#TimeTravelingGhost EP 8: Post 85: 2025 Arkham 2 of 2 parts

#Wss366 Slip #MastoPrompt Brunt #TimeTravelAuthors 03/27. Alternate timelines?

[Continued from previous post.]

“The second is that I would like you to take notes on what happens. Deposit them regularly and secretly. You will want to review them later.”

“Where do you want me to leave them?”

I hadn’t thought about that. I manifested a phone and searched for a mailbox rental place. “Rent a box in the name of Sarah Lock…”

That was a #slip. I could feel Emily’s eyes boring into me. What is it with her and that name?

“Lockhorn. Sarah Lockhorn,” I improvised. “At Arkham Mailstop.”

“That’s too obvious. They’ll spot her depositing mail,” Emily said, and took the full #brunt of another of her glares.

“Who?” Ms. Dubois looked between us, mystified.

“I’ll explain in a minute. That’s item three,” I said.

“I could leave them in my office?”

“No,” Emily and I said together, and I continued, “It’s going to be ransacked.”

“I don’t suppose you’re going to explain that,” the professor said, her tone petulant.

“No, I’m sorry I mentioned it,” I said.

Dubois sighed. “You know the hole in the big oak in Franklin Square Park? I could slip them in there.”

“Where’s that?” I asked.

"Behind that awful modern art statue. You know, the one that looks like a rock gnome giving the heavens the finger.”

I didn’t know where that was, either, but I figured I could find it. There couldn't be many statues like that.

"That will do," I said. "The third thing is to watch out for anthropomorphic rabbits wearing ICE Nine vests. Try to stay away from them. But note anything you see. It's important."

“What? Rabbits?”

Emily and I both shrugged and smiled.

Faust:

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #UrbanFantasy #Mythpunk #TimeTravel #HistoricalFantasy #Serial #Slowburn #Yuri #Faust

#TimeTravelingGhost EP 8: Post 85: 2025 Arkham 1 of 2 parts

#Wss366 Slip #MastoPrompt Brunt #TimeTravelAuthors 03/27. Alternate timelines?

Even with the abridged version, Emily’s eyes had glazed over by the time Professor Dubois finished. For my part, I only understood the high-level stuff. The salient details were twofold: first, that Faust knew more about time travel than I ever had and might have information on the Rabbits; and second, that while every time-particle had minor differences, alternate timelines were almost impossible. Time-pressure quickly erased significant deviations.

Emily had a question about that. “So you’re saying that saving Archduke Ferdinand or killing Hitler wouldn’t change history?”

"Exactly. There would be a short-term disturbance, but things would ultimately settle back into place. Faust tried to save Margarete several times, but she was always executed or died violently."

“But something like a meteor that caused the dinosaurs to go extinct would be enough?”

I saw what Emily was getting at, but I wasn't sure how she had arrived at the conclusion that there was a deeper reason for us to have witnessed that event. Besides, how do you influence a meteor?

“Possibly… I suppose. At least locally, but not on a universal scale.” Then, Ms. Dubois turned to me, said, “There were three reasons for your coming. What is the second?”

Goethe's Faust:

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #UrbanFantasy #Mythpunk #TimeTravel #HistoricalFantasy #Serial #Slowburn #Yuri #Faust

Three hours later:

The engineering team had been and gone. The agreed to price was roughly half their cargo, and had been the subject of some of the most intense haggling Alaine had seen the Captain take part in. Indeed, the haggling had taken twice as long as the assessment of the damage.

What was a surprise to everyone was the hyperspace coil replacement. These strange people said they could easily fabricate the replacements. It was just something they chose not to do, usually. They did have a few jump-capable ships, but almost never used them, choosing to keep to themselves.

Then there was Seeker. She had sat in on the briefing and the haggling, but never once spoke a word. Just watched. So Alaine had watched her.

Eventually it was just the two of them in the galley. And she was now watching him.

"How?" Alaine asked after several minutes.

