“Which means that Hope must play human during that time, and likely in the time leading up to those events,” Eva concluded. “And that means that as much as she might be able to help with the planning, at some point she will need to extricate herself from everything and react to events as they happen. As a human.”
Adam glanced at Will. “You mentioned that you can’t influence anything either. Why is that?”
Will glanced at the floor. “I was sent back in time with a bit of technology that displayed messages to me at certain key points in time. It wasn’t something that operated frequently; I was meant to live this life, not simply to follow a script. The entries have made it clear to me that they have no record of me existing—in this form, as the thousand year old Energy user—starting around the time I was originally born. I don’t know if I choose to go into hiding, if something prevents one person from existing twice in the same time, or if I will die or be killed. Whatever the reason, it’s clear to me that I cannot do it all. We must assume that, starting in 1995 at the very latest, I will not be able to do anything.”
It was a painful statement for Will to make, and he punched the table in frustration. His childhood had taught him that he couldn’t rely on anyone but himself, and even during the years he and Hope were married, he had trouble stepping aside and letting her take control of anything. She’d been patient, though, and he smiled at the thought now. After a thousand years, she knew him well, knew how to encourage him and soothe him, knew how to show him where he could let go. He wondered how close she’d come to giving him an Energy-based push in the right direction—and how often. He certainly wouldn't blame her if she had.
Eva shook her head. “This is a lot to process, Will.”
Hope nodded. “I’ve known for centuries, and it’s still a lot to process.” She glanced at Will. “And I’ve not even lived through all of it. Not yet, anyway.” She shook her head. “We’re trying to process all of this, but it’s so much worse for Will. Think of all of the tragedies he knew would come, tragedies he could have easily prevented, and yet for the sake of making sure that world he was born into came to exist, he had to stand down. Eva, you know Will, and Adam has probably heard stories about him. You both know how difficult that’s been. Perhaps it’s better not to know the truth. But I do, and I’m committed to making sure that everything comes to be exactly as it was meant to be.”
Eva paused for a moment. “I had not considered that part just yet, but I do understand. I know from my personal experience that the world, flawed though it may be, would have been far worse had Will not arrived at the North Village when he did. If I am to understand this revelation; if we do not ensure that the two of you meet in the future, marry, and bear your children, Will arriving will not happen. Please be assured that you will have my full support in making sure that happens.”
Will inclined his head in thanks, and Hope grasped and squeezed Eva’s hand.
Eva glanced at Adam. “I am assuming that you will assist as well?”
Adam frowned. “I… I’m not sure.” He shook his head. “This sounds complicated and dangerous. I… I’m just not sure.”
Will’s jaw dropped. Hope’s hand went to her mouth as her eyes widened. Eva stared at him. “How can you be unsure, Adam? This is the proper thing to do.”
Adam glared at her. “The success or failure of this mission has a very personal effect on the rest of you. If it fails, all of you die. There’s no such motivation for me. The only outcome resulting in my death comes if I participate.”
“That’s not true,” Hope said, startled. “If Will didn’t succeed, the three of us would never have located ambrosia, and your father would have died centuries ago, long before you were born.”
“That’s not the same thing,” Adam replied. “All of you were born independent of Will’s actions. His failure means that each of you dies a painful death or one of old age. Me? I might never have existed, but it’s not a painful end. And my father was born independent of all of this as well; there’s no proof he, as a Traveler in the original North Village, wouldn’t have come across the ambrosia anyway. If I go forward with this, and if something goes wrong? I die at the hands of those Hunters or that Assassin. If I do nothing and you fail?” He shrugged. “I just cease to be. It’s a painless end. And isn’t that what all of us want?”
Will stared at Adam, and shook his head in disgust. “When I first saw you, I confused you for your father. You look just like him, and you sound just like him. It goes to show how meaningless appearances are, though. You’re nothing like him, and I’m ashamed I ever thought the man I met in the past is the same one I knew in the future. You don’t deserve to be called his son. You’re nothing but a selfish coward.” Will turned and stormed from the room.
The fury he felt in that instant surprised him. As a man so used to doing everything himself, so unwilling to leave the key decisions to others, the idea that someone was backing out and leaving more of the work and planning in Will’s hands should have been welcome news. Will’s emotions were reeling, though. Over the course of two days he’d found Eva and Adam's son; he’d learned that the cure for ambrosia was known and that Adam’s son was living proof of that; the challenging half of the process of reversing ambrosia had been done for them. The good news was almost overwhelming. Adam’s death, what had seemed the death of their future, had neatly reconciled with known historical fact.
And then he’d learned that Adam’s son was a selfish coward. He’d floated into the air on a high of positive news, and young Adam had slammed him hard to the ground.
Why could nothing be simple and straightforward?
