Gauntlet

Free Peoples

Round of 16  - Smackdown: The Second Coming  by Ooorah
(Prompt: alternate history feat. Sitting Bull, approx. 1,700 words)

July 1910 – Downtown Honolulu, Kingdom of Hawaii

Blessing Chiedozie wandered through Kamehameha Square. As a Prime Tempus-Keeper, she had been to this city in many different iterations (or "timelines" in the vernacular). This one was nothing like she had ever seen before.

The Great Exposition marked one hundred years since the Kingdom of Hawaii was unified. The air was a heady mix of barbecue smoke and ocean breeze. The joyous chords of a freedom ballad tinkled from a nearby ukulele. Artisans peddled their hand-crafted wares, their goods protected from the Pacific heat by tipi-like structures. Near the edge of the plaza, a group of Puerto Rican migrant laborers haggled with would-be employers, ready to embark on new lives, away from the hurricanes and unrest.

Chiedozie marveled at the Free Peoples' Hall. The elegant facade had petite colonnades and wide verandas. Once she was done gawking, she finally noticed the rendezvous point. A massive Lakota star quilt hung like a banner above the main entrance, seemingly incongruous amid the Tropical Renaissance architecture. Just below it was her wayward agent, Meme Ramirez.

Chiedozie didn't mince words. "You've been living in a rogue timeline for over six months," she said. "Surely you must know how many Council by-laws you're violating."

"Hey, don't get your bloomers in a twist, Commander," he said. "The universe is still here, isn't it? As far as I'm concerned, that means I'm getting my job done."

"I demand to know the meaning of this!" she insisted. "The robes at the Chronorium might overlook a stunt like this, but damned if I'm about to let one of my Keepers..."

"Relax, will you! I've been monitoring the readings," he said. "Quantum state is meta-stable. Eigenstasis levels are normal. This reality is in temporal equilibrium for at least another decade or so."

"Well, I suppose you must have a reason for loitering in this iteration for so long," she said.

"Come this way and I'll show you," said Ramirez. He led Chiedozie past the foyer, into the heart of the Free Peoples' Hall.

Crowds looked on in rapt awe at the moving images projected on the walls. The Kingdom had commissioned the Lumiere Brothers to create these animated tableaux, memorializing the events of the last two decades.

December 1890 – Standing Rock Agency, North Dakota

The mysterious stranger requested an audience with Sitting Bull at his house on the reservation. He introduced himself as Builds Many Paths, claiming to be an informant from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The holy man recognized this as a lie. Regardless, his gut instincts led him to otherwise trust this outsider. He agreed to meet – but only under the watchful eyes of armed Hunkpapa warriors. That was how Builds Many Paths came to warn Sitting Bull about his doom.

He advised the clan that the Indian Agent's troops would come the next day; to arrest Sitting Bull for his involvement in the brewing Ghost Dancer uprising. Any resistance would mean death for their leader. It would then start a chain of events, ending in the massacre of hundreds of Lakota women and children at Wounded Knee Creek, mere weeks later.

If the Hunkpapa's sacrifice could save the greater Lakota tribe, then so it would come to be. Sitting Bull ordered his band to stand down and surrender to the U.S. Government once more.