A/N: So I've tried my very best to avoid the 'name soup' issues from the last book. Here each character has a modern name which has a similar sound to their old one and, to make things even easier, their modern names will only be used during direct conversation. Eg. "Hello, Archie," Merlin said to Arthur. "My name is Martin." If you're still getting lost, I have put a full name list up on my PP.
Chapter One
Houses of Parliament 2058
"Ladies and Gentleman, if we could start the meeting now?"
The members of the new government Think Tank took their time finding their places, many still involved in their conversation whilst others took their time finishing their coffee. So, it was several minutes after this announcement had first been made before the whole group was finally ready to start.
"Wrong shape," Merlin thought as he sat down at oblong table in his elderly guise. He chuckled loudly, earning a stern stare from the Prime Minister who he was now sitting next to.
Uther was the leader of the country once again although, this time, he was not the king. Which made perfect sense as, for many centuries, the United Kingdom had been ruled by an elected government with only a figurehead monarch on the throne. But, what part was Arthur going to play this time around? Definitely not politics, if his current studies were anything to go by.
And there were already many familiar souls present within this room, even if there was currently only one other here from the original Round Table. Gaius, now Guy, was a leading scientist and expert in climate change; the real brains behind this project, although Merlin had given him a few nudges over the years. Fortunately, the sorcerer had continued to make himself useful to numerous important leaders over the centuries, still just as indispensable during these modern days as he had been during the Dark Ages.
Geoffrey, as secretary here, opened up the meeting. He was one of the 'part-time' souls as Merlin had coined them; people who did not always show up at every reincarnation, only making their appearance occasionally. And, from what the warlock could tell, this particular opening of the Circle promised to be one of the busier times, with a far larger 'cast' being drawn into Merlin and Arthur's immediate orbit. Geoffrey started with the usual long, detailed boring summary of why they were here and what it was they hoped to achieve and Merlin tried hard not to let his frustration show. As the years and centuries progressed, these sort of meetings appeared to take more and more time to reach any conclusion. And to think Merlin had complained about council meetings back in Camelot. They seemed positively speedy compared to these long, drawn out affairs.
"It is vital that we put all our available resources into this project," Gaius was saying. "We must employ the very brightest this country has to offer with no expense spared."
"That is all very well," Uther replied. "But the treasury is not a bottomless pit and much of the budget you're proposing we use will be required for flood relief and rebuilding."
"Yes, but the whole point of this project is to find a permanent solution," Merlin said, now exceptionally confident about speaking out, after centuries playing his role as advisor to the country's leaders. "Once we discover that, then there'll be no need to worry about those other issues anyway."
"Lord Emrys is correct," Gaius said. "We need to invest in the future"
"It's a matter of the chicken and the egg though," Uther pushed. "The solution may be years coming – it may never happen. The money is needed for emergency aid now."
"We all know that this is not something that you are personally in favour of, Euan." Nimueh said – here today in her capacity as leader of the opposition. "But the fact is that that both Houses and the King have given this project their support and so surely we are here to debate the specifics, not to question whether or not money should be spent on it at all."
"Of course," Uther said with a false smile. "But talk of cost in this case is relevant. We do need to present a budget to the treasury at the end of this feasibility study. "
The words were civil enough, but the look the pair gave each other told a different story and there was a sudden tension in the air as everyone appeared to hold their breath. It was bad enough that these two were on opposite sides of the political divide, but they had been romantically involved in the past and that history made their conflict even more marked. Accusations of two-timing and property conflicts still raged twenty-three years after the split, and both blamed the other for making their daughter's health issues worse than they needed to be. Merlin wasn't the only one in the room to shift uncomfortably on his seat as the two old enemies continued to fight over the issues of necessity versus cost.
Luckily Uther was in the minority here, with even the most conservative of politicians desperate enough to push ahead with the research after the previous atrocious winter. The general world climate changes had resulted in the United Kingdom now being in the path of a warmer and more volatile Gulf Stream which had lead to increasing rain fall and rising sea levels. That in turn had resulted in such severe flooding that many areas of the country had now been abandoned to the sea, rivers and lakes – huge swathes of the countryside now waterlogged for most of the year.
