Primitive Culture (IC)

[Vahnyu]

Hronos' face didn't betray through it's metalic features surprise or any other emotion, other than slight annoyance, both at the man's attitude and at his attempt at shoving him. "Yes, you already stated your experience. Considering the fact that this planet is merely approximately 4 billion Earth years old, a time span that is a mere speck to the total of my existance and experience, I find it very hard to feel impressed." This time, Hronos carefully studied his opponent, and upon finding an opening, lunged once again, but instead of completing the grab as soon as he thought he had John Smith at his hands, he took an additional step first. "And this time, you will not evade my grasp."

[Supercape]

GM

Smith did not resist this time, but laughed as the Robot caught him. He had let himself be taken this time, his suit crumpling under Hronos grasp, and his unresisting limbs pinned immobile.

"Haha! Typical Robot. Just wheels and metal! No soul. Just a tool. Just a tool. You were built, not born. That makes you a tool in the hand of your maker..."

"Very well then, tool. You have me now. I cannot fight your hard steel today. Do with me what you will!" he said, defying Hronos with every word.

[Vahnyu]

The man with his innane prattle and sheer obnoxiousness had proven psychosomatically draining for Hronos, who wanted to be done with this whole debacle as soon as possible. "Yes. . I heard your statement the first time you made it, yet I see that you keep repeating it. Is it so important to your ego that I believe your words to be true? Or is it you who needs to believe them?" the Mechanodynamis half-asked, half-mocked attempts at throwing acerbic bile at him. Taking flight, Hronos steered away from the park, taking the man as far away as possible from the site.

[Supercape]

GM

John Smith held himself limp in Hronos grip.

"Flying? Interesting. I shall make note of that. I wonder what else you have been programmed to do, tool..." said Hronos, half to himself, half to Hronos.

"I wonder who programmed you. What are you meant to do? Fly people around cities? I suspect you are for more than that. What algorihythms and circuits bind you?"

He looked down at the ground, at the sky, almost enjoying the feeling.

"You have no free will, tool. Just a purpose...you can't escape the parameters of your creation. You are less than a slave..."

He scanned the horizon.

"And now, where are you taking me? somewhere safe, you said?"

[Vahnyu]

Hronos had zoned out most of what John Smith had to say by now, and he simply continued flying, giving no sign of acknowledgement to the man's tiring repetitions of the same point over and over again. He felt sorely tempted to educate the man about the truth behind his so called , that just as physical concepts follow strict rules, so do mental and spiritual ones, but the plain fact of the matter was that the maintenance of the concept of free will and one's belief in it was one of the most important aspects of the creation, even if it was a complete and utter lie. He knew from experience that faaaar too many beings misinterpretate that as an excuse to not do anything.

However, the last question was one that didn't fell on deaf ears. "That is correct. The Tyrannosaurus Rex materialised in this period as a result of tampering with the space-time continuum. The area where the dinosaur creature appeared has the highest probability of exhibiting a similar occurance. Therefore, taking you away from that area, would be the best course of action to ensure your safety. Afterwards, I will be able to investigate the incident without hindrance, find the ones responsible for causing that mayhem, and ensure that they realise how dangerous their actions could be, if they are carried without proper care."

[Supercape]

GM

"That is correct. The Tyrannosaurus Rex materialised in this period as a result of tampering with the space-time continuum. The area where the dinosaur creature appeared has the highest probability of exhibiting a similar occurance. Therefore, taking you away from that area, would be the best course of action to ensure your safety. Afterwards, I will be able to investigate the incident without hindrance, find the ones responsible for causing that mayhem, and ensure that they realise how dangerous their actions could be, if they are carried without proper care."

Smith nodded, actually listening intently to Hronos.

"Well, I suggest you put me down then. So you can find the one responsible for causing that mayhem..." he smiled, with a little smirk.

"Although I would be most pleased to meet him myself. Very interested..." he said, with considerable passion.

"So put me down, then. And tell me...what is your purpose? why are you so interested in the space-time continuum? come now, I have complied with your purpose...for now. And I grow curious why I machine is so interested in this. And how much you might know about time travel...please, indulge my curiousity!"

