The Geekorium

“You’re from the future!”

The Professor was amused and amazed.

“So where is our Rex?” he asked.

“Well, you can’t tell the Princess or Jones, but he’s dead. Blasted away by Mondex.”

The news struck The Professor like a bullet to the chest. He stumbled and grasped for the stool behind him. Sitting down he tried a few times to speak, and finally said, “but that’s impossible! You would cease to be! The paradox here could destabilize the universe.”

Rex rested a hand on his old friend’s shoulder.

“That’s why I’m here. I’ve already started forgetting what happened the first time ‘round, and I’m afraid if I return to the future, my death might catch up to me. If I stay here, maybe I can make myself useful, and at least save the Princess.”

“What happens to Anrianna?” The Professor could see the future unraveling before his eyes.

“I don’t know. Maybe my memory of that has been erased too, but now I can prevent it. Before I left for my Sheebat game you spotted an anomaly. That was Mondex, travelling back from the future to kill me in the past. In the future we were waiting for it because I left a message for myself about what Mondex was planning. I came through the vortex after him, but I don’t know what happened differently this time and he succeeded.”

“Rex I… don’t know what to say. I’m glad you’re alive for now. Maybe it will give me time to find a way to change what happened. At least I might figure out how to keep you alive. I’ll begin studying the anomaly at once.”

Rex dropped Mondex’s time-belt on The Professor’s work bench.

“Maybe this will help.”

Rex waited for the universe to collapse.

When it didn’t, he wondered why.

They had cornered Mondex on an industrial planet three billion years in the past. The natives were towering giants that barely noticed the struggle for survival far below them. The Rexes had split up, thinking they could get the drop on their old foe, but Rex had mistaken a crack in the immense architecture to be an alley. By the time he had backtracked, the younger Rex had confronted Mondex alone.

Mondex was desperate and cornered and unleashed his deadly energy beam on Rex’s earlier self. Rounding a corner, older Rex saw the situation and ended the threat permanently, but it was too late. Young Rex took a shot to the chest that burned and corroded and eventually consumes his former self before his eyes.

Staggering, the remaining Rex tried to keep upright, but fell to his knees. The impact of seeing himself killed hit him like a punch to the stomach, and for a moment he wondered if it might be the beginning of the end that must inevitably come. His mind was numb at the loss, but a small part of him was not silent. It was pointing out that he wasn’t yet erased from time. Isn’t that what was supposed to happen?

He certainly hadn’t remembered being shot the first time around. Then again, his memory of the time was getting hazy. He thought he remembered meeting his future self, confronting Mondex, but then he couldn’t remember how it ended. Was this how it started, forgetting the original timeline? He figured he had six months, maybe less before past Rex would become future Rex. Would his memories of the first timeline be erased as he failed to have them, until he too was gone? Would returning to the future accelerate things?

Rex thought about his friends. The Professor, Jones - brilliant but aloof, and the Princess.

The sweet Anrianna. He wished he’d spent more time with her before she’d gone.

Maybe this was his chance! Perhaps he could spend some time with her now, perhaps even prevent whatever happened to her. Obviously the past could be changed. He could spend his last six months making sure she was safe, and meet his end knowing that at least she was back where she was meant to be.

It stood to reason that Jones would be unhappy with him. He had shot him, a lot.

Then again, Jones had vapourised him from space, so they should be square. Not to mention Jones had betrayed him in the first place back on Manasar, and killed The Professor as well. By his count he owed Jones one.

What worried him now more than Jones finding him and releasing all that terrible power on him, was what he had been doing with his power before they’d touched. Jones clearly had a plan when they had gone to recover the Ortrix, and he wondered if dying had slowed him down at all. Maybe with all this power he’d have a new plan. Jones always did love a plan.

“What can I do?” he asked the ever-present Presence.

He’d have to thank The Professor.

Every mission, it was usually The Professor’s neat inventions that got him out of his predicaments. At least the minor predicaments anyway - he usually still had to disarm the bomb or kill the leader or steal the jewels.

Not this time though. They had come on a mission set up by Jones. When Jones had turned on him, the mission no longer mattered. Now he needed to return to base and fill The Professor in.

A thought struck him, “What if The Professor has turned as well?”

He brushed the thought aside. The Professor had helped him, just then to escape. Besides, he had more immediate things to worry about, such as the fresh hoard of guards bearing down on him.

“Yearrgh!” he yelled as he lept towards them, guns blazing.

Rex really didn’t know this time.

Usually when Rex Havoc was tortured for information he’d scoff at their attempts to draw out the location of the secret base or superweapon or princess.

He’d laugh and say, “Each time you hit me it makes your death a little more certain.”

Rex didn’t know what to say this time. They kept asking him about “the power of the Torimbalo” and he’d never heard of it. It certainly wasn’t what he came here for. If he wanted to survive this time though he would have to fall back on his regular routine.

Ignoring his questions Rex growled, “Keep hitting me boy. It makes my decision of who to kill first much easier.”