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This is part four of my adventures Dream Boy series, set in the threeboot. As that version of the Legion is slipping into history this will be the final part of this story, hope you enjoy it!
What has gone before.
Rol Purtha, Dream Boy, had left the Legion on Earth and traveled to Xanthu. There he met the Tamarean warrior known as the Quantum Queen, joined up with the Amazers, battled the League of Assassins, watched the Insect Queen be killed by mistake by Atmos, began a relationship with James Cullen, stopped a plot by Tariq the Mute to replace influential people with telepathically controlled android doppelgangers,rescued a princess, been hailed as a prophet sent to re-unite the disparate peoples on the planet, become a mentor to trainees enrolled in the Amazer Program, had his memories altered by a traitor on the Amazer team, battled a small loose knit army of meta villains alongside the Amazers and Legion, encountered an ancient mystical crone who appeared to know of his past, and, most recently he has been kidnapped by his errant father.
Rol loves his life and wouldn’t have it any other way!
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Rol stood on the edge of oblivion, one step and he would be lost.
Here, in this strange reality where the basic laws of physics seemed to be on holiday Rol realised that if he chose to believe everything his father had told him then he would be lost.
Rol’s father had vanished almost fifteen Naltor years ago. Rol had been told that the High Seer had issued an ultimatum to the Techomancer Party that gave them a standard day to denounce their practices or they would be deemed criminals in the eyes of the law. Rol’s father, along with almost sixty others vanished that night.
Rol’s mother had moved them from their home in the Southern Peninsula to Neuex’Erox where her brother and family lived in the hope that their new neighbours wouldn’t judge her and her small son. Rol’s paternal grandmother had refused to join them when they moved and she died a little under five years later at the surprisingly young age of sixty. She never spoke about her son, Rol’s Technomancer father, in that time. The old lady had a fierce positivity about her that had been described as pathological yet even her inner resilience had been challenged. Rol’s mother had said that she died of a broken heart.
Rol had watched the holos from his parents courtship. His father’s mannerisms were, he had always thought, rather sweet. The way he would run his fingers through his hair before trying to kiss his sweetheart. Her laughter and gentle teasing. His father had appeared to be a little clueless about how to woo a young woman. Rol’s mother never let him stand a chance. If it hadn’t have been for a fluke malfunction in his fathers holo-avatar at a symposium at Neuex’Erox University that meant he had to attend in person they may never have met. The socially awkward scientist from the affluent hillside suburbs and the young student anthropologist from the rugged High Valleys. Rol’s parents were an odd couple, that was true, but their devotion to each other was clear to see by all. And once they had married and started on their careers Rol had come along and they were complete. A postcard example of a loving family unit.
Or so Rol had always believed. That devotion, those undeniable bonds of that love had been a cornerstone in his childhood forgiveness of his father when he had vanished.
And fifteen years later here Rol stood listening to the man he had exonerated of any responsibility for the upset his disappearance had caused say it was all lies.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Rol’s father sat on a high backed wooden chair, it’s carved arms had a patina that hinted of it’s age.
He wore a wide brimmed beige hat and a navy blue waistcoat and six of the so-called Handyhands – an invention that had made the family a fair bit of money before Rol had been born – waved around making random gestures.
Handyhands were strong synthetic ribbons with a fully dexterous hand on the end that one attached to the middle of the spine and with a little bit of concentration and practice could use as a third limb. They had been all the rage for about three years. Currently his father wore six of them, all green and all reacting to the emotional subtext of this meeting. Rol remembered reading a Naltorian medical report that suggested only one be worn at a time as the concentration needed to focus on any more than that could cause long term mental and physiological damage. There had been a report about a fungus farmer who had used four over a three week period and as a result had ended in a comatose state and took three months of intense therapy to recover fully.
Rol's father seemed casually unaware of them, as one would be of one's own biological limbs.
Rol found it difficult to look at the man and impossible to take his eyes off him. A large part of Naltorian education was designed to instill a strong belief in self discipline, something that was essential when ones mind could literally fall through time. He had been raised in an academic household where it was seen as ungainly to express emotions in their raw form. One must always carry oneself with dignity and say only what one would want to hear.
