Brooklyn - April 15th 3141 7:59 AM
A small stream of sunlight poured into an otherwise dark room. A gentle breeze blew in from the window, making the sunlight dance playfully on the floor. Julie liked these moments the most. It was that instance of blissful oblivion before the world came crashing down on her shoulders again.
Her alarm clock usually blared SPARK, which was a radio for fairies by fairies. However due to the high technology in every device, her alarm clock remembered her birthday for her. The alarm clock played happy birthday using the tones of a xylophone. It was beyond annoying. Julie quickly rolled over with a groan and smashed her alarm clock into silence.
Today Julie was one thousand one hundred and thirty two. She was the oldest creature on the planet, and constantly being attacked by deranged historians. Julie looked into the mirror, and the same face for a thousand years looked back at her. She still had trouble recognizing it.
"How long am I going to be fifteen" Julie thought for the hundred thousandth time. The answer became more obvious and horrifying as the years passed. She would be this way forever. She would never die. She was left to languish for all eternity? Why was she put on this earth?
A shiny badge slept on the bed side table. It read "The People's Ambassador". She sighed. Was this the reason she was made. She was to be a buffer between two species. No! she was sure that wasn't it. Her father and mother loved each other. Yet it seemed harder and harder to remind herself. There image faded every day. Their smiles seemed like the leftovers of a dream. They were both long gone. Both were lost in peaceful oblivion. Julie opened the curtains. The sun blazed in full force.
Julie felt like a fraud. The People's main plight was to remember their suffering. Fairies were forced to live underground for several millennia. Julie represented the People yet she had never spent a day off the surface. Julie put on her suit which felt stiff around the neck. She wondered how her father always wore suits, even in the summer. Of course he wore casual brown loafers on Fridays. Still his demeanor always seemed excessively polished to Julie.
Her father, Artemis Fowl II, was barely a blip in her long existence. Yet for some reason today, she recalled him, maybe her birthday made her more sentimental. Perhaps she should visit their resting place today. Her mother had died five hundred years ago, and her last wishes were that she and her father's ashes be encased side by side. Strengthened by that that thought, Julie pinned on her badge. She was the People's Ambassador.
Fowl Manor – February 13th 2513
When The People moved to the surface, the overall pollution level fell drastically. New technology revolutionized industry. Yet the low amounts of pollution which humans required to survive drastically cut the lifespan of fairies. Holly thought she would live to nine hundred but here she lay on her dying bed at the young age of five hundred and eighty four.
In the recent weeks Holly's memories seemed elusive. She had asked her daughter about their trip to Ho Chi Minh with her father. Julie scoffed it off as one of the symptoms of her mother's failing mind. Holly stirred in her drug induced state. She wondered if Julie would come see her. Her daughter always seemed busy. She was recently elected as the People's ambassador. Holly had big dreams for her daughter. A diplomat fell short of her hopes.
A whirl of a transporter echoed in the hall. The transporter had just been newly perfected. Holly was not use to the sound. Holly tried to sit up. She briefly wondered what all the noise was. Then she smiled with clarity. Her daughter came after all. She heard quick footsteps coming closer.
"Hey Mum, how are you feeling today?" Julie asked as she entered the threshold. Her daughter had flushed cheeks. She'd been rushing. She wore a heavy winter coat. It was odd. The weather was quite mild in Ireland.
"I just came from Manhattan. It was a rough day at the Bureau" Julie continued. She took off her coat threw it to a hook by the door. She stripped off her scarf, hat and gloves as well.
"I'm fine sweetie, just thinking about old times" Holly said from her bed. Her mother was so small compared to her. Julie took another breath. Then she sat by her mother's side. She knew that her mother would start rambling. Julie was jaded. She had heard tons of old adventures. Her mother and father had apparently saved the world, thrice. It seemed to happen right on cue.
"You're father and I waited for you at the kerbside Café on Dong Khai Street" Holly began. Julie felt her body tense. It was another story about Ho Chi Minh. It was one of her impossible stories. She hated these the most
"Are you thirsty mum? Would you like some tea?" Julie said. She was unashamed to interrupt. Holly paused. She forgot what she was saying.
"That would be lovely sweetie" Holly finally said. If Julie had not interrupted perhaps she would gotten some critical information. In fact Holly was not losing her mind, but regaining it. A long forgotten past was resurfacing as Holly drowned.
