FABULA TEMPUS PART-III | PART-IV

PART-III

The soldiers grabbed Bram by his elbow. The lift ascended for some time. And with that familiar jolt, it stopped. It was another floor he was on now. This was another big hall. The only difference was that a large part of the hall was occupied by another smaller room. In front of Bram were Elijah and a few other people in lab coats working on their desks. Bram said,

“Elijah, what is this? What have you brought me here for?”

“All will be revealed, my friend. All will be revealed. Before that, I am going to have to ask you to enter that room,” Elijah said while pointing to the door of the room. The room looked ordinary.

I don’t know what lies inside.

“Elijah, I am not going to listen to anything you say until I understand the purpose of all this.”

Elijah didn’t answer. Bram was pushed inside the room by the soldiers. He stepped inside and heard the creaking sound of a lock twisting. Now he was trapped. He shouted,

“Hey! Hey, let me out! Elijah, get me out of here.”

“Mr. Cape, you will have to stay inside that room. Please do not try to get out as you will only be tiring yourself.”

What is this madness?

Bram did not realize how time passed. There was this strange feeling inside him. He was feeling hotter and hotter. He looked at his hand, it was starting to appear red. The temperature was rising. It was so hot that he felt an itch in his head. He started screaming. He knew it now; it had been hours since he had been in this room. The temperature was 70 degrees Celsius now. He screamed,

“Let me out! You are going to kill me!”

It was as if he was losing his mind. His head started spinning and he was feeling a strange cool in his head; as if his head had been emptied. That was when it caught his eye. Lying in the corner of the room was Gregory. He was staring at Bram like his eyes had been pulled open.

He’s dead.

He did not know for how long he stood looking into the eyes of Gregory. The door opened with a loud noise and Bram was dragged outside. This feeling was even worse. It was like he was being stung on every part of his body. However, he was not unconscious, he knew that. The voice of Elijah started ringing in his ears,

“Wake up, Mr. Cape. Wake up.”

And so, he was up. He was fully in his senses now.

“You wanted to know what this was all about.”

Bram nodded weakly.

“That which you just went through was a test. An integral test.”

“Test for what?”

“Did you ever wonder what all these wars in the past were fought for?”

Bram remained quiet.

“You see, there are two of us. This world is divided between the two of us. And we both have different points of view.”

“Different points of view about what?” Bram shouted.

“This,” Elijah said, holding a shoebox in his hand. Elijah continued,

“You kids, you only have the impression of this thing from what you have seen in movies.”

“What is it?”

“You would not believe what I will tell you. This is a time machine.”

“In a shoebox?” Bram scoffed.

“I cannot emphasize this point enough because it has never been done. Everyone who has ever tried has failed.”

“What happens to them?”

“They disappear. They melt into thin air. Now listen to me, boy.

This machine has been the cause of all the wars that have been fought to date. You see, as I said, there are two sides. Audeo and Arcum. We are Arcum. Ever since this machine has existed; we have had different thoughts about it. Arcum, that is us, has believed that the machine should be destroyed. It should be. This is not part of our natural order. Nature does not allow anyone to alter its decisions. And we agree. Audeo thinks that this machine can be of great use. They think that we should lead perfect lives. And then it gets down to that advice your parents would always have given you. Life is never perfect. Nothing is ever too good. There is always some catch behind it. That is the same with time.

Consider that you go to the past and make some changes that would change your life. Actions have consequences. Whether it be good or bad, the world will not be the same as it was before you traveled to the past.”

“All right, let’s say that I believe you and that in that shoebox is a time machine. What role do I play? What do you want me to do?”

“Travelling in time requires a lot. You have to learn to control yourself. My dead friends here have worked day and night. They have discovered that your body needs to be extremely strong to travel in time. That is probably why none of the others were able to pass this test.”

“You tested on children?” Bram said with disbelief.

“You know the answer to that question, Bram. Many men too have sacrificed their lives for this.”

“For what? What is the task?”

“We want you to go to the past and prevent these wars, once and for all. There is no other possible negative outcome. If you erase the machine from existence from the past, no war would be fought. The world will be restored and with that, the machine itself would not exist. Can you imagine a world like that?”

“Elijah...”

