"What did you say your name was?"

"Roger Wilco."

The professor's eyes widened. "As in the one that Vohaul spoke of when he infected the Super Computer?"

"That would be my dad. I'm Roger Jr., actually."

"I know that name. I'm positive of it." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Why did Vohaul want revenge on him?"

"The two have had a long history. My dad had a way of ruining his plans when no one else could."

Professor Lloyd's face lit up. "Ruining his plans, you say? Tell me, Roger, is there any chance that your father survived the takeover? Fled the planet, perhaps?"

"I'm afraid not. He died before the Super Computer was even completed."

The enthusiasm fell out of him. "Then perhaps there is no hope. The Super Computer is learning, you know. I'm afraid that Vohaul will discover a way to spread himself throughout the universe."

"What does he know, exactly?"

"He's in the research stages at the moment. His main interests seem to be mass long-distance data transmission and time travel."

Time travel. It was a thing that man had fantasized about for centuries. But in Vohaul's hands it would be a nightmare.

"If Vohaul succeeds in creating a way to travel through time he may attempt to destroy your father beforre he could cause any trouble. Our only chance is to follow him and possibly bring Roger Wilco to the present where he could finally defeat Vohaul."

"Don't you think that's a bit of a longshot?"

"Roger, my boy, it is. If you have a better idea, then let's hear it."

We both already knew that there was no other option. I nodded knowingly.

"You and Jack Merridew seem to be the leaders of this group. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Then it is you two who will go on the mission. I can give you directions on how to infiltrate his complex and reach the laboratories where the work should be taking place."

"If you already know how, why don't you go?"

The professor sighed. "I'm getting old. I seem to have an illness of some sort, but without access to medical technology I can't diagnose it. I'm not even sure how long I have."

"But you want to send me?"

"You are the best we have. When I met you, Roger, I knew that you could kill if necessary. But you were still rational. That is a rare quality, one that you will need."

What was he talking about? Up until he had arrived, I was nothing but a monster.

Chapter Sixteen

"Ready, Jack?"

"Ready."

"Good. Let's move."

We scrambled out of the manhole and ran to the large buglike ship. After a quick look around, Jack and I climbed into the landing gear compartment. There was no turning back now.

This mission was treated like a special occasion. The prototype time travel chip had been made and tested successfully. Now they would go on their first mission, and Jack and I would follow. We wore new uniforms that we found in an abandoned army base, our hair cut and faces scrubbed. After all, we didn't want anyone to think that the people of the future didn't believe in personal hygiene.

We landed in the Super Computer compound, a gruesome wart that grew in the center of Xenon City. The Sequel Police, which began as an advanced model of droid and eventually were replaced by some humanoid race, had the duty of guarding this place. The sight of them brought back memories of that night, that horrible, unspeakable night.

"Passcodes ready, Roger?"

"Ready." These were courtesy of a policeman who, for whatever reason, fell to his death from the landing bay entrance, a good twenty stories from the ground where we found him. He kept very thorough notes.

Jack reached to a device on his belt and pressed a button. It let out an electrical signal that we discovered would temporarily black out any concious activity of the Sequel Police. Most likely it was a species flaw. We saw them fall to the ground.

Still we ran into the lab as if the floor was crumbling beneath our feet. The chips were simple to install into our old X-30FA laser rifles, the most ridiculous weapons I had ever seen. At least now they would be used for something. Now all we had to do was find out where to go.

"Search the database," I said.

He looked through the log entries on the console in the lab. "We have codes for all known time periods here, Roger. It says they found his coordinates on Magmetheus."

"That's where he was in the Space Quest IV time period."

"Space Quest IV? I don't think you ever told me what he did then. Was he on vacation?"

"No. According to him it was a waste of time," I said as I looked up the code. "Some weird guys had this computer puzzle game that they couldn't figure out, so they made Dad do it for them. Worst puzzles ever, he told me." Finding the code, I punched it into my gun. Jack did the same.

"How's this supposed to work?" he asked.

"I guess we just shoot it at a wall or something."

A movement caught my eye. One of the policemen was regaining conciousness. My instinct told me to shoot. Although making him into a time rip wasn't what I was thinking of, it still served its purpose.

"Let's move!" I shouted, jumping into the shimmering hole.

The sensations that one feels while traveling through time, at least in such an exposed state, are the type one would expect from psychadelic drugs. My five senses were so overwhelmed, so awash in sensations covering all possible ranges of comprehension, that I wondered how I could have lived such a boring life.

