Connor pulled his hand away from April’s, shook his head, and paced around the small room. “Wait a minute! How do you know about all of this? Do you know this crazy old man?”
April responded, “He is not a crazy old man, and yes, I have known him for quite a while.”
Walter walked over to April and grabbed her hand. “She has been a part of the movement for many years.”
Matthew asked, “What movement? April goes to work every day like everyone else.”
“Boys, I want to tell you the story of a freedom movement that has been fighting back against Supreme Leader Hathmec for close to two hundred years. In order for you to understand why this movement exists, you must first understand where the Supreme Leader actually comes from.”
Walter took a seat by one of his workbenches and asked, “Are you willing to listen to this story with an open mind and really search your own minds and hearts to determine its truth?”
Matthew responded, “Yes, I want to know the truth.”
Connor rolled his eyes before he responded, “Yeah, let’s hear it.”
Walter began, “In order to understand where the Supreme Leader comes from, you must first understand that the Hathmec is not of earthly design. The Hathmec is made up of both alien technology and alien physiology. In order to understand it, you must first know how it arrived here and how it got into the hands of the self-appointed Supreme Leader.” Walter Wainright spent the next hour telling the boys and April the story of Liam Liot.
Liam Liot was an alien traveler from the planet TERAH who was tasked with the job of scouting Earth for intelligent life and determining whether Earth could be used as a planet to inhabit should something ever happen to TERAH. The flight from planet TERAH to Earth took approximately two years to complete, so Liam and his partner-wife, Saras, were placed into a cryogenic sleep for the trip.
The technology gap between the planet TERAH and Earth was extensive, so this trip was expected to go off without a hitch, but that was not the case. Liam awoke from his cryogenic sleep to discover that his ship had crash-landed in the western portion of North America. Liam checked the ship to discover that his wife, Saras, was killed in the wreck. Her Hathmec pendant had become separated from her during the crash and she had no way to heal from her injuries. Liam was distraught and contemplated ending his life right then and there, but he decided that a good soldier would attempt to complete his mission.
Liam determined that the ship was beyond repair, so he took what he could from the vessel and made his trek across the country to the nearest inhabited area. Liam had landed in the early 1700s, and there were few people living in the western half of North America at that time. Liam looked like any other person on the planet, but he had the intelligence and technology of a master race of aliens in the Hathmec. The Hathmec gave its wearer a special set of skills, depending on the charms that were linked to it.
Matthew jumped in with an obvious question. “What do you mean, special set of skills?”
Walter responded, “I’m glad you asked. Let’s use my Hathmec and charm as an example.”
Walter held his pendant in his hand and pointed to a charm that looked like a snake suspended in midcoil. “This is the health charm of the Hathmec. It gives the wearer the ability to quickly heal from wounds, keep illness at bay, and reduce aging to a crawl.”
Connor chimed in, “Reduce aging? How is that possible?”
Walter pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Connor. “What is on that paper?”
Connor looked it over and said, “It says it’s a birth certificate for Walter Wainright.”
April asked, “What year does it say Walter was born?”
“It says 1955, but that’s impossible. You would be over two hundred years old.”
Walter replied, “I’m actually 230, but with the Hathmec health charm, I only age one year for every fifty years.”
Matthew asked another question. “Then why do you look like you’re in your fifties? Did you not start using the health charm until later in life?”
Walter chuckled and said, “We’ll get to that as I go through the rest of the story.”
“Liam made his way to the American colonies and learned as much as he could about the humans that inhabited this planet. With the use of his attribute and memory charms, he was able to quickly learn skills of the day and determined what the people of that time were thinking. Liam never had problems getting his way due to the power of the control charm. The control charm is used by security teams today to control the citizens of the planet.
“In fact, Liam became particularly involved during the time of the American Revolution. There were stories from British soldiers about a creature in the forests of the colonies that would torment their soldiers but could not be stopped by their bullets. It was actually Liam using his element charm and transport charm to confuse them. They thought they were seeing ghosts. He never actually killed anyone himself, but he was growing more compassionate for the American revolutionaries and wanted to help.”
Matthew interrupted the story again and asked, “OK, so now there’s an element charm and a transport charm. What do those do?”
Walter responded, “We’ll get to all of that in a bit, but let’s finish the story first.”
Connor raised his hand and Walter said, “This isn’t school, my boy. You can ask without raising your hand.”
Connor grinned and asked, “I don’t understand the control charm thing; do you just look at someone and they do what you say?”
Walter regained his train of thought. “No, Connor, the only way that you can control someone with a control charm or use any of the other charms is to place a carrier stone on that person or animal.” Walter opened his hand and showed the boys a very small polished stone, similar to a small piece of marble, and said, “This is a carrier stone.”
Walter sat the stone on the adjoining table and explained its use. “For someone who possesses a Hathmec pendant, the carrier stone allows him to either take or receive the powers of the charm. For example, Matthew, at the game when you felt that rush of energy and all of your aches and pains went away, I had shared my health charm with you.”
