The next morning, Rael's steps echoed through the quiet campus of the University of New Albion. Sunlight cut through leafless trees, and students shuffled past him, lost in their own concerns—exams, crushes, future dreams. None of them knew the clock was ticking toward extinction.
Rael headed straight to the engineering faculty. His system's interface hovered beside his vision, pulsing with a soft blue glow.
[Daily Mission Active: Recruit a Trustworthy Engineer] [Time Remaining: 10 hours 43 minutes]
He remembered her clearly: Dr. Avery Quinn, once a brilliant robotics engineer, now just a teaching assistant finishing her postdoc. In the old timeline, she'd been recruited far too late, when the war had already turned.
This time, he would bring her in early.
Rael slipped into the side entrance of the lab building and walked to Room C207, where students tinkered with drones, circuits, and simulation screens. At the far end, a young woman crouched over a robotic arm that twitched and whirred.
"Avery Quinn," he called, voice firm.
She didn't look up. "That's me. And I'm busy."
Rael smirked. Same as before.
"I have a proposal. One that involves solving energy loss in magnetic feedback loops using multi-phase current inversion."
That got her attention.
She stood up slowly, eyes narrowing. "That's not in any academic paper. Who are you?"
"Someone who needs your brain," Rael said. "And who's going to change the world."
She folded her arms. "Are you with the Defense Research Board?"
"No. I'm independent."
"I don't work for startups."
"You've never heard of my project."
He handed her a sealed flash drive. "Plug this into an air-gapped device. You'll understand."
Her suspicion deepened, but curiosity won. She walked to a locked cabinet, pulled out a separate laptop, and plugged in the drive. Lines of code appeared, then schematics—Processor technology six years ahead of anything on Earth.
Her mouth opened slightly. "This... isn't theoretical. This is manufactured."
Rael nodded. "And that's just the beginning."
Avery looked up. "If you stole this—"
"I didn't. Let's just say I got it from a timeline that doesn't exist anymore."
She blinked. "You're insane."
Rael stepped closer. "In five years, the world as you know it will end. Aliens. War. Collapse. Billions will die. You want proof? I'll show you more. But I need your answer now. Help me stop it."
She stared at him, caught between reason and intuition.
Then:
"Okay," she said. "I'll listen."
[Mission Complete: Recruit a Trustworthy Engineer] [Reward Unlocked: Basic Base Schematic – Tier 0 Workshop]
Rael's HUD pinged with new blueprints. A minimalist layout of a subterranean base flashed in his mind.
[New Passive Skill: Engineering Coordination Lv.1 acquired]
He breathed out. One step closer.
Later that evening, Rael and Avery sat in a quiet rooftop diner overlooking the city. Neon lights flickered below, the sky painted in shades of pink and orange.
"You know I should report you," she said casually, sipping her tea.
"You won't."
She glanced at him. "Why?"
"Because part of you already knows I'm telling the truth."
Silence fell between them. Then she asked, "What do you need me to build first?"
Rael pulled out a printed list.
"A Tier 0 workshop. Off-grid. Secluded. You'll get funding, materials, and full freedom. We'll start with prototypes for power generators and drone platforms."
She examined the list. "And then?"
"Then we start building a future Earth can actually defend."
Elsewhere, deep in orbit, the cloaked alien drone pulsed again.
Subject RAEL KESSLER has begun Phase One.
In the dark hall of the Varkel swarm-ship, a second figure stirred.
Acceleration authorized. Send Scout-Class Harbinger to Earth.
The swarm was watching. And moving.