a
bookish look-alike is seeking the Universal Library.
He stood at the wrecked building, but did he have the
right one? This was fourth planet he had
tried and the last one on the list he had found on the dead ambassador. He had no choice but to look into it.
Despite his scholarly, bookish appearance, Derek wasn’t
here for anything except to look for the Universal Library. His job?
To destroy it. He had to set fire
to it and destroy the total history of the universe from before time, the
present moment and the future that is now being written.
All he had to do was avoid being written into the
disaster that was going to be the end.
If he could avoid seeing his death before it was written, he’d get his
arse off this planet in one piece. How
he knew about this part was that others had tried to destroy it before and
failed. So, the bounty on this place was
massive; and he needed the money.
Besides, from what he heard, only the insane took on this kind of job
and got away with it.
They were also then handed jobs that were near
impossible to do. This would up his
resume to something of an unkillable entity in his field… this was something he
liked.
Stepping through the destroyed, broken stone doors, he
found the place was deserted. It had
been for a thousand millennia. There
were isles of books going in all directions.
However, he was searching for the epicentre of the Universal Library –
the place where these books started, the very arena where they were given birth
from – which would be the place he’d set the explosives.
“You’ll never find it.” A young woman’s voice said
behind him as he peered down one isle and then the next, “I’ve tried and failed
to find the very beginning of this Library.”
He spun to found a neatly-dressed woman standing near
the doors, “Who are you?”
“The Library’s Assistant.” She smile sweetly, her
chestnut hair shone in the dust as though she had just shown up for work this
very moment, “I have been here since the Universal Library was started up.”
“Started up?”
“Why yes, it’s no ordinary library.” She gazed around,
“It records everything in time, space and …anything you can think of.” Her eyes
moved back to him, “But you’re not him.”
“Him?”
“My replacement.”
He shook his head, “I’m here to destroy it.”
“If you destroy it, you destroy every fabric of time you
know. There will be no records of it, no
history to teach your children… no way of telling time on your watch; nothing.”
She said, “You can’t destroy it.”
“I’m being paid to.”
“I’m here to protect it from people like you.” She
smiled, “And don’t let this ordinary-looking uniform fool you, I have a lot of
power.”
“What’s your name then?”
She laughed, “What do you think? It’s Dewey.”
He rolled his eyes at the pun of how simple the name had
been and how he should have guessed it, “Oh shit.”
“I’m old, but I’m useful.” She smiled.
“It’s time to pave for the new way.” He pulled out a
sword and swung it at her, only to have her put her hands up and a visible
force field surround her.
It swirled and shimmered as she shone a bright silver
colour before she pushed on it and he was thrown across the room against one of
the large stone bookcases. In a
screaming, high-pitched retort, Dewey almost deafened him, “Do you really think
it’s that easy to destroy me?”
Holding his head, he doubled over in agony, “Stop, stop…
I’m sorry!”
She stood tall and put her hands by her side, brushing
her skirt straight. The force field
vanished and she appeared like she did before, “The Library is protected from
intruders like yourself. Now, it’s time
for you to die.”
He stared at her, shocked, “Why?”
“You tried to hurt to me and admitted to wanting to
destroy the Universal Library.” She replied, “You must die for this.”
From her right, through the main doors, walked a man who
looked exactly the same as the cowering man by the bookcases, “Hi I’m Dewey
10.5. I’m here to replace you.” He
looked over at the other man, “Was he here to destroy the Library?”
She nodded, “Yes.
I’m about to kill him.”
He put out his hand and she took it, “Let’s do it
together.”
