| 22: Doctor Lu "So let me get this right," inquired Nosferatu as he argued with an accountant in Imperial Laboratories, Inc. "You just HAPPENED to misplace your files. ALL of them. YESTERDAY." "Er, um, well, sir," gulped the accountant, "the Formican Guard did it! They were trying to cover the tracks of the old regime, yes, yes they were. Sir." Nos' eyes narrowed. "We have all thirty-nine members of the Formican Guard in custody right now, and our mages have done telepathic searches of them. We know where they were, and it sure wasn't here." The accountant's eyes widened. "They can DO that?" "You surely mean, 'they can do that, SIR?'" demanded Nosferatu. "Um, yes I do, I do, yes. Sir." "They can. And now, instead of just being guilty of destruction of evidence, you're also guilty of lying. Or rather, you will be when our conversation is played back before the court." "Look, go easy on the scientists, at least," the accountant begged. "The rest of us joined Imperial Labs for the money, but the scientists had no choice. They abducted their families, for Four's sake." "The judge and prosecution will keep that in mind, I'm sure. Where is your lead scientist?" "Dr. Johnathan Lu is at the building cafeteria, I'm sure, as it's lunchtime," the accountant informed. "Doctor... WHO?!" gasped Nos. "Did you say LU!? As in the guy who developed the Three Laws of Chronomancy?" "Yes, yes, he is one and the same. He was the principal architect of the arcane ion engines employed by the Stellemort." "Indeed. Take me to him, maybe he can remember enough about the projects he led for Formicus to save your sorry company from charges of high treason." "Y-yes, sir." *** Doctor Lu was sitting alone near a window, looking out towards the north. "I wonder when the sun will shine again," he pondered as Nosferatu walked up to him. "This eclipse has been interminable." "I don't know, but maybe you can keep the sun from setting on Imperial Labs and yourself," suggested Nosferatu. "I represent the prosecution in The Columnian Government vs. Imperial Laboratories, Incorporated." "Ah yes, General Nosferatu," recognized Dr. Lu. "A pleasure to meet you. Please sit down." Nos accepted the invitation, and sat down across from the scientist. "So what can you show me in the way of what this company developed for Formicus' Empire? I'm certain you're well aware of this company's atrocious bookkeeping practices." "I can show you quite a bit, but only under one condition," Lu offered, leaning in conspiratorially to whisper. "I hardly think this company is in the position to dictate terms, Dr. Lu, but please continue." "I want you to throw the book at those bastards," spat the Doctor. "They're spineless, conniving weasels out to turn a buck in any way possible. Do you know what they did to get me to sign a contract with them?" "What?" "They held my wife and father hostage. Not the government, but the COMPANY. So I will cooperate, General, and I will tell you what I know and show you what I have. But do not presume that I am, or EVER would do this to save Imperial Labs. I owe them nothing but a few swift kicks to the gonadians." "Of course. We may use your testimony to incriminate them, as well," Nos suggested. "But lead on." *** A few weapons and jetpacks and impact-absorbing materials later, they arrived at what looked like an oversized egg. "What is this?" asked Nos. "This is what my father died for," the Doctor said. "I kept production on this as slow as I reasonably could, so they killed him to make me get it done. Thank Four the war ended when it did, though... I can't bear to think what would have happened if Formicus had a completed version to work with." "But what IS it?" Nos asked once more. "It is... a time machine," Lu answered. "It can go into the future, back into the past, and it has maneuvering capability in space as well, automatically positioning itself where there's least, er, physical resistance to its presence, you could say. You know, so if you go back a hundred years ago and a telegraph pole once stood there, the machine will materialize to the side of it instead of inside it. It's slightly bigger on the inside than the outside-we experimented with geometrical magics to warp the first three dimensions so that seven passengers could fit inside." "Formicus could completely have wrecked the world with this," Nosferatu gasped. "Yes, I know. I never finished it, and I deliberately misinformed my coworkers as to the design of certain components. If I had been forced to complete it, there are several parts in there that would have misfired if it ever was activated, and the machine would have exploded, killing whoever was inside." "So only you know how to create those components?" "Yes, and I will never tell anyone else. I was prepared to accept the death of my dear wife, accept my own death if necessary, to keep Formicus from ever being able to move through time like water. Not even the Four could have stopped him then." "We know that he apparently has the ability to travel from the Prime Material to the Second Ethereal, since he was born on Earth," reasoned Nosferatu. "We suspect that he can travel back as well, so he would have access to Earth's future and history as well as our own." "Even if he can't go back, he can still affect both worlds," the Doctor informed. "The dead in this world populate Earth, and though their memories disappear upon their birth in that world, they still retain their core being. That core being, to an extent, is shaped by experiences. Were Formicus to leap backwards in time, maybe establish an empire of guns in the era of swords, he could control this world. He would send to Earth masses upon masses of broken souls and dead spirits, and there would be no hope in this life or the next for anyone." "I can't believe that," Nos said. "There is always hope when people can dream." "This is the world of dreams," the Doctor said. "When the people of Earth have visions in the night, they see this world. "And what happens when Formicus is its Sandman?" said Nos, finishing the thought. "Yes, I get your point." "I could never fulfill that abominable contract, my good general," Lu informed. "I could never accept money, or even the life of my beloved, to finish this machine. I could never put up my dreams for sale." |