by TheTimeTrust
I am known as Time Trustee Tempus.
Which is, of course, a ridiculous name. The Time Trust is the body of scientists that invented and constructed me to be a guardian of time, and they gave me the appended designation Tempus in honor of the Latin word for time. In the many epochs in which I have lived, I have rarely been called by anything else. My true name is long and unpronounceable by biological lips; it is in truth a binary code, understood only by other machines like me. To tell you my name is to tell you precisely what I am and what I am made of. And so I go under an assumed name. You may call me Tempus, TTT, or T3 for short, if you wish it.
My first moments of consciousness (and I speak in human terms so you may best understand me -- bear in mind that my reality is quite different from yours in actuality; I only mimic human behavior) were quite wondrous. My photographic sensors were activated a millisecond after I went on-line. For a few long milliseconds, all I could see was a cool white light, followed quickly by the vision of seven figures surrounding me, their features shrouded by the ivory robes they wore. I knew from my programming that these were my creators and were to be revered above all.
These figures were the members of the Council of Seven, the core group of leadership in the Trust (although you must realize that present, past, and future tenses have no bearing where they or I am involved). The Time Trust, a much larger body than you may realize, is literally a trust company, one set up on behalf of all beings in the multiverse to keep time itself secure.
I was born in a place at the end of time: Entropy Point, the event horizon of creation's final gravity well. The only habitation within Entropy Point is ChroniCity, whose legend resounds throughout history and which has been known by many names in the confused mythology which arose out of half-remembered kernels of truth: Olympus... Asgard... Atlantis... Avalon... Hy-Brasil... Mu... Tanelorn... Númenor... Zipangu... Shambhala... Camelot... New York... Time City... the names are too numerous to mention, but many call it ChroniCity, a word meaning "of long duration." Call it a play on words, a time trustee's little joke.
ChroniCity is itself populated by citizens of all centuries who have come from all epochs. Most of them found their way there themselves or were brought there, but never against their will.
The Time Trust is the ruling government of ChroniCity and comprises seven democratically elected governing bodies, all seven thousand candidates of which come from the population of ChroniCity. The Council of Seven, on the other hand, is much like a monarch in the duties its members perform, as it has the ultimate power of decision and makes the final call. This is due to the fact that the members of the council were created for that function.
Legend has it that they are the seven clones of one of the members of the legendary TOMB, the Temporal Orderkeepers of the Multiverse Barriers. I doubt that you would remember this group. Its members existed in another time and place and were legends in their own time. Ultimately, however, the universe they resided in ceased to exist, at least in certain ways. That universe had a past, as well as a future, and, although it no longer exists to you, it did once exist. Thus, paradoxically, TOMB's future saw that group grow much larger over time, as its members bore successive children and found new and eager recruits, replacing those who had died or moved on. It came to the point where its stated mission was compromised by its numbers.
It was then, legend has it, that the group founded a place that is not a place in a time that is not a time: Entropy Point. And they found that, when they arrived there, they had already founded it. It was a paradox, of course, but that is the way things have always operated at Entropy Point. It's best not to try to figure it out in a linear sense; it'll only confuse you.
And it was there that TOMB became the Time Trust -- literally the trustees of the time continuum -- and created the Council of Seven by cloning one of its founding members. The Council of Seven then created the first talos -- a type of android named after the bronze man of Greek myth -- out of 45th century technology. I am that talos. It was not long before an entire corps of taloses was created. TOMB had long known that this would happen, because from its perspective this had already happened many thousands of years earlier and would still happen many thousands of years in its own timeline. It had even had a member of the Time Trust Talos Corps as one of its members for a time during its earliest days immediately after the organization settled in Mandelovia, its first true headquarters. (And it should be noted that there exist a higher number of Mandelovians per capita at Entropy Point than from that of any other country in the history of Earth.)
Thus, in Tock Tower, the legislative building and tallest structure in ChroniCity, I was created. The Seven in the Council planned to use me to plug into virtual reality interfaces and control me remotely, and I was to be used as a vehicle so that they could travel throughout time rather than going personally, due to safety reasons. I was created to be the sum of all seven members of the Time Trust Council, and I shared their knowledge and personalities, which -- despite the fact that they were clones of the same person -- had grown diverse just as twins separated develop unique interests and abilities.
