2

12 years ago.

After some labored breathing, Geoffrey made his way to the table. His body hung, and it looked like it could keel over at any time. He had been taking prescription drugs for so long just to keep himself alive that he couldn’t remember when he started using them. He used them now, so he wouldn’t feel nauseated, for several weeks, but it was only a bandaid. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would be gone. 

The problem was, he knew there was still much to do. It was all his fault, and he knew he couldn’t fix this before he died. He knew he had to find another way. 

To make this happen, there were things he needed to organize before it was too late. If he didn’t get this done, and his plan didn’t work out, he would be responsible for the biggest debacle in history… the biggest one that would ever happen.

He had to do this now, and before Gunther was born. Furthermore, he was not even sure if she was the right person. Maybe she wasn’t, he thought. Wouldn’t that be an enigma? No. That would be a disaster. She needed to be the right one. 

“Is it done yet? Is she born, already?” The seer, who’s real name was Sally, gave off an illusion of being a simple woman to most, but she was far from that. She came across as being stupid to them, most people seemed to like her that way, and she was fine with that. But there was a side that she hid from most people. She had a hidden intelligence, and not just a verbal and logical, that could run circles around most. 

She also had a temper. She had seen some of the most horrible things in her life that any person should see. She now saw, as she described, as the stupidity of the people of the world, and she wasn’t too keen on helping any of them, because, as as she also described, they really don’t deserve it.

She was probably one of the most intense people Geoffrey had ever met. He spent a lot of time with The Changest Group, a group responsible for the future of Gunther, in a place much more intricate than Earth. The people that knew the real seer found her abrasive, complicated, brilliant, and often annoying. She did what she thought she needed to do, and often avoided everything else. Furthermore, people didn’t want to annoy her. It wasn’t that she became violent. She just knew things about everyone, somehow, and things that people didn’t want to know about themselves. She was more than willing to share those things with them if she was pushed.

“She’s not born yet, but the change has already been made.” Geoffrey turned the fedora on his head a bit. His hair, at least what he had left, was short and greying. He kept his fedora on everywhere, so he wouldn’t have to tidy his hair. He hated his hair. He was balding, and the hair he had was wild and messy. He covered his head with his hat, and his hat was his hair, in his mind. He had too much on his mind to worry about insignificant things like his vanity.

The seer expected others to do what was expected in their jobs, even when she didn’t, which was often, except for when she believed it would either benefit her, or it effected her guilt, directly. In reality, she didn’t want to have anything to do with anything. She just wanted to put this Changer mess behind her. 

But there was something gnawing at her, and she needed to fix it. The problem was, when no-one wanted to converse with you, after a while, you tended to see the world to become a warped version of itself. People become different than they really are, and their potential actions become different then they actually would have been. After a while, this was what became of Sally, and one thing they didn’t want to happen to Gunther. Sally’s version of reality became something different than the reality that took place around her. 

The seer listens now. Furthermore, she just tried to block out all the voices that surrounded her. It was too late for her now. The damage was already done, and he had no desire to change it. She just wanted to be left alone until she died, which she hoped would be soon.

She hid her true self below her shell only for certain people to see. It was easier that way for her. Her real self was focused and driven, and when it came to her real goal, she was deadly structured, and could care less about how any one ignorant idiot person felt. To her, that was everyone that went to her for a fortune, and just about everyone else. But aside from her necessary job, which was helping Gunther, she was as lazy person as she could be. 

“So she’s the Changer now?”

“How many times do I have to tell you? She is genetically the Changer. We had nothing to do with that. We only made a few adjustments.”

The seer squirmed. “I know what a Changer is.” Sally looked like she was about to hit Geoffrey. She didn’t like being treated like she was an idiot. She  may not have been a scientist like him, but she was as brilliant as him, possibly more, and she didn’t like being belittled… by anyone. She put up with Geoffrey, but only because she needed to work with him. Also, she didn’t like being told she was lazy. She was, but telling her that was asking to be slapped, or worse. “I don’t like this altering mess. You shouldn’t mess with nature. This better work. We don’t need another mess in a long line of messes.”

“We’ve done this many times before to others that were not Changers. It won’t be an issue.”

“It better not be. I don’t like the idea of changing her. There is a reason why she is the way she is.”

“We needed to make sure what happened before wouldn’t happen again. “

“So this is my fault? Might I remind you of your part in that fiasco?”

