Space, Place, and Race

It was definitely a body, Warren surmised, and no longer a person, for it was very definitely a dead body, and for some reason Warren hadn't quite worked out it was standard practice to refer to the dead as 'bodies' and the living as 'people', as even in a relatively secular society such as his own these trappings of semi-theological thought still lay hidden in the folds of culture.
Warren had worked out that it was a dead body due to the fact that it had a large arrow protruding from its chest, ringed neatly by a large stain of blood. Oh, and also, he wasn't breathing.
And it was definitely a he. He had clearly been a soldier of some sort, a scout perhaps, thought Warren, for the point at which he lay gave a fantastic view, for miles in each direction, of the surrounding area. And, to Warren's untrained and slightly shortsighted eye, it was vast, empty farmland.
Moments later Warren was surrounded by a troupe of soldiers grasping an assortment of bows, arrows, spears, mauls, and other assorted weaponabilia.
Like I said, untrained eye.
The biggest and ugliest of these (soldiers, that is, not weapons or untrained eyes) spoke up. "Oo ear yeu?"
"Huh?" Warren's ear was also somewhat untrained.
"I said, Oo ear yeu? And what ear yeu doing on ma land?"
"Oh, right." Warren's ear had quickly learnt the inflections of heavily French-accented English. Untrained, but a quick study, it seemed. "I'm Warren, nice to meet you. Have you got any money?"
"Money!" The big ugly Frenchman laughed. The other soliders laughed along with him, not because it was particularly funny but because in most societies when the person who can cause you pain, humiliation, and demotion laughs at something, you find it funny too. "We don't 'ave any money, Monsieur Warren! We fight for glory! Honour! And the French people! Particularly the French females, I might add!" At this the other soldiers applauded, much more genuinely.
"Well then why don't you fight with guns?" Warren asked. "You might get more girls that way."
"Guns? What is this guns, and where can we get it?" The French leader responded.
"We-ell," Warren replied, "They're kind of like big long sticks that go bang and make peoples' chests explode. Americans love them."
"I 'ave not 'eard of either guns nor Americans, Monsieur Warren, and I grow tired of your fantasies! You are now my prisoner! Come wiz me!"
As swords and menacing expressions were quickly raised, and the purple tennis ball was no longer glowing (Warren thought that may have served as a distraction), Warren decided to allow himself to be captured. But just for now, he thought.


****


In the manager's office, Jennie found herself finding Skylar's story rather believable. "Yes, I guess Warren hasn't been around here for a couple of days, come to think of it. And you know, the other night it seemed as though he was there... and then he wasn't... but I had eaten a rather feisty curry that day, and I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me. So why do you need my help exactly?"
"We need to know the exact time and date you saw Warren disappear, so we can try and follow him through time, Jennie!" Skylar responded enthusiastically.
"Oh, ok." Jennie replied. "Well, it was three days ago at nine, nine fifty-seven or so I guess. But hang on just a second. Why don't you just go back in time a bit more and follow Warren around for a bit, see who gave him this Time Bender thing, and take it off him before he uses it?"
"Oh, Jennie, if only it were that simple." Skylar sighed. Behind him, his acolyes also sighed. (Not because it was particularly worrisome but because in most societies when the person who can cause you pain, humiliation, and demotion sighs at something, you find it worrisome too.) "But due to the unique nature of the Time Bender and its powers, it can only ever exist in one place. If we went back to before Warren got the Bender, all we would see is a homeless man going about his business. However, somewhere out there in the space-time continuum, a second Warren exists, with the Time Bender throwing him around time as it sees fit. It's like the ring of Mordor, only it has powers that actually make sense."
"Ah, I see now." Jennie replied. "Well, good luck finding Warren - that is, the Warren you're looking for!"
"BACK TO THE OFFICE!" Skylar shouted, and a moment later he and his acolytes disappeared.


What was : : What will be