Finally they began to notice a change in his vital statistics, pulse, heart rate and finally his skin, his very physical features, that began to show visible signs of his renewed vitality. Since, by agreement, his science was not a topic for conversation, at least not until recent times, no one mentioned the aging effect, even if they had taken note of it. But indeed they had, and once they realized it involved the possibility of time travel, everything began to change. Instead of wanting his science to remain a secret locked inside his mind, he could tell they were attempting to understand it better.

 

For the many years since his retreat into the neutral zone, Niko had been careful to keep the secrets of his discoveries hidden from curious eyes. With the brain power to recall millions of equations stored deep in his gray matter, no one had access to how his quantum discoveries worked. A few could understand the theory in general perhaps, but no one could mimic the results; they didn't know where to start. This guaranteed the secrets of the science remained safely tucked away in his brain alone.

 

But he suspected over the last year or so, however, efforts were being made by the new regime to gain access to that forbidden science, in spite of that being a direct violation of their long agreed upon terms. And it concerned him greatly. It made him reflect more these days about the developments so many years before that led to this very moment.

 

In his youth, as a young engineer and gifted inventor, he once spoke of death rays and wireless electricity, of a world where warmth could be given to every cold home and free energy could power lights in the dark of night to chase away the shadows. What wonderful aspirations he had, what good intent. For him it had been a bright world of discovery, of scientific advancement.

 

But such lofty goals and his talk of such powerful forces of energy had caused many rivals to covet his knowledge, and others to fear his brilliance and his intentions. After all, he was an immigrant born into the dark world of Eastern Europe, which had been spiraling down in the early 20th century into deep political turmoil. A world war was soon raging and neighbors doubted neighbors, many feared the ramifications that that war to end all wars provided, and it wasn't long before government officials decided to pay Niko a visit and inquire about such things as his so-called death ray project.

 

To his credit, and somewhat to theirs as well, a series of meetings between military advisers and Tesla ended better than he expected. He had agreed to aid the government in their war efforts if he could, but time was short for that as Armistice came sooner than later the following year.

 

It was long thereafter that he stumbled upon the greatest of his discoveries and with his new invention he conquered the science of time itself, causing him to realize the knowledge could easily be used not just for the greater good he intended, but for great evil in the wrong hands. Government officials, surprisingly, aware of the horror of war and the price it demands, were in agreement with Tesla's assessment of the dangers of his new science, and so his plan for self-exile began. While they did not understand the science he employed to make his 'between world prison' possible, they accepted it without a lot of question. In those days, the less they knew and understood, the better it was for the world.

 

But his disappearance from the world would have raised questions, and questions could cause others to become curious, which could lead some, perhaps, to seek answers. So to mask the disappearance of such a popular scientist, a plan had to be devised, one that required a stand in, someone who looked a great deal like Tesla and who understood at least the basic principles of engineering, and one who had at least a passing knowledge of science in general. They needed someone who was willing to take Tesla's place in the real world, to assume his identity, to make the world believe he had not gone anywhere but was very much alive and still a part of the natural world.

 

It wasn't an easy task, until an engineer who had long been a fan of Tesla's inventions surfaced and was more than happy to assume the role of his identity. For one it provided an attractive government paycheck and secondly, this particular individual had no surviving family, the war having claimed his only two brothers. Secondly, it provided him the chance to actually assume the identity the famous scientist he had long admired, and a chance to work at a level of science he had only dreamed was possible. Their replacement had been found.

 

Now, nearly a century later, Niko wondered if he had made the right decision to play such a dangerous game. If U.S. government officials had suddenly, and finally decided they wanted to harness the power of his fringe science and conquer the barrier of time itself, then his worst fears would finally become a reality, and from a source he did not expect. On the verge of paranoia one day, he decided it was time to test those growing suspicions. Were they founded in truth, or had his isolation from the real world finally caught up with him and caused him to begin to imagine things?

 

His chance to find out started the following day, early in the morning in fact, when a Dr. Immel Heinstadt had walked into his chamber unannounced. Along with him was Robert Sorenson, his primary DARPA contact over the last year or so, a man Niko certainly did not trust.

 

"Niko, hope all is well. Dr. Heinstadt is with me again today with a few more questions that surfaced after your last visit together. I trust we aren't intruding?"

 

"Hello Bob," Niko replied without looking up from the laptop computer on his work table. "As a matter of fact, I don't really feel like talking today."

 

Looking only slightly confused, Sorenson continued.

 

"Well, we really need your advice Doctor. Are you not feeling well?"

 

"No, Bob, I feel good. But you know I have been in this chamber for a long time and I have answered many, many questions for you and Dr. Heinstadt and Dr. Andrews and a few others. But I seem to be on someone's bad list because I am not getting what I want Bob. I give you what you want and I am not getting what I want."

 

 "Well Bob...what is it you need?. All you have to do is ask and if it’s possible..."