Chapter 26
The Challenge of Prometheus
Just then Ryan felt the Teacher’s presence in his mind once again and he somehow knew that it was also in contact with Regan, wherever she was.
The Teacher had succeeded. It had learned how to connect with them again. Ryan was not in the process of vanishing from existence, after all! At least not yet. What a relief.
“Children, please listen carefully. The world appears in slow-motion to you now but it is not. Instead, you are in fast-motion. I have speeded up both of your minds because we have far less than a second. When you saved your mom and changed the future of the Ryan and Regan in this room, and thus your past, I was able to complete key time calculations. The precise instant the timeline will un-kink and you will vanish is nearly upon us.
“But I can not and will not let this happen. At least not before I have taken some critical steps to ensure your safety. That is why I have contacted you now.
“I do not take these steps lightly, but you two are quite worthy of them. I fully expected that you would be after coming to know you from the copies of your minds, but the insight, selflessness, bravery, and heroism you have shown since we parted has left no doubt. You both possess the qualities of will, mind, and decency that are needed by your species, and the adventure you have taken together since passing through the time doorway has further enhanced these qualities and enriched you both. These qualities are more than worthy of preservation.
“For this reason, in the instant before the timeline un-kinks, I will transfer all of your thoughts, memories and experiences to the Ryan and Regan in this room—even the memory of the words I am now speaking. Your bodies will vanish as the new timeline dictates they must, but only after you have been transferred to new bodies—your own. Bodies you are familiar with in every way.
“Brace yourselves, children, it will happen . . . now.”
The experience was indescribable. There was a flash of light a thousand times brighter than the brightest summer day, yet it didn’t cause them any discomfort. In fact it was glorious. Then, suddenly, they were accelerating to near infinite speed and experienced every thought and every memory they had ever had all at once. It was exhilarating beyond belief and . . .
Slam! With a mighty jolt, the transfer was complete.
The scientists came back to life, moving normally again.
Regan, who had been hiding from the guards in the woods outside, now found herself back in the large room inside the soccer-ball shaped building. She was staring at her brother—but only for an instant! Before she could even blink he vanished without a trace! Ryan, standing beside her, also saw his mirror image disappear the instant the transfer had been completed.
Every scientist in the room gasped at the same time. The boy who had barged in on them and saved Amanda Resnick’s life had been right again! He had vanished as if he had never been—just as he had predicted. The other Regan must have also vanished from wherever she had been. Everyone looked over to Ryan to reassure themselves that at least one of the Ryans remained.
One Ryan did remain. And that Ryan felt fantastic. The searing pain in his head and side were gone. His hunger and thirst were gone.
This was terrific.
Suddenly the room stopped once more. Everyone turned to living statues as they had before. This time the kids knew what this meant: the Teacher had returned.
“Hello children. I have accelerated your minds again because we need to have a private conversation before you speak with the others. Because of this acceleration, you are now thinking so quickly you won’t have time to form words, so remember to ‘think’ your words—don’t try to speak. How do you feel?”
“Fantastic,” thought Ryan.
“I have scanned your minds and I am happy to report that the transfer was a complete success.”
“Thanks. Thanks for everything,” both kids thought in slightly different ways. Without the Teacher they would never have saved their mother—or themselves.
“You are very welcome. I have truly enjoyed getting to know you. But, unfortunately, this will be the last time I will establish a connection with you.”
“Why?” thought both kids in disappointment within an instant of each other.
“I have been in contact with the Qwervy. Humans were not supposed to find this place for hundreds of years. The Qwervy have the power to remove this city from your planet and erase all human memory of it. But they have chosen not to. Instead, they have decided to let you proceed so they can learn how your species will handle this opportunity; how you will explore, what you will learn, and how you will apply this knowledge.
“But all of your actions must be your own, without my help. What you learn you must learn for yourselves. The Qwervy believe your species has great potential, but also a dark and destructive side. The Qwervy doubt you are ready for what this city offers, but by naming this project Prometheus you have shown surprising insight into your own nature. This has given the Qwervy reason for hope. You are a primitive people who have been given fire—now what will you do? Will you use it to heat and light your grass huts or will you use it to burn down the grass huts of your enemies? Or perhaps your entire world?
“I will be watching, but I cannot interfere. My greatest hope is that your species will prove able to play with this fire responsibly. Your species will need to face, and pass, the challenge of Prometheus. If you do, you will have taken a giant step closer to gaining entry into galactic civilization.”
Ryan and Regan were silent, digesting what they had been told. Was humanity ready for this responsibility? They would soon find out. There was no turning back now.
They both understood what the Qwervy were doing and why, but they had grown fond of the Teacher in a very short time. “So we can never speak with you again? About anything?” thought Regan sadly.
“This is probably so,” answered the Teacher gently. “But then again, never is an awfully long time.” The Teacher paused. “I have to go now, children. But before I do, I need you to promise that you will not tell the others about me.”
“We promise,” they both replied earnestly.
“Thank you. Please understand that this means that they cannot know that you two are the Ryan and Regan who traveled in time, nor about the transfer I made possible. You will have to pretend that you know nothing about how the time traveling Ryan and Regan were able to learn what they did.”
“We understand,” they replied.
“Good,” thought the Teacher. “I realize you have already been asked to keep this city a secret. I hate to burden you with even more secrets. But I know you are up to the task.” The Teacher paused. “Well, I’m afraid it is time. Goodbye children, and good luck. It has indeed been an honor.”
Ryan and Regan thanked the Teacher warmly once again for all its help. It was hard for them to imagine how things could have turned out much better.
“Can I just ask my brother one quick question before you go,” asked Regan.
“Certainly.”
“Thanks,” she thought happily. She turned her attention to her brother who had no idea what was coming. “Ryan,” she began innocently. “Did you really say that I have more courage and more brains than most kids far older than me? Am I remembering that right?” she teased. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s what I heard,” she continued, laughing in her mind.
Ryan groaned. “Just my luck,” he complained. “I say something nice about you one time and it comes back to haunt me. We were supposed to vanish so you wouldn’t remember that.” He pretended to be horrified, but his thoughts were filled with obvious mirth.
“I can still arrange for you to vanish if you would like,” offered the Teacher playfully.
“Ah, that’s okay,” Ryan quickly replied. “No need to go to that trouble.” He paused. “I guess I’m stuck with what I said then. I guess I’m never going to be able to live this down,” he finished lightheartedly.
“I don’t know, Ryan,” came his sister’s equally light-hearted reply. “As a very wise Teacher once said, never is an awfully long time, Ryan. Never is an awfully long time.”