“We can’t just go back and tackle the bomber to the floor” Colin said. They absolutely could do that, but the temporal ramifications begged for at least some protest, even just as a formality.
“We absolutely can do that.” Alex didn’t have time for formalities. They were standing in the middle of the burning wreck of a library. “If you’re so concerned about using up our crossing, then you’d better have a better idea.”
Colin didn’t. Any other plan was needlessly complex and still ran the risk of temporal interference. He took a breath and centered himself.
They looked around. There was no getting to a door without passing through fire and crumbling wreckage.
“Can you make one?” Alex asked.
“A psionically generated door? Under these conditions? No. No, I don’t think I can.” Colin pursed his lips, sighed, and pointed west. “If we head that way, I think we can make it to the front entrance, maybe enough structure is left to hijack it.”
“Okay” Alex nodded “Just stay low and go quick. I left the fire extinguisher in my jacket pocket.” She said, hiking up the side of her dress to check her jean pockets.
Colin raised an eyebrow “You were wearing that underneath?”
“Yes. Obviously.”
They headed out into the flames.
~~~~
Meanwhile, ten minutes ago, a man entered the gala. He passed through the security scanner as calmly as one could while smuggling part of a bomb. The security scanner remained silent, just as it had every day for the past month as Titus Welborn smuggled a different component into the Library.
It had taken patience, caution, and a not inconsiderable number of disguises, but now…
Now, it was time to set this place ablaze, he thought as he made his way to the maintenance closet, where he had hidden the catalyst.
Now, it was time to demolish this prison of knowledge he mused as he pried the accelerant from its hiding place in the Lost and Found.
“Now, it was time to free me…” the voice in his head said as he hid in the crowd too busy to see him placing the final wires beneath his coat.
Now it was time to— get punched in the face, apparently.
Titus was dazed and unable to stop the detonator from being snatched away from him by a woman in a slightly singed azure dress.
“H—how?” Titus wheezed.
“How? How?! How the hell could you destroy this place you bastard?!” the woman’s voice was as loud as possible without alerting the rest of the gala.
Titus’s mind swirled “No the plan was foolproof…. This is a test! it has to be a test.”
“Foolproof?! You were standing in the middle of— “the woman’s partner cut her off.
“Test? Of what?”
Before Titus could answer, two more strangers approached him. Two strangers identical to the two that had foiled his sacrifice.
“Dammit. Already?” The slightly less toasted version of the woman asked.
“‘Afraid so. Bastard blew up the library.” The toastier woman said.
“Shite. Well then…” The less burnt duo held out their hands, their doppelgängers returned favor and shook.
And then—wait, had there only ever been one pair of strangers? No, there were two weren’t there? Had there been two people or two pairs of two people? Right? How could they have— Oh, his head. Only one force had ever made him feel like this. This must be a test!
“You’re toying with me, surely you’re testing me. You must be Its messengers. The God under the Library.”
Both strangers’ ears perked up at this. “Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, we were messengers of your god. What would we be testing?” The man said.
“My resolve, surely my resolve to free you!” Titus smiled.
Stepping outside of the madman’s head now, it should be clear by now that Titus Welborn was not an exceptionally intelligent individual. But this single mindedness seemed less idiocy and more ecstasy.
Like many words’ ‘ecstasy’ has come to mean something quite different from what it once meant. This is not only natural for words’ meanings to evolve, but integral to language as a whole (except for ‘decimate’ but that’s a hill to die on some other time.)
Anyway, the ecstasy Titus appeared to be experiencing was of a more archaic definition: the intense emotional feeling of self-transcendence or oneness with god.
“Do you think perhaps there is a better way to free your god than blowing their…prison up?” Alex asked.
“I don’t understand.”
The visitors looked at each other, then Alex spoke “Do you know what. I think we’re heading under the library ourselves. Seeing as we’re sure as hell not taking our eyes off you, I suppose you get to come along.
Titus was shaking with excitement. “You will grant me passage past the security?”
Colin followed Titus’ gaze to the far corner of the central hall, a door, reinforced with an unreasonable number of locks. “I wouldn’t use the word ‘help’ but yes.”
“On one major condition.” Alex appended “when this is over and you’ve seen or freed whatever is down there, you have to turn yourself in.”
Titus looked between the two strangers. “If that is what the god desires. I will oblige.”