Future Passed

CHAPTER 1

Night was cold. It always seemed worse in this room, cold tiles lined the floor in erratically coloured panels. Often Harmon would stare at them; trying to figure out the patterns; or letting his eyes go soft hoping that a rabbit or a mermaid would leap out at him. Constantly urging him to look deeper for some sort of meaning in the chaos, control it.

No member of his family ever used this room. A sanctuary for Harmon’s escapes, an old bathroom turned into his own private laboratory. Over the bathtub was a thick wooden bench, enough room was left so a bucket with a hole and plug could hung from one side. Where the wash-sink had been was now a computer table with cords spreading away from 2 USB hubs; and a firewire hub to several different devices. Printers and scanners of different types; an old DV Camera that he had running all the time he wasn’t in his lab. The shower was filled with racks from ground to ceiling that were plastered on with liquid nails and filled with chemicals he’d garnered from his parent’s and neighbour’s sheds.

Harmon practically slept in the room when he did sleep. When he didn’t he made gadgets or potions to remove pests and sold them to people in his street that he felt took pity on him. But in the end most of the people found these things to be useful in some way, shape or form. He earned pocket money for new things in this way. And new meant for him, they were mostly second hand or found in bargain bins in the local Bunnings.

Looking back at the device in his hand, he twisted the final small screw into place. The casing was closed and all that was left was to get hold of quartz from a hippy-shop somewhere nearby. He grinned and put it down on the bench over the bath tub. He picked up a digital camera (he got for $20 after haggling his cousin down, she needed a packet of smokes badly that day) and took a photo of the side with the USB port showing. He smiled again and looked at his invention. He was always proud in this moment.

Rolling the pages of print-outs up, he stepped away from the bench to the small window above his computer table. He peered out over the neighbours lawn to the small dog-house with automatic feeder he had built for them when he was ten. At thirteen it seemed so far away but that time allowed him room for movement. Puberty had rolled in with what he saw as being minor side-effects and his concentration levels only rose as he started to focus that energy on his work. Sure, he would think, looking into that room at night was tempting. He tried not to look towards Cheryce’s window but it wasn’t long before temptation overtook him.

Her feet waved naked in the air, her legs looked like satin from this angle and her head tilted up toward the ceiling, a mobile phone attached to her ear, she giggled from time-to-time. Harmon didn’t understand how she could always be so warm. Her window was constantly left open even during the coldest of wet nights when the temperatures dropped below ten degrees celsius. Tonight wasn’t one of those nights though, it was warm, even in this room Harmon still had a fan set-up for the day times. He smiled down at his monitor, it flickered the way old screens do. Interlacing pixels dancing to form interesting patterns. He looked back to Cheryce’s window, but the light flicked off and only her silouette could be seen throwing itself on the single bed, her sheet flew up catching air as it settled.

Soon the holidays would be here and this new device could revolutionize data transfer. And Harmon had just the plan to make sure everyone knew it was him that did it.

“This will change the world.” He said to the transparent image in the window, smiled and left the room.

* * * *

“He didn’t know how right he was.” An oversized person shuffled, his shoulders stayed level, the only thing that gave away his movement was the cowel around his feet that flicked with his feet.

The holographic simulation shimmered in front of the panels eyes. One of them spoke, a deep voice that didn’t sound quite human. “This will be our saviour?” He laughed. “He is no more than a child barely of age.” A chorus of giggles filled the room.

“But,” The giant said, looking directly at his devil’s-advocate. Peering though his eyes couldn’t be seen. “That device that you see before you has barely changed in tens of thousands of years. We, humans, still use this as a storage device.” He shook with laughter himself. “This man will go on to develop space flight for our species and later create the Galactic Union. Something that without none of you would be sitting here discussing this matter. We would have torn ourselves apart long ago.”

A deep silence fell and no one dared contest this fact. “It wasn’t us that saved all of you, please don’t get me wrong, if it had of been left to another human we may have tried to take over the galaxy instead of uniting it.”

“That’s part of the problem.” A female stepped out, she had a soft voice and was lean and short. “How do we know that if we follow through with your plan we humans won’t devistate time and take control of the galaxy. We,” She stopped turning to the audience, “Were a tumultuous species. Barely out of war, in fact most of the planet was fighting another nation or even their own nations at this time. How do we know if we send the database to Harmon The Great, it won’t be intercepted, or worse. What is our guarantee.”

A shift in the hologram at the Giant’s command changed to an empty sphere. Dots formed flashing between each other and winking out of existence. “This,” He said, “Is your guarantee. If we do nothing the Galaxy will be taken over by the invaders. At least if we do something then we could prevent this, if we don’t it’s definately the end of all of us. At least this way one of our species could prevail. It’s a matter of survival people, nothing more and nothing less.”

There were small dramatic murmurs around the room. The woman stepped forward showing her curly blonde hair. “Then I’ll take it.” The room went silent again.

“But General!” The giant cried and grabbed her arms. “You’re needed now, what if it doesn’t work?”

She laughed and looked up toward the failing dots. “It doesn’t matter anymore. We were out-numbered, out-gunned and out-experienced. We haven’t had war in this galaxy for more than seventeen thousand years.”

The woman shook him free and turned toward the congregation. Her head scanned the crestfallen politicians. The sadness obvious in their slumped silouhettes. She frowned and looked to the ground.

“You’ll send me back and I’ll ensure the success of the mission. I’ll be his personal guard. We will succeed and I’ll ensure that humanity will not rule the galaxy in the process.” She turned to one of the Tau Ceti’s, frowning. “I don’t want this alliance to fail and I know what the projections have shown. But I have to agree with the Prime Minister, we have to do something.”