Master of Time

Chapter 4: Mutually Assured Destruction

And that is an insane amount of money.

I'm a fucking kazillionaire!

How much a kazillion? I don't fuck care.

But despite my incredible wealth, I am somewhat shocked to learn that I am not the richest person in the solar system

Oh. I am not even the richest person on the planet!?

Like seriously?

Apparently, almost everyone is a billionaire due to centuries worth of inflation.

As a matter of fact, the dollar isn't considered as real currency anymore. It is still use primarily here in the United States of America, however. Mostly due to sentimental reasons.

Pointless sentimental reasons.

I just hope that I never have to do stupid shit because of sentimental reasons.

Honestly, the United States longs for the days when it is a superpower. It lost that status like centuries ago, in the aftermath of the 4th World War.

Wait. There is a Fourth World War!?

Yup. A very devastating one too, hence the name, World Wars!

The US did win the third one though. It was against China. Well. That is inevitable, isn't it?

China lost much of its population in the cyber warfare and nuclear exchange. However, thanks to their very active men and women, their population returns to the pre-war level in no time.

The same couldn't be said for the United States. Everything is way too depressed to fuck around. That's funny.

Anyway, unlike the United States, China is still one of the superpowers on the planet.

One of three actually.

Luckily, my beloved United States did survive the last World War.

It is something that I am thankful for. I am a patriot of sort. I did grow up in the United States, in both times, so I have to be a patriot. USA! USA! USA!

Alright. Calm down me. I can change its destiny when I return to the past.

The United States should be leading the new era of humanity. My kind of humanity.

I have been training my power while growing up naturally back in the orphanage. I can now manipulate time of anything without needing to be in contact with it directly. I just need to be close enough within sight.

As for the universal currency now days, Earth and all the other planets and moons in the solar system use something called Credits. It is basically digital currency since no body carries notes around.

There is no need to carry wallet anymore. Everything is biometric based.

For the exchange rate, it is a few thousand trillion US dollars to 1 credit.

I immediately crack up at the absurd exchange rate, but then again, it is how things are now. Just don't question it. Go with it.

Many people actually have millions of credits to their name, especially celebrities from all the royalties they are getting. What royalties? I will tell you later.

Planetary companies and corporate giants actually deal with trillions of credits every single minute of every day. Quadrillions of credits daily easily.

More than that, credit is necessary for the black market. They aren't accepting any form of currency.

Military Grade Augmentation can only be brought via such a market.

I emphasis the word "brought". Another option would be joining the Earth Military and climbing the rank to 5 stars admiral. Only then I can request for a military grade augmentation through the proper channel.

Yeah, I am not doing that. Waste of time and effort.

If I want to play admiral, I will do it on my own time, thank you very much.

Besides, another planetary war will break out soon. This time with planetary annihilation weapons, so it is time to get out of here. I have seen the aftermath of using such a weapon, and it is not pretty.

Humanity effectively destroys itself in the upcoming conflict.

There are just too many conflicting interests amongst the people. Nations still exist on Earth, fighting rather stupidly over stellar resources instead of working together to dominate the universe.

Fuck! Why can't we just join hands, huh? Is it in our nature to kill each other?

Other planets such as Mars and Mercy have their own government and their own interests. As a fact, they even calling themselves Martians and Mercurians instead of Earthlings.

Despite being humans and originating from Earth, they consider Eartha and those who are living on it as aliens. A sign of xenophobia?

The United Federation of Sol is merely a peacekeeping body like the United Nations, so they can really do nothing but watch humanity waging wars of annihilation on itself.

Yeah. That is stupid. I am going to change all of that.

I wish that humanity can get pass its rather pointless rivalry and selfish nature to expand into the stars and become an interstellar empire. A multi-galaxy spanning interstellar empire!

That would be awesome, for the universe is for us to claim!

But before I can enact my plan, I need to make myself unstoppable. Getting killed by just a plain bullet in the past would just suck so much.

Besides, how many times have I been killed already?

I couldn't recall.

But even if I am invulnerable to all firearms or maybe planet busting nukes, I am more than sure than someone will be smart enough to lock me into an unbreakable time loop of sort, forcing me to die and be revived endlessly.

Holy shit. That is a fate worse than death.

Yeah. I am not going to allow that to happen, especially when Earth and probably other planets in the solar system is already beginning its research into temporal displacement. Um. Basically, time travels.

Did someone intend to send people back in time to change the future for the better?

Well. There is no need. Let me do it.

Scouring the internet, I finally found a doctor who is willing to work on me for a price. It is always for a price. No one will work for free now days.

And as money is just a mean to an end and I could always get more with my power, I just pay the good doctor whatever he wanted.

It is so he can give me the best augmentation possible. Only the very best for myself.

"Ah yes. I saw your request, but this isn't exactly a Military Grade. It is a very experimental one. While it is not as good as the one used by military personnel, it does give you additional ability. Abilities like matter and energy manipulations."

The good doctor tells me.

He doesn't really look like a doctor because everyone in the future doesn't really look like who they're supposed to be thanks to the wonder of scientific advancement.

Yes. I have a problem with that. Everything feels so fake, at least to me.

"Say what? Matter and energy manipulation?"

I question.

"Yes. It is like this. Look."

The doctor demonstrates on a glass of water. The water freezes over in his hand. It then melts, turning back into liquids before boiling.