It was over in a flash. I landed on my back, all air escaping my lungs. The overcast sky and sound of cheap music told me that I was indeed on Magmetheus. The smell of alcohol told me that I was near the bar where Dad met those aliens who temporarily enslaved him. This time, however, they would never get the chance.

Chapter Seventeen

Jack arrived a few seconds later. He somehow managed to land on his feet, in a clearly more frightened state.

"One of them chased me into the rip," he explained. "It couldn't take the stress. It was collapsing right behind me." Jack swallowed hard before adding, "I almost didn't make it."

I stood up and was about to say something when I saw it.

"Something wrong, Roger?"

I walked right past him and touched the ship. It was still warm from penetrating the planet's atmosphere. Its shape was as familiar to me as the sound of my own name. With exhilaration I read the words on its side.

"The Aluminum Mallard? I'm assuming this was your dad's."

"Yeah." My hand ran over its smooth metal surface. "It was the very first spacecraft he ever called his own."

"It'd also make a good lookout point," Jack said, eyeing the ship and the bar past it.

I nodded. With a combination of skill and quite a bit of luck we scaled the ship and crouched on its slippery surface. At least our boots were coated with a material that would keep us from killing ourselves if we moved.

We peered over to see two Sequel Policemen entering the bar, a building that would have been torn down long ago had Magmetheus not been such a dump.

"Should we follow them in?"

"No," I said. "Killing him with witnesses is more likely to screw up the timeline. They'll bring him out."

True to my words they came back out with Dad. He looked as if he had one too many. That explained why he came so easiy. One of the policemen produced a holodisk that projected Vohaul's image.

"Fry 'em, Jack," I whispered.

"It's not working."

Panic struck me. "What? You don't think they're droids, do you?"

"Probably. I can try a quick way to get them down, but I'll have to jump right down on them." He fiddled with something on his belt and moved to jump.

"Jack, no!"

But he did it. The two policemen fell. I followed Jack down, not sure how long this would last. "You go left and split them up. Mr. Wilco, follow me and do exactly as I say. Let's move!"

Dad and I got around a corner when I heard the policemen shouting. This wasn't good. I had thirty seconds at the most.

"Hey! I wanna know - "

I cut him off by telling him that there was no time to explain. After instructing him to shield his eyes, I fired the gun.

"Jump into the time rip!" I ordered. "Do it [i]now[/i]! If I take the time to explain, we're both parking lot pizza. You'll understand soon." Hopefully, anyway.

I think it was the alcohol that made him go, not my desperate words. "Goodbye, Dad," I whispered as the rip closed. I dropped my gun as soon as the Sequel Policeman arrived. I had done my part. Now I would just leave myself to their mercy.

Chapter Eighteen

As you probably assumed, they didn't kill me.

The droid stopped short at the sight of me. "Name."

"Roger Wilco, Junior."

"You are to be brought to Sludge Vohaul."

"What for?"

"Classified," it answered as its comrade joined us.

"I have terminated the renegade as dictated by mission perameters," the second droid said.

I hid my head in my arms to hide my grief. Jack was dead. First they killed my father, now my best friend. He was dead, gone. Forever.

The will to fight was gone. I didn't resist as they injected me with a solution that made me slip into a strange, uneasy sleep. I could feel myself float and had some bizarre dreams that I instantly forgot. One of them involved being shaken by some strange force. This force turned out to be one of the droids.

I opened my eyes. As soon as things came into focus I could see that I was in a massive chamber. The floor dropped off in front of me, farther down than I cared to know. In this space was a large platform. The massive holographic image of Vohaul's head floated above it.

I had never felt more depressed, more weak or more devoid of hope. I hung my head, only half listening as the droids reported to their master.

"Leave him here, men. I wish to talk with the boy privately."

I never thought I could miss the Sequel Police until they left me alone with this, the murderer of all I cared for.

"So you are the son of Roger Wilco," he said. The motion of his lips matched the audio beautifully, but at the moment I could care less. "I must admit that I am impressed. You must have inherited the intelligence from your mother, as well as an appearance that doesn't make me want to retch. Come now, stand up."

I did so, wearily.

"Don't misunderstand me, Roger. I respected your father for whatever it is that made him able to foil my plans. His death was also most admirable. He was defending your mother."

Those words made me look at that holographic monstrosity with a new sort of fascination. He now seemed less like an evil villain and more like a civilized human being.