[Vahnyu]

For a long time, Hronos regarded the man John Smith, as something about what he said sounded... off. However, Hronos could not sense any sort of dishonesty and trickery behind the man. He may be an insufferable arrogant being, but he so far appeared completely honest. "Very well." Hronos responded slowly, and he carefully descended on the ground, in the streets. "I shall now answer your questions, as you requested." Hronos said, as he let the man on his feet.

Opening the white hatch on the front of his metalic breastplate, the Mechanodynamis exposed a Purple-hued source of light that flexed and shifted in seemingly random patterns. "This light is the Essense of Time. It is one of the five fundamendal Essenses that encompass the world, responsible for both the dimensional seperation and advancement of events occuring within the entire creation. I am a Mechanodynamis, one of five, created for the purpose of... 'holding' an Essense, this particular Essense in my case. The entire world is filled with Time, but this essense is its core, a nexus that channels Time, if you prefer. Furthermore, and by extension, I am tasked with ensuring that the integrity of Time is maintained. And that those who are able to utilise Time do so in a responsible way." With that, the hatch in his chest closed.

"As for your questions pertrainning to time travel... What is it exactly that you wish to learn? A fundamendal principle to keep in mind is that the results vary depending on the method used to achieve time travel. Purely scientific methods are limited in that they do not, in fact, tap into Time, but rather, into Knowledge, another fundamendal Essense responsible for the rules that govern the interraction between entities, such as matter, anti-matter, etcetera." Hronos continued his lecture, making sure to pronounce 'etcetera' as 'etcetera', and not as its abbreviated form 'etc.'. "As such, they do not achieve time travel, in the sense that the changes caused do not affect the main timeline, but rather create an alternate timeline that deviates from that point on. It should also be noted that traveling in time backwards, in that case, would effectively lock the timetraveller out of the main timeline forever, even if the timetraveller were to use scientific methods to travel backwards or forwards. An interdimensional mode of transportation would be required to return the timetraveller in his original timeline, in conjuction with the interchronal mode of transportation he employed in the first place."

"Non-scientific or non-purely scientific methods of interchronal travel are a different matter, though, since they do not rely exclusively on the Essense of Knowledge, they may be able to tap into the Essense of Time, and thus able to achieve true time travel if so desired. In such cases, the changes are permanent for the main timeline, without creating offshoot dimensions, though they can also be undone, by employing similar methods. However, depending on the situation, the burden caused on Time may prove strainning, to the point that it could cause Time to break, or fluxate wildly. This would result in events not occuring on their right order, or worse, in events occuring in no order at all, everything happening at once on the same point forever!"

"These are the main reasons that I have to attend to the incident in the park, aside from the fact that an accident could occur, causing people to lose their lives."

[Supercape]

GM

'John Smith', still barefoot and holding his shoes, listened intently, and was most interested in what Hronos was saying. Particularly the bit where he showed him the purple hued light source - the essence of time.

"Interesting, most interesting..." he nodded, refraining (for now) from calling Hronos 'Robot' or 'Tool'. He seemed feverishly animated.

"And tell me, can you travel in time? this essence of yours? you are able to control it? are you able to focus it? it allows precision in time travel?"

[Vahnyu]

Hronos frowned considerably. "I fear not, John Smith. Do not be mistaken, just having the Essense itself is not enough; you also require the means to properly control it. My body originally possessed all the means necessary for performing such tasks, but after spending the last 4 billion Earth years in what can be described a comatose state, after suffering intense damage, many of the necessary parts are still offline in repair mode. I still retain many time manipulation capabilities, but outright time travel is impossible for me to achieve at the forseeable future."

Shaking his head, he adds "Is there anything else you wish to ask me? As I have already explained, my mission is far too urgent, and I need to be on my way as soon as possible."

[Supercape]

GM

"You have been most informative" answered John Smith, scratching his chin which had a light stubble. He gave Hronos a deep, thoughtful and penetrating stare.

