A Forgotten Power

Chapter 06: Resolve

Alexis quickly scanned the written text, trying to skim as much as possible without missing anything important. She read aloud anything she found of significance.

"It says here the shaman tried to guide another village," she told Jaz. Turning the page, she continued. "He failed. He tried again and again."

Alexis began flipping through the book, and a familiar and horrid pattern began repeating.

"Nothing he does ever changes anything," Alexis said in frustration, pushing her chair back from the book. "Sooner or later, he was always challenged by those who either doubted his power was real or knew it was real and wanted it for themselves. No matter what, he couldn't get them to follow his guidance and use the power wisely. Death and destruction were always the result of the ensuing confrontation."

She turned to the end of the book and examined the final entry. Her heart sank and a tightness in her throat made it difficult to tell Jaz what she'd found.

"It would seem the final time he tried," she managed to say, "the fight with the locals resulted in the death of his son. Afterwards, he vowed to lock the book away in the hopes the knowledge might one day be rediscovered and used for the benefit of all. He gave up."

Her final words had been only a whisper. She took off her goggles, and they clattered against the desk as she dropped them.

"I doubt we'd have any better success," Jaz lamented. "We're already having to hide the book from those we know will abuse its power for their own ends."

She thought about the people in her time. Corrupt politicians and mega-corporation CEO's bypassed the law and got away with anything. They preyed upon the weak and the defenseless for profit, not caring about the lives being ruined as long as it was not their own. Her mind turned toward the polluted skies and toxic clouds smothering the city, another byproduct of shortsighted people doing as they pleased without regard to the consequences. Victims of bio-raiders outside the walls continued to add to the final death toll caused by the poisoned air. Those who'd become mutated, exiled beyond the wall to a horrid existence and an unpleasant death, were in the hundreds of thousands.

The sympathy she'd been feeling over the shaman losing his son turned to rage, white hot and boiling. The world had suffered for centuries at the hands of those who thought they were beyond the reach of anyone. The shaman's son was simply one of them. It had to stop, and she knew how.

Alexis rested her elbows on the arms of her chair, folding her hands and staring across the mountainous landscape of her knuckles at the book beyond. The shaman had been holding back, trying to guide rather than command. She considered a more direct approach might be required.

"Maybe it's for the best if the knowledge stays forgotten," Jaz suggested.

"Ridiculous," Alexis denied. Her gaze was fixed upon the book and the power it held. "It just needs to be in the right hands."

"Whose hands are those?" Jaz prompted. His brow furrowed with concern when he saw the intensity of her stare and the direction where it was aimed.

"Someone with the knowledge of what is to come," Alexis answered. "And someone with the resolve to do whatever is necessary to prevent it from happening."

"Are you suggesting yourself?" Jaz queried.

"Why not?" Alexis questioned. She looked toward Jaz. "You object?"

"You've read for yourself what happens when this power is used," he reminded. "Uprisings, war, and death are the results over and over again. You can't expect different results; the foolish humans you deal with will be the same kind the shaman faced, and he failed. Humanity isn't ready for this power."

"How many years do you think humanity has left?" Alexis snapped. She pointed to the nearest wall. "Look outside! Our world is dead. Those with power and wealth still live good lives, but those shouldering the burdens of maintaining everything die every day and no one even seems to notice or care. How many murderers have escaped this years alone simply because the victims couldn't afford investigative insurance? How many have died from disease or toxins because they never had access to a private hospital?"

"I know the system isn't perfect," Jaz deflected, holding up his hands defensively.

"The system is broken," Alexis cut in. "The whole world is broken. We have a chance to do something about it."

"No matter how much power that book holds, you couldn't collect enough bones to do anything with it," Jaz denied. "The mega-corporations have military androids, surveillance bots, laser guns, and plasma tanks capable of fending off an army. Even the ability to throw lightning wouldn't be enough to even make a dent."

"True," Alexis admitted. "I couldn't fight them directly. They've had too long to dig in and establish themselves. Whatever I threw at them, they could match it easily with strength to spare."

"Now you're being sensible," Jaz said with a sigh.

"The book tells how to manipulate time," she informed him. Jaz's eyes widened. "Since I can't fight them here, I'll just have to go to a different time when I can."

The corner of her mouth curled up ever so slightly in a smile.

"This is crazy," Jaz denied. "You need to put that book back where you found it."

"No," Alexis countered. "I'm going to use the book to the fullest extent. There's no point in fighting over this world as it's already done for. I need to go back before those poisonous seeds took root and stop them there. This dying world won't be the fate of mankind because I'm going to use the bones' power to control time in order to rewrite all of history."