Mildly political post
Oct. 28th, 2008 08:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rbandrewsI wrote this last night, but I couldn't post it then.
The man was in his late thirties, a little overweight, with a buzz cut, but friendly eyes. This didn't reassure the senator when he popped into existence in his hotel room.
"Please don't be alarmed. I can't hurt you, even if I wanted to, which I don't. Try to touch me."
With more than a little trepidation, the senator reached out and touched the man's arm. His fingers passed right through.
"It's a hologram. Also, you're the only one who can see me, so don't call any secret service or you'll have some 'splainin to do, okay? Have a seat, we need to talk."
"Who are you? What are you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm a Time Agent. My name is Andrew Sullivan, and I'm here to make you an offer."
"Offer? What are you offering?"
"That's complicated, and first I have to explain what the Agency does. Have a seat."
He sat back into his chair, willing to hear the hallucination out. It's not as if he could be hurt. "So you're from the future, I take it?"
"Actually, no, I was born in 1982. That's why I was chosen, I am the only Agent who is from roughly the same period as you. We thought you might trust me more than someone four centuries younger."
"Trust you to do what?"
"To save the human race. That's what the Agency does."
"Oh, this should be good..."
"A little under four centuries from now, 2390, the Earth is invaded by aliens. They wipe out human civilization completely, and there's not a whole lot we're able to do to stop them. See, in the next four centuries, our scientific knowledge only proceeds along a couple axes. We can do cool things with particle physics, but not so much with medicine, for example."
"'Cool things?'"
"Hey, I'm a field agent, and from four hundred years ago. I don't really understand the future much more than you do. During the attack, humanity only really had one useful trick up our sleeves: a time machine. A few people went back and formed the Time Agency. We are trying to speed up technological advancement so that by the time the aliens come, we have guns to shoot them with. Or something. With all the timeline in the world to play with, we can improve things across the board, too."
"We do this two ways: most of the time we just give hints. We help researchers figure things out faster than they would otherwise. A lot of Nobel Prize winners got a visit like this one, for example. I'm not naming any names."
He grinned, and paused for a sip of water from a glass, which disappeared when he set it down. "The second is the deal I'm offering you. Sometimes, people can slow down progress just by being in the timeline, and sometimes, we can prevent them being there without hurting anyone. You're one of those cases."
The senator was a shrewd man. You don't get to be in his position without it. "You wouldn't be here unless I win. What can you offer me weighed against that?"
"A cure for cancer."
He deflated a little bit. That was worth it. At that moment, he knew he'd have to take the deal. He did want to know a little more though.
"I am not supposed to tell you exactly when you die, but I can say that you don't give a State of the Union. I'm offering you another thirty or forty years of life, lived whenever you want."
"'Whenever I want?'"
"Any time before 1900 or after 2100. Part of the deal is that you stay out of events. We can even offer you a new body, if you leaving has the effect we hope. No promises on that part though."
"Why me? What do I do that's so bad?"
"Nothing, really. You don't have time to, after all. It's your vice-president."
He'd known that she would get him into trouble. He'd just had no idea how much. "Okay, I'm in. What do I do?"
The man was in his late thirties, a little overweight, with a buzz cut, but friendly eyes. This didn't reassure the senator when he popped into existence in his hotel room.
"Please don't be alarmed. I can't hurt you, even if I wanted to, which I don't. Try to touch me."
With more than a little trepidation, the senator reached out and touched the man's arm. His fingers passed right through.
"It's a hologram. Also, you're the only one who can see me, so don't call any secret service or you'll have some 'splainin to do, okay? Have a seat, we need to talk."
"Who are you? What are you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm a Time Agent. My name is Andrew Sullivan, and I'm here to make you an offer."
"Offer? What are you offering?"
"That's complicated, and first I have to explain what the Agency does. Have a seat."
He sat back into his chair, willing to hear the hallucination out. It's not as if he could be hurt. "So you're from the future, I take it?"
"Actually, no, I was born in 1982. That's why I was chosen, I am the only Agent who is from roughly the same period as you. We thought you might trust me more than someone four centuries younger."
"Trust you to do what?"
"To save the human race. That's what the Agency does."
"Oh, this should be good..."
"A little under four centuries from now, 2390, the Earth is invaded by aliens. They wipe out human civilization completely, and there's not a whole lot we're able to do to stop them. See, in the next four centuries, our scientific knowledge only proceeds along a couple axes. We can do cool things with particle physics, but not so much with medicine, for example."
"'Cool things?'"
"Hey, I'm a field agent, and from four hundred years ago. I don't really understand the future much more than you do. During the attack, humanity only really had one useful trick up our sleeves: a time machine. A few people went back and formed the Time Agency. We are trying to speed up technological advancement so that by the time the aliens come, we have guns to shoot them with. Or something. With all the timeline in the world to play with, we can improve things across the board, too."
"We do this two ways: most of the time we just give hints. We help researchers figure things out faster than they would otherwise. A lot of Nobel Prize winners got a visit like this one, for example. I'm not naming any names."
He grinned, and paused for a sip of water from a glass, which disappeared when he set it down. "The second is the deal I'm offering you. Sometimes, people can slow down progress just by being in the timeline, and sometimes, we can prevent them being there without hurting anyone. You're one of those cases."
The senator was a shrewd man. You don't get to be in his position without it. "You wouldn't be here unless I win. What can you offer me weighed against that?"
"A cure for cancer."
He deflated a little bit. That was worth it. At that moment, he knew he'd have to take the deal. He did want to know a little more though.
"I am not supposed to tell you exactly when you die, but I can say that you don't give a State of the Union. I'm offering you another thirty or forty years of life, lived whenever you want."
"'Whenever I want?'"
"Any time before 1900 or after 2100. Part of the deal is that you stay out of events. We can even offer you a new body, if you leaving has the effect we hope. No promises on that part though."
"Why me? What do I do that's so bad?"
"Nothing, really. You don't have time to, after all. It's your vice-president."
He'd known that she would get him into trouble. He'd just had no idea how much. "Okay, I'm in. What do I do?"