"I have no doubt that we will meet again. I wonder in what manner. In what form. But it seems our paths will be locked, ancient as we are. Man against steel. Passion against logic. Will it be as hand and tool, or as spear and heart?"

"Nevermind. For now, our paths diverge. Yours lies back in the forest...the park..." he corrected himself. "And mine, elsewhere, for me only to know..."

He sat down and put on his shoes, and gave Hronos a half-smile, full of enigma, before wandering off into the city, patting the pockets of his jacket to check all was still present.

[Vahnyu]

"Hmmmm....." Hronos regarded John Smith long and hard, as they were about to part ways. "You are a very curious being yourself, John Smith. I do not know whether your words hold any truth to them, but all the same, I wish you a safe journey." He said to John Smith, as he watched him take his leave. Hronos took flight once more, before stopping a couple of hundred feet away midair. What a curiously hostile man he proved. I doubt that he could have been involved with the temporal disturbance, and yet his appearance at the site and his actions seemed to be rather enigmatic, if not outright suspicious. Perhaps there was another reason for John Smith to be at the site... At any rate, it matters not. For the time being, finding out exactly what happened to cause that Dinosaur creature to appear in the middle of the park takes precedence. Hronos pondered to himself, before resuming flight. Tracing his way back, he headed for the clearing from which the Tyranosaurus Rex had probably materialised.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The clearing was pretty broken up from the rage of the dinosaur. Broken tree's, splintered branches, ruffled earth everywhere. It was pretty clear that the beast had "Landed" somewhere, in a circle - or perhaps sphere that was around 30 or so feet in radius. In this area, the ground and flaura looked different, although Hronos could not place the change. 

 

What he did catch, however, was subtle markings at the epicentre. Hard to spot, but what looked like the imprint of a small tripod, and the marks of bare feet there too. 

 

And some strange markings on the ground, hand made, presumably made by a stick or similar object. 

[Vahnyu]

Hronos inspected carefully his surroundings for clues, but his search yielded almost nothing of value. The foliage does appear weird, but that may simply be because the lifeforms of this planet are very diverse. Few planets exhibit such a wide range of different species, both animals and plants. After a while, Hronos' search finally bore fruit, as he spoted the markings in the ground. Lowering himself to take a more careful look, the Mechanodynamis regarded them long and hard. Perhaps... No, even if the markings WERE connected with John Smith, that does not equate to them being connected with the Dinosaur incident, and the opposite holds true as well. John Smith, creatures from another, long-forgotten era, peculiar markings.  All of these elements seem to point to each other, but the evidence are circumstancial at best.

 

Hronos snapped a photograph of the markings with his eyes, commiting that instance to memory. An important clue, to be sure, but I do not believe it would do any good to tamper it. Hronos then flew up high, inspecting the whole park as he did. As I feared, I am much too unfamiliar with this planet to be able to draw any helpful conclusions about what happened. As it stands, I will not be able to make any more progress in finding out what happened, and subsequently preventing it from occuring again... Hmmmm... I will require assistance. Perhaps that reporter for the Daily Word by the name of Jessica Jagger could offer me with some further insight on the incident. She appeared cooperative enough, and I did promise to answer her questions.

[Supercape]

GM

 

A little later...

 

At the Daily Word Office

 

"Sure sure, like some robot comes marching into the office, pull the other one, honey!" said Jessica Jeggar, flipping her stress ball from hand to hand whilst answering two e mails simultaneously. 

 

It wasn't until her distracted brain clicked it might be Hronos that she slammed down the phone and rushed to reception. 

 

"Hey, its Herronus! the Robot thingy thats all involved with the space-time continuousum!" she smiled, trying to smooth down her ruffled hair and look less scruffy. Unfortunately, she always looked like a caffeine-high scruffball - even when she wasn't being saved from rampaging dinosaurs. 

 

"What can I do for you?" she asked "I already got the headlines and the story!" she explained, holding her hands up and spreading them, gazing lovingly at the imagined front page. 