Including, unfortunately, the old Valley of the Fallen Kings.
"Idiot!" Merlin muttered to himself yet again.
"There are many who believe that the traditional flood defences can be made to work, with no more than a few minor adjustments," Uther pushed.
"Not after last December's storm," Gaius disagreed. "Not when the Thames barrier itself failed to stop the rising water. That old structure will not last for very much longer and the Severn barrier has cause far more problems than it solved."
"Tell me about it," Merlin mumbled.
He was still furious at himself for not paying attention to that project when it was first proposed twenty-two years ago although, admittedly, he had been rather distracted by Arthur's birth at the time. It had eventually been built several miles to the west; a new flood defence that was supposed to help solve the ever increasing flooding problems in that part of the country. However, the planners had rushed it through too quickly, not considering what the knock-on effect might be. The barrier had indeed stopped the worst of the flooding in the surrounding area, but had instead shifted the problem upstream and underground, one of the many consequences of which was the creation of a new river in Merlin's valley, and the flooding of the Crystal Cave itself.
He was doing his best to protect it but it was a vicious circle. The flooding had the unexpected effect of dulling the magic within the cave which, in turn, weakened Merlin's powers. He had managed to put some magical barriers in place but they would not last forever and the longer the problem persisted, the weaker they would become. A more permanent solution was needed before the whole cave was submerged completely and the magic disappeared along with it.
Which was why he was here.
He now knew what the Round Table would be needed for this time around. Not a war against invaders or terrorists, or a fight to keep some greedy land owner for bulldozing his valley, but something far more practical.
He really should have paid more attention but then, perhaps this was simply destiny playing her hand again? Perhaps if this hadn't happened then Arthur would not have needed to be reborn. Maybe this had all been inevitable too.
And yet, despite all of this, Uther was still digging his heels in and putting conditions and obstacles in their path. Just as he always had.
'Hurry up and take over would you, Arthur. We need a voice of reason in the government right now and your father is most definitely not it.'
March 2059
"Your qualifications are very impressive, young man," Gaius said, looking at the tall, skinny youth in front of him. He then frowned, peering at him over his glasses. "Have we met before? You do look awfully familiar."
"Perhaps from the Imperial College, Sir," Merlin replied, promptly. "I believe you lecture there quite often?"
"That must be it then," Gaius agreed, still staring. "Although..." He shook his head and glanced back down at the papers in front of him. "So yes, very impressive – First Class Honours degrees in Earth Science and computer studies." He again looked up at the apparently very young man in front of him. "I can't help wonder when you had the time."
"I was one of those annoying child prodigies," Merlin replied with a slightly embarrassed shrug. "You know... A levels at eleven, first degree at fifteen?"
When, in truth, he had several hundred years of education and a hundred years of computer experience under his belt. There was rarely any need for him to forge documents nowadays as, over the years, he'd had plenty of time to study at home an enrol in the odd college course here and there. One of the advantages of being immortal.
"Well, it's all very impressive indeed. Although, brains and paper qualifications are one thing, what we are looking for here is something rather more rounded than that. Perhaps you could tell us in your own words what qualities you think you could bring to this project?"
Again this shouldn't be a problem, although Merlin couldn't help feeling nervous as he delivered his interview speech, despite the fact that he had been as much a part of this plan as Gaius had. This time around he would have to play his two different roles at the same time – hiding any relationship between his older and younger self – playing Lord Emrys, the eccentric old millionaire, scientist, and advisor one minute, and Martin, the young, genius college graduate the next.
He only hoped he now had enough experience to be able to play this more complex version of his dual life without causing suspicion. People were generally a lot less trusting nowadays, and modern technology offered far more opportunities for his deceptions to be uncovered, so he certainly couldn't afford to be complacent.
