“I’m sorry, but who are you exactly?” Archer finally asked.
“I find it unusual that you shook my hand, allowed me enter your home and put my briefcase down, and then make small chat without wondering who I am. I could be here to kill you,” the man said with all seriousness.
“I figured if you were here to kill me, there’s no use being rude and giving you further incentive is there?”
“Good point, Doctor Archer. Well, I am not here to kill you. On the contrary, I’m here for help.”
“Help?” Archer asked. “You don’t seem like a man who needs help from a recently fired government worker.”
The man smiled warmly, the first sign that he was indeed human. “Come now, Doctor. You’re being far too modest. You are much more than a fired government worker. Your work in the field of physics alone may easily provide the greatest leap in our understanding and technology in a century.”
“I appreciate that. Believe me when I say that I would like to take that leap with the rest of the world, but you’ve got the wrong guy if you need help. I’ve lost all my grant money and as I’m sure you’ve noticed by looking around, most of my prior work has been confiscated.”
“Doctor Archer, I can assure you that if your concern is sponsorship, you need not worry. I, along with the agency I work for, would like to see you continue your work.”
Archer collapsed into his recliner. “I’d love to, pal, but I can’t. The government owns all my work and if I got caught going anywhere near it I’d be strung up for treason.”
The man sat on the couch across from Archer. “No one wants to see that, Doctor. I’m sure you can appreciate the dangerous times we live in.”
“I do understand the times, sir,” Archer said. “More than anyone else, I would love to help. But I believe I’ve already told you my predicament.”
“I respect your loyalty, Doctor, I do,” the man replied. “What would you say, Doctor Archer, if I told you that I could provide you the means to continue your work without your government’s approval?”
Archer chuckled to himself. “I would say no. I’m rather fond of being alive.”
The man smiled again. “Come now, Doctor. I know I don’t have to tell you how important your work is. Think of how many would benefit. You must understand that there are many things the rest of us would rather your government not know about.”
“The rest of us, huh?” Archer said, intrigued.
“Why, the rest of the world, Doctor.” The man finally relaxed his shoulders and sunk back a little into the couch. “I know on your television and movies, the United States is always the first to know everything and the first to save the world. However, I can assure you that the real world functions on another level entirely. Indeed, you will soon find that most of us are more than willing to solve our problems without the help of your government.”
“If I agreed,” Archer said, “what are the conditions?”
“Only one, Doctor Archer. You must never set foot on American soil again. That and you’ll never need to worry about money again. But I know you to be a man who cares not for material wealth, am I right?”
Archer nodded. “What exactly do you need my work for? How will it be used?”
“There are more important ideals in this world than just lines on a map. You will not need to betray your values, or else I would not have chosen you. Believe me when I tell you that you have been observed long before I arrived.” The man suddenly stood up. “And I’m afraid that is all I can share with you at present. We must leave immediately.”
“Now?” Archer asked.
“Why, yes, Doctor. Do not be alarmed. Everything you require will be provided.”
There were many doubts lingering in Archer’s mind, but none that prevented him from making the choice the unusual man expected. Archer stood up slowly and followed the man out the door. It would be the last time he ever saw his home.
The following morning, Genesis awoke and dressed herself before going upstairs to wake her future husband. She was too late, as James was already hard at work preparing a breakfast for the entire family.
“Good morning,” he said as he removed bacon from the skillet.
“Where did you learn to cook?” she said with a smile.
“Oh Genesis,” he replied, “there’s so much you don’t know about me!”
“Hmm,” she sighed as she kissed him. “Then maybe we should postpone our wedding,” she teased.
“Not on your life,” he said. “Are you ready to meet the rest of the family?”
She straightened her hair and dress in the full body mirror on the basement door. “I feel like I already know them.”
“Yes, of course,” he said, remembering all she had already seen. “Still, they don’t know you. So behave, and for God’s sake, keep your clothes on.”
“Very clever,” she answered with a smirk.
A moment later, they heard footsteps rush down the stairs. It was James’s sister, Melissa. She was still dressing when she sat down at the table without even realizing the stranger in the dining room. “Did you cook all this, Ja…” she began to ask when she noticed Genesis standing beside James. “Oh, hi! You must be the new girlfriend.” She said with a laugh as she chided her brother.
Genesis was not amused. “Fiancée, actually,” she corrected. “My name is Genesis.”
Melissa nearly choked on her milk and looked up at James in shock. “Do Mom and Dad know?”
James served Melissa her food and answered: “Not yet.”