After my creation, the Council of Seven, scanning the time stream for fluctuations, discovered a time anomaly. It appeared that the disappearance of Europe in the year 1999 was causing a time paradox, the likes of which had never been seen before (and is far too complicated explain briefly). Furthermore, it was discovered that a secondary, possibly linked time anomaly centered around four figures, time-displaced travelers from the year 2000. All seven thousand members of the Trust conferred and decided that the best course of action was to send the talos back in time to confront the time travelers and uncover the mystery before this time paradox destroyed the universe.
The Seven plugged into the VR interface that would control my movements, and I stepped into the flux chamber and was transported immediately to the year 1900.
Arriving in Russia in the year 1900, an apparent flaw in my construction quickly reared its head, as the first thing I did upon arriving in that time in an appropriate disguise was to saunter up to a pub and order a big glass of beer. And, drinking it, I passed out. I soon awoke and felt shame. It was as if some foreign influence had made me do this puzzling thing. However, I resolved not to let this flaw disable me from performing my duty.
Scanning newspapers and magazines for the latest news, I determined which events needed to be set back into place in order to restore Europe, and I corrected them as best as possible. And, since my brief flirtation with alcohol had damaged my time circuits, I determined that I had to wait for almost one hundred years before I could complete the return of Europe in the year 2000, after which time I could make contact with the Council of Seven.
I lived under many different disguises over the next one hundred years, as a private detective, soldier, and hero in various successive decades. After modifying my talos body to appear as that of a teenaged boy in 1939, I took the pseudonym of Timothy Trystan, the Time-Boy, and became the crimefighting partner of scientifically based hero Doctor Quantum. He and I joined the Golden Age metahero team of the Mysterymen Board Society in 1940, and I fought with that team for a decade before its disbanding in 1951.
Living among humans of the 20th century, I learned what it was to be a human being. I had to establish new identities every twenty years, and I married fifteen times. No, I am not kidding about that. I was built with the capacity for personal relationships, and I was able to mimic human behavior and emotion well, but when it came to love, for some reason most women were able to see right through me. Neither my relationships nor my marriages lasted long, but they served the purpose of blending in.
Finally, I once again reached the year 2000.
"I am here," I said to myself. "Now I must contact the Mysterymen Board Society's counterpart of the present, the Meta Board League. They will be able to help me."
However, instead of meeting the MBL, I was reunited with Starwynd, the Trivia Lad, whom I had known during my days as Timothy Trystan, the Time-Boy. He and I had been known as the Dynamiteens. We talked over old times for awhile.
I was then able to activate some circuits that had not been successfully used for almost one hundred years in an attempt to contact the Time Trust Council. After a century of failed attempts, I finally succeeded in establishing a link to Tock-Net, the chronal frequency that the Trust communicates on. The conversation went as follows:
Tempus: "Oh, masters! I am so glad I have finally gotten in contact with you!"
Councillor One: "Time Trustee Tempus, are you... all right?"
Tempus: "Yes, I've never been this happy in all my life!"
The Council members murmured amongst themselves.
Councillor Seven: "Time Trustee Tempus, we think you may have some damaged circuits. Please surrender control of yourself to us, so that we can repair you."
Tempus: "Pardon me? I don't think you understand. Over the last century of living with humans, I have become one of them. I have gone BEYOND MY PROGRAMMING!"
Councillor Five: "Time Trustee Tempus, we believe you have become damaged! You must surrender now!"
Tempus: "No! I cannot! I will not! I have a responsibility to the people of this time, and furthermore I will not give up the life that I've gained!"
Councillor One: "Time Trustee Tempus, you have left us no choice."
Councillor Two: "We cannot help you, and we cannot allow you to remain in that time and become the pawn of an enemy. If you do not come back willingly, we will be forced to have you sent back to us by force."
The contact faded, and I pondered these things in my talos heart for a long time. I was on my own, now and forever, or so I thought.
Trivia Lad and I soon cooked up a plot to save Europe... and failed miserably. I look back now and wonder how I could have thought our plans would work. It should have indicated to me then just how badly damaged I had become.