 

"Metal Man is Magnificent!" she said, dripping enthusiasm and glazing her eyes. 

[Vahnyu]

"Good evening, miss Jessica Jagger. I trust your trip back to your work has been safe." Hronos greeted the reporter, who arrived at the reception at his request to meet her. Not sure as to what to say about the headline, the Mechanodynamis instead decided to explain to her why he had come to her workplace. "As for the reason to my appearance here, it concerns the incident that occured in the park this afternoon. I followed the trail that dinosaur creature left, and I would like to inquire about your opinion on what I found. Since I doubt I will be making any more progress on my investigation for the time being, I am also willing to answer your questions you had about me, and repeat them as necessary, as I promised to you before we parted." The blue and white colored mechanical being explained to Jessica. "Do you have another location in which you would prefer for us to talk about the incident, or is this room fine for our purposes?" Hronos inquired.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Oh sure Honey" replied Jessica, scuttling over to the reception staff...

 

A few minutes later

 

The interview room was rather small, but would suffice. Jessica had two hot cups of coffee in front of her. 

 

"Guess you don't drink huh?" she asked, gulping down one rather feverishly. "All the more for me then, tin man!" she smiled, caressing the second cup. 

 

The cameraman, a young youth just the wrong side of tubby but with a handsome and intelligent face enscapsulated with a trendy haircut, gave a deep groan and sigh. 

 

"Cut it out Jess, he's a damn robot, not a dude to flirt with" he said, preparing the camera and starting to shoot. 

 

"Yeah yeah yeah, that's what they all say....say, you don't mind being filmed do ya? yada yada yada editing rights and all that, you got em. Anyway, what did you want?" she said, her words flowing swiftly and without pause but well elocuted for all that. 

[Vahnyu]

"Indeed, you are correct. I do not require sustenance, though I do appreciate the offer nonetheless." Hronos said, politely refusing the cup, with his right hand held in front of his shoulder and his open palm extended outwards, in a further sign of refusal. When Jessica indicated the camera, Hronos was sure to answer without hesitation "No, of course not. I do not believe I have anything to hide, and if it assists you in doing your job, then I have no objection whatsoever."

 

After the setting up was over, and Jessica was ready to talk with Hronos about the events that transpired, Hronos started recounting what happened, in as much detail as he thought would be helpful. "As I was saying, I followed the trail, and it led to a clearing. A human man was there, and I offered my assistance in case he had some urgent matters to attend to at the site. When I confirmed that he was under no such urgency, I decided that it would be best for his shake for me to remove him from the possibly unstable area. From conversing with the man, who later identified himself as John Smith, I was not able to extract any useful information; John Smith spoke in a rather disjointed way, and he gave the impression that he was talking about something particular, yet, due to the vagueness of his words, I could not ascertain what it was. I did realise that the man was overly hostile and arrogant, refusing my offers of aid, and as a result, I had to extract him off the site forcibly."

 

Choosing to take a pause at that moment, so that the information would be better processed by Jessica and her cameraman. "Thankfully, as soon as I flew away from the site, and landed elsewhere in the city with John Smith, he appeared to soften up significantly in his demeanor. He still proved quite inquisitive, but at the moment, I felt neither malice nor deception in his words. After satisfying his curiosity, John Smith and I went our seperate ways. I returned to the site, in order to make a proper investigation. I was certain at the time that it was from that clearing that this Tyranosaurus Rex creature appeared, though how it accomplished such a feat remains elusive to me. The only things of note that I could find in the clearing, other than that, was a set of footprints, probably created by bare feet, markings of a device, probably one fastebed at a tripod, and a series of scribbles in the soil. That last clue in particular I made certain to copy into my memory, though I am yet uncertain to its significance. I could try to recreate it for you, or give you a detailed description of it, to the best of my abilities."

 

"And that is all that transpired. The Dinosaur, the clearing, the markings, and John Smith. I can not tell for certain what the relationship between those entities is, if there is one to be found, in the first place. Which is the reason behind me coming to your workplace and seeking your assistance, Jessica Jagger. You are familiar with this world, and even if you can not help me directly, as a reporter, you no doubt have access to resources that should help in providing me with the needed information." Hronos finished his long exposition of the events thus far.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Jessica listened intently, but her eyes glazed over slightly, and she stifled a yawn half way through. 

