Ch. 6: The Final Transmission
The chamber door sealed shut behind Aryan with a heavy metallic thud.
Outside, Meera and Victor watched helplessly through the thick glass as blue energy surrounded him. The countdown on the main screen continued.
03:27… 03:26…
“Aryan!” Meera shouted. “Can you hear me?”
His voice came through the intercom.
“I‘m okay… But the control panel isn’t responding.”
Suddenly, the room filled with static. The glowing Core pulsed brighter, and the air became strangely cold.
Then, without warning, a figure appeared inside the chamber.
It was Aryan.
Not the 19-year-old standing there—but an older version of him, with tired eyes and a scar across his forehead.
Meera gasped.
“It… It's you.”
The older Aryan smiled sadly.
“I don't have much time.”
The younger Aryan stared in disbelief.
“Are you really me?”
“Yes,” the older Aryan replied. “Twenty years from now.”
“I've been sending the radio messages to guide you.”
“Why?” Aryan asked.
“Because I failed.”
The older Aryan looked at the glowing Core.
“In my timeline, Eclipse gained control of the Time Network. They changed history again and again until the world collapsed into chaos. Millions disappeared, and entire cities were erased.”
He stepped closer.
“The only way to stop that future is to destroy the Core.”
Aryan looked at the control panel.
“But Victor said destroying it would erase the Time Network forever.”
“It will,” the older Aryan answered. “And every message I've ever sent will disappear with it.”
Meera pressed her hand against the glass.
“Then we'll never know the future again.”
“Exactly,” the older Aryan said.
“The future should be written by our choices, not by a machine.”
Suddenly, alarms echoed through the facility.
Masked soldiers burst into the control room.
Victor turned toward them.
“I'll hold them off!”
He locked the security doors and stood in front of them.
“Hurry, Aryan!”
The countdown flashed.
00:58… 00:57…
Aryan looked at his older self.
“What happens to you if I destroy the Core?”
The older Aryan smiled.
“I disappear.”
“But that's okay.”
“You still have a chance to live the life I never could.”
He handed Aryan a small glowing key.
“The future isn't something you discover.”
“It's something you create.”
The older Aryan slowly faded into particles of light.
The countdown reached twenty seconds.
Aryan inserted the glowing key into the control panel.
A final message appeared on the screen.
CONFIRM CORE DESTRUCTION?
Aryan closed his eyes.
Then…
He pressed YES.