“Where did you go?” Jadzia asked.
“The future. Everything we need to know is in the history books.”
“How far did you go?”
“As far as I could. The stream gets muddy the further I travel and travelling far into the future - at least in the vicinity of Earth - is near impossible. Still, I found out all we need to know.”
Jadzia smiled with delight. “So all we have to do is go back to the very beginning and stop whatever started it, right?”
Genesis caught her breath and sat on the boulder near the creek. “No, it’s not that simple, I’m afraid. You see, the further we go back, the riskier everything gets for you.”
“Why?” Jadzia said. Her excitement waned.
“Watch this,” she said. She hovered over the creek and watched the fish swim about. “Remember how I told you the stream is like a river?” Suddenly, the creek divided. As though an invisible barrier was put in place, all of the water on one side of the creek merged to the other side. It all happened so quickly that many of the fish couldn’t swim to the other side of the creek. The fish gasped for air when she released the barrier and water flooded both sides again. “If we change something in the past, it will divert the stream of time and change your future.
“So, if we went back to the moment Germany invaded your country, we could prevent the start of the war, or we could just stall it. In either case, a change like that could preserve your parents, and possibly millions more. But consider if we prevented the Hitler from seizing power: that occurred before you were born. Anything prior to that point may decide whether you will even exist. Remember, your existence depends on your parent’s conceiving you at the exact moment they did. If we prolonged that by even the smallest unit of time, you might never be - or you may be a boy. If we go back to a point during the first war, it may interfere with your parents ever marrying. Or your parents may still marry and conceive you, but some innocuous event in the stream may mean the death of your father when you are five, or they may both die and you’ll end up an orphan. More than likely, though, you will never be conceived in the first place. And when we returned to the present, you would exist in a world where you never existed. The paradox that would create might be disastrous. It may not even be possible to bring you back. You would be stuck in the past.”
Jadzia buried her head in her folded arms as she listened carefully to Genesis explain the dangers of time-travel. As much as her heart yearned to save her parents, she wondered if taking such a risk was necessary. Her parents weren’t angry at her for not killing the guards. Even the feelings of regret over that event had begun to subside. Perhaps she could just beg Genesis to take her parents from the camp so they could live together here in the forest. As she condemned her own selfishness, the thought fled her mind as quickly as she thought of it. “I’d sacrifice anything to save my parents,” she said. “But how could I think only of myself while so many good people suffer?” She covered her face and began to cry. Genesis rushed to her side and sat atop her shoulder.
“I won’t leave you,” she said.
“You can’t stay here forever, will you?”
“I have nowhere else to go either. But don’t worry,” she added, “you’re in no rush to decide what to do regarding the war. It won’t be stopped overnight anyway.”
Jadzia wiped her eyes dry. “I feel like I have nothing left. My family is gone, I have no home. I don’t even have any clothes to wear! My only friend is you.”
“Of all the people I could have chosen, I’m proud of choosing you,” Genesis said. “And by the way, if you want clothes, I can always go find you some.”
Jadzia lied back on the grass and stretched out in the noon sun. “We’re in this together, right? If you don’t get clothes, I don’t get clothes!” she said, laughing.
Genesis laughed as well and said: “The offer stands.” As Jadzia bathed in the sun, Genesis flew into the sky and hovered several meters above the creek. “Get some rest,” she said. “I’ll be back soon.” With that, Genesis shot into the sky at tremendous speed and disappeared from Jadzia’s view.
Jadzia closed her eyes and meditated on the choices set before her. There were but two paths to choose from: she could leave her old life behind and start anew – perhaps here, in the forest; or she could save the lives of millions of others and possibly negate her own existence. Her selfish part chose the former path; it cared not for the lives of others, but was interested only in self-preservation. But as Jadzia followed that road in her mind, she was left with a sinking feeling in her gut. She would she be alone, without family, and she wouldn’t even be able to live with herself. The other choice risked her life, perhaps even unnecessarily - after all, even Genesis could never be sure if their efforts would be successful. And if they failed, would Genesis be able to go back and fix the events that would allow for Jadzia’s conception?
As despondent as Jadzia felt over losing her parents, she could not ignore her youth, the decades of potential life that lie in front of her. Besides, she had sworn to herself that she would never return to the camp where she suffered for six years, but what if her attempts to prevent the war forced her to witness other atrocities, heinous acts so wicked she could not imagine them in advance! But still, the thought of giving away all she had to save even one life left her with a feeling of deep and profound satisfaction.
Relieved with her decision, she went to the pile of food and ate what she could. A moment later, Genesis arrived in a flourish and sat atop the stone by the water. Jadzia ran cool water from the creek through her hair and returned to Genesis’s side. “I’ve come to a decision,” she said.
