by The Eurostar
Edulcore Cicciotto:
I am sitting in a chair on the balcony of an outstanding villa, all covered in pink marble, in the shining city of ChroniCity.
After the glowing man disappeared, an eighteenth century chariot arrived, driven by some sort of future robot, and brought me here. A butler welcomed me to this place and offered me a drink, which I -- still in ghost form -- wasn't able even to take it in my hand, and then went away.
An indeterminate amount of time passed before the butler returned, announcing the arrival of Hir, a name I heard before, but that at the moment didn't ring a bell in my head.
And Hir finally arrives. It's a very peculiar being. Definitely humanoid, but with features so undefined that it is impossible to determine his sex. And a... plastic and metal look that denounces its being an android, a humanoid robot.
"Mr. Daneel Olivaw, I suppose," I say, smiling, standing up from my chair.
The artificial being stops for a moment, then says, "R. Daneel Olivaw, created by Isaac Asimov, in the novel The Caves of Steel, twentieth century Earth, science fiction. No, I am not he, but you are not far off. I am Tempus of the Time Trust, Edulcore Cicciotto. I am the founding member of the Time Trust Talos Corps, composed of taloses -- a type of android -- charged with the responsibility of guarding time itself."
"My pleasure. Is this Heaven or Hell?" Then the name hits the right part of my brain. "Wait... Tempus, you said? I have heard that name... at Malvan-X, from Dr. Quantos -- with the future me!"
"Just as I said earlier, Cicciotto, future, like past or present, has no significance here."
"What's this place? Why did you bring me here?"
"Cicciotto, this is ChroniCity, also called Time City. It's a place outside the time stream, a city where heroes find rest when they are tired of their adventures. It's a legendary place, known with different names across the universes and the eons: Olympus, Asgard, Atlantis, Avalon, Hy-Brasil, Mu, Tanelorn, Númenor, Zipangu, Shambhala, Camelot, New York..."
"New York is real!" I protest.
"For you, in your particular time and place, just as Atlantis had been for the humans of the year 20,000 B.C., in a different Earth than yours. But New York is a legend for many Earths and many epochs. For your second question, I need you. Better, the time stream needs you. You should know."
"You mean... I am here to take the role of the future Eurostar?"
"Future is a word with no meaning. I need you for some mission, just like I have used many other heroes for other missions."
"Why?"
"Why have I chosen you? Because your friends and your earlier self trust you. Sending another one, or me, could cause/have caused/will cause diffidence in your friends, with possible paradoxes and disturbances to the time continuum."
"But why me, and not, let's say, Velo?"
"You are the leader, Eurostar. Your friends are accustomed to hear you and trust you."
"Who is the leader now? I mean, after me, who... um... was/is/will be the leader of our band?"
The android slightly smiles at my choice of verbs. "The first choice was to not have a leader."
"And then?"
"Only time knows, Edulcore."
"But you are time!"
"Yes. But I'm not telling," says Tempus, smiling.