“I can’t say this isn’t typical of you,” she said, eating her food without expressing any thanks to her brother.
Genesis was about to respond when she heard the sound of more footsteps coming down the stairs. It was James’s mother.
“Sleep well?” she said to Genesis.
Genesis nodded.
“Did you hear?” Melissa whispered to their mother, while making sure she was loud enough to be heard by everyone. “James is marrying this girl.”
“Hey!” James shouted. “Mind your own business!” Genesis approached his side and put her hand on his shoulder as though to encourage him not to stoop to her level.
“But James,” Melissa said, “do you even know this girl? Dad is going to kill you!”
Becky cleared her throat and said: “Are you sure you’re not rushing into things again? Your father…”
James returned from the kitchen with a stack of blueberry pancakes. “Yeah, well there are more important things in this life than Dad’s opinion,” he said plainly. His sister looked at him in shock, since she never knew him to speak so boldly about their father. In fact, the James she knew lived in almost total fear of losing their father’s approval. “Just eat up before it gets cold,” he said.
Genesis took a seat next to James and began to eat alongside him. His sister finished her meal a few moments later without saying a word. She was out the door and on to her job long before James’s father came down to breakfast.
“Are you sure, James?” his mother asked again.
“I’m sure,” he said. “Genesis and I will be very happy together.”
Genesis wrapped her arm around his and smiled at Becky in agreement. She returned a smile and said: “Good. Well, I’m happy for you both. So have you decided a date then?”
Genesis winked at James in an effort to let him know she stood by him. “Actually,” James said, “we have. In fact, would you mind giving us a ride to city hall today?”
His mother sat shocked as she lifted a cup of coffee to her lips. “You know how bad that sounds, don’t you?”
“It does, doesn’t it?” he said with all seriousness. “But I love Genesis, and I know I’m going to marry her someday anyway. So why not today?”
Becky nodded her head as though she was trying to study the two lovers. Genesis’s smile was beaming while James was waiting anxiously for a response. “Indeed,” she said. “Why not today?” His mother arose and embraced her new daughter-
in-law-to-be and her son. “I’m off to get dressed. Your father should be down in a few minutes. Good luck!” She left the table and hurried upstairs.
“My Dad saw you yesterday,” James whispered, “and I have no idea what he’s going to think. I’m sure my sister has already filled him in. In fact, I’m sure of it since he usually doesn’t get up for another hour.”
She smiled. “Well, if there’s enough money in that envelope, we won’t have to worry what he thinks, will we?”
"Even if those stocks are as worthless as a Cracker Jack prize, I don't care what he thinks anymore."
Just then, James’s father came to the table, prepared a plate of the food, and reheated it in the microwave. Genesis sat bewildered that not a single member of James’s family had thanked him for all his hard work. He’s going to know how much I appreciate him every day! she thought. His father returned a moment later and ate while also making a concerted effort to avoid eye contact with Genesis.
Genesis’s eyes watered as James’s father said nothing. He obviously wanted nothing to do with her, but she was more concerned with the way the family treated James so disrespectfully. James saw the tears stream down her cheek but she said nothing. For a moment, he thought about telling his father all the things he wanted to say but something inside him told him to bite his tongue. Genesis wiped her eyes and regained her composure, suddenly indifferent to his father’s treatment. As James prepared to stand, her hand reached out to his and restrained him.
His father finished his breakfast, tossed the plate in the kitchen sink, and walked out the door. James let out a sigh, a deep breath, and then cried.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“That is the last time I’ll ever see him.”
"Are you sure you won’t regret saying that?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Not anymore. I don’t need negative people in my life.”
She nodded, trying again to understand. “What about your mother?”
Just then, Becky skipped down the stairs with a joyful smile on her face. “You two ready to disappoint your father?” she said with a laugh.
“Five minutes ago,” James replied as he swallowed his last bite.
James and Genesis left his childhood home for the last time a few minutes later. By afternoon, they were married by a city official.
John Archer sat aboard a small jet with the man who had whisked him away from his old home. The man, who identified himself in the limousine as simply Roger, sat across from Archer and continued studying him. The plane began to taxi and a minute later was airborne.
“May I ask where we are going?” Archer asked.
“You are free to ask anything,” Roger replied with a smirk that left no doubt in Archer’s mind that the location would remain a secret.
“Well, then, while we’re here, why not tell me more about yourself?” Archer suggested.
“I am but one of many individuals who wishes better things for mankind.”