 

By the end of Hronos Monologue, she jumped awake.

 

For a Journalist, she must have been very talented to get by with the attention span of a goldfish. Truth was she was a gossip, pazzaz, shock type of journalist. She needed things short, snappy, and sexy. 

 

How am I gonna sex up a robot? she asked herself. Before reassuring herself with DINOSAUR! thoughts. 

 

She brought up a hand and sliced her throat, rolling her eyes at the poor cameraman, who groaned again. 

 

"Yeah yeah, real interesting!" she smiled at Hronos. "Or at least it will be with a brutal hour in the editing room. We'll add some graphics to, make you sparkle and shine! the viewers will love that. Hey, maybe we can get you a gig promoting some oil polish for metal?"

 

"Oh yeah, and you wanted some help? well I can put you anywhere, honey. Sounds like you need some historian or something, yeah? I can set you up with Professor Brix if you want. He's our sexed up history professor. Real dishy!"

[Vahnyu]

"Yeah yeah, real interesting! Or at least it will be with a brutal hour in the editing room. We'll add some graphics to, make you sparkle and shine! the viewers will love that. Hey, maybe we can get you a gig promoting some oil polish for metal?"

 

"Ah, I did not realise that I had started rambling. My sincere apologies. I will try my best to help you on condensing the information I gave you, rest assured. As for the 'gig', I am affraid to say but since I do not require living expenses of any sort or form, they would be wasted money on me." Hronos apologized to Jessica. While the Mechanodynamis was certainly able to comprehend all spoken languages and converse in them, he still lacked intimate familiarity with their more subtle intricasies, such as omissions, possessive case, or even phrasal verbs!!!

 

Giving out a metaphorical sigh, Hronos' shoulders slumped in dejection. "Certainly. I was hoping that you yourself would be able to provide me with your perspective, but at the very least, this Professor Brix you speak of may help. Although I am not quite sure how Professor Brix being, as you put it, sexed up, has any bearing to his job as a history professor..." the Mechanodynamis mentioned, a bit puzzled at that detail.

[Supercape]

GM

 

A little later still...

 

Professor Brix was a man in his mid thirties, all floppy hair and dashing good looks. He peered at Hronos through spectacles that Hronos was pretty sure were just plain glass (as opposed to corrective lenses). He had clearly be chosen for his TV face and geeky sex appeal. He was all confidence and smiles. 

 

He probably wasn't the best history professor in the City, but he wasn't a charlatan either. 

 

"Well this is fascinating" he said to the camera as Hronos showed him the memorised scratchings. 

 

"Extremely primitive. Similar markings have been found in cave paintings, believed to represent some pagan rituals with magical qualities, a way of making rain, or protection? we can only wonder at these proto-writings, which must date back to at least 10,000BC!!!"

[Vahnyu]

"Proto-writings... written language before there was written language..." Hronos pondered Professor Brix's estimations. After thanking Jessica for her help, the robotic creature was now following her suggestion, meeting with the history professor she recomended. Pagan rituals... perhaps those were responsible? Too many questions still plagued Hronos to draw a definite conclusion, and at every turn, more questions arose. That was never a good sign, Hronos intimately knew. "And you are saying that the writings date back to at least 10,000BC... Earth calendar, correct?"  Hronos didn't know much about the course of the various civilizations that inhabited the universe for the past 4 billion Earth years, but the Essence of Time was always attuned with time measurements, giving him an intimate knowledge on the date system used by any civilization that ever existed, and any civilization that will ever exist. "That is old... but not as old as the creature known as Tyranosaurus Rex. Also, the writtings appeared fresh. And you say that no one knows what the exact meaning of the writtings are? It is too high a coincidence that the writtings are random scribbles made to look authentic. So that means..."