The old man took a deep breath. He looked at the table and spoke. “I didn’t say that, and no. But that makes my point. Changers have a lot of potential, good and bad… you know that. We had to be sure.” It was obvious he was expecting flashback from Sally for saying this. He was too frail to worry about whether or not she would act out, but he had to make her understand. He needed her on his side for this because he needed her help.

“You know there were extenuating circumstances, before. If you hadn’t done what you did when you did it, that never would have happened… it was your fault.”

“This is different. We only modified her amygdala. She’s much more stable now. She now doesn’t make rash decisions and isn’t quick to make choices like before. She thinks first.”

“Maybe if you just didn’t randomly murder people, there wouldn’t be problems like that one, and you wouldn’t have to modify anything.”

He stared at Sally, deciding his next move, and how far he should push this subject. “Even her death hadn’t happened, something else could have. You know what has happened in the past.”

Sally looked him directly into his eyes, so directly, it looked like she was looking through them. He knew that Sally didn’t care about much of anything. But she was heavily passionate about this. ”I don’t like the idea of your people messing with her like that. She always was like that. It was part of what made her, her. Maybe Changers are supposed to be rash. Have you ever thought of that?”

“It was a minor change. Her amygdala is still intact. We just made minor changes. Do you remember what happened the last couple of times over the last 120 years? We needed to make sure that didn’t happen again.”

“Why didn’t you just make her smarter whilst you’re at it?”

“She’s already going to be one of the smartest people who ever lived. Making changes in that area would be risky. Besides, You know there are risks to messing with a person’s intelligence. We couldn’t take that risk.” Geoffrey wasn’t very good at sarcasm or when someone tried to make a point by using extreme examples. He knew this, but even then, he often lost points in conversations. 

“I was making a point.”

“We need to tell her about this change.” Geoffrey didn’t like secrets and he knew from the past she didn’t want to tell her anything, at all. Secrets made him uncomfortable. Why have them at all? Just be honest. He always felt like there was something he needed to do, and he didn’t like hiding anything because he didn’t like that he always had something weighing on his mind. He hated that he was going to have to keep a big secret, and this was a huge one. He felt that he shouldn’t have to be held responsible for this, and such an important secret at that. 

Who knew what damage they might have done to the child, especially such an important one? Gunther, the unborn child, would be central to all of humanity in terms of its anthropological connection. She was the center of the human sociological and anthropological connection, and without her, the world would progress considerably slower. That was what Changers did. When she would act, everyone on this web would vibrate and shift. Geoffrey knew this. She was fully connected to everyone, indirectly, and, possibly, every creature in nature. 

But Now Gunther had a new responsibility thanks to Geoffrey, and it was significantly more important than being a Changer, if that were possible.

Geoffrey’s dying came at a most inopportune time, and Geoffrey knew it. Gunther was going to need all the help she could get. The world was in danger and he knew it was his fault. This issue was one he created, and having a Changer around might be the answer he needed. She would already be terribly intelligent logically, socially, and in almost every other way, as far as he knew. No-one was capable enough, aside from her, to figure this out. 

There was so much Geoffrey needed to do before he died, so much he needed to organize so Gunther would be put on the right path and ready. Time was running out for him. The funny thing was he wasn’t worried about as much about dying as fixing the problem he created. He could feel his body slowing down, and he still had much to do before it stopped completely. 

Geoffrey felt uncomfortable about the whole thing, and had felt this way for months. It wasn’t about his impending death, he didn’t like that they might hurt her, emotionally. “Not telling her about the change we made to her brain will only confuse her if she finds out.”

”No. We shouldn't tell her at all. You know I don’t like this, but I am familiar as to how it will shock her if she finds out. Just let it go, already.” The Seer lumbered over to a wooden chair, grabbed and moved it as if it was considerably lighter than it actually was, and spun it toward the table. She pulled it up to the table, hobbled over to the chair, and sat it. It creaked as she relaxed into the chair, much of her body, falling over each side of it. “We were in agreement already. We are going to do it this way, and we are going to do it the way they expect us to." The seer spoke harshly and with a resonant voice. It was obvious she was tired of going over this, and she wanted to let it go. She had no accent, but she spoke passionately and slowly, and she forcefully enunciated the accent of each word she spoke now like she usually did. “She can't know what we've done, and I don't want to hear any of that crap about human rights. Just let it go already!” The seer took a medium sized candy bar out of her pocket, peeled the candy wrapper off, threw the wrapper on the table, and shoved the entire candy bar into her mouth. The seer's butt was huge, and her hips were over-sized for any human. It was amazing her pear shaped body could even balance itself on her tiny feet, or that the chair could hold her weight. She knew she was in terrible shape for her age, but she didn’t care. The importance of her life had already passed in her opinion, and she wanted to enjoy herself now, which usually involved eating whatever she wanted at the time.  No dumbass Doctor would tell her how to live.