“Bram, imagine. Your father, he could be with you. You will be living together. That happiness. It will return. Not only to you but to the whole world. Please, Bram. You are our only chance. We don’t know when we would find a subject like you. You have to make a choice now. Either you wait ten, fifteen years for another one like you or you would step up yourself. You could be that person.”

Bram’s mind was racing. What this not all that he had ever wanted? A chance to set it all right. Was he not lucky enough that he had that chance to change everything? That was enough to make him say,

“I will do it. Tell me what I have to do next.”

Elijah took a deep breath. He smiled and said,

“There are two more tests. No, don’t worry. They don’t involve torture.”

Bram grinned.

“What is the next test?”

“We first have to make sure that this thing works. As I said, it has never been done before. We will send you to the future.”

 

 

PART-IV

“Like, really send me to the future?” Bram said.

“Yes. That will clear our doubts and also let us have a glimpse into the outcome of all that is to happen.”

“So, shall we begin?”

“First, I am going to have to teach you how to make this machine work.”

Elijah slid open the cover of the shoebox and could now see what was inside the box. There were two blue big circular buttons and one round black figure that looked like a ball attached to the box.

“We call this machine Tempus. That is time in Latin.”

“Sounds like some old 2020 short story. Well, teach me.”

“So, first you have to place your hand around this ball and at the same time, press one of these buttons. The left one is for going to the past and the right one is for the future.”

“Okay. Is that all?”

“That is. As I said, you will be going to the future and you will return to tell us about our situation in the future. Go on then.”

“I do this, like right now?”

“If not now, then when?”

“Okay.”

Bram placed his hand on the ball and wrapped his fingers around it. He closed his eyes and pressed the right button. What followed was a burning feeling. It was like his legs were on fire. He was being dragged down. Everything he was seeing was hazy and blurred. He lost his senses and fell into some deep pit.

He was there. But he didn’t even know what year it was. The surroundings were extremely hot. He was lying on the ground. He stood up and rubbed his eyes. It was real. It was the future. It was certainly not how he had imagined it.

2044 was destroyed, Bram knew that. Wherever you went, fallen bricks and roofs were all that you would see. The place was all rags. And this place was no different. He could see far ahead as no buildings were standing, all fallen.

This is how everything will turn out.

This place was very much like 2044 only with a slight difference that was too big. All around the place, the red liquid was splattered. It was blood, Bram knew that. 2044 was the destruction of all industries. This place was the destruction of human beings. He was looking around with horror when a craft in the air caught his eye. It was a helicopter. It was flying straight.

BOOM!

It exploded. Its parts were flying around. It fell with a booming crash. Bram ran with the Tempus. As soon as he realized that he was clear of any danger, he wrapped his fingers around the ball and thrust his thumb on the left button.

The past. 2044.

And there he was, back in the building. Elijah and the other workers had their eyes fixed on him. Elijah snatched the Tempus from Bram’s hand and gave it to one of the workers.

“I want to know what year that was, Gary. Bram, what did you see? God, you look terrible. You look like you just had a tour of hell. Bram, are you okay?”

“Elijah.”

“Yes?”

“We are doomed.”

Elijah raised his head.

“Sir, that was just two years later,” Gary said quietly.

“So, that is how it is. They will bombard all that we have left just so they can get this stupid machine! What did you see, Bram?” Elijah said loudly.

“Blood. That was all I saw. All around, there was only blood. They are going to destroy us.”

“Okay, I know how crazy this is for you. We cannot just skip our last test in haste. It is the most important one, after all.”

“What is it?”

“What, you want to do it now? Are you sure you don’t want some rest?”

“You don’t understand, Elijah. It’s not about you, this war, or this machine anymore. I know that what I saw was real. And that means everyone will die, including my….” He closed his eyes and continued, “We have to do this now. I can’t just rest after all that. Tell me what I have to do.”

“You have to go to the past and make a change. A change that is neither too minor nor too major.”

“Why do I have to do that?”

“As I’ve said before, this is the first time we are doing this. When you make a change in the past, it will make some effect on the future. This test is necessary because that is what you will be doing to prevent all the past wars. Remember, this is just a test. Don’t change something that will change the world you know forever.”

“I’m ready.”

He did it again and felt that burning feeling in his body again only the pain was a lot less this time. And so, Bram Cape was off to the past now.