The Time Stone, Third Edition (Extended Version)

“What the hell did we step into?” asks Tina. The scorpion car hovered above the terrain and lowered it to the small children, the lights of the undercarriage began to glow in white and yellow pulses as the vehicle touched base on the soft grass with a light sound as its occupant’s look around as they were being approached by the small army of small children before them. Drax pressed a button on the console of the vehicle and the vehicle transformed back to its original form. The five wanderers exit the vehicle and looks at the small children approaching. Many of them crawling in the mud and dirt were too young to walk. Their faces were ashen and dirt-filled. There is laughter, snickering, and the sound of babies crying coming from all over for miles around.

“I feel bad for them,” says Tina, “they’re just kids.”

“Where are we?” asks Mercedes.

“You are in the land of the forbidden,” says a voice, as they turn their attention to a young, fair-haired tan boy who looks older than the others, but young still, about thirteen years old, “Did you come from God?” He asks.

“What?” James asks.

“You rode down from heaven” says the boy.

“Oh yeah, that is what we call a car. You’ve never seen one?” asks Drax.

“Not one that flies” whispered James.

Drax turn to him with a noxious look then turns back to the boy with a warm smile. “We are travelers,” says Drax.

“I am Jose Elcamion” he says trying to emulate a deeper more adult sounding voice. The foursome introduced themselves, along with Captain Cutlass.

“Ye are nothing but a lad.” says Cutlass pointing. Jose ignores him and looks at the others one at time admiring their clothing and gear. He turns his head still and mechanical then looks at Tina and smiles.

“You are pretty. I have never has a girlfriend before.”

“Uh thanks, but you’re kind of young for me, kid.” Tina replies with an awkward silence.

“Where are all the adults? Your parents?” asks Drax stepping forward breaking the silence.

“They are gone.” Jose replies with a still face.

“Gone where?” asks James.

“Gone.” repeated Jose and his eyes appeared cold and lifeless. “Come,” he turns and starts walking in the direction that he came. Curious, the five wanderers follow the young adolescent on foot across the terrain. They were led across the grasses and several thousand children stretched out in the fields from as young as newborn infants to adolescents approaching majority. Several of the older kids were huddled in groups talking and whispering while keeping their distance and carefully eyeing the strange people who appeared to arrive from the sky. They were dressed in ragged clothes covered in ash, mud, and dirt. Some of the older female adolescents were running around and trying to cater to the infants lying helplessly in the field crying.

“Something bad happened here” says Tina as they walk with Jose. There is no sign of anyone over the apparent ages of late adolescence except for the five wanderers looking around in complete confusion. “Amazing” says Tina “a land of nothing, but children… some kind of Peter Pan or Lord of the Flies nightmare.”

“That’s biologically impossible” says Drax looking up. “Something bad did happen here.” Then Drax looks up and pointed to a large metal obelisk in the distance as they were suddenly approaching a clearing. “Look.”

“What is that?” asks James. Jose stops and turns standing on an isolated patch of dirt in the middle of the clearing. The five stand around him as they approached. “Why are we stopping here?” asks James. Jose smiles and within seconds a flash of white light engulfed them all and surrounded them for a moment as if in a container of hot white energy. Then when the light faded, they found themselves not in the clearing, but inside a structure with metallic walls and tall pillars spiraling upward throughout the interior of the structure as it twirled up into a central apex that climbed further to a point. The base was a large well with several banisters and stairs. Machinery and computer consoles adorned the various sides and components lighting up with life and colors all of a sudden as if a sleeping giant awakened from an eternal nap.

“What be this madness?” asks Cutlass scrambling about.

“Relax Captain” says James “we were transported. It happened to us before sort of like a movement in space and time.”

“More like just space though we continue along the natural progression of time. Anyone capable of making a conveyer of light and energy like that surely has to be advanced” says Drax.

“We might be dealing with the Pregivers again” says Mercedes.

“Who are they anyhow?” asks James. “We keep coming across references of this ancient group of space farers, but no concrete proof of these ‘stone builders.’”

“The devil is in the details” says Drax “we know they invented the time stone. They must have invented this beam spot technology as well.”

“Beam spot technology?” asks Mercedes curiously.

“What else would we call it?” James asks rhetorically.

“So where the hell are we now?” asks Tina.

“In the other side, we have only been here and back. I never understand this. The others are afraid to come here” says Jose. “The lights come on and go out, that’s it.” They walk along the narrow confines of a corridor curving and arching in various directions with a series of loops and swirls, the mechanisms around them rotating in synchronistic formation like clockwork.

