The Accidental Ancestor
Fate of Time
The Accidental Ancestor
Helping his mother clean the attic should’ve been an easy task. Except there were about two-hundred boxes up there and his mother wanted to look through each and every one of them. It was the sixty-seventh box he opened, and Kilian was coughing from inhaling dust for hours.
There were a bunch of dusty, old leather-bound diaries inside. He picked up the first one, and the date said 1882. It belonged to his great-great-grandfather, Hanz Klein. At least now he knew where his middle name had come from.
Skimming through the pages, Kilian smiled. There was something in the style he could connect to, although the problems of the past were different from the ones he faced. Especially since he was an Agent of the Time Ministry.
Not many people faced the same shit he did on a daily basis. And although he was only thirty-one, between the time jumps and the hours spent at the office, he probably lived over forty years already.
Kilian kept skimming the diaries, reliving grandpa Hanz’s life. It was pretty ordinary.
Until he reached the one from 1915. The lines kept describing weird dreams of past and future. Memories, brought up by the death of his wife. Towards the end, Grandpa Hanz described a man with blue eyes and chestnut brown hair, wearing ripped jeans and a cyan blue t-shirt. He saw the man rushing through the house in a hurry. Going off to work. Then the very last line said, “He had to save Time.”
Kilian shivered and put the diary away. It had to be an accident that the description fit him perfectly, even down to the clothes he was wearing.
“Mom,” he called out. “I’m taking a break.”
As he climbed down the ladder, his phone rang. He wiped his dusty hands on his jeans and rolled his eyes when he saw the caller.
“Agent Hart, what is it again?”
“I’m sorry to bother you on your day off, Agent Wagner, but… umm… I lost my phone.”
Kilian’s jaw tensed. “When?”
“A few minutes ago…”
Kilian growled. “I mean WHEN?”
“Eighteen-seventy-six,” the young agent muttered.
“For fuck’s sake, Hart. Why did you take your phone to eighteen-seventy-six?”
“I’m sorry. I forgot.”
“You forgot?” Kilian washed his hands and shook most of the dust off his hair, trying to force calmness into his voice. “Report to Director Stanton. I’m on my way to fix this.”
He ended the call and rushed through the house. “Mom! I have to go. It’s work.”
The door slammed shut behind him and Kilian tried to ignore the chills as the last entry from the diary surfaced in his mind. He was off to save time.
The short drive to his apartment didn’t help to calm him. Even as he took the emerald ring from his safe, his thoughts were around choking Hart. How could someone be this stupid? Apparently shit happened when there were not enough agents to deal with time anomalies.
He put on the ring and pressed the gem. A magical shiver caressed his skin before a portal opened and he stepped through it, right in the middle of the front lobby of the Time Ministry.
Outside of time and space, Kilian hurried to his office to take a look at the damage the iPhone was doing in 1867. Kilian was raging as he typed away on his keyboard to locate it. Time was fragile. History shouldn’t be changed. They were protectors of the timeline and not Time Pirates.
How could anyone travel back a hundred-and-fifty years with a cell phone? It could start anomalies they couldn’t fix.
And to add to his headache, the phone was in Graz. On the steps of the Imperial-Royal Technical College. Where Nikola Tesla was studying at that time. Because obviously history needed Nikola Tesla to find an iPhone. The domino effect it could have…
“I’m going to kill him,” Kilian muttered as he pulled up the timeline on another screen.
It already had a yellow alert, signaling possible changes of history in 1876. Awesome. Just awesome.
Graz. He shouldn’t go there. His great-great grandparents on his mother’s side had lived there. He checked his ancestry. Yes. It was the year they’d met and Grandpa Hanz proposed.
He needed to act. But his team was scattered all over time and space. Dianna and Esme were in 1234, fixing an anomaly with time traveling dinosaurs and Fredrick was out on vacation with his family. The others simply didn’t have the clearance to deal with an issue like this.
Kilian could pitch the case to Liam, but it would take a day to get someone from another team and a dropped iPhone could lead to unseen consequences.
A Crimson Alert went off, signaling a major attack. Time Pirates in ancient Egypt. Kilian’s screen blew up with data as the anomalies unrolled. The blueprints of Khufu’s complex were stolen, and the Pharaoh was murdered.
Kilian rushed to the control center to watch events unfold on the hundreds of screens.
The pyramid was never built.
Feminine throughout the land.
The empire lost its glory and history was rapidly changing. It wasn’t just the absence of one of the greatest buildings in history. It influenced religion and art too. Like dominos, all the ancient countries fell one after the other, while others rose in their absence.
Alexander the Great, gone like he’d never existed.
Caesar was killed during the Gallic Wars.
Napoleon had never been born.
Columbus died as an infant.
Kilian’s eyes jumped from screen to screen, watching as the world changed in front of his eyes. The alarm blared, and a countdown appeared in the middle. Three hours. That was all the time they had to fix this mess and reset history before a new timeline solidified.
“The Time Sentinels are taking over.”
Kilian jumped at the sound next to him before looking at his friend and the Director of the 21st century unit.