“When did you put a stone on me?”
“I slipped it on you when I patted you on the back. It was a much smaller stone, more like a speck of dust.”
April said, “So anyone who has a Hathmec can create their own carriers just by thinking about it?”
“The wearer of the Hathmec has their very DNA interwoven with the power of the pendant. It rushes through their blood and skin. This combination of physiology and technology allows the wearer to accomplish amazing things. This includes the creation of carrier stones.”
Walter asked the group, “Now, can I continue with the story of Liam Liot?”
Johnson replied, “Yes, please continue.”
“Liam Liot muddled around the colonies, was around for several wars, and even helped put in the first railroad systems around the country, but he was lonely. He determined that he was never going to be rescued by his native planet and had no way of repairing his own spaceship, so he decided to let time run its course naturally and simply pass away when it was time.
“Before he could do that, he wanted to make sure that Saras’s Hathmec was never found by humans. Since a Hathmec charm is almost impossible to destroy, he decided to remove the charms from the pendant and give some of them to families he had met during his time on Earth. He would hide the others. This would keep them away from anyone who might determine a use for them.
“Liam’s plan to fade as any other human took a sharp turn when he met a woman named Lana around the turn of the nineteenth century. Lana was a breath of fresh air for Liam and reminded him of why he had loved Saras so much. He took a different name, William Elliott, and wed Lana in the early 1900s. He wasn’t sure if a human could have children with an
alien until it was discovered that Lana was pregnant in 1902. She would go on to have two sons by the names of Evan and Daniel.
“Liam lived and aged with Lana. He was content raising his two sons and growing old with this new love. He had removed his own Hathmec before they were married and placed it at their home around Washington, DC. He acquired a job as a city engineer and life was good. All was well until 1920, when his oldest son, Evan, was struck with a disease that could take his life. Doctors couldn’t help Evan, so Liam had to make a decision that would alter all of our lives forever.
“Liam decided to pull out his Hathmec pendant and create a new pendant for Evan. He then copied his own health charm and gave it to Evan for his pendant. Within minutes, Evan felt better, and within the day, he was completely healed. Liam made the decision that he wanted to give both of his sons the ability to heal from illness, so he also gave a Hathmec to his younger son, Daniel.
“Liam refused to use his Hathmec several years later as he watched his wife pass away in 1959. As Liam began to grow ill in early 1960, he brought his two sons together. Both were still young, as they had used the power of their Hathmec charms for years. Liam decided to tell his sons of his true origin and gave them the option to use the power of the Hathmec to help this world. He turned over his own Hathmec to Evan, who then gave a full copy to his brother, Daniel. Liam’s pendant contained all of the charms needed for each skill. Liam Liot passed away early on a Saturday morning at his home in Washington, DC.
“His sons, Evan and Daniel, decided to use the full powers of their Hathmec pendants to change the world. The brothers worked together for over twenty years until the younger of the brothers, Daniel, saw that he and his brother weren’t working toward the same goal. He wasn’t happy with the methods Evan had used to get things done, so he confronted him. Since Liam had given his original charms to Evan, he had the full control over any copies of them that were produced, even Daniel’s. Evan took Daniel’s charms from him and had him killed.”
“Wait a minute, Mr. Wainright,” interrupted Matthew. “Are you telling us that this Evan Elliott is the Supreme Leader?”
Walter cleared his throat. “Yes, Evan Elliott is the Supreme Leader and he killed his own brother, a very good friend of mine, Daniel Elliot.”
April told her boys, “Walter was close enough with Daniel that he told him this story before he was killed. He was concerned about what his brother might do when he confronted him. Walter has been leading the fight against the Supreme Leader ever since.”
Connor asked, “Where did you get your Hathmec pendant?”
Walter looked at the pendant and said, “Daniel copied his own and gave it to me a few weeks before he was killed. He only copied the health charm because he was worried about the effects that the other charms might have on true humans.”
Matthew asked, “True humans?”
“Yes, you have to remember that Daniel and Evan are half human and half alien, so they weren’t sure if the full power of the pendant could be used by someone that didn’t have some alien in them. It turns out that humans can handle the power, but they have a lessened ability to use it.”
Connor asked another question. “I’ve never seen a security guard throw a carrier stone at anyone, so how do they control people?”
Walter put his head down, as if he was ashamed to answer Connor’s question, but he eventually looked up and said, “The reason that guards or anyone else with a Hathmec can control anyone, without using a carrier stone, is due to something that still haunts me.”
“Evan Elliott didn’t think it was good enough to only have control over someone when he could place a carrier stone on them. He orchestrated a plan so that every baby, after they were born, would be injected with serum that carries faint traces of carrier stones from his Hathmec.”
Matthew interjected, “So, you’re saying that all humans are injected with these carriers during a child’s vaccination shots?”
