"Are you certain this is the only way?" the young woman asked. "Couldn't we just explain the situation?"
"Lt. Fowler, if someone came to you and said 'Excuse me, but I'm from the future. I traveled back in time to tell you that if you realize your dreams, and marry the woman you love, you'll destroy the world, so please don't.' would you believe them?"
With a sigh she shook her head. "No, of course not. It just seems so horrible that we are going to ruin this man's life for something he had no idea would happen."
"Three billion, two-hundred and eight million, fourteen thousand and sixty-three. That's how many lives have been lost so far," a gentle voice said from behind the lieutenant.
Amy gasped as President Anders drew closer. "Madam President, it's an honor!" she said with respect.
The overhead lights flickered and the sounds of explosions grew louder. Katherine Anders had held office for only seventeen months, and she knew that she wasn't likely to hold it much longer. In a very short time, there probably wouldn't be an office to hold.
Eighty-seven years ago Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper had solved one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. He had proven M Theory. While playing with their daughter, his wife had made a casual remark that caused him to rethink some of his own ideas. The result was phenomenal. It opened up brand new avenues of research. Forty years later, three years after his death, Dr. Coopers work was the cornerstone of an experiment to prove his multiple universe theory.
It was labeled a 'rift in reality'. At least, that's what the survivors called it. The rift was actually a doorway to another universe. What came through the door was hideous. And violent. And pure evil. The creatures killed without remorse, or hesitation, or even pleasure. They killed simple because they could.
"Lieutenant, I know it seems wrong and cruel," President Anders said, "but stopping Cooper will save billions of lives. It will save us all."
Amy Fowler sighed and gave a sharp nod. "I know," she said finally. "I just needed to hear it again. I will do what is necessary."
"Thank you," President Anders said sincerely.
Amy stepped into the titanium tube and closed her eyes. A low humming noise filled her ears and she forced herself not to tense. She felt the heat from the machine begin to warm her skin and knew that when she next opened her eyes, she would be in the past.
The technician gave a nod when the process was finished. He flinched as the lights flickered again and an explosion rocked the building. "Do you think this will work?" he asked worriedly.
President Anders sighed. "Sheldon Cooper cannot be allowed to fall in love with and marry Penny Queen. It is her influence that keeps him on track and points him toward his eventual breakthrough. Lt. Fowler will position herself in their lives and keep them from ever becoming a couple. She will distract him from his research, maybe even convince him to change his focus. Our simulations suggest that if he moves away from string theory, he will never create the formulas and equations that won him his Nobel. That rift will never open. The happiness of two people is not as important as the lives of billions."
An explosion shook the building and caused the two of them to lose their balance. They could hear the signature humming of one of the space ships outside. President Anders reached out and clasped hands with the tech. She had a moment to wish she knew the young man's name before everything exploded around them.
Amy finished hacking into the computer dating site and quickly linked her bogus profile to Sheldon Coopers. She also placed a virus into the system so that no other profiles would appear viable. She gave her falsified credentials one last look to make sure they were perfect and then turned her attention to locating an older actress willing to play her mother whenever necessary.
She pushed away any lingering guilt she felt for the role she was to play. "The greater good," she reminded herself.
A/N: How else do you explain the fact that since Amy's arrival, Sheldon and Penny been in a downward spiral? Sabotage, people. And no, I'm not one of those delusional paranoid people who wear tin-foil hats. That's just silly.
I wrapped my house in tin-foil and I never go outside.