After several long minutes nervously pacing along a corridor outside, he was called back into the room where Gaius greeted him with an open smile.
"Well, I'm pleased to say that you've got the job. Congratulations, Martin, and welcome to the team."
London. April 2059
"How could you be so selfish, Archie?" Uther complained. "Did you not think about how this would look for me and my party?"
"Not really, Dad," Arthur replied, rolling his eyes. "It is my life and my career, after all, and this job is a dream come true for me. How could I have realistically turned it down?"
Having a Prime Minster as a father, Arthur decided, was generally far more trouble than it was worth.
"You know I've spent years fighting against this new project, put my whole career on the line in order to ensure that the country spends its money on more worthwhile and immediate ventures, and then you undermine me by actually applying for the very job that I've been condemning as a waste of public funds? Have you any idea how many problems this is going to cause? I'm going to be made a laughing stock."
"If your opponents use your adult son's career choice as an argument against you and your policies, then they're the ones with the problem," Arthur replied in a bored tone. "You simply need to explain how foolish they are to blame you for bringing up your son to think for himself. Surely it's better this way than if I agreed with everything you said just because I was your off spring?"
Uther grunted. "You could have at least told me you were applying for this."
"Huh," Arthur mumbled. "I wonder why I didn't."
His father turned abruptly to glare at him. "So, you were going behind my back deliberately?"
"Certainly not. A place on this team is the most highly sort after job in the country right now. I didn't think it was worth mentioning unless I actually got it."
"You still should have said something so-"
"It really was none of-"
"Enough," Ygraine interrupted. "Your father is right that you should have told him in order to give some warning and..." She held up one hand to stop her husband gloating about that comment. "... Archie is also correct in that he shouldn't have to limit his horizons just because his father is the Prime Minister."
"But there's going to be hell to pay over this, Elaine," Uther grumbled. "The Chief Whip's going to be furious. This particular flood prevention project is going to cost the country a fortune; far more than the other proposals that were on the table."
"Tell him what Archie just told you then," Ygraine replied calmly. "That your son's career choices are no-one's business but his. Not even his own father."
"I suppose..."
"Now, Archie, when does this job start?" his mother continued, putting on a bright smile. "Where will you be working?"
"Over Bristol way, apparently. Seeing that's where most of the flooding problems are."
"But they've got that new Severn Barrier in operation there now, haven't they?" she asked.
"Yes, but it's unfortunately caused more problems than it's solved and-"
"So, Guy says," Uther interrupted. "The area around the Severn itself is very much better now."
"Don't start, Father. You concentrate on your job and I'll do mine. Anyway, Mum, the job starts in September, but I'm to travel up there this Friday to the mansion of this Emrys guy. The one that's put up a whole chunk of private money?"
"Huh," Uther scoffed. "Crazy, that one is."
"The old man certainly is eccentric," Arthur agreed with a smile. "But he is a well respected Lord and he's throwing a party for the whole weekend and putting everyone up, all expenses paid, so I'm certainly not complaining."
"Is that in Bristol too?" Ygraine asked.
"No, somewhere in the wilds of Gloucestershire." Arthur pulled a face. "I looked at the map and there's practically nothing there - just a few scattered villages and farms - but the house itself is very grand, apparently, and I've been told that we'll want for nothing whilst we're there."
"I wouldn't get too excited," his father complained. "I'm quite certain that Lord Emrys' idea of luxury is rather different to yours or mine and, what with him and Guy there, well... I'm sure it will be a unique weekend for you."
"Be nice, dear," Ygraine scolded.
"Well, hopefully I've dissuaded him from bringing Moira in on the project," Arthur's father continued. "I've no idea what Guy was thinking for even suggesting such a thing."
"Seriously?" Arthur asked, having not heard of that discussion before. "That does sound most strange. What would he want with her anyway? She has no engineering or computing skills to offer, so I'm not sure what she bring to the project?"
"I really can't imagine," Uther agreed.
~o~0~o~