Johnson added, “He started using the shots in the year 2020, and by 2050, he could control the vast majority of the world.”
Walter continued, “Since every Hathmec copy that has ever been made, besides the one that I have, came from Evan Elliott, he has total control over every man, woman, and child on this planet. The health charm on my pendant protects me from the copies he has made for his security teams and governors, but it is no match for his, one on one.”
Matthew walked over to April and Connor and tried to figure out what to say next. “If that’s the case, what can anyone do to stop him?”
Walter showed a small grin on the left side of his face and slyly responded to Matthew, “I’m so glad you asked me that, because we do have a plan to stop him, but we will need your help.”
Matthew, confused by the comment, responded, “Our help? What in the world can we do to fight the Supreme Leader?”
Johnson took a quick peek to a door at the far side of the room and asked Mr. Wainright, “Should we go ahead and take them to room 3?”
Walter shook his head no and said, “It’s already been a long day for these young men and April. How about we let them get some rest and we can show them room 3 in the morning.”
Matthew and Connor both showed their displeasure. Connor demanded, “We don’t need any sleep; we need more answers.”
“Yeah, go ahead and show us this room 3 now.”
Walter turned to April. “What do you think?”
April took one look at the boys and said, “They won’t be able to sleep anyway. Let’s go ahead and see what’s behind door 3.”
“Mr. Johnson, please lead the way.”
Johnson led the two boys, April, and Walter to the door labeled room 3 and put his hand on the doorknob. He turned to April and the boys. “Now, when you go in here, keep to the side walls and don’t get too close to the…well, you’ll know it when you see it.”
As Johnson turned the knob on the door, the boys’ hearts raced with anticipation and dread as to what they would see on the other side. The door opened and Matthew could see inside the room. Only one thing came from his lips: “Oh my god!”
Chapter 7
the rorimite tunnel
“What is it?” uttered Matthew, as he looked at the stray images flashing through a wall in the center of the room.
Matthew walked closer to the wall when Johnson put his arm up in front of him. “I told you not to get too close. Get back here with the rest of us.”
April grabbed both Connor and Matthew’s hands. The boys were mesmerized by the images as they flashed back and forth across the opening. It was the size of a doorway but had no boundaries of structure, like a doorframe. A person’s face flared in and out, along with scenes of buildings and animals. The images were blinding at times, but were also soft, as if looking at a cloudy sky or an insect as it ran along the grass. There for an instant and then gone; moments in time preserved by this strange mirror.
April asked, “Walter, what are we looking at? It’s like a movie suspended in air or a storm contained in a bottle.”
Walter Wainright walked to the far side of the room and pulled a lever attached to a small console secured to the wall. The doorway to the images vanished in the blink of an eye. The other side of the room had replaced the exciting views of the doorway. Connor exclaimed, “What did you do that for?”
Walter moved back to the front of the room and said, “There’s no sense in using any more power than we have to. You’ve seen what you need to see.”
Matthew strolled into the area previously occupied by the bizarre images and asked, “What exactly have we seen, Mr. Wainright?” Walter crossed his arms and raised his brow. “I mean Walter. What exactly have we seen, Walter?”
“What you have before you is a technological marvel that was originally part of Liam Liot’s spacecraft. The problem was that Liam Liot couldn’t use this wonder due to an extreme lack of a p
ower source. He had no way to run it.”
Connor asked, “Run it? Is it some kind of movie projector or something?”
Walter scoffed at Connor’s statement. “No, it’s not a fancy movie projector.”
Walter placed his hand on the control module. It was clear that he was still impressed by the magnitude of what it could do. “It’s the only known time machine in existence.”
Matthew and Connor’s eyes grew to the size of tennis balls as they stared at each other in disbelief. Connor replied, “A time machine? You’re out of your mind, old man.” April shot Connor a stone-cold stare and reminded him about his manners.
Walter removed his hand from the console with the lever and said, “I don’t blame the boys for not believing me, April; this is a hard one to swallow. You see, this time machine can only be powered by the sector power crystals that were installed in all the districts about twenty years ago.”
Matthew asked, “How does it work?”
“Glad you asked.”
“The minute that Liam Liot’s spacecraft crashed on Earth, it began recording history and storing it inside this panel. The power required to record was next to nothing; it actually used reserves from a type of alien battery internal to it.”
April said, “So it’s some type of recorder. Something you can use to see what actually happened from the time Liam landed to present day.”
Walter replied, “That is one use for it, but the truly extraordinary use is that you can actually go back to those times through this powered portal. It is called a rorimite tunnel. Loosely translated, it’s a time mirror tunnel.”
With the rorimite tunnel shut down and the lights to the room powered up, April noticed all of the control systems and panels that lined the room’s walls. The control boards lit up like Christmas lights and the panels illustrated pulsating graphs and power readings from throughout the room. The balance of the room was similar to a doctor’s office from the twentieth century: white walls, clean smell, but no personal touches of style at all.
Last Chance Page 9