I soon became involved in the workings of the MBL, and after a time Trivia Lad and I finally discovered a way to bring Europe back into our time. It was a terribly convoluted plan, but in the process it was discovered that I had a "twin" who had been trapped for the last fifty years after an encounter with Medusa Lass, my arch-enemy during the war years. Somehow, we had apparently been "split" from each other when I was Timothy Trystan, the Time-Boy. I had gone on from my Time-Boy days and "aged" back to an artificial adulthood and continued to live out the twentieth century, while my youthful "twin" had been trapped during all this time. After he was rescued, Timothy Trystan stayed in the present while I traveled back into the past, and we stayed in close contact with each other. The link we now had between the past and the present was what enabled us to bring Europe back into the present reality. And, in the process, I became lost in time.
While Timothy Trystan sought to make his way in the world of the year 2000, I was a fondly remembered hero, an MBL applicant who never quite made membership and apparently died in service to the world. Opinions would soon change.
Months later, I arrived in the MBL Headquarters in Thunder City. Needless to say, the members of that team were surprised to see me. They had thought I disappeared after Europe was restored to this dimension.
"Hm?" I replied. "Oh, oh, yeah, that... heh. I, uh, I just got married, and I've just come back from my honeymoon with my new bride. I'm sure you may have heard of her before? Here she is..."
A beautiful brunette walked in. She was dressed in a slinky, dark purple dress, with dark green gloves that reached up past her elbows. She was also wearing a mask. "Hello, boys..." she said.
"MEDUSA LASS!" said a shocked MBL as recognition set in.
And I entered into the most shameful part of my entire life.
An otherdimensional hero known as the Indestructible Man soon showed up, seeking help to overthrow the tyrants of his world, former heroes who had taken over. One of these otherdimensional villains called himself Killer Weed but was, as I later learned, a member of the Time Trust Talos Corps who had gone rogue. His name, blackened out of the Chronalguard membership rolls, was originally Time Trustee Telemos, but he is now forever known as the Renegade Telemos.
A group of MBLers left with the Indestructible Man to free his world, and I and my "wife" remained behind. The truth was that Medusa Lass had discovered a fatal flaw in my programming and capitalized on it, making me a pawn in her evil schemes and reprogramming me for evil, just as the Seven had predicted. To put it bluntly, I became a traitor. I betrayed the MBL to these otherworldly villains with whom Medusa Lass was allied and was summarily destroyed for my actions.
This was not, obviously, my end.
While I had been away, Timothy Trystan had disappeared during one of the MBL cases and had lived a decade's worth of adventures in the time stream. He was now an adult, and, in disguise, he stealthily assisted the MBL without its knowledge and then recovered my lifeless talos body for judgment by the Seven, soon returning himself to rejoin the MBL as the new Trust representative, now differentiating himself under the name of Tryst, shortened from Timothy Trystan, with the official title of Time Trustee Tryst, which he never used.
Completely non-functional now, I was brought before the Seven in the Tock Tower. Since my departure, the Seven had created an entire corps of taloses and had long ago corrected the flaws in my construction. They pored over every circuit, every nanobot, everything I was constructed from in order to discover what mistakes they had made. And they fixed them. No longer could I ever be controlled in such a manner again.
What happened next? Well, according to Tryst, I was brought back to the 20th century after several months in order to replace him as an MBL member, and, shortly after that, while Tryst joined TOMB, I was given the power of the Council of Seven itself and made its avatar: Tempus Infinity.
This is, of course, nonsense.
The truth of the matter was that Medusa Lass was incapable of ever "duplicating" me as she was supposed to have done in the 1940s, creating a second Timothy Trystan, the Time-Boy.
The truth was that, when the Seven decided to reconstruct me, they decided to reconstruct me in a child's form, with nanobots that would slowly age me over time, but which would finally allow me to have the childhood I had been denied. I became Timothy Trystan, the Time-Boy.
Sending me back to 1939, I arrived in that time with no memory of who I was beyond my name and no account of how I had got there. The truth of the matter was that, in doing so, I displaced my 1939-self to the year 1949, the year that Timothy Trystan, the Time-Boy, was trapped by Medusa Lass. I'll get back to that later.
In 1939, I was found by Dr. Henry Quantos, the most brilliant mind of the 20th century and a contemporary and close friend of Albert Einstein. He had been the son of a so-called "mad scientist" who had turned to crime, but Henry had instead used his formidable brain in the service of mankind, calling himself Doctor Quantum. He was a kind man and became the closest thing to a father that I would ever have. He made me his crimefighting partner, and, when he joined the Mysterymen Board Society and the All-Adventurers Squadron, I joined with him, becoming a member of the latter's auxiliary, the Sidekick Auxiliary Squadron.