In all of the challenges he’d faced in his life, Will had rarely questioned the fairness of what happened to him. His childhood had been a difficult challenge; he’d used it as motivation. People had responded to his successes by trying to abduct or kill him; he’d responded by helping more people than ever. He’d been attacked for reasons he couldn’t possibly understand and sent without full understanding on a mission requiring him to live a thousand years to ensure that his wife would be around to meet him, and that his children—not just his son, but his daughter as well—would come into the world. He’d faced the challenges head on and without complaint. He’d felt anger in each of those circumstances, to be sure, but the true helplessness he felt now had been absent. They were so close to that key event in history, and so well-prepared to meet the obstacles that day would bring… and the single weak spot was a man he’d thought would be their strength, the glue to bind everything together.
Will sat on the ground. He wasn’t much of a crier, but if he was, if he truly knew how, this would be the time. Instead, he closed his eyes and pounded the ground.
He sensed Hope walking toward him, and sitting down next to him. “Eva’s talking to him privately. She asked me to come find you while she does that. I know you’re frustrated, Will, and I am as well. I can’t deny it. But as strange as it seems, we have a lot of time. We don’t know how long it took Adam to come around to our cause in the history you remember; for all we know, it took him a decade. But we’re still left with plenty of time to bring him on board. And there’s plenty that we can do in the interim.”
Will looked at her, his face and mood sullen. “I struggle to believe the man I just witnessed will provide the input and action required to match what I remember. Perhaps I’m remembering a history where the original Adam survived after all.” He pulled his knees to his chin and wrapped his arms around his legs. “Perhaps his death really was that major change we couldn’t anticipate that changes everything.”
Hope leaned in closer. “We don’t know that, though. We've not gotten anything from either diary to indicate what happened in the past, to tell us if this is what happened the last time.”
“But the lack of information from the diaries doesn’t tell us anything. If this is what happened, telling us that the original Adam’s death was what had always happened, telling us to expect his son
’s intransigence… knowing that is hardly going to motivate us right now, is it? And if the original Adam didn’t die, they’d have no reason to bring it up. Whether this is what happened or it isn’t, we’re not going to be told about it from the future.”
Hope put her hand on his arm. “All I’m saying is this: Let’s give Eva some time to work on him, Will. You might recall that she can be very persuasive when she wishes.”
Will gave her a faint smile. “What’s being asked of Adam isn’t something I’d want taken on by a man who has to be sold on the mission. If it’s not something he wants to do, something he demands to do; then what happens when the going gets tough? What happens when he has to do something difficult, or make a difficult decision? He can’t run to Eva to complain and have her sell him once more on the need to continue. If that’s his motivation, those continual pep talks? It only takes Eva failing once for everything to fall apart. We can’t trust this to someone likely to wilt under pressure.”
Hope sighed. “I’m electing to be patient now, Will, just as we did when we buried the original Adam years ago. We still have too much to do, regardless of the younger Adam’s choices. I’m not giving up. Not until they bury me.”
“I guess I need to get some more patience. Maybe I used it all up over the past nine centuries.” He sighed, and offered her a faint smile. “Got any extra you can sell me?”
Hope shook her head. “I’m afraid I need all the patience I have to deal with the stubborn men in my life.” She gave him a playful punch in the arm. Will winced in pain, but she’d managed to break his sour mood, at least enough to get him motivated to move again.”
Peter walked by, spotted them, and trotted over. “So, lots of us have been talking about the new people here, and want to know if we’ve understood everything correctly. This new Adam’s existence means that reversing the ambrosia is definitely possible? And that we now have an understanding of the approach?”
Hope nodded. “Yes. We were just discussing it, because it’s not an easy solution, and right now it still wouldn’t be available to everyone… perhaps not to anyone. But we’ll have enough information that we can work on fixing that, rather than the previous research that looked in the wrong places.” She thought for a moment. “Our newest recruits will have any easier time of it, so we’ll start setting up meetings about the approach soon to walk through everything.”
Hope glanced at Will, who had resumed his gloomy expression, and poked at him. He frowned, and glanced at Peter. “Hope’s right. They talked to us first since they knew us best, but we’ll start to get the word out. Most people won’t be able to use the technique right away, though. It’s going to take a lot of time to really get this to work for everyone.” He frowned.
“Ah, but I suspect that there’s a technology we can develop to work out those kinks, right?” Peter grinned. “And time is something we’ve all got in spades. We’re not shooting in the dark now, and that’s what’s important.” He started backing away. “I’m going to go let everyone know. Can’t wait to hear how this will work!” He bounded off.
Will watched him leave. “I’d argue that Peter is the first Aliomenti child since Elizabeth.” He couldn't help but laugh.
“Will?”
He spun around. Adam stood there, with Eva at his side. She wore her usual expressionless face. Adam, in contrast, wore the expression of someone who had seen a new reality, whose life has changed in one transcendent instant. Will was familiar with that expression; he’d seen it hundreds of times with each new recruit as they felt their Energy flow for the first time. Life truly would never be the same for them.
