Chapter 14
I carefully made my way into the room to see what was going on. It was a large conference room with an oval table in the center. On the table was some type of red draconium gear. The two Word Paynns were there standing by the gear and having a conversation. The room was clearly designed for humans, but it was large enough for me to move around in without much trouble. Still, I stayed by the door to play it safe.
One of the Words handed a data pad to the other and said, "This contains all the specifications for the black draconium power regulator along with the assembly instructions. As you surmised, the careful application of black draconium energy to this red gear will reverse the entropy effect, and from there you can build a time machine. But the power regulator is the key element needed to do it safely."
"This is quite convenient," the other Word said. "As soon as I got the idea for using the red entropy gear to construct a time machine, I started wondering if I would see signs of time travel due to my using the machine in the future. Though I must admit, I didn't expect to be visited by myself," he said with a sly smile.
"I know," the other Word responded with an equally sly grin. "I was you not too long ago, so I remember standing where you are and having this conversation with my future self. By giving you the plans to construct the time machine, I'm avoiding the possibility that you might damage the gear beyond repair if you try to do it on your own."
Now there was a paradox if I ever saw one. Word gets the idea for building a time machine, then his future self arrives in the time machine and hands his younger self the plans for said time machine so that his younger self can build the time machine he arrived in. This was difficult to wrap your mind around, but I guess time travel by its very nature allowed such things to happen.
The Word from the future picked up a scanner and held it over the red gear. He pointed to the scanner display and said, "See here? This juncture between the main elements of the red gear is where the black draconium energy injector needs to be mounted. That way the black energy will flow smoothly and reverse the entropy effect. But whatever you do, do not connect a black draconium energy source to the injector directly. You must only connect it through the regulator in the plans I gave you. Without the regulator in the circuit, the black draconium energy could easily overload the gear and completely burn it out."
"I understand," the Word from the present said. "This will certainly make building the time machine a lot easier."
The Word from the future continued, "As you know, this is last remaining piece of red entropy gear left in the world. All precautions must be taken to avoid damaging it or you won't be able to build the time machine. That's why it was necessary for me to travel back in time and meet with you to warn you of this and give you the plans you will need. And remember, once you get the time machine built, you must travel back in time and meet with your past self as I am doing now or the cycle will be broken. If you don't warn your younger self, he may not figure out that a regulator is needed, and a black draconium overload could damage the gear beyond repair and ruin our plans to eliminate Connor and the gold dragon."
Well, you haven't quite gotten rid of the gold dragon yet. And this dragon had an idea. Since this is the last remaining piece of the red entropy gear, if I could destroy this gear here and now before the time machine gets built, then the time machine could never be built and Word would not be able to travel back in time to eliminate Connor. Connor would then live and reality should revert back to the way it was before Word starting changing things. At least, I think it would. This time travel stuff was complicated.
The future Word said a black draconium energy overload could destroy the red gear. I smiled. Well, that just happened to be something I could arrange. It sounded like a mag-burst was in order. Only one little problem: I had hardly any black draconium energy left. I had channeled just about all I had into the time machine in order to travel back to this point in time. Sure, I could still manage a feeble little black draconium mag-burst, but it wouldn't amount to more than a pretty light show at the moment. I just didn't have enough energy left to destroy the gear. However, I had an idea of how I might get some extra energy.
About then I noticed that the two Words had stopped talking. The Word from the future was looking at the scanner and frowning. The other Word said, "What is it?"
The future Word said, "I'm not sure. This is strange. The scanner is picking up something that shouldn't be here." He held the scanner out and panned it around the room. He stopped when it pointed in my direction. "There," he said and punched some buttons. "The scanner is reporting some sort of spatial anomaly in that part of the room."
"A spatial anomaly?" the other Word said. "How can that be?"
"I don't know." The future Word keyed various buttons on the scanner and studied the read-out. After many long seconds, he stopped and gaped at the display. Incredulous, he said, "I don't believe it. The scanner has picked up the signature of the ancient gold defensive armor!"
"But that gear can only be powered by a gold dragon. Which would mean..."
"That the gold dragon is here with us now!" The Word from the future just stared in disbelief, "This can't be happening. This didn't happen when I was you and experienced this the first time around." He pondered this for a few seconds. "That must mean the armor is allowing him to effect the time line independently of reality. This is a complication I hadn't anticipated."
Well, at least it looked like the gear was giving me a bit of an advantage. But I still had to destroy the red gear and I needed more black draconium energy to do it. I was pretty sure I knew where I could get some, so I started backing my way out the door.
"He's moving!" Word said, looking at the scanner. "Quickly! Seal off this section of the floor!"
It looked like I had worn out my welcome here. Time to go, and fast. I made my way out of the room and started heading down the hall back towards the lab where the time machines were. Unfortunately, I hardly got anywhere before a massive door slammed down and blocked off the hallway. Another slammed down at the other end of the hall.
The two Words had followed me out into the hall. The one holding the scanner said, "He's trapped over there."
The doors blocking the hall were massive. I was pretty strong as dragons went, but I wasn't strong enough to knock down these doors on my own. I had to figure some way out of here and quickly.
The Word from the future said, "Hurry, go get the black draconium interference pod and we'll overload his defensive armor. That should finish him off."
Oh, no. Not this again.
I felt a knot of fear form in my stomach and a chill went over me. I had only barely survived my last encounter with the black interference gear. And doing that had drained my gold draconium energy down to almost nothing. I couldn't power my armor for all that much longer as it was, and if Word got here with that gear, I'd be dead for sure this time around. I had better think of something, and fast, or it would be all over for me.