Harbinger

The School of Old World Geology and Archeology was granted access from beyond the great wall to study the land of the “old world”. One of the students, Verdi, was collecting dirt samples when she discovered a very old door in the ground. She looked around at the other students and professors as they combed through the fields. She thought to herself, they look busy enough. She whistled to her twin brother, Arvo, to come over and help her open it to explore what was inside. Verdi loved going off the “beaten” path to explore the unknown and things it kept secret.

"Verdi, you're always getting me into trouble," he said as they pried the door open.

To their surprise, it was like stepping back in time. With much excitement, Verdi scrambled to find a flashlight to show more of what was partially hidden under the flickering lights. "Whoa! I think this is a bunker or something, right?"

The air inside was musty with dust particles floating around everywhere. They covered their noses and mouths with their shirts to try to breathe better. They saw ancient technology, withering fabrics, dingy bunk beds, and lights that keep flashing green in the distance. They went into a corridor to their right and found thousands of corpses that time stripped their flesh from. They gasped and thought about what these people could have endured.

Arvo grabbed her arm and nodded his head toward the door for her to follow him out.

“Honestly, how are we twins? Come on, it’s just a little adventure Arv”, Verdi playfully said in response.

Verdi ventured off into another large room where two skeletons were seated by an odd-looking, arc-shaped machine, both grasping a container. She slowly

approached to remove the container from the skeleton’s hands and opened it. To her surprise, it was a letter dated 70 years ago, in 2025.

"Arv! Come here! Hurry! There's a letter inside!" Verdi was so full of excitement that she could barely contain herself. She handed Arvo the flashlight, and then began to read aloud,

“My name is Dr. Oliver Crownin and I hope this letter is never read because that would mean we have failed. I live in a time of desolation, hopelessness, and death.

Lands are void of life, and wildlife slowly disappearing. I live in a time where 50% of civilization is dwindling in number, all due to an engineered global famine called, "Project Paragon". From the ground-breaking scientific research of Winston and Hughes, the world’s

major corporations built a society of those with chosen traits, IQ, and family lines to thrive and ensure Project Paragon’s success for a prosperous global rebirth.

Outside of this society are the outcasts...the “Forgotten” left to starve. Some “Forgotten” cannot bear to watch their children die of starvation, so they do whatever is necessary to process...well deal with their truth while others are murdering and stealing from those who are in the same situation as them. Even cannibalism is rumored to have begun to emerge.

Dear reader, this is a time of true despair. I too was supposed to be one of the “Chosen” inside that walled society, but my colleague Dr. Sylvester J. Gatts and I refused to support a global genocide. We disobeyed orders, along with other Forgotten and

some armed military, and have taken shelter in an abandoned underground science facility in Quebec, Canada. Here is where my colleague and I have been working tirelessly for years to construct a functional machine to send two brave individuals into the past to reverse the inconceivable from ever happening. Calling it a time machine makes it seem quite impossible. It’s a term used in science-fiction novels and movies never to be taken seriously or to be believed. In our time when hope is fleeting, we need faith to carry us into the next day. We, therefore, have named this vehicle of salvation, “Hope”. We hope to send these two people to August 15th, 1927, to do what they must to prevent Winston and Hughes from ever meeting. They have been instructed to kill them both, which will in return create a new timeline… one of truth and life for all. Why, you may ask?

Well, that is where it all started in the minds of two evil masterminds, who truly believed that in 200 years the world would overpopulate, and humanity would be extinct. They felt it was their God-given duty to save the world from itself no matter the cost. Dear reader… If you were born and raised inside the wall, chances are, you have been indoctrinated with altered history. Charles Winston and Sir George Hughes are not saviors as they may have taught you, but rather two immensely powerful and disturbed genocidal men. Real history tells us they met through a very renowned individual, Gatsby, on August 15th, 1927. The agreement between these two men made our reality, as we know it today. However, today is launch day, the day Hope brings us a different future. Very soon, the countdown will begin (10, 9, 8, 7) … and all who have sought refuge here will witness, awaiting the “green light” to flash. The walled society you call home, the peace you think you have is a lie! That too will end, and a new era of destruction will emerge. I hope you never read this letter, I pray that what we have set out to do is successful, and YOU don’t have to put yourselves in danger for the sake of truth and what is right.

Yours truly,

Dr. Oliver Crownin"

Verdi’s hands were shaking so rapidly that she could no longer hold the letter as Arvo stood in shock and disbelief. Their whole lives they were taught that the United Nations found a way to save everyone from the great famine and in this salvation, brought about world peace among all nations.

“I’ve always known something was off! This is huge Arv, we gotta tell everyone!”

Their class chaperone, Mr. Lockeson was there spying on them from the side of the entry. At her statement, Lockeson came out from lurking in the shadowed corner pass.

“What will be, will be. It’s best to forget what you have witnessed here”, he said sinisterly, motioning them to come along and leave.

Verdi balled her fists, and proclaimed, “How could you say that! What is and what was, is wrong! We gotta tell everyone the truth, right? We have to do something!”

The chaperone sighs, shakes his head, and without emotion, he replied, “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that”.

He then pulled out a gun! Arvo quickly put himself in front of Verdi in hopes to protect her.

The sound of the gun cocking into place echoed throughout the bunker. Luckily, Mr. Hollenstein, another chaperoning professor, noticed that Verdi and Arvo trailed off southward from the rest of the class, so he headed that way to find them. He saw Mr. Lockeson enter the bunker after them with a gun in the back of his pants. He followed him and knew Mr. Lockeson was clearly sent on the students' trip with a different motive.

Without thought, he quickly picked up a broken pipe, snuck up from behind, and struck Lockeson on the head, rendering him unconscious. He dropped the pipe and puts his hands up to show he meant Verdi and Arvo no harm. They backed up as far from the scene as they could terrified and confused. Hollenstein contemplated how he could get them to trust that he was on their side. “Well, can't go wrong with the truth, right?” he said to himself.

"It's okay. It's okay. You're Ervin Rendstad's kids right? Look, I volunteered for this field trip hoping to find traces of the truth…” he picked up the letter Verdi dropped earlier, looked over at the time machine and continued, “It looks like you may have found some.”

Verdi stepped forward to move from behind her brother. She gave Arvo a look they would normally give one another when they agreed on a matter. Arvo and Verdi nodded to one another. She said to Mr. Hollenstien, “Alright then. So, now what?” He smiled slightly, extended his hand towards them, and said with slight urgency, “Come on, we have much to do.”