Witam Państwa,
Mimo, że blog zawiera mnóstwo wierszy, to jednak nie jest on tylko poetycki. Moim zamiarem było spróbować swoich sił jako pisarz. Udało mi się napisać opowieść w języku angielskim, która została uznana za niezwykle dobrą przez użytkowników forum Reddita. Dlatego też, zamiast wiersza, przeczytacie Państwo moje opowiadanie o podróży w czasie. Tytułu nie wymyśliłem, dlatego roboczo nazywa się Time Travel. Zapraszam do lektury. Przepraszam za format, ale mam nadzieję, że da się przeczytać.
I was always curious about time travel.
I was 10 when I figured out the mathematics of it. However, it was clear that I didn't have the power source needed for such thing and a way to navigate the time stream. As such, for the next five years, the research went silent.
At my fifteenth birthday, in the evening, a doorbell rang. When my mother opened the door, a man with a weird jacket stood before her.
"I'm looking for Mr. Adam Kordowski, is he here?" He asked with a solemn expression.
I stepped in, curious as to why such man is here looking for me.
"Can I have a minute with Mr. Kordowski here? I have a gift from a recently deceased family member." The man asked my mother, who nodded and let him enter to the house. He followed me to my bedroom, clearly looking at various things, as if he hasn't seen them before.
When the door closed, he spoke:
"Your granddaughter left you this envelope" - he said, giving it to me - "She was the inventor of the first time machine that worked. She tried to rewrite the past and, regretfully, was killed. I'm sorry, sir" - he continued, seeing my expression full of anger and pain - "But her plan would've meant that many lives would've been erased for one man to be happy. Time Agency had no choice but to kill her."
"And why you are telling me this?" I said, mourning my granddaughter I might never meet because of this Time Agency.
"It was her final wish and we honoured it" - The man answered. "She cannot do any harm now that she is dead".
I don't remember much after that. Next thing I recall is my mother comforting me with this man nowhere to be found.
In the evening, when everyone but me went to sleep, I opened the envelope, to see a letter inside.
I began to read it.
Dear Grandfather,
If you're reading this, then my plan has failed and the Time Agency got me. I should explain myself, don't I?
Firstly, you will invent the way to time travel in a few months, but no one will know of this. I published your papers when I was 12 and got the credit. It's unfair, but the university won't accept that a man discovered it. Sorry.
Secondly, you don't know that, but the timeline was altered before you were born. Someone transferred thousands of children from the past to the future as a way to easy earn money. Many of them were important for the future and now they aren't when they should be. Those with money created the Time Agency to make sure that this procedure continues. Me and a group of friends try to save as many kids as we can, but it's a slow process. Time Agency tries to wipe us out, and it looks like they will succeed.
Thirdly, I need your help to save everyone. In 2018, you will meet a scientist your age, a girl. What you must do is make certain she marries you. She's my grandmother and in my timeline you never married, because her father was against you. She died in childbirth, her father did nothing to save her. He sent my mother to you, and you raised her brilliantly. If you marry her, she should live. She would've ensured your papers were published and prevent the kids from being stolen, all of our simulations point out this.
I love you, grandfather, although you never met me and now you never will. Please, save the future and spare me a thought now and then.
Your granddaughter,
Sophie
PS. Scorpio - Crater - Taurus - Capricorn - Sextans - Sculptor - Terra
I stood up, aware of what I must do. The time of mourning is over now. It's time to do what my granddaughter asked me to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young woman was running away. She knew the Time Agents were just behind her. She was tired, exhausted and hungry. She hasn't eaten in days and now, she most likely never will.
Finally, the agents got to her, tackling her to the ground.
After a moment, she was unable to move her arms and legs. The leader started speaking:
"You're to be executed for rewriting the timeline, denying Time Agency the necessary funds and stealing our cargo…".
He never finished speaking before multiple pops were heard, indicating multiple time travelers arriving.