Right now Rol was fighting the urge to jump onto the wooden high backed chair and punch the man in front of him in the face.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Rol’s parents were set up by their grandparents to have children. They would be bringing both the Arcane and High tech elements of Naltor into their relationship. Rol’s mother never knew though his father did and was given no choice but to go along with it. Before they had Rol, their genes were examined and it was decided what the best traits to give to their offspring would be. Rol would have the best opportunities to fullfil his role in the centuries old prophecy - he would be the seer that would release Naltor from their bondage as part of the UP.
They had argued at this point, Rol's natural curiosity and politeness gave way to anger.
"Centuries old prophecy? Why haven't I heard of this before?" Rols head was spinning. Was this a fever dream where Anagastru's proclamation that he would one day lead the peoples of Xanthu to freedom mixed up with the Hag's announcement concerning his Technomancer roots? Rol dug his finger nails into the heel oh is hand in the hope the sudden pain would help bring some clarity.
"The High Seers were bound to stop it. Don't you remember when the original sci-police presented us to Filyp the Wise for crimes against the future?"
"What? Filyp died three hundred and fifty years ago! We've seen holos of him but that's it."
"Not so Rol, we've met him in a couple of lifetimes past. In this one you know him as..."
"You are mad Father, you are truly scarily mad. If you think I am going to listen to any more of your...."
"You have your mother's stubbornness, you always did."
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Rol couldn't gauge the time here. He reasoned that this was Ttrxl, the fifth dimension where the power for the Transmatter was generated, refined and focused. He had read the Legions report after a team had come here during their encounter with Praetor Lemnos. The report had mentioned that the local equivalent to law enforcers had not taken their presence here well and almost caused the team to fail in their mission. Rol knew that if that option came up then not to expect an offer of assistance.
The laws of physics that Rol knew so well from his own reality simply weren’t applicable in this peculiar ever shifting dimension. This was definitely not where Rol planned to go. He should be on Naltor consulting the Planetary Gene Library and Pre-Commandos DNA Locks to find some clue of the mysterious woman he had met on Xanthu's South Continent. The Technomancers were supposedly able to control technology with a skill that defied logic so he hoped his father would be able to send him home after they had completed whatever it was his father wanted to do here.
It also struck Rol that if his father had spent the last fifteen years here then that could explain his insanity. No-ones mind could survive intact here for long. Rol knew that his best plan was to let his apparently insane father say what he had to say then hopefully... well hopefully they could part on good terms at least. Maybe Rol could persuade the old Technomancer to go home and get some help.
Rol estimated he'd stepped through the Transmatter gate about three hours ago though he had not felt the need for sustenance or the urge to relieve himself since arriving here. And if it had really been three hours then James would be worried sick! Surely James would have expected a quick call by now and wondered what had happened. Perhaps if Rol kept the old man talking long enough the Amazer’s would realise something was wrong and send some help.
Despite his misgivings Rol knew that unless he wanted to resort to violence, his only way to get back home would be to let his father say whatever it was that he felt he needed to kidnap Rol to say.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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He had sat back in his throne-like chair when Rol approached and said he would listen and laughed. Rol was a bit upset by this reaction, it certainly wasn't what he expected especially as he'd even remembered to call the insane technomancer 'Pa', exactly as he had all those years ago.
And he kept on laughing.
He clapped his hands and while he laughed a sooty grey paint splattered hulk drifted lazily across the sky and landed not ten mets away from them. If Rol had known his Terran vehicular history better he would have recognised it as a New York subway carriage from circa 1971. The graffiti tags were colourful and still showed signs of the flower Power era that had begun to fade from the collective consciousness. As the train landed Rol’s father stood up, his face suddenly serious.
“We must travel in style, you have too much to learn to be sat here amongst this irreverent waste and disease.”
Rol tried to use his flight ring to catch up with his father as the older man strode towards the sliding open doors but it only made a faint ‘fzzzt’ noise. Rol ran and leapt onto the floor of the ancient carriage, afraid that the doors might slam shut and he would be left behind as his father left. Inside the wooden slatted floor was thick with dust and dirt while the seats looked uncomfortable and unsupportive.