Geoffrey grabbed the wrapper and placed it in his pocket. "We have to tell her. It's the right thing to do, and besides, we are trying to keep her balanced. That's the real goal." Geoffrey coughed. He was over-sized and gangly, and his skin was pale and sweaty, which made him look even less human than his strange size made him look. "And I am one of the Changest Group, so if you need to make a change, just ask me. I’ll see what I can do. So if you are worrying about that, don't." Geoffrey slowly struggled to drag his chair forward, and then he sat across from the seer at the table. Sally could tell he chose his words wisely, so he wouldn’t need to tire himself out, needlessly. He was immensely tired all the time, and even speaking was hard for him. It was obvious there was something not right about him. Every movement seemed intentional. Even with his sickly behavior, he still towered over the Seer, and with him leaning on his cane, it looked like he was going to keel over. He had a seat. His lack of muscles made him look less human, if that were possible. It was amazing, Sally thought, that within this frail man, was one of the most brilliant people that ever lived, and still is. His body was dying, but his brain was clear and immensely logical. 

"We have a goal. Nothing else matters other than our goal." The seer swallowed whatever candy bar that was in her mouth in one swallow.

Geoffrey made a humph sound in agreement. The coffee shop presented itself like a tiny cafe. In the front, there were windows that reached out from the shop, and overhead on the ceiling. They sat near the front of the shop. Tables were scattered across the floor all the way to the back, haphazardly, and chairs made no logical sense, as they were often not near the tables.

Sally could see the hearty trees outside through the windows. It wasn’t exactly how she imagined earth would look, but she assumed, as Geoffrey’s familiarity to coffee shops related to how he knew them, it might as well have been. Technically, this was earth. But, in a way, it wasn’t. The legal rules and laws of earth didn’t apply here. When this world was created by Geoffrey, people had to start from scratch, creating laws and everything he and Sally could see around them. It was a scary feeling, knowing that the laws they lived with for so many years no longer applied, and knowing you are responsible for everything they would see, live, and feel. The laws of America took hundreds of years to create and understand why they should be that way, and why they work the way they work. This new world’s laws took considerably longer to create, and the scientists had a large decision in the matter as to how they would work, and in their favor.

Many of the people who lived in this new world came from the earth that everyone knew. And they were already scientists, philosophers, artists, counselors, teachers, Doctors, and more. Here were no gunmen, killers, hitmen, or scam people. Few people knew about this place or could even find it. Anyone could go to this place, but the new world drew them to it because there was no fighting or war, and they could focus on what they all felt was important, the next Changer. They knew he or she was coming. They just didn’t know who or when. They were all studying in this place so when he or she did come on the earth, they would be ready. 

In the end, there were so many people there studying everything, they ended up progressing quickly in science, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and most every other field. The knowledge there that they obtained dwarfed that on the earth. The place became a haven for learning, and eventually, their knowledge advanced ahead of earth by hundreds, and at times, thousands of years.

The problem was, with the new laws they followed and the lack of the need for punishments, their world became lopsided. The idea for the ways they solved problems became inappropriate. They became over focused on things that were important to them, and they left behind everything else that was important, like law and much of history. History has a habit of repeating itself, which is why it is important to learn it. But knowledge had bounded forward so quickly in this place, that they eventually forgot to look back.

Geoffrey spent most of his life either here, in this new world, or in his special place, staring at his chalkboard, trying to figure out where he went wrong.

Eventually, he did it. He manipulated space by altering time, but at great cost. He should have left things alone, he thought. None of this would have been an issue if he just kept his mind away from where it didn’t belong. Maybe it was ego. Maybe he was showing off how smart he thought he was. Maybe he wanted everyone to know what he was capable of doing. No. He just wanted to scratch an itch. He was interested in figuring out what could not seemingly be possible.

The whole thing made him sick to his stomach, or maybe that was his nausea. He was dying, and he was more worried about the damage he created than his impending death. There were worse things than death, he decided. He had little time left to make things right. He should have left things alone. But now the cat’s out of the bag, he thought. He had to find a way to put it back in or else the world would be doomed.

