the same with this culture, you could’ve saved us couldn’t you?”
“That is exactly what I have been working on for the last year. But it was to no avail, certain elements in the society prevent me from
now from moving enough people off the surface of the planet. There is too much internal conflict for there to be a sustainable space program or for anything to be done now I’m afraid. You will be the ones to save this culture.
“Oddly enough, the sooner I continue to travel on the universal time line, earlier people are a tiny bit brighter, a tiny bit wiser and slightly easier to deal with each jump. I have no explanation for this phenomenon. But if they can see reason in the first cycle, then we have hope. I believe I can succeed, because I must succeed. If I fail then the future of this entire planet from where I am from will come to pass as I saw it and all is forfeit. All will be for naught. Everything will be destroyed.”
“But I believe I will be able to introduce space travel within a time frame to save our species.”
* * *
They were only moments away from the engaging the particle accelerator to critical mass, the point of no return, from the point before they would never see the Stranger again.
Jesper looked at him again with fretful eyes, through a view screen miles away. As he held the controls in a steadfast grip, he said “All right we will do our best. But before we part, just tell me one last thing. You never told us your name.”
The Stranger looked at him with compassionate eyes, “I never told you my name because it is not important. In your travels you will see me again. My name will change and so will yours. All you need to remember is simply that I am now, and forever will be, throughout all time, your friend.” He smiled.
There was a shimmer and the Stranger disappeared.
* * *
Time re-entry was a very nerve wracking affair. After a static shock that shook him to his core, one of the Stranger’s first orders of business was to determine how far into the Atomic cycle he had gone and if he was not now too late. Everything was riding on this. The fact that he had to physically survive it was almost an afterthought.
After catching his bearings, he found himself in the atmosphere about 1 mile straight up. It was necessary to choose a point in space least likely to coincide with another solid object, otherwise it would mean his instant death. The stranger looked down and saw what looked like a man-made metallic series of structures, from this vantage point they looked like buildings.
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