Kilian turned his gaze back to the screens. “There was an iPhone dropped by Agent Hart. I was going to fix it, but now…” He gestured at the images.
“Then go,” Liam said. “The Sentinels will fix this and we don’t need red alerts all over time because of a phone.”
Kilian hesitated, trying to think of someone to go instead of him.
“What is it?” Liam asked.
“Graz, eighteen-seventy-six.”
Liam nodded. “I see.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and logged into the system. “Hart, you say?” Liam shook his head. “There’s no one else available with the needed clearance.”
“What about you?”
“I’m still recovering. I can’t leave.” Sadness rang in his voice. “I can’t even leave the building.”
“But it was fixed. You’re still alive.”
Liam sighed. “Yes. But my timeline is still fragile and my mind wouldn’t be able to handle the changes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s just…” Liam closed his eyes. “Never mind. I’ll adjust in a few days. Now go. Fix that yellow alert.”
Kilian squeezed his friend’s shoulder. Time Pirates had gone after Liam, killing him when he was five. Agents were able to prevent Liam’s death, but his timeline had changed. Subtle changes, but still, they were there and Liam had to integrate them before returning to his life.
Agents rushed down the white and metal corridors, urgent phone conversations filtered from the offices as Kilian walked across the building to the departure wing.
He entered his security code on the panel and selected the year he was visiting, adding that he needed a low key, everyday outfit, and some money just in case.
By the time he opened his locker, a set of clothes was there for him that fit the fashion of the area, along with the currency of the time. He dressed, leaving everything that didn’t belong in that time in the locker, then went to the exit point.
He placed his hand on one of the metal pillars to scan his print. A tiny needle poked his index finger for a drop of blood to run a quick analysis on his health. His cortisol was a bit high due to stress, but he was cleared to travel.
When he typed in his security code, a socket opened for his ring and he placed the jewelry into it for the updates on dialect and slang, along with other needed information like etiquette and trigger words that could give away his origins.
The magic and technology of the Sentinels combined allowed them to protect time and fit in any area they traveled to.
When he slid the ring on his finger, the data from the emerald flooded his mind, arming him with the well needed knowledge. Sure, he spoke German, but the language people spoke in the 21th century was different from the one used in the 19th.
The pillar started the countdown and ten seconds later, Kilian’s body was teleported back to 1876. As always, it felt like his organs arrived ten seconds after him and his lungs hurt when he took his first deep breath, his vision was blurry and his heart raced.
He was at the exit of some kind of sewer, so he needed to be careful where to step as he climbed onto the street. Although the city was different from the version of his time, Kilian quickly found his way to the University.
Retrieve the phone, find a safe zone to exit, and go home. That was the plan. Easy and simple. Although he knew things were never easy and simple.
A magical wave that felt like a cold electric shiver washed over him and time paused for a second. A few people vanished, others changed, and Kilian witnessed as the flag of Austria became black and gold with a red lion in the middle of it.
Time was already changing. He had to hurry before he got stuck here.
He rushed to the stairs and scanned the area for the phone. He spotted it the exact time Nikola Tesla, but he was too far away. The young man picked it up, twisted the rectangular object in his hand with a curious expression.
Kilian jumped next to him and reached for the phone. “Sorry. I dropped this.”
“And what is this exactly?” Fascination filled his voice as he observed every detail of the rectangular device.
Nikola managed to press the button on the side and the screen lit up with colorful lights.
“A prototype.” Kilian snatched the phone and shoved it into his pocket.
“A prototype of what?” The man asked, eyeing Kilian’s pocket. “May I take another look?”
Kilian cleared his throat. “Just some light and dark stuff and a bit of electricity. Batteries. I’m afraid it has a short life and sometimes explodes for no reason.” He smiled sheepishly. “I have to go.”
“How could you fit a battery into that?”
He didn’t answer. He couldn’t. So he just turned away.
Followed by Nikola Tesla’s suspicious glare, Kilian jogged down the stairs and got lost in the crowd. The hard part of the job was done without a serious issue. At least he hoped that his conversation wouldn’t cause a timeline rupture.
Now he just needed to get back to the Ministry.
Thick clouds gathered in the sky and the wind picked up. Kilian quickened his pace, looking around for the perfect alley or abandoned building he could use without luck.
Another wave of magic paused time, this one leaving a stinging feeling inside his chest. Almost like his heart had stopped.
Rain fell in fat drops when he finally spotted a vacant factory building. Once inside, he made sure no one was around and he lifted his hand to activate his ring.
Which wasn’t on his finger.
He’d lost it. How could he lose it? There was no way it slipped; it wasn’t removable by anyone but him as long as he was alive.
The wave. The sensation. If he wasn’t born, then he never joined the TM, and he never got the ring.
As he exited the old factory, the rain seemed to mirror his mood and strengthened to the point where he could swear it would flood the whole city.
Without an umbrella, or a place to go, and with only a couple of Krone in his pocket, Kilian found shelter in the first bar he saw.