A voice, which the young woman didn't recognize, spoke menacingly:
"Don't move or even twitch. Any hostility would mean your execution, Voltan.
The leader paled and nodded, gesturing his man to surrender.
The voice untied her while speaking to Voltan:
"A team from UNIT will take you for your trial. As of yesterday, Time Agency has been disbanded and the entire organization will be investigated, and if necessary, prosecuted."
Young woman couldn't believe her ears. Someone disbanded the Agency? UNIT is still around? What happened?
"You are Sophie, am I right?" - a voice, now seen as an old veteran she has never seen before.
She nodded - her name wasn't a secret to anyone.
"My boss asked for you. Are fit to travel, Lady Sophie?"
She blushed, as no one has referred to her as a lady before, but answered:
"I should have no problem with that, although I'm hungry."
"I was assured a big feast is waiting for you, Lady Sophie. My boss will speak to you during it".
"Then lead the way" - Sophie gestured, curious, but hungry as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Sophie arrived, a big feast was indeed waiting for her. On the other end of the table two figures got up to greet her. Sophie gaped, recognizing both of them immediately from the stories her mother Maia told her.
"Grandfather? Grandmother? What are you doing here?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was content.
For the first time since this envelope was given to me, over a decade ago, I finally could meet and learn more about my own grandchild, who did so much to my life.
When she gaped, not believing her eyes, me and my wife Emilia got up to greet her.
"Grandfather? Grandmother? What are you doing here?" - she asked with disbelief.
"We are here to dine with you, dear" - Emilia smiled and gestured for her to sit near the table.
Sophie took a seat, still stunned, but quickly started eating. I guessed that she hasn't eaten recently, with so many different foods landing on her plates. We followed and dined together in silence.
After we were finally fed and watered Sophie was ready to talk.
"Wasn't I supposed to die, grandfather?" - She asked. - "According to your theory…"
"Funny you ask me that question" - I answered - "Because I was wrong. My entire theory of time was flawed and foolish. Something that really helped us, actually".
Sophie looked with utter disbelief, but before she could speak, I continued:
"Imagine Time as a history book. Everything written in this book is fixed. You can't change it, you can't prevent any event that already was present. You can watch it, live it, but not alter it. Now imagine that someone sends a message into nobody's past birthday. My book, my timeline wasn't significant yet, as such your message worked and changed history.”
"It shouldn't" - Sophie interrupted. - "I was doing it out of desperation, with very little preparation. You're my grandfather and I simply was a fool trying to change the past. And it somehow worked!?"
"Mhm" - I hummed "Because everyone overlooked the obvious. You're a time traveler, right?"
At Sophie's nod, I continued:
"Time travelers are able to interact and change the past if, and only if, they try to change events not noticed by larger history, major events like 9/11, Kennedy's assasination, John Paul II's assasination, etc. They are large and commonly known, and Time itself would ensure it's existence. But it wouldn't notice if you save child's life, win a lottery or send a letter to the past."
Sophie was shocked. She changed a past by accident? And this madness worked?
After a moment, I asked a question to my granddaughter.
"Sophie, I wanted to ask you about the letter" - I began - "Why did you included the part about the university?"
Sophie answered, feeling really uncomfortable.
"I wanted you to know that your theory worked…"
”That I understood" - I interrupted her. - "But why the university would refuse to publish them under my name?"
Sophie was silent for a few moments, before finally replying:
"The system in the future is unfair. It only notice if woman does something, men are seen as idiots who can only fight and die. It has infected the system and a minority of woman are willing to oppose it. Most were raised to believe in this propaganda, despite various proof. My group believes in truth, not this tripe."
I nodded, expecting something similar.
Sophie then asked a question:
"How is grandmother alive? How did you dealt with her father?"
"Well…" I began, only to be interrupted by Emilia:
"I met Adam six years ago. As your letter asked, we married. My father, before we announced our plan to marry, received a unique offer in Saint Helena. Totally legitimate, arranged by few of my contacts. He still doesn't know we married and is unaware of our baby girls. They weren't the easiest to birth, but I love them so much!"
