SEVEN
"You don't believe me," Daniel said.
"That's a little hard to swallow," said Prue.
"Let me explain," said Daniel. "The commissions that produced the Gregorian calendar did their work admirably. They were able to accurately calculate a timeline back to the beginning of Creation. And helped produce the calendar we use today.
"But there was a young man on one of those commissions. Very young and very excited at being selected for this honorable task. Through no fault of his own, he made an almost inconsequential error in his calculations. An error of only a single hour. In all the thousands of centuries of history, such an error would seem less than insignificant when compared to them."
"Okay," said Piper. "So he made a mistake of one hour. Like you said, not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things,"
"Exactly," said Daniel. "But that single hour has become the most important hour in the entire history of humanity. This watch," he looked lovingly at the watch again, "contains that one hour. The one-hour missing from history, if you will."
"That's why it reads 11:04," said Phoebe.
"Yes," said Daniel. "All of the magic, the caring, the goodness of humanity is contained in this watch. So long as this hour remains, history is incomplete. Without this missing hour, evil can never truly triumph over good.
"There have been many instances in history where good was nearly overwhelmed by evil. Only to have good suddenly recover and defeat that evil. It is the magic of this one-hour that makes all that possible. Once this hour passes, the balance that sustains good will be gone. History will come to an end."
"Whoa," said Anthony. "You're telling me that because I stole that watch, I nearly destroy the world?"
"Yes," Daniel said. "If you had started this watch, humanity's last fifty six minutes would have ticked away. Giving evil the opportunity it needed to destroy all that good has worked for over the millennium."
"Hey, I never meant to hurt anyone," said Anthony. "I didn't think a watch was that important."
"I know," said Daniel. "You're really a good and decent man, Anthony. A man who simply lost his way. But someone who has now found his way back to the right path. It's the reason you were chosen."
"Chosen?" questioned Prue. "Chosen for what?"
"I'm very old," said Daniel. "For two hundred twelve years I've protected the watch from the evil that would use it to destroy mankind. The magic of time is irresistible to all creatures, mortal or immortal. Even Piper with her ability to freeze time can only do so for the merest fraction of a moment.
"My wife passed on a very long time ago. Since her death, this watch has given my life meaning. But it is time for me to rest now. To pass on the responsibility as the keeper of the watch to another. You are that one, Anthony. You have been chosen to be the new keeper of the watch."
"Wait a minute," said Anthony, "you got the wrong guy. I'm a long way from being this keeper of the watch or whatever you call it. There has to be someone else who's a better choice. Someone who is more deserving of it."
"No," said Daniel. "The magic in the watch searches out the most deserving person alive. It's why you stole it. The magic has chosen you to be the new keeper. It is a responsibility like no other in the world."
"Yeah, but how am I going to protect it?" asked Anthony. "I'm just a regular guy. I don't have any powers like you or them. Heck, if it wasn't for you guys, those demons would have killed me and taken that watch from me."
"The magic as I said," said Daniel, "is irresistible to any creature. It's magic will protect you. And you, in turn, will use it's magic to protect it. Once you have accepted this responsibility, the magic will pass from me to you. And I will get the rest I've earned over the past two centuries."
"Accepted?" questioned Anthony. "I thought you said I had been chosen?"
"You have," said Daniel. "But like so many responsibilities, no one can force you to accept it. You must do so willingly, voluntarily. Otherwise the magic is of no use to you."
"And if I refuse?" asked Anthony.
"I can't answer that," said Daniel. "No one has ever refused."
Anthony looked at the girls and then at Daniel. He was being asked to accept the most awesome responsibility in history. The protection of the entire human race.
"You don't believe me," Daniel said.
"That's a little hard to swallow," said Prue.
"Let me explain," said Daniel. "The commissions that produced the Gregorian calendar did their work admirably. They were able to accurately calculate a timeline back to the beginning of Creation. And helped produce the calendar we use today.
"But there was a young man on one of those commissions. Very young and very excited at being selected for this honorable task. Through no fault of his own, he made an almost inconsequential error in his calculations. An error of only a single hour. In all the thousands of centuries of history, such an error would seem less than insignificant when compared to them."
"Okay," said Piper. "So he made a mistake of one hour. Like you said, not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things,"
"Exactly," said Daniel. "But that single hour has become the most important hour in the entire history of humanity. This watch," he looked lovingly at the watch again, "contains that one hour. The one-hour missing from history, if you will."
"That's why it reads 11:04," said Phoebe.
"Yes," said Daniel. "All of the magic, the caring, the goodness of humanity is contained in this watch. So long as this hour remains, history is incomplete. Without this missing hour, evil can never truly triumph over good.
"There have been many instances in history where good was nearly overwhelmed by evil. Only to have good suddenly recover and defeat that evil. It is the magic of this one-hour that makes all that possible. Once this hour passes, the balance that sustains good will be gone. History will come to an end."
"Whoa," said Anthony. "You're telling me that because I stole that watch, I nearly destroy the world?"
"Yes," Daniel said. "If you had started this watch, humanity's last fifty six minutes would have ticked away. Giving evil the opportunity it needed to destroy all that good has worked for over the millennium."
"Hey, I never meant to hurt anyone," said Anthony. "I didn't think a watch was that important."
"I know," said Daniel. "You're really a good and decent man, Anthony. A man who simply lost his way. But someone who has now found his way back to the right path. It's the reason you were chosen."
"Chosen?" questioned Prue. "Chosen for what?"
"I'm very old," said Daniel. "For two hundred twelve years I've protected the watch from the evil that would use it to destroy mankind. The magic of time is irresistible to all creatures, mortal or immortal. Even Piper with her ability to freeze time can only do so for the merest fraction of a moment.
"My wife passed on a very long time ago. Since her death, this watch has given my life meaning. But it is time for me to rest now. To pass on the responsibility as the keeper of the watch to another. You are that one, Anthony. You have been chosen to be the new keeper of the watch."
"Wait a minute," said Anthony, "you got the wrong guy. I'm a long way from being this keeper of the watch or whatever you call it. There has to be someone else who's a better choice. Someone who is more deserving of it."
"No," said Daniel. "The magic in the watch searches out the most deserving person alive. It's why you stole it. The magic has chosen you to be the new keeper. It is a responsibility like no other in the world."
"Yeah, but how am I going to protect it?" asked Anthony. "I'm just a regular guy. I don't have any powers like you or them. Heck, if it wasn't for you guys, those demons would have killed me and taken that watch from me."
"The magic as I said," said Daniel, "is irresistible to any creature. It's magic will protect you. And you, in turn, will use it's magic to protect it. Once you have accepted this responsibility, the magic will pass from me to you. And I will get the rest I've earned over the past two centuries."
"Accepted?" questioned Anthony. "I thought you said I had been chosen?"
"You have," said Daniel. "But like so many responsibilities, no one can force you to accept it. You must do so willingly, voluntarily. Otherwise the magic is of no use to you."
"And if I refuse?" asked Anthony.
"I can't answer that," said Daniel. "No one has ever refused."
Anthony looked at the girls and then at Daniel. He was being asked to accept the most awesome responsibility in history. The protection of the entire human race.