PART 9.2
PART 9.2
Sept 1, 2039 (Thursday)
Ophelia stirred, hearing voices in the distance whispering softly. Her head started throbbing as she opened her eyes, noticing immediately that she wasn’t in the communications room. She was inside of a storage closest not far from her bedroom on the moon base.
She tried to sit up but found that she was held in place by lasers that worked as ropes. She tried several minutes to struggle but found they didn’t offer any slack. She laid her head back down on the floor and stared at the door. She heard footsteps approaching, but with the dimmed lights she couldn’t tell who was coming. The doors opened but no one spoke.
Ophelia: Who’s there?
Her response was that of muffled voices. She could tell they were arguing and she strained to listen but couldn’t make out what they were saying. They spoke in a language she’d never heard before, but Ophelia decided to try and communicate with them anyway.
Ophelia: Where’s Rayne? Who are you people? Listen, whoever you are, you must understand the importance of the work I’m doing.
A teenage boy and girl stepped into view. They both nodded and addressed Ophelia.
Daniel: My name is Daniel and this is my sister Willow. I must warn you, what you’re about to see might be a bit shocking. I’ve warned that this meeting could prove disastrous, but it seems my words mean nothing.
Ophelia: Meeting? What do you mean? Where’s Rayne? One of you shot her and she’s badly hurt!
Willow: She is being assisted and will sleep until our mission is done here. Everyone is safe in stasis chambers. They won’t remember a thing. Mother, call us when you’re done.
Willow and Daniel walked away, leaving Ophelia gapped at them. Something didn’t seem right, as if she’d met them before. What confused Ophelia even more were their eyes. They both had light gray eyes, just like hers. The girl was even named after Ophelia’s mother. This entire meeting was freaking Ophelia out. As she tried to calm her nerves, she heard the door open again. This time the person stuck to the shadows, walking around Ophelia.
Ophelia: Who’s there? Please, you need to understand that hindering this project may very well endanger the Earth. I’m sure we can come to a peaceful solution.
Ophelia heard the soft pat of footsteps coming closer. She felt the hairs on her back stand up and she was suddenly overcome with fear. What did this person want? Why did they seem afraid to speak? After a few uncomfortable minutes in silence, the woman finally called for the lights to come on fully. Ophelia looked up and her initial reaction was to vomit. The woman had Ophelia’s face, only she appeared to be older.
Ophelia: Oh God! Who are you?
Drusilla: You could call me Ophelia, but most of my crew calls me by my middle name, Drusilla. I never liked the name too much, but dad always said, “It means ‘strong one’ baby girl. You’re destined to do great things.” I guess he was right but now a days going by Ophelia in public might get me killed.
Look, this might be easier if you were standing. I’m releasing your binds, please don’t try anything. I’m not here to hurt you.
Ophelia felt the lasers disappear and she slowly stood. She didn’t know how long she’d been laying on the floor but her bones creaked as she stretched. She hesitantly stood up and was face-to-face with herself. She believed she was going mad.
Ophelia: I’m gonna be sick, this must be a joke!
Drusilla: Definitely no punch line here. I’m taking a great risk, seeing as how the laws of time travel are pretty exact in all the science novels. However, the fact that the galaxy hasn’t exploded must mean we can safely exist in the same timeline without disaster.
Ophelia: No, this isn’t right. That hair, those tattoos! I’d never do that! And that scar?
Drusilla: Let’s say you’re less of a prude in the future. As for the scar, it’s a battle wound.
Ophelia: Prude? Yeah, this is a joke. And what battle would I even take part in? I just program robots all day long. Surely you know that being me.
Drusilla: Things change. I realize you require proof.
Ophelia: I don’t see how you could prove something like this.
Drusilla: Should it be a disclosure of your deep, dark secrets?
Ophelia felt her anger rising, the entire situation becoming too much for her. As the lights started to flicker on and off, she dared to walk closer to her so-called future self.
Ophelia: I have no dark secrets! You terrorists couldn’t do any better than this?
Drusilla: Really? Did you ever tell anyone about your first year at Strangetown High? You remember how some of the kids would throw things at you, destroy your locker, and call you nasty names for being so smart. Besides losing both parents, that stuff left some deep scars. You didn’t stop crying yourself to sleep until you were twenty-two.
What about the guy in college who had a huge crush on you named Aldric Davis. You had the audacity to use him to try and make Johnny jealous. When he caught on, he dumped you and started dating your friend, Bree. Did you ever tell either of them that you were the one that programmed that little robot to destroy their wedding flowers? Looking back, it was one of the meanest things we’ve ever done, wouldn’t you agree?
Drusilla continued.
Drusilla: Ooh, here’s a good one. What about when you contemplated suicide after Johnny officially broke it off? It was the left wrist that received the first deep cuts that changed your mind. The spot still tingles lightly when you get angry. Matter-of-fact there are a few other cuts that came from other moments when life just wasn’t being “fair.” Am I getting warm now or do I now need to identify the location of all of those embarrassing moles?
Ophelia felt the sting of tears. The truth hurt, despite how many times she plastered a smile on her face to mask her inner pain and turmoil. These were feelings she never shared with anyone. With her secrets laid bare before her, she couldn’t deny it any longer.
Ophelia: I can’t believe it. Did I really master time travel?
Drusilla: Yes, I…well we did. The government has established very strict protocols on time travel but it is widely used in my time period. However, this visit is a result of dire times.
Ophelia: What’s happening that you had to destroy the base?
Drusilla: Our blasts can be easily repaired. Your work here means nothing to the wider scope of things to come. In the future…
Ophelia: Should you be telling me this? Altering the past may ...
Drusilla: My son has given me the same lecture. I’ve already altered your timeline with the first power outage.
Ophelia: What! That was you! Why?
Drusilla: Listen, the new line of robots you created on Earth will prove to be dangerous within the next year. When humans leave the planet, your robots will make repairs as planned, but they will also be evolving. Life will never be the same when humans return. They too are capable of time travel and I have reason to believe they are altering the timelines as we speak.
Ophelia: First the virus and now this.
Drusilla: Virus?
Ophelia decided to trust Drusilla and described the events of the past year. She mentioned the strange virus that plagued aliens and even the meeting she had with the others of Strangetown.
Drusilla: Something already has set in motion changes to your timeline. For a show of faith between us, my team and I will repair the damage we’ve done and help restore all the robots to finish their work. I just need you to promise that you will destroy those robots when you get back home.
Ophelia: : I can’t make that promise just yet. Essentially the goal is for them to become more like us. You can’t just tell me destroy them. You said things are different, how do you know the same thing won’t happen again?
Drusilla: I can’t be sure, but I have to try. People in your time won’t have to die if we do things right this time around. Let’s get you cleaned up and some hot food to eat. We’ll let you communicate with the space station and Earth so they won’t become suspicious. When you’re ready, I’ll tell you the full story. I promise and I always keep my word.
Ophelia: That you do.
Ophelia followed walked down the hall with Drusilla in hopes that the next few weeks would really lead to a brighter future for Earth.
Part 9.3