“I’m getting dizzy” says Mercedes. They walks into a vestibule and emerged out of another room with plain white walls and a large screen on one end connected to a monitoring station with keys and diodes ready to be struck as they lit up when they approached.

“What the heck?” James asks.

“Good morning!” Says a woman’s voice echoing from the computer as an image appeared before them, fizzing and whirling, she has deep blue eyes and short red hair and wore a white shirt and slacks, her form see through and holographic.

“What is this?” asks Tina rhetorically.

“It’s a holographic projection” responds Drax “a form made of energy and proton accelerators” he put his hand through her face.

“She’s beautiful” says James mesmerized.

“It’s not a real person” says Drax looking at James’ eyes goggling. “Though it could have been at one point, what is your purpose here?” asks Drax trying to communicate.

“I am the complete central repository of the Union Core Network Bibliotheca, codename Celia.”

“What do you figure that is?” Tina asks.

“Bibliotheca means library” says Mercedes.

“Yes” says Drax.

“I am versed with over one trillion mega quads of information relating to the historical literature of various cultures and groups. The Union Core Network is the history of the greatest civilization of all time. For example, my list of databases contains the legendary feats of heroic individuals or the dates and times of historic events, and science and mathematics are all programmed into this installation. Just ask me anything.” She shrugged.

“Why is the sky blue?” asks Tina jokingly.

The woman responds in a serious monotone “The light from the Sun looks white. but it is really made up of all the colors of the rainbow. When white light shines through a prism, the light is separated into all its colors. Like energy passing through the ocean, light energy travels in waves, too. Some light travels in short, “choppy” waves. Sunlight reaches Earth’s atmosphere and is scattered in all directions by all the gases and particles in the air. Blue light is scattered in all directions by the tiny molecules of air in Earth’s atmosphere. Blue is scattered more than other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we see a blue sky most of the time.”

Jose’s eyes lit up in joy at the site of the marvel before him. He remained speechless.

“Okay” Tina replies.

“That was a waste of a question” says Mercedes sarcastically.

“I don’t think there is a waste” says Drax.

“We could ask anything” says Tina curiously.

“Anything about the beasts, the time stone, etcetera.” Tina continues.

“The beasts: omnivorous beings of mammalian, reptilian, and arboreal form. Various cultures vilified same as creatures of power and chaos while attributing them divine powers and signs of deism.” She continues in a monotone form. “Many beliefs span cultures across the globe indicating the presence of magna intelligence amongst many of the beasts of old lore and belief in superior qualities.”

“OK” says Tina, “enough… just tell us about the time stone for real!”

“The time stone for real…” says Celia.

Tina rolled her eyes.

“The legendary relic of countless stories and beliefs reduced itself to the existence of a myth. The belief that a powerful union of beings known as the Pregivers created a relic of immense ability and power, not just the ability to harness energy in space, but also time. The story continues that the relic is coveted by forces of light and darkness. It is also known as the ’eye of the Gods” in ancient Egyptian mythology. As a result of many struggles and a mysterious group stole it, the device was taken away and buried. It would later be discovered by the scientist Howard Kowalski and used by the great hero Jack Smack, Detective extraordinaire.”

“That’s it?” asks Tina angrily.

“There is nothing more on this subject” says Celia.

“What is the Union Core Network?” asks Drax.

“The Union Core Network is an alliance of 74 nations that joined under one banner and one charter in the year 2032 C.E. and created the first self-sustaining interplanetary biosphere. Men, beasts, and dozens of extraterrestrial worlds allied under a single banner became a force to be reckoned with in only a short number of years, but ultimately ceased to exist. The UCN met its demise on Friday, October 13, 2055 C.E. when a sudden detonation in the central headquarters causes a 150 megaton thermonuclear device to explode.”

“The vision I had” says James under his breath. Drax and the others turn to him.

“That’s what started this whole thing… the great conflict. Celia, what is the great conflict?” asks Drax.

“In the beginning there is chaos when the gangs and sects of the countries of the old world order were at constant odds with each other.” She speaks in a hoarse and melancholy demeanor as the air seemed to permeate in darkness around them.

“I am happy to find this writing” says Jose.

“There were times of great tribulation where death, war, famine, and anarchy reigned supreme. The UCN is the answer and the cure for a peaceful and tolerant society, but it did not last long. The central headquarters were destroyed by a large-scale nuclear weapon. After that there is violence again and the elites maintained control in the central citadels of the various nation states and cities while those on the outside fended for themselves and were sought out in hordes to be slaughtered if they posed any risk. The lord of the elites is rumored to be a beast from another world, but it is only conjecture.” “This philosophy and ideology be wild indeed” says Cutlass turning about.

