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| Generated by Google Gemini Advanced text-to-image AI software, powered by Imagen 3 |
Last year, this ragtag group of random time travelers who didn’t care to
have anything to do with each other humored Utari Kiswana, and took a tour
of the artificial island that they were on. It was a really interesting
place, and they all probably would have enjoyed themselves had they come
here on their own, and weren’t being held at this point in spacetime against
their wills. There were a ton of activities to do here, like mountain
climbing, sailing, and paragliding. There was even a train that just rolled
around on a set of circular tracks, where some people apparently lived
permanently. After it was over, they were all exhausted. Most of them were
asking to just be sent back to where they belonged, which poor Buddy must
have actually obliged, but Utari seemed to be in charge now.
A funny thing happened on the way back from dinner. Utari and Buddy wanted
to get rooms in one of the main beach hotels for everyone, so they could
stay the night, and wake up refreshed in the morning. As Buddy described
earlier, dozens of beaches radiated from the island, allowing a lot of
residents to have beachfront property. The main part of the island, however,
was still surrounded by water, and there were a ton of hotels and housing
units there too. They just weren’t quite as immersed in it. It seemed like a
nice place to stay, but by the time they got checked in, two of the
abductees mysteriously disappeared. Buddy apparently made the attempt to
bring them back, but was unable to.
“You were transported to my domain in the future,” he guessed. “You’re here
now, and so am I. Basically, my past self was unable to retrieve you,
because he would be stealing you from me, and that would not have
been okay.”
Mateo looked over at Bhulan and Arqut. “You have been here for a year?”
“It hasn’t been that bad,” Bhulan replied.
“It’s actually been kind of nice to get a break from the ship,” Arqut added.
“Though, I would like to see my wife again, so could we be quite quick?”
“Quite quick with what?” Olimpia questioned. “Have the rest of you figured
out how to do anything that this asshole is asking of us?”
“Hey, there’s no need for language,” Buddy argued.
“Then how’s anyone gonna understand me?” Olimpia asked combatively.
“We have an idea,” Tauno jumped in. “We’ve been waiting for you two to
return before we try to implement it.”
“It’s this.” Utari set her briefcase carefully on the ground, and opened it
to retrieve a cable.
“The Livewire?” Mateo questioned.
“You’ve heard of it?” Buddy asked.
“I’ve used it,” he explained. “It caused some problems in the Third Rail,
but it also saved lives. That’s what it does, transfers consciousness. Why
would we want that?”
“That’s not all it can do,” Utari began. “It can transmit any form of
energy, including temporal. We think we can wrap this around our respective
wrists, and channel our power into a focal object. That thing might end up
with enough power to accomplish what we’re trying.”
Mateo took the Livewire from Utari’s hands, and started wrapping it around
his own palms for no particular reason. “I’ve seen a lot of wondrous things.
I’m sure it’s nothing compared to what some of you have seen, but
I’ve picked up a few things here and there. My best friend, Ramses may be
the most knowledgeable person when it comes to temporal energy. Sure, you
got your Hokusais and Hogarths...your Team Keshidas and Holly Blues, and
even my wife. They’ve made some great things, but I still don’t think they
compare to Rambo. He really gets into it. He has worked hard to figure out
the fundamentals of time, and the manipulation of it.” He carelessly dropped
the wire to the ground. “What you’re suggesting is stupid. Your lemon issue
is not there for lack of power. There’s plenty of energy to go around.
People with more power than all of us combined have not been able to
transport citrus. You’re not gonna get it done with more temporal
energy. If anything, you want less. Lemons don’t like time. They
tolerate it at a one-to-one ratio, which is why they don’t explode in every
grocery store in the world. They only become overloaded when you mess with
the balance.”
“So, what’s your suggestion?” Buddy planted his hands on his hip.
Mateo shook his head. “Why did the Buddha’s hand citron go extinct?”
“A lot of things happened,” Buddy said. “Highlights include climate
breakdown, wayward pesticides, pests themselves, a lack of customer demand
during the rise of genetically modified organisms; particularly dayfruit. In
fact, a lot of fruits have become extinct by now when we stopped growing
them in favor of more efficient alternatives, not just citrus. Those I could
rescue, if I were so inclined.”
Mateo nodded, and approached the man. “You’re a time traveler. Go back in
time, and protect the Buddha’s hand. Build a greenhouse, keep it protected.
Hire people to maintain it for the last few centuries. Do this the right
way; you don’t need magic. Did you ever think of that?”
“Sounds like a lot of work,” Buddy decided after a long beat.
“It is,” Mateo agreed. “Preserving life is work.”
