I felt like my eyes must be as large as ping-pong balls and that my hearing had gone crazy. Because I swore Mr. Andrewson just said that this machine was given to the Academy by some man claiming to be from the future.
"Don't look at me like that." Mr. Andrewson laughed, and I quickly schooled my expression into one of indifference. "The man said his came to witness the opening of the Academy and that he had a gift to the Academy."
Eyeing the machine again, I weighted the truth of the story in my head. On one hand, there was what Viktor said, that no past or present technology could have created such a device. On the other hand – time traveling seemed all too far-fetched.
"He unveiled the machine to them out of thin air, and explained that it would have the power to protect the Academy." Mr. Andrewson continued, "He called it the Time Guardian."
Stealing a glance at Saralisa Spenser, who must had been present during the opening of the Academy, she looked every bit as unconcerned about everything as the day she picked me up to come to the Academy. So much for seeing some reactions from her.
"He said only the bloodline from the 12 houses, including 10 from the Originals could power the machine. And that the machine would automatically recognised anyone of their direct descendent and grant them access." My mind flashed back to the nonsense the Time Guardian spilled out, my dad being from Akram's line 13 and my mum from Victoria's line 4. How would they know? Surely the genetic sequences would be too diluted to tell. Unless they have all our details and stored it in in the future...
"The man refused to give any more information about the future or himself, saying that any information he revealed would have serious repercussion and could potentially disturb the time-space continuum. Finally, he revealed that his name is Steven, a member of the 12th clan whose crest is on the machine before disappearing into a glittering silver mist. His last words were a warning that one day the Academy will face a great peril, and the secret weapon, or more precisely function, in the Time Guardian alone would ensure that the Academy would remain intact."
It suddenly occurred to me that I should offer Mr. Andrewson and Saralisa some water so I poured some from my bottle into two cups for them. Giving me a thankful look, Mr. Andrewson finished the water in one gulp.
"The Originals were hesitant to accept this gift at first." Mr. Andrewson smiled as he recounted this part of the story. "But Katerina convinced them that it's for the benefit of the Academy to keep it.
After some extensive testing, they realized that none of them were able to use it directly, though they were able to have a conversation with the artificial intelligence inside. It was finally decided that the Time Guardian is safe and they placed it in the hidden closet over there. For centuries, it became a formality device that each headmaster passed onto the next, each one of them testing their access level on the machine before they take over the role.
We never had a reason to activate the machine, and although several intrigued headmasters had talked to the artificial intelligence known as Glenda extensively, they never had any success in getting any useful information. But when I first put my blood in the Time Guardian, I got something other than the standard procedure. Glenda, would you kindly recount the conversation?" Mr. Andrewson called out and the Time Guardian actually glowed and pulsated as though it was listening in the entire time.
YOU ARE READING
Revolution (Book 3 of POE Chronicles)
Science Fiction(This is book 3 of the P.O.E. Chronicles, Read book 1 Evolution and book 2 Selection if you haven't already) I never wanted a war. All I wanted to do was to get things back to the way they were and to keep those I love safe. But it turns out that ev...
