The Anonymous Gift

By Eric Marcarelli

On July 4, 1826 both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died exactly fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Some people call this event a great coincidence of history. Others claim coincidences don’t exist.

***

"Is the final confirmation in place for the mission?"

Cornelius looked up the blinking terminal, then glanced over to Hilton who gave a nod.

"It is," he typed, paused for a second, then added, "is the disruption network ready yet?"

"Since about 30 minutes ago," was the reply.

"When will we have access?" asked Cornelius.

"By this evening the terminal in the lab should be activated."

As Cornelius began to type a reply Hilton dashed from the slit of a window and whispered something in his ear. Cornelius replied in an equally low voice, hit a button on the top right of the keyboard, and both men dashed to the window just as the door was blown off its hinges and ten officers dressed all in black, armed with automatic weapons burst in. Cornelius and Hilton ran behind a nearby shed, lifted a board off a box, and pulled a lever. The roof of the building they had just exited collapsed.

"Well, that takes care of them," said Hilton in a heavy voice.

"Let’s get to the lab before reinforcements come," said Cornelius.

In 2078 the government does not take kindly to such illegal communication when it is detected. In fact, the government does not take kindly to much lately.

***

Cornelius walked through town. The streets were dirty and congested. People moved among each other like ants in a colony. There was an overriding feeling of silence; an artificial state of calm brought on by years of suspicion and fear. People passed among each other, avoiding eye contact, avoiding any contact at all. The buildings in this part of town were ragged and worn; the few artistic designs around the windows and roofs stood out, relics of an earlier time before the regulations on architecture.

A loud speaker said, "Safety first! Report all dangerous activity to your building’s Directory of Safety immediately!"

Cornelius and Hilton entered one of the frayed buildings and held out their right hands to be scanned. Their implanted chips were recognized and the lock was opened. They entered.

The building was an ancient Victorian that had been partitioned into numerous small apartments. On their way down the hall they passed apartment doorways. None had doors that could be closed; after all, if you have nothing to hide why should the door be closed?

"Cornelius," called a voice from one of the rooms.

Mrs. Shays, a middle aged women walked into the hallway.

"I heard on the TV today that whistling is bad for your teeth," she said with a concerned look.

"Oh?" replied Cornelius.

"I sometimes hear you whistling. Just thought you should know that," she said.

"Thanks," said Cornelius as he turned and continued down the hall.

Inside Cornelius’s room the TV was already turned on. On the screen George Washington was finishing a speech in which he motivated the fledgling nation to fight against domestic insecurities and to turn British sympathizers in to the authorities, "…we shall overcome this great threat and go on to be the greatest empire the world has ever known. Victory or death!"

Hilton turned the TV up to mask their sound as they slid a dingy rug from behind the bed in the corner and pulled up the floor boards to reveal a trap door. They climbed down, replacing the boards from below, and grabbed a small flashlight. The tunnel was dug out of the ground, and it led into the ruins of an old sewer which had been left unused after parts collapsed nearly a century before. Cornelius had meticulously dug for months to connect this tunnel to the larger sewer room.

This room was used as a lab. It had taken the Grandsons of Liberty nearly eight years, but piece by piece they had stolen all the parts necessary to assemble a time machine.

Time travel was nothing new to the populous. Since the late 2040s when the government unveiled its first time travel device, pictures from historical periods had become common place. But to travel through time was dangerous, and only the most highly controlled missions were conducted by government officials. Now that they had a time machine, the Grandsons of Liberty were going to do what none had done before: travel back in time and bring two great minds forward. With their insight and help, along with the infiltration of the State’s computer networks and the ability to change the content going to nearly all TVs in the country, the resistance movement would finally be able to topple the government and bring liberty back to the masses.

Today was the big day, the culmination of years of work by dozens of people. Cornelius was going back to 1826 to retrieve Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. In order to stay synced with the world when he returned, a time traveler must return to a date exactly as far in the future as the time he intends to stay in the past. He had one month to convince the two founders that their country needed them again.

Cornelius and Hilton spent several hours checking outputs of the machine and communicating with other members of the Grandsons of Liberty. Finally, with tools and plans packed, donned in period clothing, Cornelius climbed into the machine and set the date to 1826. Hilton wished him luck, covered the machine with a radiation shield, and it disappeared.

***

As planned Cornelius the machine arrived in a small clearing in the woods. According to their best estimates, the area would not be settled for anther 16 years. It was a perfect place to conceal the machine for a month. Cornelius gathered his things into a bag and set off to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s estate.

It was a warm June morning, and Cornelius marveled at his surrounding. The air was so clean, the streams so crisp. He had seen pictures of forests many times, but had never previously encountered more than three trees growing together. Along the trail Cornelius met a man carrying a rifle and walking beside a horse packed down with goods to sell in town. Cornelius wondered at him; how this was all so normal. There was no one to watch him, no one to tell him what he could and couldn’t buy or sell. Nothing to protect him other than his gun and his own intelligence. This man, thought Cornelius, was free.

After about an hour he arrived at Monticello, and was escorted to the gardens where Jefferson was overlooking his tomato patch.

"Mr. Jefferson," he said.

"Good day," was the reply.

"My name is Cornelius," he paused for a second, "and I am visiting from the year 2078."

There was a moment of silence before Jefferson turned with a face that was a mix of confusion, amusement, and annoyance. Before Jefferson was able to reply, Cornelius pulled a small pocket computer from his coat and handed it to the founder. Jefferson’s expression turned to bewilderment.

"Let’s take this into my study," he said.