“No.” Tauno picked the Livewire back up, and wrapped it around his wrist
before moving on to do the same to Bhulan. “I built the Fourth Quadrant out
of raw power that I store in my dick. I can do this. I just need a boost.”
As offended as Bhulan was by Tauno’s crude remark, she didn’t stop him from
pulling her into this power-sharing gambit. Arqut let him wrap it around his
wrist too, as did Utari and Buddy. They stood there, like the worst
basketball team in the league. No one tried to force Mateo and Olimpia to
join them, but what else were they gonna do? Buddy and Bhulan were the only
people here who could send them home. They might as well humor them again,
and give it a shot. He was right, it wasn’t going to work, and hopefully, it
wouldn’t instead make things worse either. The two of them huddled up with
the group, and closed the Livewire loop. Arqut gave Mateo a wink, which was
weird, but okay.
“We connected this room directly to the mountain’s primary fusion chamber,”
Utari revealed. “We should not be lacking in electricity.” She took the
first end of the wire from Tauno, and shoved it into the wall socket.
They could feel the pulsing energy surge around their wrists. It kept
circling the loop, over and over and over again, building as it was
continuously fed by the underground fusion reactor. Buddy was smirking as
was happening. That was when Mateo realized that they never selected an
object to focus the power into. That must have been because it was Buddy. He
had chosen himself to be the vessel. He was clearly a megalomaniac, so this
should have come as no surprise to them. The real question was whether he
would stop at this mission, or move onto the next one after this. What would
he do with all this power? The dude wanted some lemons. He was being a jerk
about it, but evil was not the word that either of them would use.
Utari, however, appeared to have let her hand show. She could turn out to be
the real threat. She could be the next Cleanser, or Oaksent. She was
smirking even more sinisterly, like she knew something that Buddy didn’t.
That was when Arqut breathed deeply in and out, and flexed his arm muscle.
He reached over with his free hand, and cupped his fingers over the wire on
his other wrist. The energy stopped circling the group, and instead began to
redirect into Arqut. He was taking it. He was taking all of it.
“What are you doing?” Buddy questioned angrily. “What the hell are you
doing?”
“Yeah, how are you taking it from us?” Utari pressed.
“It’s all about the entropy, baby,” Arqut answered vaguely, pleased with
himself. “Energy tends to flow from a higher concentration to a less ordered
state. I’m the least ordered state in the room, dumbasses. I’m not a time
traveler. I’m only human.”
Buddy and Utari tried to remove themselves from the circle, but were
literally tied up. Bhulan and Tauno were smiling, and it was becoming clear
that this was the true plan all along. Had Mateo and Olimpia been here
during their interim year, they likely would have been in on it too. There
was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Utari kicked the wire out of the
socket, but that wasn’t where the energy was coming from anymore. If
anything, it helped, because now the temporal energy was free to
slide along the wire on its own without competing for space. Only a few
seconds later, the other four were noticeably drowsy and dizzy. They
couldn’t keep their eyes open. Meanwhile, Arqut was stronger than ever, and
the two members of Team Matic were doing fine.
The energy slowed down on its own, and once it was used up, most of the
group fell towards their backs. Olimpia managed to catch Bhulan in her arms,
but she was still passed out. “How are you two standing?” Arqut asked.
“We’re salmon,” Mateo told him. “We don’t live off of temporal energy. It
really only comes to us once a day.”
“Yeah, we need sunlight!” Olimpia agreed cheerfully as she was carrying
Bulan to one of the beds. “We’re plants!”
Arqut smiled, and walked over to open the shades as a nice gesture. He then
went over to untangle the Livewire from everyone’s arms. “Most temporal
objects are illegal on the Extremus. Tauno is a jackass, and we all know we
can’t trust these two yahoos. Bhulan already told me that she has a knack
for trying to destroy these things. So I think the only logical answer is to
give it to you.”
“What happens to them?” Mateo nodded his head towards the people on
the floor.
“I don’t care what happens to Utari. There is a way for me to tether myself
to the ship when I get back home, and Bhulan will find a similar solution in
the Constant, where she belongs. Tauno has all sorts of friends, I’m sure he
can ask one of them for protection from Buddy. That’s why you need this. It
could be your version of a solution.” Arqut handed the wire to Mateo. “I
hope your friend, Ramses is as resourceful as you make him sound.”
“How do we get home?” Olimpia asked. “Do you have all their powers now?”
“I have their power,” Arqut clarified. “Not their powers.
Bhulan’s will replenish itself eventually, and she’s already agreed to send
me back to the past. As for you, I just gave you what you need. You take care.”
