Leaning back in a padded chair, Rhett felt so weary all of the sudden. Whatever this woman had to show him, he was ready.
"Ok," Miss Treadwell continued, "First of all, I want you to keep one very important thing in mind while I explain my purpose here, and show you proof of my words."
Rhett cocked his head to one side and raised an eyebrow, "And what would that one important thing be?" he drawled slowly.
Miss Treadwell tensed, then said in a rush, "I am giving you a choice. A choice between life as it is now, or a very real chance to change your daughter's accident to a non-lethal one. I can manipulate time, and we can go back, slow time, and make sure only Bonnie's arm is broken, not her neck."
He stared at her, trying to process the words.
A chance to bring his little girl back to life.
Suddenly, he realized he didn't care anymore if he was insane or not. It was better to live in a world with hope, even if he was actually in a padded cell somewhere, than it was to be in the life he had now.
He was in. All the way.
"But" why break her arm? If you are capable of such miracles, why hurt my Bonnie at all?"
Miss. Treadwell pursed her lips.
"In my reality, family legend has it that your relationship with Scarlett started to mend when Bonnie got hurt. You both realized how much she meant to you, and how much, underneath it all, you meant to each other. Scarlett's obsession with Ashley dies the day Melanie does. It was then she realized she had more with you and Bonnie than she ever could with Ashley.
But, unfortunately, yes. For this to happen, Bonnie will have to take one for the team."
"I beg your pardon?" Rhett laughed. It felt good to laugh, even if it was madness.
"Sorry." Miss Treadwell continued, "That's a modern expression from my time. It means to sacrifice for your side."
"The time you come from, Miss Treadwell, sounds absolutely astounding. I am ready to hear more." Rhett leaned forward expectantly.
"Well, I am going to have to tell you about it, Captain Butler, for several reasons, not the least of which is we are going to have to take you to it at some point. The future, I mean.", she stuttered, "You..."
"Yes?" It was strange, but Rhett felt as if he knew the answer before she gave it.
"You will also have to bring Scarlett, and Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes. I'm afraid it's imperative we do."
Rhett opened his mouth to comment, but before he could get a word out, she interjected swiftly.
"Before I tell you more about that, though, here is one more very important thing you have to be aware of." Miss Treadwell paused and swallowed. Rhett saw her face change, and he saw, was it fear? Yes, definitely fear and anger in her eyes.
"Your daughter would have fallen and broken only her arm even without our help. She was deliberately turned to break her neck by the people who got to her first."
Miss Treadwell drew a deep breath, "In other words, Rhett, your daughter was targeted and murdered, and we will have to deal with her killers as well."
Rhett looked at her, at first stunned, then angry. He rose in one fluid motion and crossed the room, towering over Miss Treadwell.
"Who did it? I will kill them." He whispered hoarsely.
Miss Treadwell did not flinch. She tilted her head up and looked him squarely in the eye. "I know you're upset. Please have a seat, and I will try to explain."
Rhett sat, anger tensing every inch of his body.
"Listen, Rhett", she continued, "The universe is always in flux, therefore it's normal for the forces of man and nature to push and pull. There's Negative and Positive. Negative always wants to snuff out Positive, Positive always wants to enlighten Negative."
"Researchers of the next century, in the field of physics, will discover several possible realities exist at one time on an atomic level. In other words, particles so tiny we could never see them without help are not in this world or the next until they are observed by a conscious living entity. Of course, you realize everything is made of atoms."
"This was a great mystery to us at first, and we only understand it a little better now. However, in the future, we know atoms are influenced by not only being observed, but the intent of the Observer. Moreover, certain Observers have much more power over more atoms than a regular person. With that power, they send out a "vibe" which has a Positive or Negative effect on the reality of everyone near them."
"The strongest observers are born with a balance of personalities in their background. Their ancestors need to be balanced at crucial historic junctures, one couple skewing Negative, the other skewing Positive."
"Strongly Negative forces are the ones who want to kill your daughter. They know her existence into adulthood and childbearing years will affect the future a great deal, and this world will be skewed toward the Positive. I am here to keep the family tree intact."
Rhett sat back in the chair, trying to take it in and understand.
"You and Mrs. Butler basically skew Negative." Miss Treadwell continued, "Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes skew Positive. If you are successful in bringing the Wilkes here, I can make sure Mrs. Wilkes is healthy and has three more children."
"One of their boys is going to marry Bonnie. Positive and Negative together, as it were. Then they will have my grandmother, she will have my mother, and then me, a product of several opposite couples having children for a few hundred years, but Bonnie and Sam will be two of the most powerful."
"I am known as a "Minor Nexus". I am an energy point in the universe who influences people around me with positivity. My great-grandson will be a "Major Nexus". He will help bring an era of peace and prosperity, as well as science and creativity to the human race."
"But Negative forces are trying to unravel time by taking out various ancestors of the "Major Nexus of Positivity". The fact that I'm here is a good sign, but we can't be overconfident."
Rhett was lost in thought. He was silent for a long time. Miss Treadwell waited patiently until he spoke.
He cleared his throat "And your proof?"
Miss Treadwell reached under the desk and produced two rectangular objects. Both had pretty much the same proportions, but one was about a foot across and a few inches less deep. The smaller rectangle was a quarter of that size. They were made of a dark, smooth material, with odd bumps on the smaller one.
She opened the larger case, and turned it toward Rhett. At first, it looked like a very shallow box, but it had no room to put anything in it, just rows of squares and rectangles facing up from the bottom. She touched a long rectangle, and suddenly, the top part facing him was lit from within. It showed a photograph of a man and woman, well dressed and holding hands.
Then the photo started to move.
The Crux stirred and turned, awaking from slumber.
Here in the bewildering miles of catacombs underneath Paris, it had made its home for centuries. Before that, it dwelled in the caves and shadows of this world. Crux truly could be said to live everywhere, but its brain chose a place which was full of sorrow and history. A secure spot to operate from.
Some would call it a demon. Others would say it was simply a concentration of totally Negative energy. If you saw it, you would see something like a giant grub larva, but then your eyes would instantly burn along with your brain.
Crux fed on negative emotional energy generated by the sentient beings of this planet, those observers who unknowingly change the fate of the world every day. It was so easy to convince them with gentle mental pokes and prods to do horrible things to each other for the silliest of reasons. The destructive vibes of war were always steady nourishment. The Civil War had been a special treat, but it wanted more.
Crux had recently thought up a master stroke of strategy, suggested by one of the few humans it communicated with directly. It had taken millions of years, but Crux helped the little monkeys to finally think, and then think very well. If Crux didn't hate them so much, it would be proud of the humans it had helped grow.
It was a simple plan but would be very effective. Instead of endlessly fighting the Nexus Guardians, Crux would simply erase them from history.
The Guardians were all born with an energy balance. They could block its negative energy and open the channels of positivity. It would not die because of this, of course, just lose dominance for another time cycle.
Crux would never die. It is as old as the universe and will be here until time itself is at the end. But it did hate being hungry, always wanting more.
It had eliminated seven Nexus ancestors in the past 20 years. Crux could already feel the future unraveling in its favor. Its latest victim, the little girl Crux sent slaves to kill, her death had given it such intense waves of satisfaction and future power.
But it was as much a part of the planet, of the universe, as a flower or a child. Wherever there were Observers, there would be sentient concentrations of good and evil, subtlety changing the frequency of life. Waning and waxing as one side would reach its limits, and the other side would then slowly gain strength in an endless cycle.
Unless, that is, there was an unforeseen variable, like Crux's new plan.