Existence
We must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence, to find that enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing our sorrowful song. But in that dance, and in that song, the most ancient rites of our conscience fulfill themselves in the awareness of being human.
The three men watched him closely. Silence prevailed. One could only hear the faint sound of the ancient clock on the wall.
“You probably wonder why you are all gathered here”, said professor Bennett.
“You’re right”, answered one of the men. He was dressed in a gray suit and he was holding something in his hand. “It’s not every day that a professor announces a scientific breakthrough. But why is it that you have only invited us to watch your demonstration?”
“Well, first of all, this thing could have a terrible effect on the people. That’s why I only called you, so that we can find a better way of making my discovery known only by certain people, not by everyone out there…”
“I see. Now, can you tell us what this is all about?”
“Of course. Gentlemen, I have built the first time machine in the history of mankind…”
“What, you mean a real time machine?!”
“I do. And I will prove it.”
Tony Bennett walked across the room and uncovered a strange device. It didn’t look too fancy. It was just a bunch of wires linked to some computers and power generators.
“Are you implying that this so called time machine really works?” asked another one of the three men.
“Yes. Here, I will show you.”
He took off his watch and put it on the device.
“Look at the watch. It’s 5:25 P.M. I will make it vanish and then reappear after five minutes.”
The three men looked at the watch to check the time then professor Bennett pushed some buttons, and the watch was gone… The five minutes that followed were probably the longest five minutes the three men had ever lived. Eventually, at 5:30, the watch reappeared. The quick glimpses of the three men revealed that the watch showed 5:25 P.M.
“This is amazing. How did you do it?”
“I’ve got all the theory written down. It would take too much to explain it to you now…” answered Tony.
“But can a person use it?” asked the third man that was present there. “That is, can one travel through time?”
“I haven’t tested that. I’m not sure. But this is already a breakthrough.”
“You’re right. Yet, if one can travel through time, he can tell us everything he has experienced upon his return.”
“You’ve got a point there. But I couldn’t find anyone who could volunteer for this.”
“I would do it”, said the man.
“Would you assume all responsibility?” asked professor Bennett.
“Of course. We can do it right now.”
In a few minutes, everything was ready for the ultimate test of the time machine. The man – whose name was David – was seated in an apparently comfortable chair, with lots of wires attached to him.
“Are you ready?” asked Tony.
“Yes.” David replied.
“Then here it goes.”
A short blink, and David was not there anymore.
“I’ve sent him five minutes into the future.” said professor Bennett. “All we have to do is wait…”
They waited for 15 minutes. There was no sign of David. And there would never be any sign of him again…
I had been a Priest of the High Order for about 20 years. I had lived all my life on Earth, and scarcely did I leave the planet during all that time. Since the first human colony ever established, countless millennia ago, the human race had spread all across the Galaxy.
Yet my mission there was not to count the human colonies, but to make sure that the Law is respected. Anyone who didn’t respect It suffered severe punishment. I had complete power over anyone who had broken the Law. The Priests were considered to be the most powerful people in the System. And indeed we were…
David woke up. A huge desert spread everywhere around him… He looked around and he noticed something that looked like a house. He got up and he started walking towards it. He arrived there after about an hour and he discovered that there was no sign of life whatsoever.
“This is great. I’m now stuck somewhere in time, with no means of returning back home. As I can see looking at the house here, I have probably traveled about 2000 years back in time. There is no technology at all…” He found some food stashed in a cupboard and started eating…
“We’ve located a sudden temporal displacement. Here are the coordinates, Sir.”
“Thank you”, I replied. “Hmm, another time-traveler…”
It felt so good to have people working for you. And that’s basically what the Priests did. We kept the technology for ourselves, using the rest of the people as slaves. They didn’t even know what electricity was, unless they were trained for a job that implied the use of electricity.
The slaves were permanently kept under control, as the mental capabilities of a Priest were overwhelming. We had mental control over all of them. Reading their minds was as easy as breathing…
David had been walking for over two days. He felt as if the desert kept expanding, so that he could never reach its end. He was just about to give up, when he saw a caravan passing by. He started shouting, but none of the people heard him. He started running towards the caravan.
The caravan seemed to get further and further away, until it eventually vanished. And then I appeared out of nowhere. When David saw me standing there, he gasped in horror. It must have been my clothes. Or my look… Who knows?
The first feeling I detected in his mind was fear. No, not fear. Horror… Deep in the darkest corners of his mind, the fear of the unknown had taken complete control. He just stood there, staring at me. Then I detected a change. It was really hard, because his mind was a very primitive one. He started to calm down slowly. He now knew that, as he was facing a human, he was safe.
He tried to communicate with me using his language. I didn’t understand anything. But I could understand his thoughts… He was trying to send me his best thoughts. I briefly caught a word in his mind. It said “peace”…
I walked away, making him follow me. I took him to the place where the slaves lived. I thought he would be happy there. I mean, what more could we use him for? He looked pretty well built, so he was able to handle some rough work… After that, I left.
Three weeks had passed since the stranger arrived. I decided to pay him a visit and see if he had fit in with the rest of the slaves. My appearance seemed to be as horrifying as ever, as he quickly rushed a few steps back. He was just standing there and looking at me. I probed his mind. He had learned much since our last encounter…
He didn’t seem to be as scared as the first time. From what I felt, he had heard about the Priests of the High Order. He now knew about the Law. But did he know that we had the technology? Did he know that we had enslaved the human race, for our own purposes? Did he know about our ability of mind control? There it was! A glimpse of reason… He must have felt my presence in his mind…
Now he wasn’t scared anymore. In fact, it felt as if he was outraged. He was mad on our decision of enslaving the human race, leaving only a few of them to rule over the rest. He was mad on the fact that technology wasn’t available for everyone and that we kept it only for ourselves. He was mad at me!
That was too much. It had to stop… It only took a couple of seconds of focused mind control, and there he was – lying on the ground, motionless. What could a body do without its mind? Nothing. I had brought his existence to an end…