“Good.” Genesis, having already read her mind, did her best to feign ignorance.
“You already know, don’t you?” Jadzia asked.
“I do. And I have to admit, I admired you wholly before I ever met you. But now,” she said, “I stand in awe of you.”
Jadzia pulled her hair behind her head and used a small twig to hold it in place. “I couldn’t live with myself any other way.”
“I just hope I can learn something from all this too.”
“What do you mean?”
“I came to you in a desire to help you, but I still have no idea how I’m supposed to do that. Something deep inside of me yearns to help people. Maybe this is my calling: bringing an end to suffering.”
“I can’t imagine a loftier goal. But how will any of this work?”
Genesis flew to Jadzia’s side and then sat next to her. “You won’t be able to travel as you did before. It will be far too dangerous. Besides, if your goal is to prevent a war, you won’t do much good as a young Polish girl walking around Nazi Germany.”
“Let me guess: the fox and the rat?”
Genesis nodded. “I’m afraid there’s no other way. I’ll need to put your mind in the bodies of people we wish to control.”
“Won’t they suspect something?”
“Well, to the people listening, perhaps. That’s where your knowledge of history will play a part. But to the person whose body is borrowed, no, they won’t know a thing. Instead of switching your minds like I showed you earlier, I can hold onto their mind inside the stream.”
“Where will you be?”
“I’ll never leave your side,” she assured her with a touch on the hand. “I’ll hide in a pocket, the fold of a garment, wherever I need to. Trust me, switching minds back is a lot faster to do than sending your entire body.”
“What will happen to my body though?”
“With your mind absent, your body will fall into a deep sleep. Your body will stay here in the clearing.”
“Where do we start?”
Genesis lifted off the ground and hovered in front of Jadzia. “If we’re going to make a significant change, we need to go back to the beginning of key events and attempt to change their outcome. But we shouldn’t go back too far at once, or the chances of a paradox increase. From what the history books in the future say, the w
ar officially began when your country was invaded.”
“So, what do we do? Stop the tanks from invading?”
“No, that would just stall it. The only way to prevent it is to change the minds of the people in charge?”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“We need more information first. The invasion was started by the Germans and Soviets though, so they must have been planning it for a while.”
“Okay,” Jadzia said. “Let’s start there.”
“There’s one more thing we need to deal with before we do anything,” Genesis said.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to get the information we need from the future, but you will need access to it as well.”
“How?”
“That’s the problem. There are two options: I can memorize all the history books on the war and dictate them to you. Or I learn all we need and then share it with you. To do that, I’ll need to do something I’ve never tried before. Once inside the stream, I can manipulate all forms of energy, including my own. I should be able to transfer the knowledge from my mind into yours. And of course, you’ll also have access to the minds of the people you inhabit.”
“Will they have access to mine after I leave?”
“Only if I can’t sever the link. But I won’t put you in the mind of someone unstable unless there’s no other way - and if you agree to it first.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
Genesis scowled. “Yes. I mean, I’ve only done this with animals, but I wouldn’t take the risk if I wasn’t completely confident.”
Jadzia wasn’t convinced. Genesis might excel in her abilities as she claimed, or she could be bragging again. Either way, Jadzia needed to trust her. “How long will it take?”
“To transfer the knowledge, you’ll need to be conscious inside the stream. It will take me some time to gather all the information I can, so you might be alone for a while.”
“Whatever it takes,” Jadzia said confidently. She stood poised and ready to go, her hands at her side.
Genesis hovered away from Jadzia, closed her eyes, and gathered her strength. An instant later, blue light shot out from between Genesis’s breasts and enveloped both of them. The light faded and they were gone.
Chapter 5
Jadzia’s first conscious journey into the stream was nothing at all like she imagined but was exactly as Genesis described. She didn’t see anyway; she just seemed to sense the world around her. Below her was what appeared to be a magnificent torrent or water rushing, all of it moving in the same direction. It had the appearance of water but as she got closer it looked more like a massive spider-web, only instead of each thread connecting to a central point in a lattice, each thread connected to every other thread at every conceivable point. Occasionally, waves gathered below its surface and all the while she was looking at it, points and threads disappeared. She assumed these represented the deaths of living things, but new threads constantly appeared in their place so it became harder to track the longer she was there.
Above the stream and next to her was a marvelous collection of points and thread bundled together. It looked like a massive tapestry weaved by an amateur but at the same time well-designed. She watched as the mass formed threads to different points in the stream and then reached out to connect a thread to her. As it did, she immediately heard the voice of Genesis.