Now, he needed to explain everything to a child who wasn’t even born yet,  with a body of his that was not real. Either he would do it, or Sally would, and he really wasn’t looking forward to that. Stupid. What was he thinking? Gunther better be as capable, mentally… more capable, then the last Changers were, because she would need all the intelligence she could get. Maybe they should have made her more intelligent, just in case. No. They could really mess up her mind if they tried that. 

There was something he was missing. There was a reason he couldn’t figure this out. She would need to see something that he couldn’t.

He was one of the few people, possibly the only person, as it was, who could understand what he did to expand space by manipulating space-time. But he couldn’t figure out how to reverse it. It was kind of like bending metal, and then trying to bend it back to look exactly the same that it originally was. It was just not possible without melting it down and molding the entire thing.

 Now all the Changest Group were depending on an unborn girl to fix a problem that Geoffrey created, couldn’t repair, himself, and no one else could repair.  

The seer saw the bigger picture. She always did. Geoffrey knew this. The could be coming to its end, and he was worried about the welfare of one person. Geoffrey worried about the Changer regardless, which was strange, because he was a scientist. He should have been the level headed one. But he worried about a person that wasn't even born yet. He cared for someone he had never met. That said, it wasn’t because he loved her. It was because he needed her to solve a problem, which was a very ‘scientist’ way of thinking.

 Geoffrey dropped his head under its weight, and shook it. It might have looked like disappointment to the seer, but Geoffrey was sick. There was a time when he would stick up for what he believed in, but now he was just too tired. "It would be inhumane not to tell her.” Said Geoffrey. "What we are going to put her through will be nothing short of inhumane. Even the mother will need to be removed from the equation just so Gunther would see the world clearly on an anthropological and cultural level in a way that no other human can or has." Geoffrey was unhappy about the whole situation, but he knew this would have to be done. The Changer needed to be controlled, and she needed to be like a machine. And Geoffrey hated himself for thinking that.

Sally looked at Geoffrey in a way that made him sick. He knew what she was thinking, and he hated himself for it. After a moment of her looking very uncomfortable, she finally said something. "We didn't make her into the Changer, she just is. And as for her mother, just do it. I don’t want to hear about it. Just do it. We can't afford her having too much influence on her.”

"But removing an innocent woman for our benefit..."

"I know. It just seems wrong." Said the seer. “But we have been doing this for years in our world and it seemed to work.”

“Yeah? Did it work for you?”

The Seer frowned. Sally didn’t like that. It was a low blow. “That’s different. She will be four.”

“Murder always has repercussions. It doesn’t matter who it affects of how old they are. It affects everyone, and the act vibrates throughout everyone on that person’s web… for as far as the web can vibrate.” Geoffrey wasn’t happy the way the laws had progressed in his new world. Scientists were never meant to be philosophers or especially killers. They didn’t think right. They used the best scientific route to solve a problem instead of thinking of the consequences. That was what got them in this mess in the first place. “And who will bring the Changer up and make sure she becomes a good person?"

Sally didn't say anything. She just stared at Geoffrey. The seer could see the look of guilt on Geoffrey’s face and knew what was coming. “No. You aren’t doing this. You can’t do something just to satisfy your guilt, and you certainly can’t do this if you are dead. She’s the Changer. She’s supposed to be different.” Geoffrey didn’t say anything for a moment. He felt conflicted, and responsible for an unborn child. He was trying to justify this entire scenario, but he couldn’t. No sane person could. He just stared at Sally completely lost in a muck of confusion and guilt. He had this planned out months ago, and he couldn’t go back now. “I have already downloaded it.”

“You shouldn’t do this. You can’t record emotion on a computer. You are going to make it worse, not better. Who knows what it will do to her.” Each of Sally's shoes' laces were untied, but it didn't seem to bother her. “She won’t know anything else because she will be born this way.”

“She will have enough problems just trying to be a good person. We aren't going to let what happened one hundred odd years ago happen again. We can't. Millions died, just because we didn't train one Changer properly. And this time, with the connections, knowledge, and the lack of cultural and sociological binding the world has, this next inevitable war is one we most likely won’t bounce back from.  

“I trained the last Changer wrong. I will make sure I won’t do it again.”

Sally’s shoe laces were still undone. Geoffrey could barely stand. He still instinctively bent over and started tying one of Sally's shoes. "You mean, your great great grandmother didn't train him properly, not you. Besides, that's not how it works, and you know it."

Sally shook her head. "Seriously? You are going to tie my shoes? I’m not a child.” She paused to let him. "And yeah. ...I know." She lowered her voice.  "It's just easier to take the blame. It feels like it’s my fault, and my family has had to live with this stain for lifetimes.” she said, “I need to fix this if it kills me in the process.” 