"You and I have shared a dream, Roger. We wanted to destroy Xenon. We both saw the sickening state that its people had degraded to. And together, we realized our dream. I infected the Super Computer. But I did far more than that. I let you see those visions, Roger. You knew about what was coming and you kept your silence. You helped destroy Xenon. What do you have to say?"

I thought I was going to be sick.

"Well?"

"I wish I could have apologized to my dad."

"Weakling!" he roared, making everything tremble. "Apologies are useless. You did a great thing, and you and I both know it. Xenon will be better, no matter what the outcome." He chuckled. "It couldn't get much worse."

"So is this why you brought me here? To make me claim responsibility for what I did?"

"Not entirely. I would also like to help you."

That would be the day. "How?" I asked.

"Your mind has so much potential. As far as I can tell, you have inherited the best of both your parents. Used properly it could become the greatest power in the known universe. I would like to teach you how to use your mind to the best of its ability."

I grimaced. "You'd just exploit me."

"I try so hard to reverse the reputation I have. Instead it never leaves! Roger, my life began as an endless string of misunderstandings. No one becomes a villain for no reason, you know."

"Then why did you hate my dad so much?"

"I wanted to be number one," Vohaul said. "He wouldn't let me."

"And you still want to help me?"

"I can no longer do good deeds without suspicion. Perhaps you can do them for me."

This new image of Vohaul stirred sympathy in me. "Okay. I'll do it."

Chapter Nineteen

That son of an orat tricked me.

As soon as I agreed to accept Vohaul's assistance his image vanished and was replaced by a column of light. "Enter the beam," his voice echoed.

I did so and instantly found myself dangling above the ground, a rag doll suspended by an invisible string coming from my chest. I expected to feel enlightenment, but only senseed Vohaul's presence. It was an overwhelming sensation as he surrounded me, probing every part of my mind.

"Foolish, foolish little boy."

That voice was right inside my mind, closer than a whisper in my ear. "What do you want?"

"I expected better, Roger. Even your father wasn't so naive."

"What do you want?" I asked again.

"Simple. I know where your father is. I know that he will return here. As soon as I tell him that you are his son and that I have you here, he will attempt to rescue you by infiltrating the compound."

"And he'll succeed."

"You haven't seen the new security systems. He has no chance of survival."

There was nothing to hope for here. With no way to fight and no guarantee of rescue, hope was nothing more than foolish.

I remained suspended in the beam for some unknown period of time. Gradually my mind began to drift from my body, becoming its own independent self. Whether it wsa the lack of sensory stimulation or something that Vohaul unknowingly provided me with I'll never know. All I know for certain is that I began to hear more. What first began as an unintelligible whisper grew until I heard another voice.

"Attempt to apprehend Roger Wilco in the Galaxy Galleria, Space Quest 10, has failed. He has escaped in one of our time pods. Request for pickup."

"Denied," Vohaul answered.

Space Quest 10? What was he doing there? I was positive that I had sent Dad to this time, on Xenon. Maybe he was stealing pods as a means of finding items he'd need in the upcoming fight. I could only hope that he would come back.

"You were cowardly to send your father into a place where he didn't belong," Vohaul told me with a sort of malignant glee. "I am your problem, Roger, the result of your mistakes. Daddy isn't responsible for saving you."

Chapter Twenty

"Format sequence has begun."

I didn't know how much time had passed. But as soon as I heard that announcement I could sense Vohaul starting to panic. Him? Panicking? I never saw him as being afraid.

Then a new sensation struck me. Imagine, if you will, treading water in a pool when suddenly something grabs your leg and starts to pull you down. It's the best comparison I can think of.

Just as you might struggle if pulled under water, I fought this force with all of my strength. My very conciousness was being dragged out of my body. I wouldn't let go. I was terrified to.

"What are you fighting for?" Vohaul asked. "Who do you have to return to? No family, no friends. . .your companions don't even respect you anymore. They don't need you."

Although I didn't want to admit it to myself, the truth stung at me. Dad was dead. Mom might as well have been dead. Jack was dead. As for the group, the reason why I ever bothered to endure the pains of life, they went to Professor Lloyd the instant they laid eyes on him. He was realistic. That earned him respect. As for me, I was just some deluded fool. I wasn't needed. In fact, I was serving no real purpose. I was a waste.

What was the point? I let go. I was dragged to the bottom of the pool and sucked down the drain.

Chapter Twenty-One

"Format sequence has begun."

I didn't know how much time had passed. But as soon as I heard that announcement I could sense Vohaul starting to panic. Him? Panicking? I never saw him as being afraid.

