Seeds for Time
Broken Hourglass

Raj steps through the circle of light and onto the altar platform. Immediately he feels that something is wrong, and places the bowl on the floor. The time chamber is in shadows, some of the lights are turned off. The control center is in darkness but he can see two forms sitting there. He sees the damaged equipment, “What the hell happened?” There are bullet holes in the walls all around the chamber. Raj hurries to the control center.

Samantha raises her head and mumbles, “I’ve held on... to get you back.” She is wounded and bleeding. The other technician, Philip, is dead. His head is leaning back and his eyes and mouth are wide open. Raj reaches tenderly to his dead comrade’s face and lifts his jaw and closes his eyes. He begins to inspect Samantha’s bullet wounds. He glances at his wrist band and says aloud, “Time check, two hours and four minutes.” He shakes his head in disgust and guilt.

He looks at the time display on the control center’s screen, “Four days and eighteen hours have past while I was gone, damn!” He wonders if his presence would have made a difference during the raid. He would probably be dead by now, anyway. The thought doesn’t remove the guilty feeling that he has failed his team members.

He lifts her body gently and carries her to the nearest room with a sleeping cot. His thoughts are all over the place. “The others, did anyone else survive?” Samantha does not answer as she has already slipped into unconsciousness.

Raj’s mind moves to a realm beyond shock and terror. He is calculating a dozen of his next steps. Check for survivors is the first thing to do, then he can replace a med-kit and attend to Samantha’s injuries. In less than sixty seconds he locates the bodies of all team members, none have survived the raider’s attack. Raj hopes that some of the blood on the walls is from the raiders. He locates a med-kit and heads back to Samantha.

She is very still and he checks her pulse. She is gone. “Oh no! Sami, no my dear!” He lays his head on her chest and weeps. His calculating mind returns. The security feed! He needs to check for the raiders, time of departure and decide which direction they are headed. Hopefully they haven’t learned of the seed vault.

Raj views the feed from three main security views. Nine raiders in all, two are possibly females. All are in tactical gear but only a few have assault rifles. The nine of them arrived on five power-sleds, three of which carry markings from the New Zealand base.

They have taken four power-sleds from the garage and are headed towards the vault. Raj figures that they are taking the long route to get there. They do not know of his shortcut. He checks the time of the raider’s departure. It was only thirty minutes ago.

If he has a fully charged power-sled, he can beat them to the vault by taking the faster but more risky path. If he reaches the vault before they do, he can secure it. There are some food and water resources stored there. He could hold out for a week or more.

The next step is to prepare for his last journey to the seed vault. He returns to the altar platform and retrieves the bowl. He goes into the room where Samantha’s body lies. He removes his cloak, bends and kisses her on the lips, “Goodbye my love.” He drapes the cloak over her body. He places the bowl beside her. He removes some of the grains and fruit with seeds from the bowl and sets them to the side. He enters the room which contains the Altar and control center. He searches and replaces the bottle of champagne.

After Raj, pops the cork, he heads into room where Samantha’s body lies. He locates two glasses and fills them half way. He places one beside Samantha and downs the other. “Cheers my love, we have reached the end of our mission.” He heads to his room.

Raj raises the metal suit case from underneath his sleeping cot. The case contains his personal seed collection. He has saved seeds for several years and has added a small portion of inventory from each time trip to his collection. He places the grains and seeds from this last mission into the case and seals it. The case boast an air-tight seal.

He had made the expensive purchase of the case years ago when he first became interested in botany. The case’s manufacturer had declared that the container is indestructible and that it will last for thousands of years. Raj hopes that’s true, because he is planning on putting that sales pitch to the test.

He goes to inspect the garage area. As he expected, there is only one power-sled left. All spare batteries are gone, stolen by the raiders. He checks the battery on the lone sled, it only has a half charge. That means a one way trip to the vault. If he performs a successful trip, he can recharge the sled at the vault. He plugs in the charging cable. Even a few minutes of charge may make a difference. He returns to his room to gather a few items.

Back in his room, he strips off his time traveling gear. He removes his snow gear from the closet and begins dressing. Outside temperatures in the open light are bearable but the cold of the shadows can still be life challenging. Raj considers how he will carry the metal case of seeds. He has an idea.

He goes through his t-shirt collection and locates one of his favorites. The shirt was of red color, many years ago. The brownish-pinkish fabric now, still displays the silkscreen image. The image is faded and pealing but can still be made out. The image is a silhouette of an hourglass. Raj pulls the shirt over his head.

He grabs the metal case and slides it under the t-shirt against his chest. He tucks the shirt into his snow pants and tightens the belt. He slips on the snow jacket and adjust its buckles and zippers. The case is snug against him, secured for this last trip to the vault. Raj is ready to go. As he heads to the door way, he stops and looks around the room. He realizes he may never return here again. He notices the book on the nightstand.

It is his mother’s copy of “The Dhammapada.” He often reads from it just before sleep each night. He walks over and picks up the book. He flips through it and stops to read a line he had marked. “As irrigators guide water to the fields, as archers aim arrows, as carpenters carve wood, the wise shape their lives.”

Raj rubs his hands against the shape of the metal case. In spite of the horror of the current moment, he laughs. “My shape is square!”

Life has led him to this place. One more chance to try and save the future. He carries the book to Samantha’s cot. He places the book beside her and gently touches her face. “Rest in peace, my love. I’m going to save the future.”