“And it might if you choose to jump in head first the way you so carelessly are choosing to do it.”

“We're doing this."

Geoffrey finally managed to lift his head and stared at the seer for what seemed like several seconds. He knew about her laziness, but he never saw her as passionate about anything as she was right now. It gave him comfort. "I know you are right. This is too important not to do this. It just feels wrong."

"Do you think I don't know that?" the seer fidgeted, her body shook like a tight bowl of jelly as she leaned forward. "The stain on my family is embarrassing. And don’t give me some speech about right and wrong. I lived it first hand. I know the risks and what could happen. We need this to work. I need this to work. But not like this. It's too risky. “It won’t be you, but only an echo of you.”

"I agree, and I know. But this has happened too many times and failed. Your failure is further proof that even a good person can do wrong or even go bad. And this time there is an entirely new layer at stake. You were worried about another war? There won’t be time for a war if the world keeps going in the direction it’s going now. 

“When it comes to the impending war, centuries have gone bye, and countless Changers. All of them have failed. People just aren't getting it, and this time, failure is not an option. People still think sociology and anthropology are both unimportant. They are paramount. 

“But that is only one issue, the smaller one. Space-time is being ripped to shreds right in front of us. We are out of time, literally”. Geoffrey picked up his drink and took a sip. “That is my stain. I should have known better. What a fool I was, messing with the fabric of the world. The world will either advance, or it will collapse under its own weight.” Geoffrey had a resigning face. He looked sad, and helpless. 

"Then what's the point of this meeting? It seems you don't even need my ideas." Said the seer. Geoffrey knew Sally wasn't happy she had to revisit this experience as it was, but being here must have made it all too real. He knew Sally would rather just let things happen and let the chips lie then forcing it on the world. Even the job she chose, which was supposed to only be a ruse, said something about her.

Geoffrey sulked into his chair and took a deep breath. "Honestly, I'm here for your help."  He didn't like asking for her help, but he knew he needed her. He knew she didn’t want to be there. He knew she would rather just let things do whatever they were going to do. But when it came to the end of the universe, you just can’t let it happen. He needed her to get off her butt. Geoffrey knew what was coming, and he felt guilty and nervous just asking. "You can see I am not doing well. I may not live too much longer. They have already downloaded my brain data into the database and placed it in the proper dimension. They want you to go back." He didn't say that last part loudly, but he knew it was loud enough for Sally to hear.

“After everything my family has gone through, you want me to try again?" She spoke louder than normal, which was pretty loud. "Wasn't one mistake enough?"

“I wish you’d stop going back to that.”

"She could have done better. She could have searched him out, earlier."

"She was sick. Even at that earlier point in time, years beforehand, She was too tired. Most of her life she was too tired to do much of anything”.  And even as sick as Geoffrey was, he managed to lean forward and open his eyes, widely, with a long, wrinkling, greying face. He slowly enunciated his next words, considerably quieter and more forcefully. Sally could see the whites around his pupils, which  must have looked strange for a 90 something year old. For a moment, he managed to gather all the strength he could muster. For an ill person, for a moment, he was full with life. "It. Wasn't. Her. Fault." He leaned forward further and put his right hand over Sally's right wrist.  "I believe in you. You can do this. You must. I’m sorry, Sally, to put this responsibility on you. But it all depends on you after the Changer.” 

Sally stared at him, looked to her right, frowned, took a deep breath, and said, resigned. "Fine.” She took out another candy bar, and swallowed the whole thing in one gulp. She leaned back and raised her hands. “Fine.” She said, plainly.

"So you'll go?"

"We need to make some rules.” 

Geoffrey agreed. "I want to make sure she is safe at all times. There is too much at risk to chance doing this again.”

“OK.” He said, “ but in truth there may not be the possibility of an ‘again’ anyway.” He said.

“I get your point, already.”

Geoffrey took a deep breath the best he could. He was obviously struggling to breathe. “You already know my likeness will be with her at all times, and it will be invisible to everyone else. However, there is a danger. If the dimensions are connected through a membrane, it could create a blackhole, or possibly a wormhole, and terrible things could happen. This is why my likeness can not be corporeal.  My likeness will barely have the ability to show itself to the Changer, alone, without creating havoc. We altered her mind in the process of altering her at birth so she could see through the vail of that membrane across a dimension. She will be the only person who will be able to see my likeness.” 

“Are you sure this will work?”

“No.”