"I have some people that I would like you to meet, Danielle." explained Kenji. "They live in Canada, and have been working on the Time War problem for more than twenty years. I made contact with one from their group, about six months after you left 2009. They have agents from all four factions, and some seriously good independent researchers. They want to meet you, as they believe that you might be capable of accomplishing something very important."

  "I don't know about that, Kenji. Maybe we can walk down the trail, and talk about this." Danielle led the way, and the pair walked back towards the parking lot. "I am definitely having serious misgivings about being an agent for Arachnid. You and Malaika convinced me to reassess my participation in all of this. So much so, that I think that I want to fight back, but how exactly do you propose to fight an infinitely powerful AI, who operates from 400 years in the future?"

  "We have some resources, and more importantly, a number of former agents that have exchanged information," explained Kenji.

  "That was one of the first rules that the Arachnid AI taught me: Don't share information unless it is absolutely necessary." replied Danielle.

  "Yes, it is one of the tools used to control the agents. The big picture of what the future looks like, is extremely bleak. In our lifetime, AIs, drones and robots replace humans in most jobs, in the developed countries. By 2100, warfare becomes largely an exercise of machines fighting humans. By 2200, it is machines fighting machines, and the AI factions reveal themselves. For the next two centuries, more and more of the Earth is consumed by the never ending struggles between the factions. We can't find any evidence that people even exist by 2428. Everyone convinced by this evidence believes that this future must be changed. The key piece in the puzzle seems to be located in Europe. Every AI faction does its best to exert influence in that region. That takes the form of endless struggles and conflict until 2057, and after that a neutrality is declared. Something happens in 2057 that changes the world, and it happens in Europe. Something that invents or creates time travel. The thought is to influence whatever that event is, to change the timeline of the Earth."

  "But you would have to end the Time War, wouldn't you? If by some miracle, you change the history against the AIs, they would simply send agents back and change things again!" and then Danielle thought of another problem. "Also, I thought that all of the time travel equipment was based in 2428. Didn't you say that? The only way for us to change anything in time, would be to convince the AI to send us to the critical year. Every time I think of this stuff, I can't see any way to fight back."

  "You're not wrong with your analysis, Danielle, but we have an angle that we believe can work. I am headed up to Canada, this spring, to discuss the project and finalise a plan. My family and I are taking our motor home up the west coast on a holiday. We would like you to come along with us," explained Kenji.

  "Your family!" exclaimed Danielle. "You didn't mention your family! That is so exciting! Tell me more." By this point in their walk, Kenji and Danielle had almost arrived back at the parking lot.

  "Well, soon after you left, Malaika and I got together, and married in 2011. We have two children. You can meet them, if you would like. They are waiting for me in the car, at the back end of the parking lot. There! The blue Rav-4."

  "I thought you two might be right for each other!" exclaimed Danielle. "That's incredible."

  A tall and stately middle aged woman of African descent hopped out of the drivers seat with great enthusiasm, then opened the back seat door to encourage her two children to greet Danielle. It was quite a sight for Danielle to take in. Literally, just two days ago she had met these young people for the first time, and now here, two days later by Danielle's internal clock, there was an instant wonderful family. Somehow, this moment, more than any she had so far experienced, cemented her perspective on the Time War. Surely, what mattered here was vastly more important than anything that the Arachnid AI, or any AI for that matter.

  "Malaika! Your family is so beautiful!" expressed Danielle.

  "Are you coming with us to Canada, Danielle?" asked Malaika.

  "We haven't quite gotten into the weeds of that subject yet, Mali. I haven't finished explaining the idea to her," and then turning towards Danielle, he continued, "We are hoping that you will accompany us as the children's nanny. That will get you across the border and into Canada. Once we meet up with our team, you can decide on your own if you want to go through with their plans."

  "I think that I had better hear what you have to say about their plans. Could we continue walking, say on the Willow Spring trail over there," said Danielle, pointing towards the trail entrance. "I need to know what I am getting into, before committing."

  "Sure," answered Malaika. "I will hang out with the kids and you two can hash it out. I just want to say one thing. Danielle. We really need you to take this on. I've seen the plan, and you are the right person for the job. At least that is what I think."

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Sure," answered Danielle. "Kenji, tell me everything you know."

  They both started walking towards the Spring Willow trail and kept walking while they talked.

  "I really don't know everything Danielle, but I do know they believe that you are the most qualified candidate. The next thing I have to say has to be guarded with your life: They have a time machine. I am not sure where, but it is in Canada, and they built it themselves. It is nothing like the faction machines in 2428, but they believe that it can work, probably for just one person and one mission. So they want to send an experienced time traveller, like yourself. They also have some sort of gear vital for completing the mission and it only fits a small woman, which makes you a leading candidate."