"I am just extracting heat or introducing heat into the liquid. Not very useful, but it is something, like always having a hot cup of coffee. Hehe. I can also create electricity."

The doctor demonstrates by creating lightning between his fingers. It isn't enough to stun anyone, but the fact that he could do it means that his experimental augmentation is the most advance.

"What about matter manipulation?"

I am curious to what else he could do.

The doctor shows that he could use the nanomachines in his body to reshape matter as well. He turns a metal scissor into a small knife within the palm of his hand.

That is cool. Really cool, to be honest.

I try not to show my excitement on my face.

"This requires a lot of control, but it works just like an industrial nano-lathing. Of course, the materials must be within skin-contact for it to work."

Nano-lathing describes the method of using nanomachines to assemble raw materials into useful stuff within seconds.

It is just like a 3D printer, which has really changed the face of the manufacturing industries. With such a method, anything can be produced cheaply, even starships as long as there are enough raw materials available.

Combining with cybernetic lifeform, which cannot technically die in combat normally, wars are really more or less a battle of attrition in the 31st century.

That is why it is better to attack population centers since human life is the only thing that matters now days.

Enough massacres will force a surrender.

"Alright, let's do it. Augment me, doc. No funny idea now. I aren't paying the rest if I wake up with my pants down."

I tell him as time is running out. I only have like a couple of months left until the world blows to hell.

"Hehe. Okay. No funny ideas. Just photos. Time to sleep now."

The doctor immediately puts me into an instant coma and begins to work on my body.

And did he just say photos!? The fuck!

I didn't wake up until several weeks have passed, finding myself on a life support system. Shit. I know that it would take a bit of time for such an advance augmentation, but several weeks!?

The doctor is nowhere to be found. The room seems abandoned, and all the medial equipment is gone too.

At first, I thought I have been had, but several menus in front of my eyes tell me otherwise.

It is like seeing through the eyes of a combat mech, honestly.

Mechanized armor replaces traditional warfare completely. This is due to their greater flexibility. Pilots can control them from afar, from a safe position – sometimes from orbits when combat is taking place on a planet or moon.

There is also a message in my inbox. I open it to hear it carefully.

It is from the doctor.

"Alright. It is done. Hehe. Enjoy your new augmentation. I also programmed a VI to help you get used to it. Also, I suggest you get off Earth as soon as possible.

I heard some naught things on Saturn. PS – pay me or I will be stabby."

VI is virtual intelligence. It is a step down from artificial intelligence and cybernetic lifeform.

"System?"

[I am designated Selene. How can I help you, operator?]

"Cool. Show me my status."

[Acknowledge.]

Selene, the virtual intelligence, shows me my status, detailing everything for me to see, even from my physical to my emotional state.

The virtual intelligence even shows me a list of experimental abilities that my new augmentation gives me. Usually augmentation increases a person's physical prowess and makes them harder to kill, but a look at these new abilities, I know for a fact that I am literally a one-man army.

Will be. Not now. This augmentation isn't instant. Something about biology synching problem.

And since it only takes time to become inhuman, I suppose I could wait. Time is on my side after all.

"Awesome."

That is the only word I can think of at the moment. It is a good enough word.

I wire the good doctor the rest of the money before he gets "stabby", whatever that really means. Oh, I am certain that it didn't mean literally, and I am not interested to find out, especially when money is meaningless to me.

After I pay everything I have owed, I head to the public library.

It is to download everything I really needed before heading into the past. I haven't decided which year to go to yet, but it should be somewhere in the 1950, just after World War 2.

This is because a lot of modern infrastructures are already in place for me to take control. But it is also due to the Second World War itself. War is just great for the economy as well as forcing people to play nice with each other for a while.

Sadly, my study is cut short due to the thermal nuclear explosion outside a month later.

"Ah shit. I guess time is up. I am going to miss the future. Um. How much of the technical information that you have downloaded from the internet, Selene?"

"100%, Operator."

Selene replies. She actually finishes it like days ago.

"Excellent."

I tap my fingers together as I look out the massive windows. It will shatter into a million pieces as soon as the thermal blast reaches me.

But before it did, I am already gone, vanished into thin air.

The Martian starships in high orbit have begun bombarding the earth with literally thousands of fusion missiles and plasma lances.

It is actually a preemptive strike.

Their energy and kinetic shields flare brightly as they take the countless barrage from orbital defensive turrets. The ships are destroyed within seconds, killing probably like one or two people onboard since it is highly automated, but the damage the ship done to the planet is done.

Earth is now on fire with tectonic plates forcing to shift, causing earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes.

The beginning of the end has come for humanity.

And as the World Government of Earth collapses, one of the few remaining admirals activates one of the contingency plans. Well. Not really contingency. It is more like mutually assured destruction.

It is a good old tactic.

Gigantic experimental railgun decloaked near the sun, completely out of range of every starships. It is the trump card, and by drawling power from the sun itself, it powers up, spinning and rotating towards the vast blackness of space.

Eyes cannot see, but sensors can detect everything clearly.

The railgun quickly fires giant plasma slugs at near the speed of light, one after another without delay even if it is rapidly overheating.

The slugs travel unstoppable to the red planet, piercing the atmosphere and the mantle below, forcing the planet to implode from inside out.

That is what happens when a planet gets hit by a condense solar flare.

And it becomes quite a mess after that since the destruction of Mars causes the orbits of every planet to shift, hence the mutual assured destruction.

Luckily. I am safe in the past, in the year 1950.