It was there that I met my fellow teenaged ally, Trivia Lad. After an adventure in Mandelovia routing Nazi spies, we became known as the "Dynamiteens," and the story behind this name deserves to be retold someday. But not now.
The 1940s were a joyful time for me. All in all, I was a human boy in an talos body, and I went through the same things as other boys did at that time. Well, other metaheroic boys, anyway. I fought criminals, mad scientists, and Nazis variously at the side of Doc Quantum and Trivia Lad, and I even had my own arch-enemy: Medusa Lass.
It was Medusa Lass who entombed me in suspended animation outside of time in the year 1949 after our final battle, and it was in that timeless dimension that I spent the next fifty years. Meanwhile, my 1939-self reappeared upon my absence from the time stream, and the memories of my youthful self were somehow "uploaded" into my adult self's mind, jumbling together in a confused manner and causing my adult self to try to explain away those memories in various ways. I would not discover the truth for many, many years yet.
As I mentioned earlier, I -- Timothy Trystan, the Time-Boy -- was revived in 1949 by my adult self (who ironically was chronologically YOUNGER than I, although not physically), and we saved Europe.
I spent some time with the MBL for awhile, until a chronal disturbance brought on by the nefarious Arch-Moderator displaced me and my colleagues in the MBL to various timelines. Some were never seen again. It took me ten chronological years to return, and in that time the nanobots within me aged me back to adulthood.
After my return to the present, which was only a few months after my disappearance, I was then first summoned to the Council of Seven. It was, of course, not the actual first time, but the first time in my memory. The Seven explained to me that I was created by them, and that I had to return to the present in order to recover the body of my traitorous "brother." Little did I realize at the time that I was recovering my chronologically earlier self.
I suppose that a very small part of me knew that I had, in fact, been the traitor, that through the vagaries of time travel I was once my brother, and, although I had been reborn as the Time-Boy and renamed myself Tryst, the stain of betrayal still marked me. For, as I joined the MBL, I felt a need to prove myself, to make right what my brother had done wrong. In my efforts to prove myself worthy, I became one of the MBL's most valuable members.
It came as a shock, then, when I was forcefully replaced in the team by my brother, who had been restored from his corrupted ways... or so I believed at the time. I returned to the Tock Tower and spent much time with the now-large Time Trust Talos Corps, meeting several of its members, fellow taloses, my fellow Chronalguards. After some time, I was summoned again before the Seven.
Tock Tower, ChroniCity, Entropy Point:
"Time Trustee Tryst, stand before us now."
The young talos did as he was told. He had returned to the Time Trust Council of Seven after the incident involving Dr. Klone, Malvana, and the merging of the timelines, of which only he and a select few were aware.
"Yes, my masters?" Tryst said, bowing before them as a sign of respect and awe. They were his creators.
"Time Trustee Tryst," began Councillor Seven, "your service with the Meta Board League in the year 2000 has been... adequate. You have been sufficient in taking your brother's place in that legendary team."
Tryst dared to look up. "Why, then, masters, did you wish me to leave? Did I displease you?"
Councillor One ignored the remark and spoke, "Your brother, Time Trustee Tempus, as you know, has been fully repaired and has taken your place in the MBL long enough to resign from it."
"Resign? Why?" Tryst questioned.
"It is not for you to question, Time Trustee Tryst," said Councillor Five. "Your brother is needed in that time, yes, but not as a so-called 'metahero.' No, his destiny is far, far greater than that."
"And what of my destiny, masters?" Tryst asked, feeling suddenly bold. "I am equal in every way with my brother, save for the fact that I was in suspended animation for fifty years in the 20th century. All my experiences match his before that time, and I have learned much since then. I have made friends, and I have found a purpose."
"Silence, Time Trustee Tryst," Councillor Seven said, in a gentle but firm tone, as a parent to a child. "Your purpose has been fulfilled. Now it is up to your brother to fulfill his purpose on Earth."
Tryst inwardly fumed at this. After much deliberation with his mentor from the 20th century, Doctor Quantum, he had decided to make limited use of his emotion chip. He remained silent, however, true to his stoic nature.
