A Collision In Time
Chapter 12 – The Congress of Peers

We must build a new world—a far better world—one in which the eternal dignity of man is respected.

– President Harry Truman’s address to the UN delegates, delivered from the White House on April 25, 1945

72,552 Interplanetary Confederation Era (ICA), The United Interplanetary Cooperative

Arion’s brother sat across and at a distance from him, barely visible given the enormity of the darkened room famously named the Congress of Peers. It indeed surprised Arion when his portal jump to Earth had been intercepted and he instead found himself in a secured enclosure next door to the Congress chamber. In hindsight, he supposed he should not be startled. Now here he sat, constrained. Once again Asmodi’s actions became his problem. He shook his head, scolding himself for allowing Asmodi to lead him here.

The front of the chamber suddenly glowed as an enclosed sphere roughly two meters in diameter materialized. Arion tensed, but remained curious about what might happen next. “The Congress Chair,” he said, and bowed his head.

On cue, hundreds of spheres appeared as planetary representatives teleported into the chamber protected within their atmospheric environments, some glowing transparently, others opaque. A few minutes later the Congress Chair, upon confirming attendance, called the session to order.

Arion glimpsed Asmodi, looking smug and defiant. Arion focused and projected, “If you can detect my thoughts, brother, please display humility. It will serve you well.”

Asmodi’s angry expression remained.

A chime sounded and the Congress Chair’s protected atmospheric bubble glowed a warm orange. A foggy ambience obscured the resident of the bubble. “Let us begin,” it said via a translator. “Welcome, Peer Representatives. We called this extraordinary session to ask for your cooperative guidance and determine actions against two…brothers?” The chair’s voice sounded amused. “The brothers Arion and Asmodi face several charges of time continuity mismanagement.” A rough gurgling sound. Arion decided it was laughter.

“Arion and Asmodi, you are hereby in custody until the Peer Representatives can assess the level of your mismanagement. Today we will lay out the charges and contemplate punishment, should you be found guilty as charged.”

The Chair announced, “If it pleases the clerk, please define the charges.”

The light shifted to another atmospheric bubble that projected in dull yellow. A human shape addressed the crowd. “Arion and Asmodi are first charged for temperate time mismanagement on the planet Pachamama, in the city of New Washahikan, as evidenced through interference by Arion with Dov Sabastien, and Asmodi’s influence in the development of the Heretics in locations over the entire planet. Peers, please consult the evidence analysis.

“The second charge is for gentle time mismanagement, for Arion only, for interference on Earth in the city of Wagner in South Dakota. To the Peers, please consult the evidence analysis.

“The third charge, for Asmodi, is gross destruction and forceful time mismanagement for actions related to assassination and terrorism in the Earth cities of Sarajevo and Boston. To the Peers, please consult the evidence analysis.

“The fourth charge, a future charge, for Arion, for gentle time mismanagement on Earth in the city of Sandon, in the Texas Federation. Peers, please consult the predictive evidence analysis.

“The fifth charge, a future charge, for Asmodi and Arion, is for gross destruction and forceful time mismanagement for warfare activities in the Earth cities of Sandon and Uruk, Sumeria. Peers, please consult the predictive evidence analysis.

“A reminder to the Peers that future charges are forecasts, but given the forceful impact, punishment must nonetheless be considered. Also note that evidence is weighted as strongly predictive. We now request comment from Arion and Asmodi on these charges. Asmodi, please begin.” The clerk’s bubble dimmed.

Asmodi rose, radiating anger. “At least may I speak on the floor? I would like an opportunity to see the Peers around me. These charges, though ridiculous, will incapacitate my actions for centuries. You must honor this request and allow me to witness those who will decide my fate. May I approach the chamber center?”

Arion shook his head. He sensed a game.

The atmosphere bubble of the Chair glowed orange. Its voice echoed through the chamber: “We accept your request. Please approach the chamber center.”

Invisible field restraints dissipated and allowed Asmodi to move from his chair. A path to the center brightened. The echo of his footsteps as he slowly walked along the glowing path created suspense and anticipation. His brother always had a flair for the dramatic.

Asmodi bowed toward the Chair, rotated, and repeated the gesture to those behind him. He raised an arm. “My Chamber Peer Representatives, for thousands of years the Interplanetary Congress has blossomed. We increased our planetary cooperation by adding compatible civilizations groomed through historical time manipulation. Dozens of new planets and species joined us each century. We manicured—oh, let us speak plainly—cleansed populations through time-modulation, carefully eliminating historical bad apples, leaving only vetted societies suited to our cooperative philosophies.

