THE BACKDOOR

                      “What happens when you know the thing which was the basis of your life is mere a lie? What happens when you find out you are on the wrong side of the war? What will you do when all the things you have done finally find their way back to way? What will you do when the final face off will be between you and yourself?” my mind was going to explode. I simply can’t digest the fact that my mission which I thought was against a rogue TC agent turned out to be against inhabitants of Earth as well as the whole universe. You probably wondering thinking I am crazy. You must know everything, from the beginning.

            I don’t remember the day or time, but it was night. I was just returning completing my mission. I was in the van carrying the rogue agent batch number TC013. I was with my troop members rejoiced about the completion of our assigned task. In the long run the man responsible for all the threat to Time Corporal or in short Time Crops for a long time was in the cuff. Suddenly, the driver lost control of the van. It seemed as if the van received an aftershock from a massive earthquake. Before we could understand the situation, the van was tilted out of the bridge and lumped towards the river. Water rushed from the windows of the vehicle and slowly the van sank deep into the river. We tried to open the windows and swam to the shore with the culprit. I reached the bank but I was not able to see any of my fellow agents or the culprit. I stood up and looked across the river. The Time Crop building with all its glory was standing, laughing at me for my failure. I wanted to hide my face, bury in the sand but the red light on the building tower managed to peek through that. Before I could think of anything I felt a huge blow on my head. Suddenly there was darkness. The feeling of falling down, how I let down my superior began to invade me. Everything was circling; the river, the sand, the bushes, the tower, and shadow of a human like figure. Then there was nothing, not even you, my dear friend.

I remember the day when I first walked to the building of the Time Corps; my first day, my first step to changing the world, changing the history of mankind. As you, my friend must have read from popular science fiction stories or proposed theories, altering time or in other words ‘time travel’ is possible. A group of scientists came up with a way to do it which was thought to be impossible for many. As a lot of threats rose over the world’s face every now and then, they showed a way by which we can alter the time to prevent the threat and make earth a better place; what is that called in scriptures? Yes, heaven. The heaven was finally here by the name of name Time Corps. They recruited persons of different areas of expertise to aid that heaven. But most of them were field agents preventing terrorist attacks and violence whereas few were scientists figuring out the crises like food problem, environmental problems. I myself have brought down many terrorizing evil plans using what we call the Backdoor, the device that allows to travel to past solve the problems. Finally everything was just in favour of us.

I also remember that day we faced another problem which reminded us that difficulties are a must-be in this world. That day I was returning from the office. Suddenly everything stopped. I could see the flow of wind particles, the dance of steam over the coffee. As if time was stopped, everything was paused or put in a slow motion mode by somebody. It had a traumatic effect on some people. They had psychotic breakdown. There was a wave of madness in the heaven. The serpent had entered the garden and the man who let the serpent in was TC013. He was one the scientists who discovered and made the Backdoor and also one of the first agents to help suppress natural calamities. The evil genius at last showed his real face, the face of dirt and scum that led to polluting the minds of thousands driving them to the madness.

There were three more attacks like that following that incident. So the corporation decided to find the cause. Just after few days a video of him was all over the global forum, which you know as internet, demanding the stoppage of Time Crops and closure of all the Backdoors. I was surprised. ’What does this jerk want?’ I thought, ‘How could someone do this? The one who tried to do everything to build this organisation, providing the solution to major problem, he is wanting to end everything?’ I don’t stress myself with this thought, but I couldn’t help thinking about it. Then I was called from my superior agent that I have been assigned the mission to track down Thirteen and bring him. From that day I have been on this mission with my fellow agents; Seventy-seven, Ninety-seven, One-zero-eight. We back traced the video to its origin, read the files of him, took interview of all the 14 scientists who originally worked on the project and was fellow colleague of Thirteen. You think it seems easy. I know you are thinking that, don’t deny, I have caught you. But it’s not that easy my friend. It took a lot of time but finally when we had the chance; when he was just in the grip of our finger everything went in vein.

I guess forgot to tell you something. Before capturing him, I got a message from an unknown number which stated: ‘Do you know which mission you are on? From whom you are on this mission? Think about it. Peek through the curtain.’ I ignored the message as I was more excited for the mission. It now makes sense, doesn’t it? Really you don’t understand? Then you need to ‘peek through the curtain’ my friend.

I woke up from the darkness with a sudden shower of water followed by the flash of light of the bulb of the room. I was terrified and I thought you might also have been terrified if you were in the shoes of mine. Thirteen was standing in front of me. I was tied. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t move my hand to get my shock-gun which was lying on the floor. He came near me and calmly said: ‘We need to talk. What you think about me is not true. I am not the one behind all these things.’ ‘Oh really? You are not behind all these? Then who is it?’, I shouted in anger and frustration. He sighed and said, ’Time. Time is behind all these.’ He then began to make understand though I was in condition to listen to his words.