“Who caused the explosion?” asks James.

“That information is not available” says Celia. Celia’s eyes widened as the holographic form she embodied fizzled slightly.

“You are the one.” She says looking at James.

“Excuse me” he replies.

“Your face and form are programmed in this archive as a memory recall component. The original progenitor of this program is especially interested in you, James Timewalker the holder of stones. Every few millennia, one arises claiming to be the champion gifted one, but only one is the true one. Born of amazing powers and an innate sense of justice in its pure form, the holder is historically descended from the Pregivers might and destined to once again rejoin with them at the hour of this world’s most dire needs.”

“You were saying James is some kind of chosen one?” asks Tina.

“He is some kind of emissary for the Pregivers” says Drax.

“That explains his powers and his curiosity” says Mercedes.

“There is more to James Timewalker, the holder of stones. The person emulated by this form held a more profound reaction, one of love, a message of peace and tranquility” says Celia.

“What does that mean?” asks James.

“I am sure we might find out” says Drax.

“So much she wanted her form to be remembered so one day you should find it” says Celia. “She loved you.”

“Really?” asks James rhetorically. He approached and touched the holographic face of a woman he never met, but apparently touched in some form. “All things are possible in time.” He muttered as his hand passed through her holographic form. For a brief moment he thought of nothing, but pleasant things as his mind and consciousness inverted inside and formed a vision of castles and open fields, artisan tapestries adorning a gilded and ruby red throne room inside, a beautiful woman resembling the holographic image before him walking in the garden, a small baby nearby, several monuments devoted to the ‘hero of time’. “Oh wow” he says to the dismay of his colleagues. He felt joy, peace, serenity, and love. Then suddenly the room lit up with a bright red strobe and a loud siren began to flood the room.

“Alright” yells the hoarse-voiced pirate Cutlass “the blasted noise be damning.”

“Where is it coming from?” asks Tina.

They all covered their ears from the loud sound. Celia vanished into the archives where she originated. A doorway slid upward making a loud sound. Drax led the way into the arched entry.

“Come on.” The six ran into the entry the door sealing tightly behind them. They stand in silence and darkness.

“Intruder alert “yells an automaton voice breaking the silence. A pair of red eyes emerged from the darkness and suddenly the lights came on in a room of almost identical design to the last, but slightly larger with more equipment and computer consoles scattered about.

“What is that?” Yells James as the form of a large robotic-being emerged, about seven feet tall with a thin cylindrical head and torso, thin flanking arms and legs and giant feet stomping the metal boards on the ground with each step. The cylindrical head has two bulbs like projectiles sticking out of both sides and bright large eyes covering almost the entire head with small slits where a nose and mouth would be.

The face lit up with a yellow glow as it appeared to speak “intruder alert, intruder alert.” It walks forward with a lurching stride as it moved its limbs in various forms. Drax moved back with his arms out over the others holding his elfin glove on his right hand. Cutlass drew his sword. James waved his hands and tried to push it back.

“What the hell is that?” asks Tina.

“Artificial beings, Androids” says Drax.

“An Android!” yells James shocked waving his hands at the immense creation. “My powers won’t work. There must be some life components to that thing.” He says.

“I will strike it” says Cutlass moving towards it with his sword and striking it in the shoulder causing an electrical surge to flow along the weapon striking Cutlass. “Great” he uttered sarcastically as he fell back, dropping his sword which fell to the ground. Drax fired his elfin glove, but an orange shielding protected the robot and the energy from the glove dissipated into the fizzling orange energy surrounding the robot.

“We should get out of here “yells Tina.

“Don’t have to tell me twice” says Mercedes. The six ran back towards the door, but realizes they were without egress.

“We’re trapped” says Tina.

“Like rats” James adds. The robot continues forward when suddenly a large form emerged from the back and ran towards the robot tackling it to the floor. The six stand in shock. They see another robot similar in design to the one that threatened them fighting with its counterpart in a twirling battle as their energy shields of bright orange light lit up with each blow to one another. The two wrestled with one another on the ground until the victor prevailed as one struck a heavy blow with its limp right arm growing to a large fist with a swirl of a mechanical attachment and dropping it and striking the other in the eyes causing its lights to fade. The victorious robot stands and faced the five wanderers. They stand on guard not knowing what to expect.

“Greetings” says the robot with an illuminatingly positive stance. “I am Robotic Omicron Base Protector Number 345,561. Welcome to the Base!” The response of the wanderers to the sudden warm welcome is pleasing and they stand more at ease as they approached.

“What is that?” asks Tina.

