One Down, So Many to Go
#2 of The Mage of Terra Danor
The next morning inquiries were made. There was one person, one human that was listed as being from this time period. He was one of many spanning the centuries. The plan was to cross these people off of the list until the list was gone. Only then might the future be offered a chance at continuing with life. Removing these people from the present offered hope for a healthier future. Over breakfast, two minds argued about how best to find this person. "Do you know how many humans infest this planet right now?" That was Morlei. "Billions of them. But the name on the list helps to narrow that down." "To what? One billion? Seven hundred and fifty thousand? We need one single human. What's that ancient saying? It's like looking for a noodle in a jet pack." Keverne sighed. "The saying, which you so boldly mangled, is looking for a needle in a hay stack. That would be easy compared to what we are attempting. The needle would respond to electromagnetism. This man will not come to us under any guise.But I think I narrowed his location to somewhere in this vicinity." "I still say this task is impossible. Even if we're here at the correct time, finding him will be difficult." "Difficult yes; but not impossible. We know he's not from the Asian continent. A name like Newbury hardly sounds Chinese, Japanese, or an of the other "ese" people of that region." Morlei fretted until his host shut him up. "Look. We're lucky enough to have arrived here at a time when the widespread distribution of data hasn't been restricted yet. I believe if I can find a computer terminal, I might be able to narrow his location down to a specific place." The dilemma of finding a place to search was no dilemma at all. The manager of the inn pointed to a sign on the wall. Free Wi-Fi it declared. "Of course, it would help if you had a laptop or Blackberry or something", he said with a grin. Keverne returned to his room and shut the door. He sat in a chair and tuned into his surroundings. He found the signal flowing through the air and latched onto it. Computer indeed! His entire system was able to handle all sorts of electrical devices. He took a few minutes to circumnavigate the system, then sent of inquiries by the dozens. Not only was he looking for the man he wanted, he was also downloading everything he could off of the world wide system. Morlei got bored, then remembered he could tap into his host's information and amused himself with all sorts of trivia and idle information. He was particularly intrigued by the concept of pornography. It was an hour into this, and millions of terabytes later that the mage stopped. "I think I found him." Morlei saw a few pages come up, being graced with the name of the wanted man. "Yes, I see. This is our man. But where is he? We need to find him and move on." "Yes, I know. I think I worked it out. I have a likely address for him. We'll leave today." Keverne had reverted to his normal, handsome self. It was pointless in devoting energy to a transformation and equally to the acquisition of information. It just wasn't an efficient use f power. He correlated the data he had downloaded, specifically pertaining to this man, and arrived at a conclusion. "Morlei, I think I have it figured out. I believe I know where he's at, within two locations. I believe that I now know what happened." He smiled tiredly. "I don't think his world will miss him at all. In fact I know it didn't. Their loss." The trek across the countryside was pleasant enough. He had opted to use the existing transportation system for the romantic experience. The humans riding with him might have viewed the commute with less idyllic ideas, but for him, it was something new. Morlei kept quiet, enjoying the view through his host's eyes. It was rolling hills, stone walls and greenery everywhere one looked. In their time, green was found only under the immense greenhouses that dotted the landscape. The air was too toxic to breathe without a respirator. While this wasn't the complete fault of humanity, they had done little to prevent it from happening. The planet had suffered worse sixty five millions years ago, but that was then and this was now. His arrival in another town was hardly remarked upon. He found what constituted a peace officer and asked him for directions to the Shady Oaks Home. The man in the stiff uniform pointed up the road. "Aye! Ya need to go about a mile that way. It's on the left. There's a sign, so ya can't miss it!" Keverne nodded politely, as the records said you should do, and headed up the road. It was lined with a stone wall and beautiful trees. Morlei spoke up inside his head. "All this wonderful greenery and clean air and they were too stupid to see what they had." "Not everyone. But the few who spoke up got shouted down. Sometimes you need to silence the loudmouths..." "And sometimes you need to amplify the voices of the quiet ones!" said Morlei. Shady Oaks was a two story building nestled back among the trees. As buildings went, it was modern. To his eyes, it was old and quaint. Inside, he found a desk with a lady dressed in white, with her hair twisted up in a tight bun. He read her name tag and addressed her appropriately. "Excuse Mrs. Smith. Can you tell me if I might find a Roger Newbury here?" She glanced up. "Roger Newbury? No, he's not a patient here." "I know that. I believe his wife is." Another nurse walked by. "That would be Sarah Newbury. She's in Room 243. Roger is her husband. He's here now, if you wish to talk to him." The mage didn't wait for any other invitation. He had noticed the placards on the wall denoting which way the rooms were and followed them to the correct number. The door was open, showing a brightly lit room filled with flowers, a few chairs and a bed. In the bed was a lady, a female human. In one of the chairs was a man. "Mr. Newbury?" He looked up from his book. Keverne smiled when he saw it was a scientific text. So many books were lost over the centuries, that this might be one that wasn't in the system. At this present time, such things were often made available only to the highly educated or the rich. "Yes? Can I help you?" He was rubbing his eyes, getting them to focus on the newcomer.