He stated calmly. ‘When we first succeeded in developing the Backdoors, we were so excited and we used to enhance the mankind. But after some days we received a warning message which stated we had to stop everything we are doing or we will put the earth and entire universe in jeopardy.’ ‘Who sent the threat?’ I asked. He said, ‘It was us’. Like you I couldn’t understand what he was saying. I also doubted if what he was saying was valid or just a distraction to throw away the spotlight from himself and put it on somebody else. Then he explained to me. As we went back in time to prevent different disasters in the past, the future was change. But it created a parallel universe in which the incident had occurred. The more we tried to change the past more number of alternate universes was created. These events made space-time fabric more unstable. The more we try to change the past, the more unstable the space-time fabric becomes. The nature wants to maintain the balance. So the incident of time slow or what we called ‘the Pause’ was occurred. Then I was contacted by myself from another universe, a more advanced one. He said the fabric of space-time has become so unstable that it began to cause devastating effects on different universes. The devastating effects like time loop, time paradoxes and also affecting our biology making us mutate and evolve into whole new species. So he warned we should stop. I told other fellow researchers. They didn’t see it coming either. But his warning was genuine. So we decided we should use the backdoor only for major problems.’

 ‘But then the incident occurred and then again. So I suggested to stop. But all couldn’t agree with me as the Backdoor was helping people in a lot of ways. So I released the video. But they wanted to capture me and told I was responsible for all these events. I myself was devoted to this work for years. But when I realised everything, I felt guilty as if I am the one responsible for everything,’ he had grief in his eyes and his voice was breaking as he spoke. He was tearing apart within inside; I could read it easily. ‘What happens when you know the thing which was the basis of your life is mere a lie? What happens when you find out you are on the wrong side of the war? What will you do when all the things you have done finally find their way back to way? What will you do when the final face off will be between you and yourself?’ he told me, ‘Choose your side wisely, my friend’.

What would you do if you were in my position or his? What would you choose to do? I was in a turmoil; crushing in between what to do and what not to do. I must choose the right way. I asked him, ’How I could be helpful?’ He said, ‘As they are not stopping the backdoors, we must shut it. Then only we can save our people from all the devastating things that starting to occur here.’ He then introduced me to some of his acquaintances. One of them was one of the fourteen scientists I had interviewed earlier. They showed me a machine through which we can contact with the people of other universe and also people of past. It is called CommT or the Peek. The Thirteen then explained the whole plan to me; we have to enter the tower, pass through the guards and make our way to the panel where the Backdoor lies and shut them permanently.  We planned to do it right then. Thirteen told me, ’It starts now my friend. We must prevent what is coming now or later there will be nothing to do; only to regret’. I observed him carefully as he walked to the door. I knew that time was running out but suppressed the urge to check my watch. I took a deep breath and started counting in reverse under my breath. “Ten, nine, eight, seven…”. I saw a man who devoted his life to achieve this; for betterment of people. He was again doing it, but this time trying to destroy what he created in the first place.

In no time we were there, near the giant building of Time Crops. I changed the plan a bit. I told my superior that I had caught Thirteen and his fellows and he had planted few bugs to the system in the panel. My superior came with some agents and took us in to the panel. There while trying to remove the bug we actually shut down the Backdoors. I uncuffed Thirteen and other fellows and handed them weapons. We had to fight our way back. In the blazing of guns and ammunitions I had shoot to my fellow agents with whom I have worked, I had spent a lot of my happiest moments. There was war bloodshed all over. I didn’t know if I was doing right by shooting at them or not. But I wanted to prevent the disaster, save the world. At last we made to the top of the tower. All our friends were dead. Thirteen was also badly injured. I also had few bullets in my hands and one in my waist. There were many agents after us. So I place a triggered bomb on the tower and jumped off the tower holding the Thirteen. After sometime I opened my parachute landed far from the building near a van. I looked up and saw the flame and smoke rising from the top floor and the tower on the building falling down.

I took thirteen to then van. He was bleeding. But still he was happy we finally did shut the Backdoors down. I drove in the van with him in the back sit to a hospital nearby. When I was on the way, he told me to stop and talk to him. I didn’t listen and continued to drive. He then called me affectionately, ‘Son, you need not worry. Whether I make it today or not, I did serve my purpose. Now I can die happily.’ He was right. He served his purpose. There was a faint smile of satisfaction on his lips. And then he was lying lifelessly. I couldn’t know what do to. I was deeply saddened by his loss. I wanted to save him, at least in some other universe. So I took his CommT and messaged my past self to question if he is doing right by attempting to capture him so that if he changed his mind, he would have been alive. Bam! A truck hit to the van. I lost control and then van flew down the bridge to the river. Water rushed into the van. I broke the glass and swam to floor dragging his body. I reached the bank. I was so exhausted that I just fell down on the sand. Then I had a blackout. After sometime I regained my sense and woke up. I tried to stand up and move. I was so weak as if my legs had lost all its strength. Still I stood up and walked to the river bank. What I saw frightened me. ‘Am I dreaming?’ I asked myself. But I knew I was not. Nothing made sense to me. On the other side of river, Time Crops building was standing with all its glory with the tower on it and the red light on the tower.