The Kiss that Tore the World Apart (Permanently On Hold)

Chapter 10

John continued to stare at Dr. Langston. He seemed to be formulating a response to John's question.

"I can't say for sure how you ended up here, in your future. Not scientifically at least. I have a couple of questions to ask you before I can even begin to explain anything to you. First of all, what is your name? I feel rather rude talking to you without knowing."

"It's John Strur."

"Would I be correct in assuming you were adopted, John?"

"Sort of. My parents found me when I was two wandering around in the woods, while they were on a camping trip. At least, that's what they said. Nobody claimed me as a missing child, so they adopted me."

"Is your parent's last name Strur as well?"

"No. It's Holst."

"I thought so. I have one more question then. Did you ever learn, in any of your classes, how the cities came to be?"

"Only that they were originally designed on the old Earth, which some sort of disaster happened to, forcing people to abandon the planet and come here. The designs were already embedded in the starships' servers, but there was absolutely no other information left behind about the old Earth or who designed the cities in the first place. But I guess they did leave those records behind that I saw..."

"No, they didn't. Those records were made in this lab and, if I'm correct, directly responsible for you being here."

"How?"

"We opened a window through time. You see, we were very curious about the circumstances surrounding humanity's flight from our home planet. We wanted to know our ancestors left their home planet, why they designed the cities, and who designed them in the first place. So we worked for years developing the proper technology for looking into the past of a planet lightyears away."

"We discovered a planet that was rapidly deteriorating due to overuse of natural resources, pollution, and overpopulation. So it was decided by the leaders of the old Earth to find another planet where people could start completely from scratch, living in cities designed to minimize pollution, with much more environmentally friendly technology. There were two people responsible for the main bulk of the vision. One of those was a young man by the name of John Strur."

John's eyes widened in shock. "I was responsible for building the cities?"

"You would have been, had we not had a little accident in the lab the day we opened the first window. We didn't think much of it at the time, considering that nothing happened in the lab. But somehow that brought you from the past instead of mearly viewing it. But yes, the man you would have become if you had stayed was resposible for building the cities."

"But I've never been interested in anything like science or arcitecture. And I've never been called a genius. How could that have been me?"

"It's simply a case of nature vs. nurture. I would guess that the old John, as we should call him, probably had more pressure on him to achieve and also grew up in a world where preservation of humanity was a large issue, so he would have taken more of an interest in science. I would also guess that well you might not consider yourself a genius, you've never had to work very hard at your school work to achieve what you might call average results."

I've never thought of it that way before. I guess I always thought that I put in an average amount of work, but I guess that got me farther than some? John voiced his next question, "so me being in the future is what's causing reality to tear itself apart?"

"A more correct answer would be your absence from the past is what's causing the holes to appear. And they did not appear until now because you had not done anything major in the past that contributed to this future up until you were around this age. May I ask what you were doing when the first hole appeared?"

John blushed severely. "That's personal."

Dr. Langston gave him a stern look. "I ask because it is very relevant to your current situation."

"I was having my first kiss," he sighed

"So it would not be unreasonable to assume that in the past your first love contributed to your desicion to build the cities."

The statement sparked John's memory for a second. His eyes went wide.

"What is it?" inquired Dr. Langstion.

"I had a dream just the other day of a girl my age that I had never seen before. Maybe that was her."

"Interesting. But first, can you describe what you were doing during the rest of the events?"

"The second time I was filling out my class application sheet for next year."

"And what," interjected the scientist, "were your major descisions then?"

"I planning on what courses I would take so I could major in history or english in college. Which is probably totally different from what the old John would have picked, I get it." John rushed before Dr. Langston could provide analysis again. "After that I was shopping with Lyna in the second ring. I don't think that one had anything to with major life descisions..."

"And then there was a gap until the carnival incident, yes?"

"No. They started appearing once a day after that. I think maybe the first two started the chain. After the thrid one I figure that the holes must be connected to me, so I started going on runs in the morning and after school in deserted areas so that no one else would get hurt. I thought I was safe at the carnival because the hole appeared early in the morning. I was about to kiss Lyna again in the t-tunnel of l-love," he stuttered, " and for the first time, a second hole appeared. And now she's gone and it's all my fault!"

Dr. Langston continued his questioning, knowing that John did not wish to be coddled at the moment, even if he couldn't have known what would happen. "Have you had any more days with two holes appearing since?"

"No," John lifted his head out of his hands, "after that I went to the library and found your name loosely connected to my search about space-time, and that you used to work here. Since this facility was reported as abandoned, I figured I could at least look around for some clues. I had no idea this was still running."

"It became a top secret facility after our successful attempt at opening a window through time. Even though it wasn't really in use after that, some people wanted to keep it a secret what we had accomplished because of its ramifications. So they officially list the site as abandoned, while in reality it was kept under guard. And it was a good thing too, since this is probably the only place ever close to equipped to study this dillemma."

I had no idea stuff like this could even happen. I found answers, but now I have more questions. He laughed.

"What's funny?"

"One of the questions I wanted answers to was 'why me?' Well now I know exactly why me. Turns out it was all about me."

"If it helps, you could consider us just as responsible as you feel you are in the death of your friend. It was my team who brought you here in the first place. And it appears I must find a way to send you back."

"Send me back?" Do I want to go back?

"The way I see it, this reality, timeline, whatever you want to call it, is doomed. Due to our mistakesto in the present, which should be your future, you are here. This means that our past never happened. And since you've been living here for the past twelve years or so, this timeline will always have that mistake. If we manage to send you back, events will happen differently. This universe will be overwritten with what happens instead. But if we do send you back, you will have a chance to make sure that none of this ever happens. You will be the only person who will know what might have been, but there is a good chance Lyna, you said her name was, will be alive. And since no matter what I do, I'm doomed, I'd rather believe that I had a hand in making a better future in another reality. But one thing is constant, if you don't go back, you will eventually perish along with the rest of this universe."

John sat, processing what Dr. Langston had told him. He finally came up with an answer. "How?"

"I don't know, but I think that girl you said you saw in your dream might be a key."