A very young girl, possibly under eighteen, approached Archer from behind and served him a drink. “That’s very cryptic of you,” he said to Roger. He nodded to the girl, who after bowing slightly to Roger, walked away.
“Please understand, Doctor Archer,” Roger said, “that for the time being we need to keep a certain level of confidentiality about our purposes.”
“But surely that doesn’t include who you are, does it?”
Roger smirked again. “Very well. What would you like to know?”
“You already seem to know so much about me,” Archer continued. “I just fail to see how my work on time-travel is going to affect mankind in such grandiose ways you imagine.”
“Ah, so you do want to know about the mission, then?”
“No,” Archer backpedaled, “Well, yes, of course. But that’s not my point. My work was largely theoretical. It will take years before anything can be built that would put my work into practice.”
“And as I said at your home, Doctor, you will not want for resources. Even time is relative.”
“Of course,” he said as he looked out the window and saw a vast ocean beneath them. “And since time seems to be all we have a lot of right now, how about you tell me more about your work and how it so desperately needs mine?”
Roger kept his eyes focused on Archer without blinking. A moment later, he sat back and unbuttoned his shirt’s top collar. “Very well.”
Val Ferguson stood quietly over the grave of her husband. What a stupid war, she thought. One month. One month was all the time she had with him.
Although greatly saddened by her loss, as she stood over his grave, she didn’t shed a tear. The funeral ended an hour earlier and the graveyard was now empty, with only a crisp November chill lingering. A tall man approached Val slowly, and in an indefinable accent, said: “I’m truly sorry for your loss, young lady.”
She turned around and scowled at the man. Her expression softened when she saw his smile-less face. “This shouldn’t have happened,” she said.
He stepped forward. “Nor ever happen again,” he said in agreement.
“Hm,” she mumbled, as though acknowledging his sentiment, but doubtfully.
“This is such an inconvenient time, but I beg for a few moments of your time, Ms. Ferguson.”
Without a hint of wonder about how he knew her name, she said: “On the contrary, with my husband gone and an empty house waiting, I can’t think of a better time for a drink.” Val and the man she would soon come to know as Roger left the cemetery without uttering a word to each other.
Twenty minutes later, Val was half-drunk, having numbed herself with the drinks she just chugged at the pub down the street from the cemetery. Roger examined her patiently, determined to let her break the silence.
She rewarded his patience seconds later. “Have you ever wondered what the world would truly be like without war?” she mused.
Roger smiled. “What do you think it would be like?”
“A lot like this beer,” she explained. “It makes me feel good, but it always leaves me wanting something…more. Do you know what I mean?” He nodded. “I think a measure of conflict is a good thing once in a while.”
“I see,” he said.
“Not that I like war,” she said in defense. “I just can’t imagine a perfect society where everyone gets along forever. Eventually, people will fight. And if bad people surface, then people should.”
“Do you think that will ever happen?”
“Not without a lot of death and destruction first.”
“How much would be necessary in your view?”
“Total,” she answered, without hesitating.
“So,” he began, “you believe that to truly achieve a utopia, we must completely start over.”
She sat still with her head bowed, taking the time to answer clearly. “I used to see a world that made sense. Good triumphed over evil; martyrs rewarded. But it’s not enough anymore. Fighting evil without attacking its source only leaves the problem for a future generation.”
“And what do you believe to be the source of all evil?”
“This whole society. We’ll never have peace as long as we’re so divided.”
Roger leaned forward to engage her in the debate deeper. “So, are nations the problem? Race? Money?”
“All of it. Not that there should only be one race, but one nation definitely! And no money either.”
“Ah,” he said, “I see now what you mean. There can be no lines on a map for true peace to exist.”
She shook her head. “This civilization has failed us all. I can only hope we get it right next time.”
“Then I am indeed glad we’ve met,” Roger said. “I’m actually the head of an organization devoted to doing just that: getting it right.”
She began to laugh, but then realized she didn’t need to. For a reason she didn’t understand, she knew he wasn’t joking. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” she asked, just to confirm.
The man s
at back and folded his hands. “We’ve recently acquired the work of a brilliant physicist who has made an incredible discovery during his employ for the United States government. Further questioning has revealed he is uncommitted to our ultimate goal, but we need his work to achieve it. Doctor Archer is heading an expedition that will allow us to meet our ends, despite not knowing our true aims. I am impressed with Doctor Archer’s altruism, but he fails to see the larger picture. But you are not so short-sighted, so you can see why I am happy to meet you.”
The Great Altruist Page 21