Paradox

I can’t believe it’s been two years already.

Closing the small black notebook, the page marker fluttered a little from the residual wind. Exasperated I leaned back in my chair.

Who would have thought that $20,000 would have caused a war, destroyed a dynasty, and crippled a multidimensional invasion?

Glancing out a nearby window the morning sun was just beginning to pierce the skies.

“YAAWWWNNN”

Rising I stretched. A Versace robe draped from my frame. Who would have thought that two years prior I would be here? With a wave of my hand the wall height windows folded in on themselves, opening to a small patio area.

~Knock knock knock~

“Mr. London, your morning tea.”

The door behind me had slightly cracked as the head maid entered.

“Thank you Merideth and good morning. Might I say you look lovely today.”

Merideth was a mature woman of sixty, with the style and physicality of women half her age.

“Well thank you sir. You always know how to start a woman’s day off right.” Chuckling she headed back towards the door. “Oh, and there is a Tafari Manchi that has just arrived. She said that you were old investment buddies?”

Freezing mid sip my hands began trembling.

Tafari Manchi. No, it couldn’t be, she was supposed to be dead. I watched her die with my own eyes two years ago.

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My mind raced back to when this all started.

The 4th day of the 16th month, The celebration of Spiralus.

The year 5098.

The sounds of mellow lofi exuded from the cars stereo system prying the days irritating claws from my mind.

Man, I can’t wait to get home.

Glancing through the rain-soaked windshield I watched for the commercial on Grande Roulette Stations building to finish so I could catch the time. Hoovering at the stop light, I loosened my tie; unbuttoning that annoying top button.

Ahh…That’s better. Now let’s see here. 17:43. If I’m lucky I’ll make it home just in time to hear the neighbors daily shouting match.

I hated my neighbors. I hated my job. Heck, I hated my life. But it was mine and I’d be damned if anyone was going to take it from me. Pulling down the visor a picture of my recently deceased wife and daughter greeted me. I kissed my fingers before raising it to my wife’s lips and daughter’s forehead. Next to it was a picture of my mother. She too was deceased but had been for nearly 100 years.

“The What-you-gots-Cookbook. Right momma?”

The sound of honking behind me brought my attention back to the light which had now turned green.

“Yea, yea whatever. You aint goin nowhere important.” I yelled into my backseat. Just as my foot hit the gas something banged into the hood of my car. The visage of a young woman roughly around my age, sliding across the hood of my car and continuing down into a dark alley caused me to again hit the brakes. I guess she wasn’t expecting me to move, because it seemed to disorient her causing her landing to be less than flawless.

“What the heck was her deal?”

Not seconds behind her a flock of pursuers came careening across the street. Some leaping over the roof of my car, others the hood; but none looked like humans. All humanoid in configuration, they almost melded as their speed left purple obscure afterimages. Each compounding upon the other. Their faces covered by the masks of various beasts. One stopped as the others continued after their quarry. Staring at me, its head cocked to the side. A deafening “THUMP” resonated within my body. It was as of my soul itself was being unlocked. The figure pointed towards me and then the direction of his quarry, before fading into obscurity amongst the other after images.

The sound of a thousand muffled heartbeats reverberated within my body. Various recreations of myself spontaneously erupting from every facet I convulsed. The lives of many, flashed before my eyes, as pieces of my physical appearance momentarily altered to reflect each in response.

~Honk honk, honk honk!~

The sound of angered drivers behind me honking jostled my consciousness to the forefront; my body slowly calming down.

Did they not just see what happened?

Pulling forward I quickly turned, trying to see if I could reach the end of the alley before they did.

What just happened to me?

Images from lives, past, present, and future, continued to force their way through my brain. The knowledge of each being downloaded as I raced down the block. At every intersection I looked to see if I could catch even a glimpse of the group. Knowing the alley dead ended on Conroy, I decided to just beat them to the end of the junction.

As long as they don’t turn, or go to the roof tops, I should be able to catch up to them.

Coming to the edge of Ucumbre lane I waited at the light; my head straining around the corner to catch a glimpse of movement from the next block over.

Ok, maybe I’m finally ahead of them.

The pulsating thrums of lifetimes and knowledge again journeyed thought my body; my hands white knuckling the steering wheel to keep from losing consciousness. Suddenly a single individual with a briefcase darted across the street where I had just been looking; followed by the ominous purple imagery of millions of individuals chasing them.

Oh no, I’m too late! Screw the light!

Wheels screeching, I turned, cutting off an oncoming vehicle. Racing down the next block, my feet planted deep into the floor. Nearing the corner I smashed the breaks, the steering column almost breaking as I turned. Tires smoking from the friction, my hands feverishly attempted to maintain control as I fishtailed. The back end knocked a fire hydrant from its post; a geyser of emulsified liquids now shooting into the air.