"No. I'm afraid not. You see, I need to remove you from the present equation." "Equation? Are you a math instructor from the university? I told them that I wasn't returning. My wife needs me more that they do. My research can wait." "I see. So you'll never finish your work as long as she's here in the home?" The human nodded. "It was a bad accident?" The mage already knew, having accessed everything online, from newspaper articles to the police and medical reports. It was amazing how many back doors there were in the present internet systems. "Not really. But she didn't have her seat belt on and her head crashed through the windscreen." He lapsed back into silence. The mage stood on the other side of the bed. He placed a hand on the motionless woman's arm. Her mind was there, balled up in a dark corner. "Mr. Newbury, if your wife was able to return to a normal life, what would you do to achieve that?" The human's eyes narrowed. "Who the hell are you?" "A friend. I need you, and you need her. So if I can save her, will you leave your time forever?" "Leave my time... What the hell does that mean?" The mage transformed back to his normal self. The human grabbed the chair he had been sitting in and held it threateningly. "What the hell are you?" The mage made a move and the human felt his muscles freeze up, right down to his vocal cords. "I am your future, and I am my future. Humans ended their reign, and while this is yet to happen by your perspective, by mine it has. My world is dying." He stared the human in the eyes before continuing. "So you see, Mr. Newbury, I have need for your intellect. I am afraid that as things stand, your wife will perish here, as you see her here on the bed. I can help. But you must trust me." The man felt control come back to his body. "How do I know that this isn't some sick, elaborate hoax?" "I suppose you don't. It is all a little fantastic. But I am for real. So is my offer. Do you love her enough to trust me?" "Prove it. Prove to me you can make her well again!" Morlei snickered. "You didn't think of that, did you? This guy's a scientist. And you can't restore her mind here. Only back at Terra Denor do they have the facilities for that." Keverne snapped back. "Shut up! All I need to do is to animate her body and he'll comply." "Oh right, turn her into a dancing zombie! That'll make him happy for sure!" The mage was stumped, but just for a moment. "Morlei, you're right. It would be wrong to use her simply for the benefit of the planet. Her body should get up under it's own power, not manipulated by me." "I'm glad you agree!" In the next instant, Morlei screamed. No one but the mage could hear it, since it was all on a mental level. However, the scream transferred from one mind to another, and just as fast, came out the mouth of the woman laying on the bed. Mr. Newbury screamed as well, for the shock of hearing such a sound coming from his wife, in such an abrupt manner, was hard on the nerves. The woman screamed until she recognized the sound as coming from her, and she clamped a hand over her mouth. When she pulled it away again, she looked at the mage, "You son of a bitch!" He had pulled his friend from one mind, his own, and placed it in the mind of the comatose lady. Now the body could walk and talk. He only hoped that Morlei would recognize the necessity in this and say the right things. "Sarah?" It was the stunned husband. "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...." The lady looked around and gulped. "I think so?" By now a few nurses came running down the hall and into the room. The place erupted into a confused chaos in now time. The mage pulled the human aside. "I kept my part of the bargain. We need to go now!' "Where? Sarah had to come with me! I won't leave her behind!" "I know you won't. Come on!" They walked to the bedside, and the husband cradled his wife's body in his arms. Her eyes looked mortified, and the glance the occupant of that body gave the mage was almost priceless. Keverne shooed the staff out of the room and slammed the door shut. "We need to go now!" He opened a rift, and as cool dank air poured into the room, he pulled himself and the two humans through. The far future suddenly got two humans, the first of many to help fix where they went wrong in the past. As they entered the void, the human woman looked at the mage and stuck her tongue out. "You owe me big time for this!"