Chapter 0: The Man From Tomorrow

My name is Dr. Trevor Pretorious. I am a scientist. That is the simple truth. I am no madman - I do not seek to harm others. I merely have a greater understanding of the nature of reality than most, and that is why I am given such hurtful labels by lesser men. The quest for understanding cannot be set aside for such trivial concerns as individual lives. If only more people would appreciate my side to things, it wouldn't be necessary to have to kill those who insist beyond all common sense to stand between me and my objectives.

I am an animaloid. A raccoon to be specific. I was born in the later days of the twenty-third century. My family had established a considerable fortune by the time I was born, and allowed me to attend the finest schools available. I am truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to grow up in such enlightened times. Or so I thought. Wealth, knowledge and power should be enough to fund the means to answering the great mysteries of the universe. Alas, the truth is time and time again obstructed by deluded fools who believe that the end does not justify the means. And yet they call ME insane? ALL means are justified, if the end is worthy enough, and I would never choose a lesser goal.

What choice did I have? It was never my desire to become a criminal. If the rigid laws of society would only recognise a visionary and allow him freedom to uncover answers that would bring betterment to all mankind, then I would have remained lawful for the rest of my life. It was a tragedy, but as I began my many years spent in isolation I was still comforted by the knowledge that history will recognise me for my true worth and condemn those who've shunned me.

Do not feel pity for me. My resentment towards my peers quickly subsided once I confined myself in secret places and began my work in earnest. To let my passion grow without judgement or control by short-sighted fools was a wonderful experience. If I could've completed my work alone in my underground laboratory, then I would have. But resources do run dry eventually. I suppose I must have been quite the worrying sight when I reemerged after all those years. Aheeheehee...

How many people did I kill that time? Four? Five? I take full responsibility, as it was my error. I should have taken the time to calibrate the cloaking device for a new environment, but I was overexcited, and wanted to see other people again. The mistake cost me my tail. It was very unpleasant, but in hindsight, it was a valuable experience. What right should I have to dispose of those misguided fools who step in my way if I could not understand and appreciate the sensation of pain?

It was after that little exodus that I became hunted. Society had forgotten about me. Can you believe it? Forgotten about Trevor Pretorious, that young prodigy who gained so much praise and carried the hopes of so many. Unbelievable. That the world should be reminded of my existence only through my guise as a vile killer was more painful than the loss of that worthless appendage. I should be admired, not reviled. Something had to be done.

And so I reinvented myself. I broadcasted myself from the safety of my lair as Dr. Pretorious, the evil criminal mastermind. They should know my face. They should remember me, even if it was a false proclamation of my identity. No matter. Future history would know the truth, and for the present, the appearance as a villain would serve me well. I gained valuable contacts in the criminal underworld, greatly speeding up a number of projects that I feared I would have to put on hold until I could redeem myself. Unfortunately, as Dr. Pretorious, I also became acquainted with my nemesis.

As an animaloid myself, I have the right to be disgusted at their kind. Single-minded, unimaginative, driven with so much energy towards...what? Physical achievements that die out after a single lifetime, and worthless moral victories. "Heroes" is, I suspect, the apt term, and I say the word with complete revulsion. They all desire to be like that ignorant blue hedgehog who saved the world far too many times for his own good. Wasters! One particular animaloid in my present age decided that she should become an unrelenting thorn in my side. I will not include her name in these memoirs. History should not need be reminded of such an embarrasing self-professed champion. I can only hope she is no longer a threat to me or the quest for knowledge by the time these records are released to the public.

One of the projects that I succesfully completed with the help of my new rugged friends was a portable time portal. I admit that the original designs were not mine. The last university I attended kept a volume of schematics collected from the abandoned laboratories of that great but sadly discredited scientist Dr. Eggman Nega. I cannot imagine that the editor of the book had any idea of the power that lay in those pages, but their carelessness was my gain. Like a petty thief, I stole the book and brought it with me when I went into seclusion.

Tomorrow, I will leave this present and journey back in time. I understand and appreciate the risk of perverting history, but unlike the weak-willed cowards who've held me back all my life, I will weigh the risk accurately and accept it.

Mutations of the flow of time have happened many times since the first time machine was invented, hundreds of years ago, but the documentation of the effects is embarrasingly lacking. For the first experiment, I will capture my nemesis, when she predictably arrives to foil my plans, and then we will both take a trip back in time to murder her father before he and my nemesis's mother have a chance to concieve a child. It will be fascinating to record the results.

The gift of time travel is that everything can be undone. Nevertheless, I shall take extra precaution in making sure to correctly program and calibrate the anti-displacement field generator. As volatile as time permutation is, I would be a right idiot to run the risk of accidentally erasing myself from history. After all, Silver the Hedgehog is a prominent figure. His death may require a cancellation, if the present suffers too much damage as a consequence, but I will not know until the experiment is over.

Doctor Trevor K. Pretorious.

In the first chapter:
- Silver finds to his dismay that he'll still have to take a backseat to the villain of the story for huge chapters at a time. After seeing the bad guy get an entire prologue, he decides to renegotiate his contract. None of this happens on-page.
- Blaze is shocked to find that she's barely in this fic, while Shadow isn't even on the cast list.
- The author cries out for help, as he's struggling to come up with a name for Silver's orange-furred pyro-kinetic daughter.