"How what?" Alaine could hear her almost laughing in her reply.

"How did you know so much about us?"

"Ah. That is a question with many answers. Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes! That's why I asked!"

"Even if the answers are uncomfortable?"

"Yes!"

"Alright. Let's start with the simple ones," Seeker paused, "You heard my full name earlier?"

"Err, yes? 'Seeker of Hidden Truths'? Was that it?"

"Exactly. That is not the name I was born with, but it is my adult name. We acquire our names as our nature solidifies."

"So?"

"My nature is to uncover secrets. To find the truth behind things. I saw the way you looked at work teams in their ship suits, and heard your words to your Captain. From that it was easy to deduce your conclusions."

"But how did you know where we were going?"

"Deduction again. Your ship appeared to be running at half power on approach to the station. It is usually the way of your ship builders to match the reaction drive to the hyperspace engine, so I worked out where you had likely come from, and your likely destination based on the likely range of your engines."

"So it was all deduction?" Alaine asked after digesting Seeker's explanation.

"You heard what my great-grandmother said? About untruths?"

"Uh, that your people don't like them?"

"That we despise them. This does not mean that we cannot use them, and do, but they are a sign of poor character."

"What does that have to do with my question?"

"Everything. For while we despise an untruth, we are perfectly happy with a partial truth."

"So there is something else."

"But I am not going to tell you. Not yet."

"Why not?"

Seeker leaned forward "Because we will need to know each other much better first. Now, tell me of your home, your family."

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Now:

Seeker of Hidden Truths looked over the crew of the Athena again, sensing their confusion, and then looked up at the council.

"They are traders. Honest in their dealings. They planned a shortcut to Ikrundi. They suspect the raiders were rival traders, or sent by the same."

Alaine stared at the young woman, how did she know all this? He glanced at the Captain. She looked just as shocked and confused.

"And us?" one of the men on the Council asked.

"They know nothing. Some believe we are a secret division of their Scouts," Seeker paused and grinned, "On account of the shipsuit designs."

"Which they now know to be not the case, Seeker."

"Elder, they would know soon enough anyway" Seeker's voice sounded defensive.

A different person spoke up, a woman this time, "Complex Tunnels, you know that this would be the case. No need to admonish Seeker. Especially not in front of visitors. What is your determination, Seeker?"

"I think we should repair their ship, for a fair price, and allow them to trade. "

Alaine was running out of amazement - they were just going to let them go?

She continued "However," Alaine's relief collapsed, "the Scouts have left us even more alone, now that we can defend ourselves. We need news of the wider universe."

The old woman's voice sounded amused as it asked "And your solution?"

"We require them to return at least twice in a standard year. And one of us should travel with them, to represent our interests."

The old man, Complex Tunnels, broke in "Ha! The fruit does not fall far from the tree, does it now, Joy? Now, my fellow councillors - do we agree with this course, that young Seeker has set?"

There was a pause, and Joy spoke again "We are agreed. You intend to be that representative, Seeker?"

"Yes, Elder."

"I see I owe Complex Tunnels a brace of pack horses. Very well. Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Seeker will escort you and your crew back to your ship, and we will send an engineering team to quote. We do not use your credit system, so you will have to barter from your cargo to pay."

"Do we get any say in this?" the Captain asked.

"To be frank, Captain, no. You trespassed on our system, albeit without knowledge of us. You know this to be fair."

"It would have been nice to have the illusion of choice, at least," she grumbled.

"Oh, Captain!" Joy laughed "We despise untruth here. However, I invite you and your First Mate to join my family for dinner tonight. I think you and Charlie will get on marvellously. Seeker will mess with your crew, they will need to get to know one another before you depart."

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Hoeing

"Honestly, R42, I dunno how you manage to keep hoeing eight hours a day without losing your marbles."

"Easily: I consider the benefit of the situation, namely, eight hours away from humans and their depressing chatter."

#writever #MastoArt #FlashFiction #SmallStory #TootFic #MicroFiction