“Wow! This is amazing Pa, but what exactly is it?” The light tone in his voice and smile on his face did not disguise Rol's concerns.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Please feel free to leave feedback as it's always greatly appreciated.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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There is a silence between them as their eyes meet and both try to gauge the others intent. Rol's father has a small grin, as if he knows something extraordinary and is decided whether or not to share it. Rol's features are tight. He isn't sure how to take this forward. His pre-commando training says he should allow the kidnapper to feel relaxed and unthreatened and to look out for the moment when they let their guard down. His heart tells him his father is a lost soul who needs his assistance and getting him angry might only compound the situation. He knows that both scenarios are not mutually exclusive.
"Pa, why did you leave? Where have you been?" Rol hopes he has pitched his questions with the right level of angst to hook his fathers attention. Maybe some information will give Rol the clues he need to figure out what is really happening.
"Which time Rol? Our history is littered with this story. On Naltor I left because the damned High Seer was away to throw me in jail for asking questions. On Mars you drove me away with your scorn. On Altare 6 the G'rrtyuj Nagi would have destroyed the S'shar Nga memorial to dishonour our commitments. In Rome I needed to draw the mad emperor Nero's attention away from you." He smiles as he finishes, a smile filled with accomplishment.
Rol: "Let's focus on Naltor for now Pa, it's the most.... relevant surely?" He hope his father can't see the doubts on his face as he tries to guide the conversation.
"You were only just beginning to speak in sentences Rol, running around asking questions, laughing at everything. Your mother had started her placement at the University, she was working every hour she could. You have her drive and focus don't you?" Rol nods agreement, his family had always said how much he had inherited his mother's personality. "I was working on a gene-variant data locking system that could be airborne and block out the DNA tags the UP said everyone should carry. It was highly illegal of course but the High Seers had been blocking our full potential for generations . You know those old farts can stop our visions don't you? Naltor, the special planet with magic and science and a population enslaved just like the rest of the galaxy. How I hated that place and the hypocrites in power."
"Tell me why you left Pa, what happened that night?"
"Do you know what precognition is Rol? Really, do you know?" There was a rage in his voice, and old hurt resurfacing.
"Our minds subconsciously scan probabilities and filter it through to our dreams. At the academy we...."
"And tell me Rol, what exactly are your capabilities?"His voice suddenly hard.
"You know I'm a Beta One, like my mother. Short range visions are strong, long range not so much."
"You have been lied to and stifled Rol, you are no more a Beta One than I am an ostrich. In this life anyway." He starts to giggle and his six green Handyhands flap around him.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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"Your genes were manipulated before you were even born. There were eighteen expectant mothers who the Technomancers treated. None were told of course. Each of the children had their potential increased. All eighteen of you, our next generation Naltor nu-born babes are far, far more than you think. In fact other than Mysa and I guess Nura the lot of you have not even begun to touch the sides of what you can really do."
Rol feels as if his head has been placed in a vice. He is sure that the veins on his temples must be showing, they are beating so loudly. Saturn Girl had removed the artificial barriers in his mind earlier. In the hours since he had been led to believe by a magic user that there was more than met the eye with his past. Was this the secret that she had spoken about?
"Tell me more Pa, what are we?"
"the so-called Seers Seed Spell that created the Naltorian precognitive gifts is a complex piece of magic." At this he started to play with the hanging hair of his mustache, twirling it between thumb and index finger, his gaze left Rol and stared resolutely above his son's left shoulder. "The magic had become stagnant so we were trying to push it using the technology we had created, Push the chaotic magic encoded in our DNA using science we only had because of the magic itself." Rol's father started to giggle again.
"What did you do to us Pa?" Rol is surprised at how small his voice sounded.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Out of the windows of the floating carriage Rol can see a darkness spreading unevenly over the sky. within the darker areas there were signs of movement and Rol had a sense that they should not get too close.
"In the 24th century we were both born on Mars, you were a policeman's daughter then. We married but you never loved me despite everything I tried to do for us. For you." There is a barb, a need to hurt that which caused the pain in the last two words.
Once again Rol is silent. His father meets his eye, his father's expression is one of a man desperately wanting to know 'why?'.
"How do you know all this Father? You keep telling me about our previous incarnations but I don't understand."