“By navigating and crafting a species’ history we cultivate them to be as we are, and they naturally join us. Our congress grows, and despite sacrificing millions of lives in total, the impact has been minimal. At least we comfort ourselves with this fable.

“In some civilizations, this approach proceeded in a relatively straightforward manner. To grow our confederation we selected worlds that, by their nature, contained agreeable species based on their evolutionary cooperative model. One by one, we added species to our confederation. On balance, we calculate this to be a positive return on investment. Once upon a time, the growth of our confederation seemed easy.

“But most of the species throughout the known universe are not like us. These species evolve from competitive evolutionary systems—survival of the fittest, and conquest. We left these planets alone for later consideration. Like Earth. So today our confederacy cannot grow any further. We are exhausted, and outdated.

“Representative Peers, this is folly. We must shift toward a better prototype. Let us build an empire, by coercion if necessary, but where compliant species will join us and share in trade, resources, tourism, and enrichment. Time is a potent weapon and we have been hesitant to deploy it. We must be braver.

“My colleagues, my naïve and entitled colleagues, the time for empire begins now.”

Asmodi paused and smiled. Two small twinkles of incandescent light sparked next to him. The air within the chamber heated and grew heavy. The sparks grew in size, then flared outward like blue fireworks.

Arion yelled, “He is escaping! Do something.” He moaned, knowing it was too late.

Two women emerged beside Asmodi. One of the women smiled and kissed him on the cheek, while the other lifted a black floor panel beside her as alarms rang out across the chamber. Instantly the three disappeared as a portal appeared and then faded.

Two guards raced toward Arion and swiftly escorted him to his compartment to wait until the proceedings could commence.

Hours flowed into days.

He passed his time, hearing little about the disruption, merely rumors from visitors who brought food, drink, and companionship. Despite the confinement, the accommodation offered everything he required, including access to information banks.

Finally, on day five of his imprisonment, the proceedings resumed. He cleaned up, ate a light meal, and followed the guards who escorted him back to the chair, where he waited until all the Congressional Peer Representatives arrived.

At last, the bubble of the Chair glowed orange as a melodic chime filled the room. “Arion, we thank you for your indulgence. Your brother’s antics disrupted our session and introduced unique issues for us to contemplate. Before we discuss your charges, do you have anything to say?”

Arion cleared his throat. “It was quite unexpected; I must reassure the Congress I was unaware of his plans and have no idea of his whereabouts. I apologize.”

The orange light brightened and the Chair spoke to Arion. “A transmitter in the floor disrupted our security and generated a one-way portal. He had help. We are now searching to determine where he went and who was involved. We are confident you were not part of his scheme.

“So, let us discuss your role. On the first two charges, you are certainly guilty—our interrogation of the time-waves confirms this. However, these are minor charges, with minor repercussions. Regarding the fourth and fifth prospective charges, as these are future predictions, we are prepared to disregard them if you agree to assist us to prevent them from transpiring. This will assuredly mean confronting your brother. If you choose not to help us, we will confine you until the vibrational waves resolve. This could take a long time. Normally confinement would ensure the future mismanagement is addressed and mitigate the risk, but given your brother’s involvement, we needed to be creative.” The Chair paused. “Have you any comments?”

Arion stood. The chamber quieted as the Peers waited to hear his response. He turned toward the orange-lit bubble. “I am aware of the predicted events in both Sandon and Sumeria occurring in our past, having discussed Earth’s time anomalies with Dov Sabastien. On the one hand, I am surprised to see my name associated with the two anomalies. On the other hand, your request will force my hand; I must be involved to prevent them from happening. Curious, isn’t it? Yet there is no choice. I agree to the recommendations of the Chair. I will seek to mitigate the time mismanagement for both charges.”

A light blue bubble illuminated. “May I speak to the accused?” a gentle voice said in plain English.

“Why, of course,” said the Chair.

“I am not a philosopher, nor a time scientist, and scarcely understand the mathematics that predicts events, especially should they impact history. These ideas hurt my head. So my comments may be naïve, but I have studied planet Earth my entire life. I am aware of both time frames referenced. In these times violence is endemic; there is little appreciation of the value and sanctity of life. Understand your history and be prepared to leverage it to your advantage and the lessons it teaches. Especially in Sumeria where fables, gods, and magic can be yours to manipulate events. That is all.” The blue light faded.

“Thank you,” said Arion.

“Then we have agreed,” said the Chair. “You are dismissed. Please proceed immediately, as ripples flow in time as we speak.”

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