The Universe was coming to an end as the contraction entered its final moments with billions upon billions of stars and planets swept up in the great circular wave that was returning from whence it came.
Time and space were shrinking as the small fleet of ships blinked into what was left of reality and floated in the void waiting for the point of no return when everything around them ceased to exist. Waiting for the end of this Universe to escape into the possibility of the next.
That life would somehow find a way to go on in another place after the Great Collapse.
***
The blue moon Phobius rose silently in the Northern sky as the sun Sirius A sank slowly in the South bathing the world of Sirius A Three in a vibrant orange and red glow at the end of the day. My first day and the beginning of my new life. It had been quite the experience. All thirty-seven hours of it.
The red pod vibrated slightly as it crossed an intersection on its way to the Northern sector of the metropolis to where Kira lived. I stared out of the transparent canopy watching as the world of 4047 sped by around us.
Kira sat across from me concentrating on the device in her lap which looked like a small screen of some sort which she used by tapping and swiping her finger across it. The pod was large enough to hold ten people and I was sat in a front seat taking in the sights and sounds of Sirius Prime as crowds of people went about their daily business at ground level.
Everyday life was lit by multi-colored neon with flickering images and holographs everywhere and the whole feel and look of the place reminded me of old school China Town back in the day but with everything dialed out to the max.
"Let me show you this time, Harry," Kira had said as we left the building after being introduced to various people who were part of the facility where I had been brought back to life, "The world in which we both now live."
I glanced over at the girl as the pod passed under a huge video display of a waterfall that must have been nearly twenty stories tall with rainbow colors strobing and streaming inside the driverless vehicle. She was still dressed in her yellow outfit and my eyes wandered over her as she sat there with her legs crossed humming to herself.
What a remarkable woman. Remarkable not because she was a time traveler. Remarkable because of just the way she was. Calm. Self-assured. Confident in the way she dealt with things for someone who looked all of nineteen years old give or take. I glanced out of the canopy again and wondered how time worked in a place like this. I already understood that each day was thirty-six hours long. But how were those days measured? Were they grouped into weeks, then months leading to years? How many days in a single month and how many months in a single Sirius year? I rested my head back against the padded seat and sighed. Alright. Enough. Those were questions for another day. It felt like I was in kindergarten starting out again.
My attention turned back to the girl. That was another thing. I had to stop thinking of her as a girl even though she still looked like a late spring teenager. The girl was very much a young woman who was definitely easy on the eye. Everything about her seemed to be just right. From the way she looked to the way she talked in that slightly formal manner which was so damned cute it hurt to the confident way she carried herself.
And that body.
I shifted slightly in my seat as I continued to admire her as she sat there oblivious to the way my basic instinct had ticked over as I rediscovered my inner sexuality beginning to stir. Two thousand years plus was a long ass time to be going without. I smiled to myself wondering what Lucy was thinking right now as my hormones notched up a gear.
The woman was truly stunning though to look at. As I stared at her, I wondered how much she already knew about us as it appeared our fates were somehow bound together no matter what. Did she already know what was going to happen to us in the future? But how was that possible? Hadn't she already told me that one of the rules of time travel is that it is impossible to be in a timeline where you already exist or have been? I closed my eyes and tried to relax. Enjoy the moment, Watts. Make the most of whatever time you have with this woman and let the rest take care of itself.
Kira was still busy so I eased back in my seat and let my mind wander as the pod continued on its way. That time, long, long ago, when I had listened to that lecture by the Astronomer in residence suddenly came back to me. The things he had said. The theories and possibilities he had talked about had all come true. Time travel was not only possible it was a proven reality to me. Time travelers were indeed walking amongst us as we went about living our daily lives.
I lifted my hands and looked at them. They were as good as new and I took a deep breath feeling the clean air filling my lungs as I slowly exhaled. The wonders of Forty-first century medicine. We can rebuild him. We have the technology. It was one thing being as good as new but I would always be a man out of time. That would never change and I didn't want it to. I had been born in the Twentieth century and was only living the rest of my life in the Forty-first. Remembering who I was in my first life was something I never wanted to forget or take for granted.
The pod came to a stop at a junction as it waited for a zippy sleek silver centipede-like monorail to pass. It hummed softly as it floated about three feet off the ground as I turned my head to see a crowd of people standing next to what looked like a stall selling food.
A small figure suddenly stepped forward peering through the canopy of the pod and I found myself looking at what appeared to be a young female child who was staring at me with curiosity. She was tiny and I gave her a smile and brief wave as she glanced up surprised at the woman I presumed was her Mother standing next to her. Then she looked at me again and waved shyly back pulling down her red hat over her bald dark grey head with her huge black eyes shining in the late evening sunshine.
Look at you. Aren't you the most amazing thing on a day that had been full of amazing things. I winked at her and her darkish brown beak opened wide into what I imagined was a smile as the pod continued on its journey.
***
We were back inside the same building where I awoke and Kira had introduced me to an older man with thick, swept-back grey hair called Dako San who was head of the team that looked after her time machine. There were a number of others in the room in what I presumed was a debriefing and I found myself the center of attention. This Dako San shook my hand enthusiastically and gave me a hug before he stepped back to look me up and down. At least handshakes were still a thing.
"Pash an tow, Kira!", he grinned as they both looked at me, "Pash an tow!"
The girl kissed him on his weathered cheek and ruffled his hair. "Nee dey seeah," she whispered back, "Tuvok poe Einglish tow."
Dako San slapped his forehead and reached behind his right ear. "Nee yoh tey forgetting!" he said, looking embarrassed, "Wait. Is this the correct version linguistically?" he asked Kira who nodded, "There have been so many changes to the base language over the centuries. Hello, Harry Watts. Can you be understanding me now?"
"Sure, yes," I nodded as he indicated the three of us should sit down.
He turned to Kira who was sat on one end of the black sofa with me in the middle. "Any adverse reactions?" he asked her, "Temporal lapses, motor function problems or memory issues?"
Kira shook her head. "No, nothing that I can see. Though he has only been awake for less than three standard hours."
The man nodded and looked me up and down like I was a prize poodle. "Have you started basic induction yet?"
