Disclaimer:
The Tomorrow People and all characters thereof are the
creation of Roger Price and copyright Thames TV.
Sapphire & Steel and all characters thereof are the
creation of P. J. Hammond and copyright ITC.
Time is the creation of the universe, copyright
uncertain. :)
Author's Note:
This is the prequel to "Moving". One day, I'll learn
to write chapters in order. :)
The creature had a particular place in the Universe that it liked to feed from. It cared nothing for names, but if it had, it might have known that the inhabitants called it the Milky Way. What it did know, and was now trying to do something about, was that it was populated with telepaths. Because of this, feeding grounds were becoming more and more scarce. In time, there would be none at all.
Simply eating in the earlier timezones only was not an option. Too much activity would draw the attention of the time guardians or, worse, Time Agents. Feeding had be selective, and not too much, too quickly, in any one place and time. Even so, they were often repelled. Even switching to other galaxies was not much of an option. The telepaths would eventually unite together against their common enemies and seal off the time corridor forever. At least, into their future.
The creature stopped. It had found what it was looking for: a mix of the old and the new - in this case, an old structure and a new sub-species of humanoid. It wasn't much, but it was just enough, largely because these humanoids were telepaths. Not just any sub-species of telepath, either: the specific sub-species which would be instrumental in the closing of this galaxy to feeding and a part of events leading up to the sealing off of the corridor.
The sub-species was new, too young to have evolved any defences against something as powerful as itself. A change now would not only prevent the events that were to follow, but would also cause a galactic war, leaving even more worlds utterly vulnerable to the occupants of the time corridor. Already, it could see the walls keeping the two existences seperate begin to thin and crumble. Soon it would cross the bridge into reality and devour the telepaths that were to have been its bane.
The moment arrived. The creature moved quickly, between the planes of existence, unaware that its crossing had been observed by others. As this was a powerful entity, two agents were assigned to deal with it.
The creature burst into the Lab. The life-forms tried to teleport out, but it blocked any such transfer. They began to run, and it suspended time around them, playing with them. Their forms becoming mere shadows. The machine tried to do something, so the creature disabled its higher functions and devoured its power source, sensing the food value of this enormously complex device.
It rippled, slightly, still disoriented from traversing the bridge. It moved through the Lab, sensing no attack, but remaining wary. It drifted into the disused underground tunnel, sensing prey - much more prey - nearby. It had severely weakened itself, by supressing the telepaths - much more than it had anticipated. It was vulnerable, and it knew it. It needed to restore itself, before any Agents got here. It knew it always took them time. It always did. Sometimes hours, sometimes months. It needed to be ready.
Two figures materialised in the Lab. One a woman, the other a man. Both dressed in business suits. They looked at the scene around them and sent out a telepathic request. Moments later, a third man, also in a suit, appeared. They stayed back, sensing the creature but aware that it had not yet sensed them. Its essence was leaking so badly, it practically glowed in their minds. Another being - this one human - entered the room. The three moved deeper into the shadows, to see who this new person was, very much aware of the danger any human was in, here.
The person moved towards the sillouetted figures, then stopped and turned towards them, presumably having heard them. Silver grinned and snapped his fingers. The lights went on throughout the Lab, momentarily blinding them.
Last update: 04 April 2003