"We had to leave Naltor, we knew we would be imprisoned if we stayed. Each of us chose a planet not yet aligned with the United Planets. I went to Avatanda, a world cut off from the main spaceways, as the monks there were said to be able to contact the past. Time travel was beyond even our capabilities. The monks lived in abject poverty, denying themselves the most basic of luxuries. I studied there for almost twelve years before the chance came to learn their secret. I dove into their Chamber of Lives where the wheeling mists allowed me to see so much that had been hidden. They'd never inducted someone with our gift before. They said I almost drowned in the Ocean of Years. They said it was an abomination what they had unleashed in me. They said it was evil! After I had taught them the error of their ways I went looking for the souls that had wronged me so often during my lives through the millennium to pay them back in kind." At this the laughter once again erupted. A laughter that echoed through the silent carriage. Rol felt a chill spread across his neck and shoulders as he realised how dangerous the man stood before him really was.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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“What did you do?” There’s no tone in Rol’s voice, flat and emotionless as he stood his ground against the madman before him.
His father starts to laugh,
“I saw what I was like in my previous lives son, I was weak and meek and unworthy of respect. I had spent so many lives not learning the universal truth that people who lie down like doormats are there to tread upon. The monks I silence with a nanovirus. Who were they to judge me? I saw so much more than any of those blind fools ever had.”
“Did you kill them Pa?” Rol is scared of the answer and knows he is at a turning point. His father may be crazy and misguided but if he is a mass murderer as well then that’s an entirely different matter.
“No, of course not, though who are you to judge me if I did? You murdered me on this train once. You were a runaway with a rusty switch blade and a desperate habit. I was a cleaner in a house on the East side trying to get my daughter through school. I followed a cult called Christianity that believed in forgiveness and fire and brimstone.” His father turns away and weeps. ”My poor daughter, I’ve never met her soul again through the ages, I hope she knew I didn’t want to leave her and was happy in her life.” For far too long the old man curls on a seat and sobs and weeps and bemoans his daughter from a previous life’s fate.
Rol stands his ground, aware of how quickly his father’s moods can turn. Eventually the old technomancer stands up, wet streaks from his tears still clearly visible on his cheeks and brightly announces, “We were best friends on the first Lunar colony. You saved my life during a dome breach. I think that was your soul apologising. I do forgive you.”
“Pa, I’m sorry...”
“You don’t need to be sorry...”
“No, I do. You have me at a disadvantage. Can you explain it to me please?” Rol hoped that by taking advantage of the sudden forgiving temperament there may be a way to persuade him to take them back home.
“Don’t you listen? I have seen my many lives journeys through the ages. In this latest one I was part of the cult of Technomancers who were building beings to challenge their sterile existence. We created you Rol. You are destined for greatness and now is the time to learn how.” Once again his father’s emotional state had changed. This time he straightened his back and jutted out his chin; a man with a determined air.
“What is my destiny Pa?”
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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“You are an agent of chance. A chaotic element that can spark the necessary life back into the corrupt and soulddead hegemony of your home galaxy. You and your fellow Nu-borns are the key. Are you listening now? It’s time to grow some chuffies and stand up to be counted.”
“ What did you do to me?”
“All precognition does is allow you to see the probabilities. You are more, you generate them Rol. You create your own chances. Don't you listen? Are you stupid as well as whiney?"
Rol breathed hard, the conversations made less sense as they went on. Even as he contemplated this his father started to stride down the carriage towards him.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Rol knew he had to do something quick to stand a chance. Within the confines of the flying carriage controlled by his father he was vulnerable.
"Tell me about the other Technomancers Pa, where did they go?"
"Who cares? I don't believe you do. You just don't want to face how you betrayed me and left me destitute and broken, do you?"
"I... I can't comment on that Pa, without your insights and wisdom about these matters how do you expect me to be answer?" Rol held both hands out, palms up in a sign of supplication.
His father turned away and started playing with his mustache again as he thought about Rol's reply. Outside the carriage he sky was fast become dark, with the terrible forms within stretching out closer towards them.
"There is some truth in what you say son, still be warned that I won't allow you to break my heart again."
"Pa, I need to know, what is that?" Rol turned and pointed out the window towards the approaching darkness.
"Ha! I'm glad you asked. That, my boy, is your first test. Let's see if you can do what we built you to do. "
"What? What do you ..."