***

"I knew federalism would be the destruction of this great confederation," said Jefferson with dismay after several hours of listening to Cornelius, with occasional interruptions for questions. Cornelius had practiced this moment for years. He outlined 300 years of history, leaving out no major turn or development up until the rise of totalitarianism.

"But the worst part of all," said Cornelius, "is the state of the people. They do not value liberty. All things that can be harmful to anyone are outlawed. All people must believe and do the will of the State. Perhaps some realize now what their apathy has gotten them, but most of this sentiment has come too late. If they stick their head up too far, the men with guns will come and blow it off."

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed, from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants," said Jefferson, contemplatively.

"That is where my organization comes in," said Cornelius. "We call ourselves the Grandsons of Liberty. We communicate by means of encrypted and secret computer networks and fight against the State at any chance we get. We finally have things in place for the death blow, and we need your help. Once we are able to gain control of the communication channels, we want you—the author of the declaration of independence—to fill them. With your insight and values we will restore liberty in this land once more."

"Me alone?" asked Jefferson.

"We would like Mr. Adams as well," replied Cornelius.

"Why us? Why now?" asked Jefferson.

"Playing with time in a dangerous thing," said Cornelius. "We had to make sure we didn’t disrupt anything by taking someone out of a history changing situation. We intend to bring you back of course, but there is always the chance of failure. In our analysis of history, none of the other founders offered us as much hope as the two of you do at this point in time."

"I see," said Jefferson.

"Let me tell you, Mr. Jefferson, that being here has filled my heart with such joy. I feel guilty asking you to leave it," said Cornelius.

"If we can bring some of this greatness back to your time, I shall think it all worth it in the end. Besides, it is a blessing to me to know what I do now of the future; not just the bad but the good also! The progress of technology, the triumph of mankind over the laws of nature," said Jefferson. "When shall we depart?"

"I had to take into account the possibility of a tough conversion," said Cornelius. "I allowed us a month. We will leave on the forth of July."

"I will write Mr. Adams at once," said Jefferson.

Within a week Adams arrived, and the three spent the month discussing strategies and making plans. When the day arrived they all piled into the time machine and zapped back to 2078.

***

Slowly the lab came into focus around them, but something was terribly wrong. Cornelius was startled to see the lab ruined, and Hilton’s body face down in a puddle of dried blood.

"It’s not safe here," said Cornelius.

"No, indeed it isn’t," said an authoritarian voice coming out of the tunnel.

Three armed officers, dressed entirely in black uniforms that even covered their eyes took aim and demanded their surrender. Cornelius drew his weapon and sprayed a round. Two of the officers fell, the third took cover and opened fire. Cornelius yelled at Jefferson and Adams to get back in the machine. Both dashed backwards, but Adams was hit and fell dead.

As bullets rained on the machine Cornelius scrambled to get to any time period they could, and ended up transporting to 1893. Upon their arrival Cornelius relized they did not have enough power left for the return trip. It would not be possible to generate the amount of electricity they needed for 130 more years, explained Cornelius.

"Perhaps we can affect some change from the 1890s," said Jefferson.

"What! Change things now? There’s a reason the government doesn’t physically change history... One wrong move and millions of people will no longer be born. It’s not worth the risk to even the most power hungry fools," said Cornelius.

"Would you do nothing then? Would you live here in peace while you know the future is doomed?" asked Jefferson.

Cornelius contemplated. He knew that by dramatically changing the past he would likely write himself out of existence. The thought frightened him in a way bullets never could, but in the end he knew what he had to do.

"After bringing you here, after coming so far, after Adams…" said Cornelius, "we have no choice. We must do what can from here."

***

Cornelius and Jefferson had no money, but desperately needed a place to live. They wandered down the streets to the slums inhabited by recent immigrants. They walked through the streets covered in waste, and observed the filth of poverty. In much the same way as themselves, those in search of a better life had been trapped here, doomed to live wretched lives in worn down houses. Cornelius was shocked to feel homesick for his own room and his own bed.

All day Cornelius worked out on the docks moving crates while Jefferson stayed in their one room apartment and wrote. At night they discussed the future and all that would happen. They decided that the entire collapse into totalitarianism was built upon World War I. Without United States involvement the allies could not win such a major victory and Germany would not fall into the conditions that led to the rise of the Nazi party. By avoiding World War II, the rise of the Soviet Union as a military power would never occur, thus preventing the Cold War, the various satellite wars, and the spread of communism. Soviet involvement in the Middle East would not take place, and there would be no counter action by the United States. Cornelius looked ahead at the century of peace they were crafting. He was the architect of world peace and prosperity, and no one would ever know he existed. Not even he would ever live in the world he was framing.

Jefferson wrote three books. The first was aimed at bringing the population back to the ideals of freedom he saw waning, the second was a collection of remarkably accurate "predictions" which included advice for avoiding the disaster of World War I. And the third, to be published only if they failed to prevent World War I, was a book aimed at preventing the spread of Nazism and World War II. It took Jefferson two months to find a publisher, but finally one night Cornelius and Jefferson gathered in front of the lamp to open a tightly sealed envelope.

"This is it," said Cornelius. He knew that if the books were to be successful, Jefferson’s publishing confirmation would be enough to undo his existence.

Jefferson opened it, and read without saying a word.

Cornelius began to fade. He felt lighter and lighter, becoming ever more transparent until he was gone.

***

Hilton opened the door and walked into his apartment. He saw a message flashing on the computer screen. Before checking it he walked to the large, clear windows and glanced out across the landscape. The golden sun was setting behind the mountains, casting rays that lit up the forest for as far as the eye could see.