“I came to apologize, Will.” Adam said. He shook his head, eyes downcast. Will’s empathy picked up only one emotion: shame. “Everything that you and Hope told me… it was overwhelming, and it seemed like such an immense amount of work and catching up to do that… well, it scared me.”
“That’s understandable,” Hope said her voice soothing and calm. “When I learned that truth, I was absolutely terrified. And I had nearly a thousand years to live before any of this planning needed to happen.”
Adam’s eyes flicked toward Hope before his gaze returned to the ground. “That’s a generous attitude. Was my reaction understandable? Yes. But was it acceptable? No. You were right, Will. My father would have been ashamed of me for even suggesting that I might not be part of this. He told me about you, told me about Hope, and made it clear to me that the greatest thing anyone can be involved in is something both of you are pursuing with a passion. I shouldn’t have been terrified. No, I should have been honored to be asked to be part of this, to be trusted with your secret, Will.” He glanced at Eva. “My motivation, my courage to act, has always been there. Sometimes, though, you need a reminder, not of the what, but of the why. Thankfully, she provided that reminder, one I’ll never need to hear again.” He nodded at Eva before returning his gaze to Will. “My father promised to help you see this through, and he was willing to die to make sure both of you lived. It would be an insult to his memory for his death to have been in vain. I owe it to him, and to both of you, to give this my all.”
He held out his hand to Will. “Partners?”
Will hesitated.
Was this the same man who had shrunk before this duty just moments earlier? He spoke of courage and motivation, and used the memory of his father as his cause to fight through. Was that enough? Will thought of his own father, and wondered if he’d believe in a cause so strongly because that man had done so. He doubted it. But his disappointment with his upbringing had been the fire he’d needed to transform his life, and those of others. Perhaps, just perhaps, the reference to young Adam as a coward who had shamed his own father’s memory had been the similar spark.
He looked deep into Adam’s eyes, listened to the emotions his empathic Energy received. He saw nothing but determination and fearlessness, a belief in a greater good even Will couldn’t see. This man in front of him was, finally, the man he’d meet again in the future.
And that was the man he needed.
Will clasped Adam's hand the two men shook.
“Partners.”
XX
Home
1975 A.D.
“The Assassin does not waste movement when provided with a kill assignment,” Eva said. The Cavern engineering team watched as she sketched a conceptual diagram on the holographic display behind her. “With the assistance of the Hunters he locates his target, with his well-developed empathic push Energy skills lures them somewhere he cannot be seen, and then inflicts the killing wound immediately. Once isolated, we believe that his empathy push turns to a sensation of overwhelming terror, which has the effect of keeping the victim from crying out. The kill stroke is always the same: a straight thrust with a sword no more than two feet in length, directly into the vital organ region of the torso.” She paused. “We do not believe he taunts or tortures his victims while they live, but we do have reason to believe that he may elect to watch them die before he departs the premises.”
Will spoke. “The Assassin does do his victims the… courtesy… of looking them in the eye when he stabs them. He’s a more civilized killer than those from bygone days.”
Eva looked up from the holographic design board, surprised to see that Will had joined their discussion. The labs were large, open rooms inside one of the largest buildings within the Cavern, and the design encouraged mingling and sharing of ideas and insights. The air was chilled, both to cool the ever-growing amount of electronic and computer equipment, and to aid the researchers in staying awake and focused as they worked to solve complex problems. The building possessed a curious combination of odors: soldering guns burning, formaldehyde preserving cells, refrigerant used to chill the blood used to research ambrosia cleansing techniques, and the sweat of researchers frustrated in the pursuit of their goals.
This meeting room boasted one of their more advanced design tools: a holographic screen that allowed researchers to draw concepts, move them a
round, and add three dimensions to their conceptual pictures. It was in high demand, and though everyone enjoyed playing with the technology, all had made a concerted effort to keep time in the design room to a minimum. They’d considered deploying the technology through the research labs, but most of the resident researchers admitted that having a single system of this sort forced them to focus and avoid distractions.
Will looked more closely at the images Eva had been discussing. “That looks like body armor.”
Eva nodded. “That is correct, Will.” She gave a faint smile. “The designs do account for the possibility that cowards like Arthur Lowell choose to bloody their own hands, though we know that has a low likelihood of occurrence.”
Eva and Adam—young Adam, the son—were spending additional time in the Cavern, far more than Will suspected either had ever intended. Though far younger then Eva, Adam was still older than the members of the Alliance. He also had absorbed significant amounts of intelligence and insight about the Aliomenti elites from his father, who’d been part of their inner circle before being confirmed a traitor and killed. Eva had known Arthur even long than Will, since he’d been a very human youth. She’d captured her personal observations on Arthur, as well as the significant intelligence on the Hunters and the Assassin that witnesses and the few survivors were able to provide, to devise defensive technologies designed to increase odds of survival in the event of an attack. Since she'd nearly died in a manner reminiscent of the Assassin’s preferred method of execution, she was well-suited and highly motivated to provide insights and ideas to counter those efforts.
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