Julie walked steadily towards the kitchen. Her mother's imminent death was too much for her. She needed a moment. She turned to the manor library for a breather. Julie pushed open the door. She stood there for a moment trying to remain calm. Images from every corner seemed to assault her. Pictures of an evanescently happy family hung on the wall. She looked into the frames. There was the figure of her father she barely remembered.
"Breathe" She told herself. She suddenly cleared a shelf. Her arm swung widely. Books came crashing down violently. It was oddly satisfying. Julie was ready to do it again. Then she spotted a small book. It was mixed in with the heavy volumes. She bent down to open it.
Inside was a timeline with some instructions about what to do on those dates. It was a map of time, and it was in her hand writing. Holly remembered what she wanted to tell her daughter now. But it looked like she would never get to say it. She seemed content though, as her vision started to fade. Suddenly she knew her time was up. She flat lined.
Brooklyn - April 15th 3141 8:04 AM
Due her mother's sudden death, Julie had forgotten about the book for a long time. Every time she thought about the book, it reminded her of her mother's death. Julie never forgave herself. She had not believed in her mother's stories. Finally she forgot about the book all together.
"That's right. There was some sort of time book. Where did I do with it? After the funeral, I remember that I had it" Julie thought.
She made her way to work already. It wouldn't be here in her office. She knew herself. She must have made a copy sometime in the past five hundred years. She opened up a digital screen with her bio wafer.
"Search for Time Line" She thought. The screen filled with various different answers.
"Linear Time Theory, New York Times: Enron Flat Lines …" The screen read. The search was too broad.
"Search files for Time Line" She thought. The screen had one single icon on it now.
"Time Line Surmised" It read. This was it.
She looked around her office. Work was the last thing on her mind. She called up her assistant Kelly using the wafer. It rang for a moment. Then the screen projected a live feed of Kelly at her station. Kelly seemed apathetic as usual. Her thick frames hid her eyes, which was in opposition to her child like pixy face.
"Ambassador Fowl, what can I do for you today?" Kelly said in her cool voice.
"What do I have on my schedule today?" Julie asked
"You have a conference in France at ten, Atlantis is expecting you to attend a fundraiser at two..." Kelly said.
"Cancel it all, I'm taking a day off. It's my birthday" Julie interrupted
"You want the day off?" Kelly asked. Every employee was entitled to days off, especially on their birthday. It was strange for Kelly though, since in the twenty years she worked for Julie she had never had a day off. In fact Julie had never taken a day off period.
"Yes, cancel all my meetings" Julie confirmed. Today she felt was the day. But what was it the day for? Julie looked at the transporter in the corner of her office that resembled a shower stall. Today was the day to go back.
Julie used her bio wafer to reprogram the transporter. If she were an ordinary person this would have taken years rather than hours. Julie pondered over the various blocks that popped up. She mentally typed up a storm in overrides. She was going back in time, but it would be extremely difficult considering it was hard to visualize a place you had never been to. Julie channeled the stories her mother use to tell her. The feeling was rustic with a touch of imagination, like sprinkles on otherwise plain vanilla ice cream.
Julie realized that some hard rewiring might be in order. She used magic to pop open the base plate. Rather than wires, there were tiny slivers of semiconducting material over an insulating chip. It was impossible to work on without a special set of tools. Julie reached into her desk for her soldering gun. It was a slightly outdated model. This would have to do. After a few more hours Julie finally broke the last of the defenses and the transporter was open for time travel
A song came into Julie's mind, Hungarian Rhapsody No2. She felt as though she heard this song before. An odd feeling coursed through her. Then she was pulled into the portal.
She listened to the song while spinning through the time stream. Usually with the transporter, one would only spend half a second in the time stream. She was there for what seemed like an eternity. It was an odd feeling. At first she wanted to disappear into the stream. She had lived for a long time, perhaps it would be better to just let go. Lovely blissful oblivion awaited her, yes today was the day she would die. Yet something teased her back, it was an itch that kept her anchored. She also wanted to hear the end of the song. When it played out in its entirety she felt herself fall back into time.
"Who are you?" A strangely familiar Fairy asked. Julie realized that she was sprawled out like cat. Her whole body felt tingly. Where was she? Her eyes shifted around.
"This is Fowl Manor, but what time am I at?" Julie thought. Julie got up and looked at the strange elf woman. She was very familiar. Julie added a few lines to the elf's face, a few crow's feet, and happy smile lines on her cheeks. The elf in front of her morphed into the person she loved most in the world.
"Mum?"
An overwhelming joy engulfed Julie. It was a sweet relief. She felt her heart rise in her chest with miraculous fullness. Her mother was alive!