“It is time,” John said to his long time friend and brother in arms while he placed a hand on the man’s shoulder.
Tyler nodded and smiled faintly. He was about to embark on a journey that would take him back to the past, knowing the outcome. Never had he forgotten what Skynet had shown him, the last few seconds of his life. He was ready to die for the past, the present and the future. It would be no different from the last time.
John lead him into a big room, the size of a high school gym. In the center of it was a huge platform surrounded by steel bent pillars. He knew that it was the time displacement device, Skynet’s last toy and quite possibly the most dangerous one as of yet. It had sent infiltration units back in time to win the battle for the future in the past, in a final desperate attempt to decide the battle in its favor.
Everybody in the room became quiet and eyed him closely. Did they pity him? Or were they relieved to see him go? Even he knew that he had become greatly destabilized over the years, that he had become a danger to others because of the unpredictability of the nanoattrioids. Unlike the first infection that had left him wondering about his sanity, the second infection had pushed him over the edge.
He had learned to control it for the most part, just like he had learned to use his tin man’s arm, but at any given moment he could suffer from tremendous headaches, the sign of the machine. They took over, turned him into one of them, leaving a trail of death and destruction behind.
“So are you going to be stupid and not tell her?” John quipped, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder.
“Tell her what?” He asked innocently, knowing what John was referring to but not wanting to take the bait.
“You’re obnoxious to a fault, Devlin… Just don’t be like him,” John said, becoming serious all of a sudden.
“That’ll be my decision to make, C. Whatever I decide, it will be in everybody’s best interest,” he sighed.
“Except yours,” John smiled sadly.
“My best interest is not important, C. It is and will always be subjective to the future.”

John inspected the panels and the instruments while Tyler undressed himself. There was no room for false shame in this time and age and real privacy was scarce but his friend was the record holder for most scars and John didn’t want to be rude.
He checked if the correct date had been entered, then asked the Private closest to him to double-check. If any of the chosen ones was sent to the wrong time, the consequences for the future could be disastrous.
This morning he had briefed Tyler of his mission in the past, for as far as it had not already been clear to him. Now he kept to idle chit-chat to keep his mind from thinking about the inevitable moment to come. Tyler had become a liability, too dangerous to be kept in this time, but he was still one of his best fighters if he wasn’t in one of his extremely violent fits of insanity.
Suddenly Tyler was standing next to him and he gulped when he once again how much the man was built like one of Skynet’s killing machines. For the last time his hulking form casted its shadow over him and over the instrument panels.
“We’re ready, sir,” one of the technicians called from another desk with instruments.
John took a deep breath and managed to smile faintly: “I guess this is it, Devlin,” he said with a voice that sounded more confident than he actually was.
For the past week he had started to call his friend by his last name to widen the distance. Tyler nodded and smiled crookedly: “This is it, C. Be safe, Connor,” he said while he extended his hand in friendship.
“Be safe, Devlin,” he said firmly while he shook Tyler’s hand.

Tyler walked up to the center of the platform, sat on his heels and pressed his knuckles firmly to the floor. He couldn’t tell why but for some reason it felt like he should assume this position. Like something in the back of his mind had told him this was the right thing to do.
“Initiate Time Displacement Sequence,” one of the technicians ordered.
He heard John announce: “Countdown from ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One… Time Displacement Sequence started.”
The bent pillars began to flash and spark. Electric arcs spread between the pillars, slowly creating a circular force field around him. It solidified and turned into a silver metallic ball. He could still see the world he would leave behind, but it was fading.
Suddenly his stomach became logged in his throat when the ball fell through the platform floor into total darkness at a dazzling speed.

Chapter 25: Death Is Not The Worst That Can Happen To Men

Chapter Index - Death Is Not The Worst That Can Happen To Men