 

Someone has the knowing of that ancient proto-language. An ancient being... John Smith. What has that man seen and done. What does he know? What does he hide? Is he the one trully behind the anomaly? Or maybe not, but knows who has done it... and if so, why would he hide the information? Lack of trust. Still no conclusions to be drawn, but perhaps, I have a better understanding of where to look. Hronos thought as he trailed off. "You have been of great help, Professor Brix. I am affraid that I have a scarcely better understanding of the situation, and if you could provide me with any more of your insight would be greatly appreciated, but even the help you have given me so far is more than I could ever hope for." He thanked the history professor.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Vahnyu

[Supercape]

GM

 

January 10th, 2013

 

Wharton Forest was just as green and leafy as Freedom City park. But bigger, and more remote. True, there were backpackers, and trekkers, and those who just wanted a day out. But it wasn't even half as busy as the centre of the park. 

 

"<By our good Lord, what just happened?>" said one Conquestidor, in a thick and old Spanish accent. 

 

"<I not not! Some Aztec sorcery! Just as we landed!>" cursed another, bringing his musket to bear on nothing in particular. 

 

"<Tis a fearsome land, this new world! May God guide us true through the heathens and bring his word!>"

 

"<Yes, yes! For God and King! Gold and Glory!>" they cheered, drawing swords and hoisting them high. 

 

A temporal disturbance had pinged straight into Hronos artificial brain. Old circuits briefly flared. A time jump, with the precise location given...

[Vahnyu]

As Hronos was flying through the city, the sudden familiar feeling caused him to stop on his tracks. Hronos looked around on reflex, facing at the general direction of the chronal disturbance his machinery picked up. ...I am detecting... an chrono-spatial anomaly? Has the function been restored? He asked himself. No further response. No, the circuitry are still offline... then... something must have occured... Something grave enough to make the safeties suspend. His brain had already ascertained the location, so it was an easy matter for the Mechanodynamis to fly towards the anomaly. He flew through buildings and above parks, until he reached the area designated as Warton Forest by the population. What he saw in his destination was a collection of people. They appeared to be weirdly dressed, that is, by the standards of most citizens of Freedom City, but quite people who traveled around the City worn equally unusual clothes. Landing slowly in front of them, Hronos greeted them in the local language. "Greetings. I am called Hronos. There was a disturbance in these parts that I felt. Could you perhaps provide me with information on the matter? Perhaps you noticed something weird or out of place?"

Edited May 10, 2013 by Vahnyu

[Supercape]

GM

 

"<Good God! An English Heretic! What foul sorcery is this flying man in most exotic armor!>"

 

"<Come to steal the Gold of the Seven Cities! To fund the heretic bastard Queen's armies of Godless fiends!>"

 

"<To convert the pagan's of this land to the foul heresies of the English Church!>"

 

"<Never! For God and King! For the souls of the poor Godless of this Land! We shall not let them burn in the fires of hell! We shall save them!>"

 

"<For the Gold!>" came a last voice, somewhat more dense than his fellows. 

 

The Conquestidors drew sabres and cocked muskets, intent to do battle with the "<English Sorcerer!>" Hronos...

[Vahnyu]

Realising that the men talked in a different language, Hronos adjusted his internal translator, in order to properly converse with them. "<Citizens. Do not be alarmed. It is not my intention to do battle with you, and if the language I used before offended you, I deeply apologise; I had no knowledge that it would do so. I am affiliated with no church or religion of this planet, nor am I concerned in doing the biddings of rulers, be they Kings, Queens, mayors, or presidents. I do not wish to stand in your way and obstruct you of your work.>" Hronos attempted to reason with the potential hostiles. "<As I was saying, a disturbance occured in this immediate area, and it is my wish to investigate it. For that, I require your assistance in providing me with some information about the situation. Do you feel that something is not as it should be? Creatures or plants or buildings, that should not have been here in this time and age, appearing out of nowhere? Or perhaps, creatures or plants or buildings, that SHOULD be here, disappearing into nothingness for no reason? If you could answer these questions, your help would be greatly appreciated.>"