A scientist confronts the unthinkable
May 8
Dear Diary,
The waiting is agonizing. Every minute that ticks by, I imagine Elias suffering at the hands of those twisted scientists. And it’s all because of me and my time-traveling invention. The guilt gnaws at my insides like a starving rat.
K.D. left hours ago in her tactical hovercraft. She’s off to track down the location where they’re holding my grandson hostage. I can only pray to whatever deities might still listen that she finds him in time.
Negotiating with K.D. was a tense affair. My meager savings, once a respectable sum, are worthless now. Bitcoin, the currency I thought was the future, is less than dust in 2190. If I make it back to my own time, my financial portfolio will need a major overhaul. Just one more thing to keep me up at night.
In the end, K.D. agreed to help, but at a price. She wants a one-way ticket to the year of her choice. I had to be firm — it must be after 2190, not before. The world isn’t ready for a sentient android before this era. I shudder to think of the chaos that could cause to the timeline.
And K.D.… can I trust her? She’s a wildcard, an android with murky loyalties and ulterior motives. What if she decides to double-cross me and join forces with the enemy?
Or worse, what if she secures the technology for herself and becomes an unstoppable force across history?
I have to stay optimistic. I have to believe K.D. will return with a plan to rescue Elias. But what about the scientists? How do I stop them permanently? So they don’t try again. I’ve got to find a way to sabotage the teleportation device. Build in a failsafe or a kill switch. K.D. thinks we should destroy them all but that goes against my grain.
Even as I fret over Elias’ safety and K.D.’s demands, my mind can’t stop churning over the bigger picture. What are these rogue scientists hoping to achieve with my time-traveling technology? What could they possibly want to change in the past that would be worth all this pain and destruction?
The more I ponder, the more chilling the possibilities become. They could go back and alter pivotal moments in history for their benefit. Steer key events to put themselves or their ancestors in positions of power and wealth. They might plunder past resources that have long since been depleted. Or steal innovations from the future to become tech moguls in the past.
And that’s just the selfish, greedy motivations. What if their intentions are even darker? They could manipulate wars, topple governments, or prevent certain people from ever being born. Imagine a world where Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., or Marie Curie were erased. A world where tyrants and despots thrived unchecked. It turns my stomach.
I’ve always believed that science should serve the greater good. I created this technology to expand human knowledge and elevate the human race. To reach for the stars. But in the wrong hands, it could bring untold suffering. Tear the very fabric of space and time. How could I have been so naïve? So reckless?
No, I can’t spiral into self-recrimination. Not now. I have to stay focused. I have to out-think and out-maneuver these evil hacks. Find a way to thwart their plans and destroy my invention, before they can pervert it to their own ends. Even if it means I can’t return to my time.
But it all hinges on getting Elias back first. I’m just one woman. One very tired, very frightened woman, far from home. I’ve put my trust in an android mercenary, in a seedy underbelly I barely understand.
All my ducks are not in a row. They’re scattered and flapping in a hurricane. But I have to gather them up, one by one. I have no choice. For Elias. For the world — past, present, and future.
I’ll try to rest now. I suspect tomorrow will bring even more impossible choices. More uncomfortable alliances. More painful sacrifices.
But I must stay strong. I must remember why I started down this path in the first place. Not for glory or wealth or prestige. But to build a better world.
Even if I have to first save it from itself.
Lael
Image ©2024 Gael MacLean
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