Then a new sensation struck me. Imagine, if you will, treading water in a pool when suddenly something grabs your leg and starts to pull you down. It's the best comparison I can think of.

Just as you might struggle if pulled under water, I fought this force with all of my strength. My very conciousness was being dragged out of my body. I wouldn't let go. I was terrified to.

"What are you fighting for?" Vohaul asked. "Who do you have to return to? No family, no friends. . .your companions don't even respect you anymore. They don't need you."

Although I didn't want to admit it to myself, the truth stung at me. Dad was dead. Mom might as well have been dead. Jack was dead. As for the group, the reason why I ever bothered to endure the pains of life, they went to Professor Lloyd the instant they laid eyes on him. He was realistic. That earned him respect. As for me, I was just some deluded fool. I wasn't needed. In fact, I was serving no real purpose. I was a waste.

What was the point? I let go. I was dragged to the bottom of the pool and sucked down the drain.

Only a moment later I dropped to the floor. My muscles were weary. Something had happened while I was gone. I stood and looked at my dad, the Roger Wilco I had sent to the future.

The misery I felt before was somehow spirited away by the sight of him. He was so young, almost like back when I was a child. All the warm memories of my youth came back and once again I felt safe and happy.

We left the chamber and stood by the landing bay. It was the first time that Dad was truly inquisitive as he spit out new questions every time I tried answering the first. I sighed. This was no way to start.

"Were Vohaul's words true? Are you really my son?" He peered at me with his head at an angle. "You do look a little like me, though not as good-looking."

Trust me, that's an insult.

I told him about the creation of the Super Computer, the Vohaul virus and how we traveled through time in an attempt to turn it all around.

"You had to go back in time to get me? Why wasn't I available in this time? What happened to me? I don't understand. . ."

My throat tightened at the thought of that night when he died. "I'm sorry. There are some things I wish I could tell you, but I can't." When I saw the look on his face, I added "I know that's not what you want to hear."

A glint appeared in Dad's eye as he said, "Hey, if you're my son. . .who's your mother? My wife? Where is she? Who is she?"

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a holodisk, the only one I could salvage from the house. I held it out in my palm and pressed a button. It crackled briefly before projecting the image of my mother, dressed in an ancient Xenonian outfit at a costume party.

"This is my mother and your wife. Her name was Beatrice, Beatrice Wankmeister." I looked at her young, scarless face and sighed. "She was very beautiful, wasn't she?"

My lack of thinking went unforgiven. "What do you mean, [i]was[/i] very beautiful? What are you saying?"

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Please, I can't tell you any more!" I put the disk away. He couldn't know about that night. He didn't deserve being haunted by that kind of horror.

When I sent him into the time rip this time I was able to say goodbye. It took me everything I had to keep from crying in front of him, which I'm sure he wouldn't have enjoyed or understood. Before I finally broke down he walked into the glistening void, never to be seen again.

"Goodbye, Dad," I repeated. "I'll miss you. . ."

Chapter Twenty-Two

Now the negative force of Vohaul was gone forever. So was the positive force of my father. Balance has been restored to my life, and at that very moment my eyes were opened.

I see a new Xenon, the Xenon that will be reborn. It is a Xenon with color, with art, with people that actually laugh and smile. It is a Xenon that is better than any that has ever existed before. This is the Xenon that Jack and I fought for, the Xenon he died for.

It is a Xenon without me.

Now I stand here, looking out over the city. A terror has been destroyed, a tyranny gone. Life has begun again, the people have rebuilt.

I no longer feel hatred for Vohaul. I saw into his mind just as he saw into mine. The truth is that he was always afraid. He saw his actions as a way to survive. As long as he was in control no one could harm him. He could never control Roger Wilco, and for this he feared him.

I helped destroy Xenon. Then I helped restore it. I am even now. I owe nothing to the people of Xenon and they owe nothing to me. I am free of debt to anyone or anything. My life from this point on is under my control, free of guilt or remorse.

Now the timeline has changed. Roger Wilco knows of his future. What sort of damage had I caused with a few slips of the tongue?

And now here I am with the ability to travel through time here in my hands. I can fulfill the dreams of countless men and women. I can watch historical events. I can alter the past. I am free to do anything and everything that my heart desires, free of debt.

Now I stand here, looking out at a Xenon City that has been reborn, has become greater than it has ever been, a Xenon City that I am not a part of.

Now I see that I have to get out.