“There is a security precaution designed to protect this perimeter. Some are more gung ho than others.” He says in a humorous tone. “What brings you here?”

“I brought them from the main world below” says Jose.

“That is not possible because the bridge has been sealed for many centuries” replies ROBP 345,561.

“There must have been an opening” says Drax.

“Intriguing, the odds of there being a simultaneous leak in the energy bridge between this installation and the main world below are astronomically complex in calculation.”

“We are looking for something referred to as the ‘dark star’” says James.

“Yeah” adds Mercedes “it is supposed to be some kind of weapon capable of neutralizing certain forms of energy.

“That reference is unknown to me, but there is a power that may qualify. Celia access historical legend database for pre-great conflict era weapon Project Zeus!”

“Accessing …” says Celia as her voice emanated from the entire structure as if omnipresent. “Project Zeus… the theoretical surmising and creation of an antimatter energy weapon of mass destruction that is built with the hopes that it would never have to be used by a team of specially sanctioned UCN engineers and scientists led by the scientist Howard Kowalski whose theories that an advanced race of aliens called the Pregivers found a way to turn energy into solid form and vice versa in the space-time continuum grid. The device disbelieved to be the most powerful weapon ever existing and only exists on the operation of waves of energy that permeate all reality. The weapon is theorized to transmute this energy to overcome any barrier or form whether energy based or corporeal. Nothing can withstand it.”

“Wow” says Tina “a true doomsday machine!”

“The weapon is built by funds funneled for an experiment by a shadowy conspiracy controlling the world’s economic and political arenas from behind the scenes” Celia continues.

Drax’s eyebrows rose.

“They were known as the machination rumored to exist, but no evidence of their existence is conclusively found to exist. This is only a dramatization of theoretical and legendary events and not fact.” Celia says.

“Well,” says Drax humbly, “we know this is mostly true.”

“Yes you’re former comrades may be responsible for all this as you previously surmised,” adds James.

“There is an experiment. And a slip in the surgery of the practical realization of things” says Drax.

“What went wrong?” asks Mercedes.

“It was a temporal shift within two universes happened and intelligent and sophisticated beasts, both good and evil, were allowed to cross over and escape into our universe in all of time” says Drax.

“That is what is responsible for all the stuff we saw?” asks Tina.

“Strong possibility” intimated Drax.

“I don’t understand… beasts, other universes” says Cutlass.

“There are stranger things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophies” says the ROBP.

“Shakespeare” says Jose smiling.

“Impressive” says Mercedes.

“This is interesting” says Drax looking at the metal wall and etched writing similar to that on the caves they saw prior. “This is similar to the Pregivers’ writing. It seems this is their base of operations or ship. It says ‘the home of the distant travelers, quest for truth, wisdom, and justice. It’s about a group called the Garnicones. The Garnicones were a proud race from a star system that destroyed itself.’ This is kind of like a storybook. ‘The Garnicones were seeking a companion race to carry on their legacy. They searched the galaxy far and wide. They landed on a small isolated and uninhabited system, Tierra.’”

“Tierra means Earth” says Tina.

“So the Pregivers or sky watchers of legend are these Garnicones” says Mercedes. “What happened to them?”

“The text is unclear, but it finishes…’death from above… history and destiny… future is forsaken’” says Drax.

“Some type of weapon” says James.

“A time paradox” says Tina.

“Where is this weapon supposed to be?” asks James.

“I do not have that information. There is reference to a Great Weapon, but there is no location data in my system” says the ROBP.

“Then we are back to square one” says Drax.

“Whoa” James jumped back as he felt a sharp feeling in his head.

“What is it?” asks Tina.

“It’s another spike like I felt in the desert. Another vision coming…” he held his head in pure agonizing pain as he fell to the floor. Drax and Mercedes leaned downward to help him. “I see…” says James as his mind’s eye formed a starry sky and under it a metal domed shape obelisk similar to the one they were in. The structure lifted itself off of the ground and into the night sky like a rocket ship, but hovering on an empty sheet of clear air particles. He then saw an image of the interior and two men in a room similar to the one they stand in exchanging handshakes over a box the size of a watermelon with cryptic writing etched on it. The box has an image of two hands embraced in a handshake like symbol with arches and whirls. “Whoa” he snapped out of it and explained what he saw to his comrades.

“That is quite interesting” says the ROBP as he chuckled with an emotional laugh. “There is something that fits that resemblance based on the marking you described.” He points them to a small door under one of the consoles near where he stands.