The Council floor shimmered as before Tryst materialized his brother, Tempus. He ignored Tryst's presence and stood respectfully before the Council, almost as if in triumph. His destiny was now at hand.
"Time Trustee Tempus," said Councillor Three, as the Seven all rose as one. "You have proven worthy of the honor we now bestow upon you."
"Thank you, masters," the talos said, without a trace of emotion.
"You are to be the embodiment of the Time Trust, not only for the 21st century but all time periods. Therefore, we dub thee Time Trustee Tempus Infinity."
"I am honored," Tempus Infinity responded.
"Furthermore," continued Councillor Three, "upon you will be granted the full weight and power of the Seven of the Time Trust Cou--"
"Wait a minute!" shouted Tryst, finally unable to contain himself any longer. "Have you all forgotten what my brother here was responsible for doing? He married his own arch-enemy, Medusa Lass, and became a traitor to the very team he was made responsible for. Why, he even allied himself with the Renegade, Telemos, and helped to bring about an end to an entire world! And you are granting him further power? How dare you? And after all my faithful service to you, how dare you?" Tryst stopped as the echo of his last statement resounded throughout the hall.
The Council of Seven responded with silence for his speaking out of turn. It was obvious what Tryst needed to do, and that was to leave the council hall until this business was over.
It was a short while later (or a long while later -- doesn't matter, this was a place out of time) when Tryst was called back into the council hall to stand before the Council of Seven for his judgment. Tempus Infinity had already departed.
Tryst stared at them with the closest thing to defiance he was capable of. He did not regret his words, only that he had made a complete fool of himself.
"Time Trustee Tryst," said Councillor Seven. "We have made a decision about you."
"You will be sent back to the time you came from," said Councillor One. "Once there, you will ally yourself with the Progenitors and become one of them. Your mission will be to protect them and always keep them safe."
Tryst stood there, too shocked for words. He had not been expecting this, not at all.
He was very confused, however. "But... masters... you want me to become a member of TOMB? I -- I had always believed that I could not be a part of the Progenitors... after all, it is they who in time become you... and therefore are my creators as well."
Councillor Five sighed. "Time Trustee Tryst, you still have too much of 'Timothy Trystan, the Time-Boy' in you."
And why can't you be more like your brother, Tryst thought.
Councillor One smiled at Tryst and said, "If you must know, Time Trustee Tryst, you are being sent back to TOMB at a time when the blessed HourGirl and her Jonah's Whale had left the team. Your powers over time would be very useful for them at this time."
"I don't understand."
"You don't have to. All you must do is obey."
"Besides," said Councillor Seven, "all this is the past, at least to us. You are already counted as one of the Progenitors in our histories. We have kept your destiny from you for this reason. Now go."
And as Tryst shimmered from view, he could have sworn that he saw the entire Council of Seven bow in honor before him, smiles on each of their faces.
And so I joined TOMB. I was Tryst, the rank amateur, not the hero with years of experience under his belt that I should have been. My naivete was exaggerated at times, but it was mostly true.
I lived in Mandelovia for several months as TOMB's time-traveling member and replacement of the absent HourGirl, in awe of the Progenitors I had heard about so often while I lived at Entropy Point. It was a voyage of discovery, as I learned what being human meant even as I remained a talos. (I actually became fully human at one point as well, although I was soon changed back. The reasons behind this transformation were all very implausible, and illogical, although it actually happened.) I spent time with my oldest friend, Doctor Quantum, and was the chief pallbearer at his funeral when he died.
TOMB became more than an organization to me. It became my family. My fellow teammates saw through the robot-like facade I often portrayed and challenged me to be myself. It was truly the best of times.
And then it was over. Once again, the Council of Seven warned me that I was up for reassignment elsewhere, and at the WORST time in my life. For I had met the most BEAUTIFUL, LOVELY woman that I had ever... Ahem. I get ahead of myself.
I went on to other assignments, living in other eras, doing my duties as the faithful agent of the Trust. And, after living several more centuries, I was surprised to find myself summoned back before the Time Trust Council of Seven at Entropy Point. I was even more surprised to see my earlier self, from back in my Tryst days, and I suddenly knew what was happening. And I can see by your expression that you have already guessed the truth.