"You have kids already!?" - Sophie exclaimed.
"Your mother Maia, she's four and very energetic. Loves to watch old cartoons I grew up on. And her little sister Hedwig, a fifteen month old baby. She adores mischief." - Emilia explained happily. Trust my wife to talk about the babies above all else.
"Any more questions?" - I inquired my granddaughter.
"How is United Nations International Taskforce still active? Last time I checked, they were disbanded during the pandemic?" She asked, perplexed.
"Emilia and I spent favours to make sure those fools who wanted to disband UNIT face a lot of trouble" - I responded, and my wife added: "Don't worry, so many politicians still owe us a lot of favours. It would take decades to burn them all. We helped them using time travel, and they know we may cash the payment anytime."
Sophie then proceeded to ask a question that was on her mind since she wrote this letter.
"Did you understood the message I gave you in the postscriptum, grandfather?"
I smiled, very happy to answer this question.
"Of course. After all, this was obvious for me. Thanks to you, I completed the Time Machine well ahead of schedule."
"This is the part I don't understand" - Emilia interjected - " What does those words mean?"
"Have you watched Stargate SG-1?" - I asked. At her nod, I asked again - " Have you ever played SGCSim?"
At her puzzled expression, I explained:
"A fan developed a Simulator of the Stargate Dialing Computer at the SGC with a list of addresses to dial. A few of them were only available if directly punched into the interface, mostly those locked in the show. One of them was P3W-451, which coordinates in the Sim were in the letter. Does it rings any bells?"
Emilia nodded.
"It's designation to the planet near a black hole. They connected to it in season 2, I believe."
"Precisely. And in this episode also laid the answer to finish the time machine, I will explain it later though. You have another question, Sophie?"
"Yes" - Sophie spoke - "Shouldn't have the Time Agency checked the envelope? I was sure they would. And how did you took them out?"
"You would think so, yes." - I replied thoughtfully - "But you overlook their arrogance. The believed they were unbeatable, with their bosses being unchallenged for so long. Your group was a nuisance at most, annoying, but not that powerful. We kept them save, by the way. It further made Time Agency less careful. They delivered the message to me because they were certain they won. No one was left to challenge their position. But this simple message rewrote the rules. By developing the machine, I was able to go to the future and secure all knowledge of their organization. And most surprisingly, I found out that they reported you as missing, presumed dead, not as dead."
"What?" - Sophie gasped.
"I now know that they assumed their team executed you and weren't able to return. Arrogant again. Using the knowledge I acquired and your grandmother's contacts we were able to easily convince United Nations to order UNIT to eliminate the Time Agency. Since then, we became commanders of the specialized task force, eliminating the Time Agents throughout history. Your rescue was the last mission we had. By now the interrogations should've finished and soon enough those guilty will be punished."
Sophie had one final question to ask, since her curiosity was satisfied for now.
"What happens to me now?" - she asked, troubled - "I don't have anyone in my time, only my friends. Where can I live?"
Emilia and I nodded to each other, and my wife responded:
"You could stay with us. We live in a mansion in the village Masuny near Sępopol. There is more than enough room for you and all of your friends, since we have only four people living in fifteen bedroom residence."
Sophie's eyes widened, and she asked in a hopeful voice:
"Really?"
"Mhm" - I said - We won't mind, if you can survive your mother and your new aunt…"
I never finished, as the young woman hugged both of us tightly.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…" - She repeated, hugging us tightly.
After all this time, I felt content. My granddaughter was save with us. Her family. We are ready to face anything as a family of time travelers.
I would always be curious about time travel.
But for now, I thanked the Time for this gift.
Dziękuję za uwagę, zapraszam do konstruktywnej krytyki w komentarzach i do zobaczenia za tydzień,
Wiktor Kruk,
26.09.2024
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