“Blessed be” says Cutlass. ROBP pressed a, button and the small door opens revealing a small compartment that partially extended to the ground they stand on. They are shocked to see a box similar to the one James described in his vision. Drax leaned in and tried to lift it, but it is too heavy. James and the others helped, but it would not budge.

“What’s it made out of, super iron?” asks Tina.

“I can do it” says ROBP as he reached his frail looking limbs into the floor and pulls out the box lifting it up and walking it over to them and holding it level with no effort at all.

“You are strong there” says James.

“Thanks, I work out.” says ROBP jokingly. James opens the box by lifting the lid upward. They felt a strong energy attract to them.

“It feels tingly all over” says Mercedes.

“I don’t get it… it feels warm” says Tina.

“Tis like a sun ray on the eve of summer’s day” says Cutlass.

“It’s joyous” says Jose.

“It’s marvelous” says Drax.

“Quite a deep dark feeling” says James.

“I don’t feel anything” says ROBP. The interior of the box is glowing white and spiking large amounts of light energy. James reached in and pulls out an item that filled the room with light, nearly blinding them all as they shielded their eyes. The light soon faded and they saw James holding a twirled rod shaped item, black, curved on either end in opposite directions, and pointed with sharp ends.

“Is this the dark star?” asks Tina curiously.

“It’s about time!” says Mercedes.

“We got it” says Drax.

“I guess these Pregivers have more than one type of artifact,” says Mercedes.

“This is their spaceship…we couldn’t even begin to imagine how it functions” says James. There was a suddenly lost presence in the room.

“Where is Jose?” asks Mercedes looking around.

“Good question.” Says Drax as they all saw he is now absent from their group.

“The small lad is gone.” says Cutlass. “I wonder where he went.”

“I recall no such presence” says ROBP. “Who are you people and how did you get in here?” He says to the perplexing bewilderment of the group who felt the sudden urge to leave as several other ROBPs entered the room from several parts of the room emerging from the shadows and they began to surround the five from all ends.

“Let’s get out of here” yells Drax. James waved his hands and the doorway from where they initially came in slid upward and they ran through it to the spot that they stood on when they arrived and in an instant were engulfed in the white light once more.

They appeared in the land below previously identified to them as the forbidden zone. They walked back along the grassy fields and saw the various children of differing ages trying to comfort one another, keeping their distance, and bewildered by the uncertain elements of their predicament.

“Good thing those things couldn’t follow us or wouldn’t,” says James.

“Yeah, that is freaky how he just flipped on us and called his buddies” says Mercedes. “What do you suppose really happened to the adults here and why did Jose disappear like that?” asks Tina.

“Beats me, but I’ll be glad when we leave this place of craziness,” says Mercedes.

“It seems the disaster James foresaw in the past, the eruption that caused the great conflict is somehow limiting. The radiation that spread after the flashpoint could have affected only adults. Those under certain ages weren’t affected” says Drax.

“How is that possible?” asks Tina. “If anything the kids would have suffered more.”

“It could be their immune system” says Mercedes.

“It’s perplexing, but the only possible explanation. As for Jose… well it seems…” Drax stops interrupted as he saw a young boy approach them near the spot they saw him the first time as they walks away from the obelisk.

“Oh my God” says Tina.

“Hey little buddy” says Mercedes, “where did you go?”

“Hello. I am Jose” he says smiling.

“Yeah we know. Don’t you remember us?” asks Drax.

“We never met before.” Jose replies.

The five are shocked.

“That bloody can’t be” says Cutlass.

“You arrived from the sky?” He asks.

“Yeah, we got to go” says Drax and they walks away. “Why doesn’t he remember us?” asks Drax to himself.

“Maybe when he vanished it is something to do with the time thing…” says James.

“Like a reverberating wave and temporal loop that changes the rules of causality to affect the past from the future,” Drax says. “He vanished as did everyone in the forbidden zone destined to repeat the same events over and over again. They were doing it since the great conflict centuries ago.”

“Why do we remember him?” asks Mercedes.

“We might be protected because of our proximity to the time stone. I don’t really have an answer for this” says Drax.

“This whole thing is some grand design, a higher power at work.” says Mercedes.

“It may be our destiny” says Tina looking at James and whispering to him, “Could this be the Atlantis of legend, a land lost in time and raised from the waves in this future?”

“Maybe, anything is possible” says James.

“One thing is certain, we didn’t ask to be involved, but we got involved by the grace of God and we acted interfering here and setting things in motion so we can’t turn back now” says Drax.

“We have accomplished the impossible” says Mercedes.

“Nothing is impossible in time” reminded James.

“We have to continue” says Tina.

“Indeed!” says Drax. They approached the Scorpion car waiting right where they left it.