In a purple flash, Riojme and Jake were standing in the empty white room looking at a familiar face. It wasn’t Ming or Jang, it was the aged Zach Yessler, the Aye’s human representation. Clearly Riojme recognized it also. She looked scared. It began to speak:
“Riojme, you’ve completed your mission and as I promised, you will be reunited with your parents. They are here in this building with your brother. They will explain to you where they have been and why. I appreciated how well you did on your mission. Jang taught you well and you demonstrated great courage. The human race is in great peril and I would like to make you an Agent to help protect it. Will you accept this assignment?”
“Will you ensure that my family is well taken care of, including my adoptive parents? What about my animals and the old people?”
“You are aware that I can transport you through time as well as space. When you are done with your next mission, no one will even be aware that you left unless you want them to be.”
“I agree then. Putting my species ahead of myself is not just a virtue of the Yellow Emperor. I am willing to do the same.” Jake wasn’t thrilled. How would this impact their relationship?
“An Attendant will take you to your parents after you decompress. Jake, stay here.”
An attendant did enter the room and lead Riojme out; apparently, more than just the room contained a mock Replini atmosphere. Jake was now alone with the Aye and it began to speak again:
“I know from your expression and from the headband that you feel guilty about what happened back there. You shouldn’t. I discovered Replin more than 50 years ago. When I found it, all land-based life had been extinct for 50,000 years. I sent you all back in time to the twilight and pinnacle of their civilization. Whether you had been there or not, all the people that you feel like you killed would have died just a few years later.”
It was surprising news. It never had occurred to Jake that time travel and space travel could be combined. Jake expressed his dismay at the outcome: “That’s horrible! All of them died?”
“I sent probes back to monitor it. The Red Emperor took over the remnants of the Black Kingdom and discovered the secrets to making antimatter bombs. At the same time, the Yellow Emperor also figured it out. A few years later the Red Emperor tried to take over the Yellow Kingdom by detonating an antimatter bomb in the Yellow Kingdom capital. The leftover Yellow Kingdom military retaliated and all the antimatter bombs were detonated bringing a severe centuries-long global ice age and ending land-based life.”
“You’re wondering why I sent you back to such futile circumstances. The reason is that you needed training. I sent Ming back to you in the 21st century to sabotage your job to provide you with motivation. You were never in real danger. Ming crashed the plane intentionally, as you suspected and faked his injuries. The trek through the wilderness was to improve your physical fitness. I also wanted to know how you would cope with difficulties and to see how you would respond to those in need. Your thinking was so culturally confined to the 21st century United States. The Canadian natives and the Replini were intended to expand your horizons. The Replini experience was also intended to get you used to strategic and political thinking. In all cases, you exceeded my expectations. Your linguistic gifts are truly remarkable. I never would have expected a human to be able to master a non-human language.”
“I chose you because you had remarkable potential but you weren’t the only one chosen. Initially, I sent back a hundred orbs to a hundred people. When most of them figured out how to use the orb, they tried to abuse it for personal gain. Of course, I stopped them and took the orb back. Others refused to use the orb at all because they viewed it as too dangerous and eventually I took their orbs back as well. Only you used the orb unselfishly in spite of your perception of the potential dangers. But you needed training and now you have it.”
Jake was puzzled. “Why did I need training? Things were going well enough in my life. I would have been long dead before the war at the beginning of the 22nd century. I would have been ok.”
“I need your intelligence and resourcefulness for a special mission. I had expected that once I had conquered the world, the threat of human extinction would have ended. I and the human race are together faced with the prospect of annihilation. I want you to become an Agent and work with Riojme to save us all. I know you don’t agree with my methods and you wish that humans could again be free. I hoped that your experience with the Replini would convince you that I was necessary for human survival but it’s clear that you need more time to think about that. Everything depends on your unselfishness concern for the welfare of posterity. When this threat is over, I will let you and Riojme live whenever and wherever you would like. Will you join me?”
“I think you are a heartless, soulless butcher and I would give my life to help humanity overthrow you. Working for you is offensive to me, but I can see some benefits of what you've accomplished. To save humanity, yes, I am willing to do whatever it takes.” Jake had no idea what he was getting himself into.