"As one of the Naltor Nu-borns you have skills beyond the norm. I think it's time you found out what they are."
"Pa, listen please, this isn't the time. Surely there is a more scientific way we can do this."
"Oh don't try to pander to my old science blind geek side you mewling brat. You always were a sissy. Now get out there and show yourself that you don't just foresee the probabilities happen, you make them happen!"
The doors beside where Rol had been standing slid open with a hiss and his father charged into him, knocking them both out of carriage and into the darkening air of this most alien sky. As they tumbled Rol tried desperately to get some lift from both his Legion Flight Ring and his Amazer anti-grav buckle, but neither helped slow them down.
With his father wrapped around him they spun and twisted and Rol instinctively tensed as the ground below rushed up to swat them.
"James, I'm sorry I...."
And they were floating. "Silly boy, do you think I wanted to kill us?" Their velocity and speed were gone and instead they gently drifted down towards a yellow arching piece of ground below.
One of Rol's father's Handy hands took off his ten gallon hat with a flourish. From his pocket he had drawn what looked like a blue twisted stick with small orange pyramids that twinkled as if be-jewelled on one end. "Skelter and his cut throats use these to navigate their way around, as you would use that damned Legion Ring. But that didn't work did it? That Brainiac of theirs isn't as smart as he thinks you know."
Regaining his breath Rol replied, "You could be right. But now what Pa? You expect me to fight the night sky? What is going on?"
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Rol stood for a second staring at the approaching swirling darkness. The sinister swirling mass seemed to have spread over half the sky above and second by second it was extending itself further.
His mind was trying to process the information his father had just given him but it kept coming up with more questions.
An agent of chance? That sounded like a bad holo-spy drama to Rol. An agent of chance.... what did his father mean?
"You can save us Rol but you must focus. Think about what you want to happen...."
"I want to go home to James...."
"Be realistic boy! You have to stop this from engulfing us before you can go home. I don't have time for your mewling right now. We need a light. You need a light Rol, now make it happen!"
Rol closed his eyes and thought about the Amazer buckle on his belt. It had a search light function. The problem being the technology that powered it didn't work in this dimension. Rol's father seemed to think Rol could change that if he concentrated hard enough, and with the very sky around them stretching its cold dark tendrils towards them Rol was willing to try.
In his mind Rol pictured the light from the buckle blazing out towards the approaching night. A beam of furious white ripping through the dark. He had both hands on the edges of the buckle as he focused his mind on the task. He could feel the cold as the approaching night reached out its gloomy fingers and teased the edges of the space they were in.
"Hurry up Rol, I can't save us from this. We need some light!" His father sounded anxious, a genuine fear was beginning to rise in his voice as the temperature plummeted and the air around them turned into a gloomy cell.
The sweat on Rol's brow started to crystallize as the ambient temperature fell far below freezing. His breath became ragged and painful as the steam he breathed out became ice before he could breath it back in. His muscles started to shake in agony as they tried to generate warmth to keep the blood flowing and his vital organs from shutting down.
Through eyes clenched shut Rol could sense the darkness engulf him and in the very last moment before unconsciousness claimed him he was aware of his father start to laugh.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Rol awakes with his father's tear stained face peering over him. The six Handyhands are holding Rol aloft as his father walks back to the dusty carriage that had taken them to this spot.
"I knew we wouldn't fail. You did it my boy." The crackling pride in his father's voice makes him sound as if he is away to cry again. Rol drifts back to sleep in the comforting warm blanket of his childhood memories of a loving father.
Rol finally awoke sometime later. He had no way of guessing how long they had been here.
"Pa, what happened?" Rol's voice is quiet but the old man turns around and walks over to where his son is lying on the dirty wooded decking.
As he approaches he reaches into one of his waistcoats pockets and retrieves a small flat disc. "You should see for yourself my boy."
A small holo appears in the air above the disc and in it Rol can see himself gripping onto the Amazer buckle and concentrating with all his might. As the darkness encroached Rol's back arches and a great blast of white erupted from his Amazer buckle shattering the attacking gloom.
"You have survived the first test. Rest now as we have more challenges ahead." One of his father's Handyhands gently closes Rol's eyelids and with no further thought Rol is asleep.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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