Learning to Love Time Loops Without Going Insane

Cal slept deeply. He was swimming through a vast ocean. Time was moving quickly around him. Thousands of other creatures surrounded him. They all looked just like him. They moved through this ocean constantly in search of food.

*

He was walking across the land now on four legs. His fins were gone. The air tasted sweet. His mighty tail moved back and forth as he walked, slowly, creeping forward. He had spotted a small rodent-like animal. His tongue shot out. Hit hit the rodent before it could flee. The hunt had succeeded.

*

“No, it is too dangerous to go play in the valley today. The trijrons are in their migratory season.

“But father, if I don’t see them now, when will I ever get to?” Cal’s begged his father to let him see the beasts. Several of his friends were going. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t. That night, when everyone was asleep around the cave fire, he joined his friends as they crossed into the valley under the cover of darkness. The animals were as magnificent as he had heard. Their eight legs trampled down the ground wherever they walked.

There was a loud crashing noise. Something had startled the herd. There was nowhere to run. His father had been right.

*

Cal tightened his antigravity pack over his shoulders before he flew up to the top of the city dome. Several of his fellow workers had beaten him here and were attaching in the new supporting beam system that had been delivered the previous week. They had spent the last few years putting this structure together, but he was proud of the time and effort. He had been part of the first true-world Martian undertaking. Once this dome was complete, he would move on to the interior. He couldn’t wait to put in the parks and play areas. He had also been drawing up plans for his own family's residence. This city would be one of the great works of the Martian civilization, and he was proud.

*

The Dome had fallen. It was the last safe zone on the planet. The war had reached everywhere. All of their off-world colonies were gone. Cal suited off with what little defensive gear remained. He grabbed his cannon and walked out of the garrison building to join the rest of his fellow defenders. They would defend Mars to their last breath.

*

“We won’t survive this war. There is no escape for the vast majority of our people. Their elementalists have taken to the field, and we have not the means or people able to long sustain this fight.” Cal was now an older Martian man in robes addressing a small group.

“Yes, we all know this. Why have you summoned us from our families in these end times?” One of the group asked.

“Because not everyone must be lost. The children can be saved. One of the technomages has constructed in secret a one-way connection to a planet they can safely inhabit so far away in the universe that this war will never reach them. Two of us must go with the children to guide them.”

“And the rest of us?”

“We will fight. All of us gathered here are experts in elemental manipulation. We have spent our lives devoted to its study. If we want our children to have a chance, then we will die holding back the enemy.” Cheers erupted from the crowd. There was no dissent.

*

The war was over. There were no Martians left on the planet. As far as their eradicators knew, they had succeeded. Cal was a tiny six-legged furry animal walking through the ruins of the domed city when a crack opened near him.

“Quick, we can only maintain this connection for a few hours. Get as many of the animals as you find back here to safety. New Mars deserves to know some of the creatures we shared our old home with.” A voice spoke as figures stepped from the cracks.

Cal was grabbed along with several of his pack.

*

It flew over the dusty remains. It was a hard life. There was not enough food or water on the surface anymore. Most of its kind had retreated deep into the caves. It refused to abandon the beautiful ball of light.

*

Cal woke up.

“What the fuck was that?!” Cal loudly asked the moment his eyes opened.

“Ah, did you have a vision of old Mars? I was hoping our memories would live within you. Now, our planet shall never be forgotten. Thank you, Cal.”

“You're welcome, I guess. I never saw what was attacking you. Was it the Gryalth? Why was everything in English?”

“No. This was an enemy the Martians awoke deep in the galaxy. I believe they were entirely native to our universe. They hated all other sentient life and believed it to be a plague. I wouldn’t worry much about them. It has been many millions of years since they last stepped foot on this planet. As for the language. It was likely translated into something you understood by the combination of the seed and your core.”

“The more I learn, the more potential enemies I seem to have.”

“The cosmos is a perilous place. Now come, let us go find your friends.”

The world spirit led Cal through a series of tunnels. He felt they were constantly sloping upwards. He glanced at several small plants and even an animal or two in the recesses of caves.

“Is there animal life down here?” Cal was curious just how much had survived in underground.

“Much. It won’t live forever. I am dying, and with me, the mana that sustains what is left of this world will one day run out, but that is in the future. There is still likely hundreds of years before everything down here dies.”

“I wonder if we can save it all before it does.”

“If you encounter New Mars one day, could you do me one small favor?”

“What?” Cal looked at the spirit, surprised he had another request.

“Help them find their old home and recover whatever still remains. My greatest regret was my inability to help them in their time of need.”

“Yeah, I can do that. Why couldn’t you help them?”

“There are rules that bind us children of the universe. They often change as the universe grows, but at the time, I was unable to act. I cannot tell you more because I do not understand it myself.”

“Fair enough.” Cal spotted a drone facing away from him at the end of the tunnel. “Looks like I’ve found everyone. Did you want to come with me?”

“No. This has been the longest journey I have taken in a great many years. I must return and rest.”

“Well, it was great meeting you, and I think our paths will cross in the future.”

“Anything is possible, my young human friend.”