Aim Shorts

The Fallen Future Present

"So why not just go to the past?"

Moshe, the burly ex-military security assigned to the expedition was the only non-scientist in the group. I explained, "You understand the risks of irreparably damaging past timelines?" He nodded. "Well, that's not the real reason. Time travel is not just temporal, but it is also positional." He looked more confused than ever. "Consider if we went back just one week. The Earth would be in a different place since it revolves around the sun. We would reappear in the middle of space."

He grimaced. "Not good..."

"With the temporal beacon..." I pointed to the shiny cylinder in the middle of this sealed cavern. "We have a position reference point for the future and the present, but not the past."

That seemed to satisfy his curiosity. I turned to the other three in the expedition. "Buckle up, boys and girls, it is time to make history! Or future... Whatever."

This was the first voyage of the Timeship Chronos, a gleaming white container that looked more like a giant flattened soccer ball than any kind of ship. My gut tingled with the significance of it all.

The future wasn't what it was supposed to be. In twenty-five years, society had collapsed into a bleak dystopia. The city above our beacon laid in twisted smoldering ruins. What was left of humanity was enslaved by some sort of reptilian alien race. From our hidden vantage point, it appeared the aliens had some sort of device that exerted control over men, sometimes quite painfully.

We gathered back on the ship. After moments of tense silence, I asked the question on everyone's mind. "What do we do?"

"We have to go back and give warning. Perhaps this future may be prevented."

Simon, a physicist, shook his head. "With our presence, the timeline now may be fixed and unpreventable."

Anne, our engineer, jumped up. "We don't know that!"

Moshe lifted his head. "We must stay. It is our duty to fight for these people."

All eyes turned to me. I took a deep breath. "This is bigger than any of us. We will do both options. Moshe, you and I will stay behind. Anne, you and the other two will return. Any disagreements?"

Nobody spoke up.

Moshe and I gazed mournfully at the spot where the Timeship once rested. We swung around as a thin woman with tattered clothing emerged through the door to the surface.

My eyes widened. "Anne, it that you?"

It was Anne, but decades older.

She handed me a small notebook. "I don't have much time 'till I am found missing. This is information on the implants that control us. Deactivate them and we may rise up against the Scath."

"What happened?"

She cast her eyes down. "We failed. The Scath detected our defensive preparations and launched a preemptive invasion. We had no chance."

Anne screamed in pain and collapsed to her knees, clutching at her neck. "Go! You are our last hope."