There…

Finally, they were in front of me. Revving the engine, I could sense one of the many lives taking over. I had to save the person running. I had to catch up to him. I had to…

As if on autopilot my hands reached for the gear shift. Switching from manual to automatic the car rocketed forward, each shift of the gears propelling me towards my goal. Catching up to the back of the purple mass, I could hear a voice faintly echo.

“Go through them. Save her”

In response, my foot floored the gas, the car now cutting through the purple mist. But there were no bodies. Just images of people. Hauntingly unimaginable creatures.

The walls coming up, I should stop.

My foot would not release the gas as I continued plowing through the gaseous mob.

Its closer, I should really be stopping now. Why am I not stopping?!

Regaining control of my consciousness, both of my feet planted on the brakes. My hand yanking the emergency brake as hard as possible, I careened to an unimaginable stop. The head lights and bumper touching the nose of the individual once chased. In confusion, frustration, and bewilderment, my head fell into the steering wheel. The car’s horn reflecting off the alley walls.

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!

Sitting up I patted my body. I was all me. Nothing, for the moment, seemed to be out of place. The rains constant spattering on the hood, must have hid the sound of constant knocking. Coming out of my own head my eyes adjusted to the hood of the car to see a hand banging feverishly against it. Quickly I reversed to give the individual room, before opening the door to offer assistance.

“I’m so sorry! Are you ok? I saw that purple mass of…. What …What was that?! What are you?! Who are you!? Are you ok?!! What did they do to me?!”

Impeded by her own fatigue, the woman stood. Leaning against the car.

“That’s a lot of questions, but do you think you could take me somewhere first? Before they come back?”

Realizing the only one who would believe any of what happened to me over the last 10 minutes was this singular person I motioned for her to hop into the passenger seat. Running back around, we backed out and began making our way across town.

“So who are you?”

“I’m sorry.” Still catching her breath the woman sat up to her full height. Pushing her waterlogged locs over her shoulders she extended a hand. “My name is Tafari Manchi. But I must ask, you saw them yes?” The purple mist and the creatures within?”

Nodding I continued to keep my eyes on my rearview mirror just in case something had followed us.

“Yea, yea. It was like a cloud of mythical creatures. One of them, had this bird faced mask and stopped to look at me when you first ran over my car. He, he pointed at me and then took back off after you.”

Hands that had been fiddling with wiping rain off of the bag stopped. Her head turned slowly in my direction.

“You said he pointed at you?”

I nodded.

“What happened after that?”

Shrugging, I rubbed the back of my neck. “Well, I started having these...”

Tafari finished my sentence, “Visions of other lives?”

My feet again slammed on the breaks. “How did you know that?”

Looking around she signaled for me to keep driving. “What is wrong with you? We can be just stopping like that in the middle of Alcuria. Don’t you know what kind of creatures live out here?”

Up until this point I had just been listening to his directions and the many voices springing forth within my mind. This was the first time I actually took note of our surroundings. We had long left the city limits and were not driving through the Outer Moors.

“You are now linked to your lineage. Past, present, and Future…throughout the multiverse.”

Shaking my head in disbelief I chuckled, “So you’re telling me that every decision that I, my ancestors, or my descendants have made I now have access to?”

“Yes.”

My head swayed in incredulity, the whole time watching the barren darkened panorama roll past us.

“If I really had that knowledge, I’d know exactly where we are going. And I do not…. So, try that BS on someone else. Speaking of which?”

This time I slowed the car to a stop. Here in the middle of the Bridge of Perspective there was hardly ever any traffic. Those who lived in both Jecrem and Torful rarely traversed Alcuria and as such the Bridge of Perspective had most definitely seen some better days.

“Why are we here?”

“We are here because you want answers. You want to know about what happened to you. And you want to know why we are going to ....”

“JeCrem…please, everyone knows that is the only possible answer. That’s the only thing on the other side of this bridge. Besides the tunnel into JeCrem has a secret entrance to the Hisno estate grounds…..”

Smiling Tefari rapped her hands on the cars dash. “I take it you have never been to JeCrem, let alone know where or who the Hisno Estates belong to?”

Sensing the confirmation, she smiled. “You may want to start moving the car again.” Pointing out into the waste, images of Crag beasts beginning to converge from across the valley floor told a story to which neither of us wanted the end. Images and memories continued to sporadically flood into my mind’s eye as we continued forward, closing the distance between us and destiny.

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Seeing I had yet to move, Merideth paused before exiting.

“Sir. Are you ok? Should I tell her now isn’t a good time?”

Her voice brought me back to the present.

“Are you ok sir?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Thank you Merideth. Tell her I’ll be down momentarily.”

All I could think was, Here we go again.