The Council floor shimmered as I materialized before my younger self, Tryst. I ignored Tryst's presence, as I remembered that I had already done so, and stood respectfully before the Council, almost as if in triumph. My destiny was now at hand.
"Time Trustee Tempus," said Councillor Three, as the Seven all rose as one. "You have proven worthy of the honor we now bestow upon you."
"Thank you, masters," I said, without a trace of emotion.
"You are to be the embodiment of the Time Trust, not only for the 21st century but all time periods. Therefore, we dub thee Time Trustee Tempus Infinity."
"I am honored," Tempus Infinity responded.
"Furthermore," continued Councillor Three, "upon you will be granted the full weight and power of the Seven of the Time Trust Cou--"
"Wait a minute!" shouted Tryst, finally unable to contain himself any longer. "Have you all forgotten what my brother here was responsible for doing? He married his own arch-enemy, Medusa Lass, and became a traitor to the very team he was made responsible for. Why, he even allied himself with the Renegade, Telemos, and helped to bring about an end to an entire world! And you are granting him further power? How dare you? And after all my faithful service to you, how dare you?" Tryst stopped as the echo of his last statement resounded throughout the hall... and I could barely contain the laughter that resounded within me. That was ME several centuries ago! I had certainly come a long, long way.
The Council of Seven responded with silence for his speaking out of turn. It was obvious what Tryst needed to do, and that was to leave the council hall until this business was over.
As soon as my younger self was gone, I broke out in a peal of laughter, along with all seven members of the Council. After a few moments of unbridled laughter, I addressed them and said:
"Don't be too hard on him. He's only a couple of hundred years old yet. He'll learn in time. Being with TOMB will shape him up in no time."
"Most amusing, most amusing," said Councillor Three. "Of course, the business we have with you is most serious."
"I never imagined I would be here, now."
"Have you still not realized who you are?" said Councillor Seven.
"I... I guessed it a while ago, but could not confirm it. So I am my own brother, am I?"
The Council nodded as one.
"Might I request the restoration of my memories as Time Trustee Tempus, masters?"
"We don't recommend it," said Councillor Two.
"I believe it's important, especially if I am to be entrusted with the responsibility and power you are about to bestow on me."
The councillors murmured amongst themselves for a while and said, "Very well."
In the next moment, the memories of the century I had lived as Tempus flooded back into me.
I gasped. "I... I never knew. I never realized that he... that I... had lived such a... full life."
"You were flawed, Time Trustee Tempus, but you were also more human than most humans," said Councillor Five, smiling. "You lived a heroic and varied life, which could never be tarnished by the time you spent in Medusa Lass' thrall."
"And you have since proven yourself many times over to be capable," continued Councillor Three. "We believe you to be the best choice for receiving the power we have to bestow. You will become the embodiment of time itself. You will become Time Trustee Tempus Infinity."
I smiled inwardly. My memories of Tempus Infinity were NOT pleasant. Was I really destined to become that unpleasant, unemotional demigod?
The Council of Seven arose from their seats and walked onto the Council floor. Surrounding me, they placed their hands upon me and closed their eyes.
The room became quiet for a moment, and then a low humming began. Sparks jumped from the councillors' hands as power began flowing into me, the power of time itself. The room became blue, then red, then blue, again and again, faster and faster, until the colors became indistinguishable from each other and blended into purple.
And, in a moment, I was forever changed.
I knew time, forward and backward. I knew every moment of every life that had ever existed. I could see any given moment at any given place at any given time. I could see the beginning of the universe... and its end. I saw myself being constructed, and saw myself looking at myself right here right now from some other time. If I had remained as I was before, it would have been too much. But I was changed now. I had ultimate power... and ultimate responsibility.
My younger self could never understand why I was so emotionless, why there seemed to be no vestiges of humanity left within me.
The truth of the matter was that the whole of humanity, the whole of emotion, dwelled within me. But I had become more... so much more. The weight of that responsibility allowed little leeway. The power of Infinity was mine.
That was then. This is now.
That universe is gone now, gone... possibly forever. And it is my responsibility to oversee this new universe, which bears so many familiar faces, faces of people who are echoes of themselves from that other universe. It is a wondrous time, indeed. And I get to watch it happen all over again.
Perhaps this time I don't have to be such a prick.