  "The mission will be to project you into the near future, and you will be doing something in Europe that will bring the Time War to an end. Making it so that time travel never was invented in the first place, as I understand it."

  "Wow!" responded Danielle. "Two questions come to mind immediately: One, does that restore the timeline to the way it was before any meddling in history took place? Is my life going to change, or my friends or family's lives?"

  "No," answered Kenji definitively. "The change will take place in the future, in 2057 or so. They are still working out the exact timing. Everything which has taken place up until the moment of that change stays put, but, after that moment, if time travel is successfully extinguished, then everything changes. The plan ends the possibility of time travel permanently, if it works. I don't understand the physics involved, but that is definitely the goal."

  "My second question is this: The mission takes place in Europe, three decades from now. If I start out on the west coast of Canada, how do I get to Europe?" asked Danielle.

  "They have a plan for that too. Apparently, getting around thirty years from now requires some serious digital ID, and they don't think you will be able to get around the world legally. So they have a private sailboat ready to sail you there."

  "From British Columbia? You're going to smuggle me around the world in a sailboat?"

  "Well, not me, but yes, somebody thirty years from now is all set up to do that." Kenji was starting to realise that this plan was a whole lot to ask of Danielle.

  Danielle walked for quite a while wondering just how it was she had immersed herself in something this crazy. "Why didn't I just give those god damned glasses to the police, when I had the chance, Kenji? Chambermaid work wasn't so bad after all."

  "I know that it is a lot to take in Danielle, but there is no commitment required right now. It is your call, right up until the day of the mission. Come on along with us to B.C. and we will have a great holiday. You can meet the team, and hear what they have to say. The plan is for us to meet up with a ferry on the north end of Vancouver Island on May 23rd. Malaika and I live in San Bernardino these days. We can meet up about a week before that, and drive to Vancouver Island together."

  "My semester ends May 6th and I write my finals until May 13th. That timing will probably work for me," but Danielle hesitated at that moment, really unsure of how to proceed. She really felt alone, and knew that there was not going to be any possibility of discussing this situation with her mother or father, or anyone else really. Then, for some reason, her Uncle Lou came to mind. 'Well, not even Uncle Lou probably,' thought Danielle. Yet, thinking about Kenji's family and so many others, she knew there really was only one possible answer. "I don't suppose that part of the plan is to get me back to Nevada in 2027?"

  "No," answered Kenji. "That will not be possible."

  "Thanks for giving me a straight answer for that question, Kenji. Listen, I am not making any promises about getting into the time machine, but yes, I would love to nanny your kids on your holiday. And yes, I will meet the team and see what they have to say."

  Once they were back at the car with Malaika, Kenji ran through everything that Danielle needed to bring with her to Canada, including her passport and birth certificate. All three resolved to communicate only about the nanny position during the intervening months. Nothing should be said electronically about time travel. When they said good-bye, Danielle was definitely sad. Those two were becoming important close quickly, and Danielle really looked up to them, wondering wistfully if she might ever be able to have a life like theirs.

  _____________________________________________________________________________________

  Danielle had trouble sleeping the next few nights. She had trouble concentrating on her school work. She even considered dropping out of school as it seemed as if there might not be a point in continuing. Eventually, after much soul searching she decided to stay in school, on the assumption that she might refuse to take on this new mission. It sounded so sketchy, once she put some thought into it. An amateur built time machine? A one way ticket to 2057? A sailboat trip to Europe? Why did it have to be done this way, and what exactly was the mission? Despite her misgivings, Danielle felt compelled to hear these people out, and so she would follow through with the plan to visit Canada with Kenji and Malaika.

  Then there was the other problem. What to do about Mr. AI doom glasses? There was no way she was going to agree to any new Arachnid mission, between now and May. Any excuse would do, 'I need to finish my semester, and concentrate on my schoolwork,' should do fine. Danielle did make the decision to agree to further training since she might learn something useful. But no more Arachnid missions. She was rich enough anyway. $82,000 was a lot of money.

  Another thing to think about was her family. What about dad, mom, Aslan and Sylvia? Should she really consider leaving them all behind, and transporting herself 30 years into the future? What about her friends? Most of them had gone their separate ways after high school, and Danielle hadn't really bonded closely with anyone at Great Basin College yet. Would these people even be alive in 30 years? Danielle made a long list of things to do in advance of the May trip. Basically, she would have to plan for two possibilities. She thought to herself, '1) I go on the trip, but I return home because something about this mission turns out to be unacceptable. 2) I go on the trip and I don't come home for 30 years'......

  "I am definitely going to have to put a lot of thought into this," she said out loud, as she lay on her bed at 2:00am, unable to sleep.

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