He ordered a beer, then sat, trying to figure out what to do next. Surely, the Ministry was looking for him. They’d get him home. After all, he had boxes to sort through. But how would they locate him without his ring? What if he was erased from their data and no one was looking for him?
“What can I get you?” a female voice asked.
Kilian looked up, startled, realizing he was in a restaurant and not in a bar. The mistake was easy to make for someone not used to the norm of this century, but not less embarrassing.
The waitress was the most beautiful woman he’d seen. Her blue eyes sparkling with life, her lips curved into a cute smile.
“Sir, are you alright?”
Kilian blinked. “Yes. I’m… a hot soup would be nice.”
Throughout the night, he couldn’t take his eyes off the waitress. She was polite, and a bit shy with a simple elegance clinging to her even with the apron over her clothes. He knew he shouldn’t, because time could change, but when her shift ended, he approached her, offering an escort to keep her safe.
Although they didn’t talk much, Kilian felt a connection he couldn’t explain. It would be nice to get to know her.
He spent the first night under a bridge, hopeful that he’d be saved in a few hours. But help didn’t come.
In the upcoming days, his memories of the Time Ministry were fading. It became more and more difficult to recall details. It had to be from exhaustion. Nothing more. He wasn’t erased from history. He was alive and well. He had boxes to sort through.
There were two other waves of magic, but his ring didn’t return. After the second, time seemed to be back on track again. The flag was the same, at least. He couldn’t tell what had changed because of the Crimson Alert.
After a week, he looked for a job. Construction was the only one he could do without being questioned.
He missed his ring, the gold and emerald beauty he’d gotten from… The Sentinels. Was that right? Or had it been only a dream?
“They’re real,” he muttered. “The TM is real. They’ll come for me.”
When he had his first few Krone, he went back to the restaurant just to see the waitress again.
He ordered the same soup and waited until the end of her shift.
“May I escort you home?” he asked.
She narrowed her eyes. “Only if you tell me your name.”
“Hanz Klein,” he said, not sure why he used his middle name and his mother’s maiden name.
“Well, Hanz, you may escort me home.” She smiled and took his arm. A bold move from a woman of this time. Both the touch and calling him on his first name, but he didn’t care. He liked how his name sounded on her lips and how her hand felt on his arm.
“I’m Magda.”
Magda. Blood drained from his limbs and he almost missed a step as he realized he’d introduced himself as his great-great-grandfather to a woman who had the same name as his great-great-grandmother.
When they reached her home, he swore to himself never to see her again. Messing with time was dangerous. He’d already lost his ring. He couldn’t mess with his own future even more.
But one week turned into two and he kept finding himself at the same restaurant every night. And he kept escorting Magda to her house each day. Even though he knew he shouldn’t. The Ministry would come for him.
Weeks turned into months, and Kilian had given up hope. The memories of the Time Ministry were fading, turning into dreams rather than real events. The meetings with Magda become more regular. With every new memory, one of the old ones vanished, like his brain was rewriting itself. The changes were subtle, but he could feel them.
By the end of the year, he worked up the courage to ask Magda to marry him. He would’ve loved to give her the emerald ring he’d inherited from his grandmother, but he’d lost it. Somewhere. Somehow.
When she said yes and they shared their first kiss, he was equally shocked and happy. Something in the back of his mind told him this wasn’t right, but he didn’t know why.
Liam stood at the back of the church, watching his friend say the vows stronger than any other bond. The ceremony was beautiful, but Liam couldn’t make himself smile.
To him, it had been six days since he’d sent Kilian here. But for Kilian it had been sixteen months. It didn’t matter how hard he’d tried, the time machine didn’t let him land closer to the point of Kilian’s arrival.
The guilty iPhone lay heavily in Liam’s pocket, reminding him of the reason Kilian had come here. He should’ve looked harder to send someone else. The only strange thing was that the timeline hadn’t changed.
“He’s not your friend anymore,” a man appeared next to him: tall, slim, with eyes so light green they were close to white.
Liam bowed his head to the Sentinel in greeting. “I know.”
“A Crimson Alert we faced has consequences. Subtle changes we can’t prevent from happening but wouldn’t influence the grand design.” A half-smile pulled on his lips. “Although even I’m not entirely sure this is one of them.”
Liam didn’t answer. He’d stopped questioning the Sentinels a long time ago.
The ceremony was over and Kilian walked towards them with Magda on his side.
When their eyes met, confusion crossed Kilian’s face because Liam was just a faint memory from a dream to him.
“Would all the good he’d done be lost?” Liam asked.
The Sentinel smiled. “Time isn’t linear, Director. Hanz Klein will have a great-great grandchild who will join the Ministry.” He half-smiled. “Or maybe already has, but for now, for us, Kilian Wagner is where he’s supposed to be.”
Liam nodded, not sure he understood any of it. Even after serving for years, he still had no idea how time worked.
“It’s time to go, Director.”
Liam looked at his friend one last time, trying to find peace in the happiness that radiated from him before joining the Sentinel for a ride back to the Time Ministry.
Very interesting story!