“This is the stream,” she said. “I’ll need to gather information for awhile. Once I’m done, I’ll connect to you again.”
Jadzia didn’t know how to respond and she didn’t need to. Genesis severed her connection to Jadzia. Millions of tiny threads connected to other threads all over the stream. Energy travelled from the stream along the thread to Genesis. Once the energy reached Genesis, the thread disconnected, disappeared, and was then replaced by a new one that connected to yet another thread or point.
This went on for what felt like hours in Jadzia’s mind. Eventually, Genesis’s task was done and all the threads were severed. A thread reached out and connected to Jadzia and Genesis’s voice could be heard again.
“If I send the information along this one strand, we’ll be here forever. I’m going to form what will look like a rope; this will let the energy travel to you faster. Don’t worry: I know what I’m doing.”
The thread disconnected before Jadzia could respond and instantly, Genesis created a huge network of threads that wound around each other and braided each strand to every other strand. Finally, once the rope was formed, Genesis connected to Jadzia, and a powerful surge of energy shot out of Genesis along the rope.
Jadzia’s mind reeled from the impact. After a few seconds of feeling shocked as if by electricity, Jadzia adapted to the sensation and relaxed her mind. Before she could do so, the surge suddenly stopped and without a warning, she was thrust from the stream and onto the grass in the clearing.
Jadzia tumbled along the grass and grabbed her head as it ached. Without warning, she let out a terrible scream as though a knife were being twisted in her temple.
Genesis emerged from the stream a moment later and rushed to Jadzia’s side, cradling her head in her lap, trying to calm her.
“I’m so sorry!” Genesis cried. “I didn’t mean to hurt you!”
Jadzia flailed along the ground and rolled into the creek as she stumbled to regain her balance. Every time she tried, a dizzy spell forced her to her knees again. Out of breath and unable to control her movements, Jadzia panicked, afraid she might die.
Genesis watched helplessly as her attempts at consolation were rebuffed. Jadzia was simply unable to stop screaming or flailing about. As she struggled to stop hyperventilating, Genesis quickly formed a shield of energy around Jadzia as she lied on the ground, writhing in agony. Genesis gathered as much oxygen from the atmosphere as she could and forced it into the shield with Jadzia. Eventually, her breathing settled to normal.
Genesis released the shield. Jadzia’s naked body lied on the grass by the banks of the brook, completely unconscious and unresponsive, although her pulse was slow and her breathing shallow. Comatose and paralyzed, Genesis lifted her into her arms and carried her into the shade of a tree.
For weeks, Jadzia lied motionless. Her condition didn’t change, except that her pulse did eventually quicken to normal. So did her breathing. Genesis never left her side for long. Several times a day, she poured small amounts of water down Jadzia’s throat and once a day she gave her a nectar she made from honey and bitter fruit she was able to find in the forest.
As summer approached, Genesis continued to stand by her friend while she recovered. There was a glimmer of hope: one late afternoon in July, Jadzia’s toes moved. Genesis’s attempts at making contact were futile but the prospect of Jadzia returning to full health helped her cope with the tremendous guilt that kept her depressed.
The days grew hotter as August neared, and Genesis spent most of the day with Jadzia in the shade. When night arrived, Genesis would often swim and play in the creek to cool down but she always returned to Jadzia’s side.
During all this time, she never entered the stream or left the vicinity of the forest. Then one morning in early September, Jadzia stirred. She grimaced at first, but then slowly opened her eyes. Genesis stood back a good distance as she was afraid that Jadzia would be angry with her. Jadzia sat up and looked around the clearing. The grass was still rich and green, the air humid and warm, and the creek a little shallower than she remembered. She was still naked, like she was when she fell asleep, and her hair was considerably longer. Oddly enough, her nails were neatly trimmed and her skin clean. She looked around for Genesis and found her halfway across the clearing sitting on a rock with her legs bent, her knees against her chest. Genesis was looking away from her, a look of shame and guilt governed her countenance.
Jadzia stood and slowly regained her balance. After stopping at the creek for a drink, she walked purposefully toward Genesis, eager to talk.
As s
he neared, Genesis sulked further, burying her face away from Jadzia’s gaze.
“What’s the matter?” Jadzia asked.
Genesis faced Jadzia as tears streamed down her face. “I’m so sorry!” she cried. “I had no idea that would happen to you; I swear!”
“Do you think I’m angry with you?”
She nodded.
“You told me before we left that you’d never done it before. How were you supposed to know?”
“I thought you were going to die,” she said, the tears still rolled down her cheeks. “I’ve never killed a person before.”
“And you still haven’t,” Jadzia replied with a smile. “There’s good news, though. It worked!”
The Great Altruist Page 6