B.T.V. -- Session 16 Prologue: A Brief Presentation of Time

Reading was less a pastime and more a way of noting the passage of time. Solitary as he was in the watchtower, there were only so many things he could apply his thought toward. That was the way of his self-made incarceration. When all the other things grew stale he could rely on reading.



This book was a compilation of verses. He was fond of the lines he was going over presently:

"Double Agent"

'Where would you rather be?

Anywhere but here

When will the time be right?

Anytime but now

Anywhere... but here Anywhere... but here

'On the edge of sleep, I was drifting for half the night

Anxious and restless, pressed down by the darkness

Bound up and wound up so tight'

So tight...

'So many decisions, a million revisions

Caught between darkness and light...'

Wilderness of mirrors

World of polished steel

Gears and iron chains

Turn the grinding wheel

I run between the shadows

Some are phantoms, some are real

Where would you rather be?

Anywhere but here

When will the time be right?

Anytime but now

Where would you rather be?

The doubt and the fear

I know would all disappear

Anywhere but here

Anywhere but here...

'On the edge of sleep, I heard voices behind the door

The known and the nameless, familiar and faceless

My 'angels' and my 'demons' at war'

At war...

'Which one will lose depends on what I choose

Or maybe which voice I ignore...'

Wilderness of mirrors

Streets of cold desire

My precious sense of honour

Just a shield of rusty wire

I hold against the Chaos

And the cross of 'holy' fire

Where would you rather be? Anywhere but here When will the time be right? Anytime but now Where would you rather be? The doubt and the fear I know would all disappear

Anywhere but here Anywhere but here...

Wilderness of mirrors

So easy to deceive

My precious sense of rightness

Is sometimes so naive

So that which I imagine

Is that which I believe

'On the edge of sleep, I awoke to a sun so bright

Rested and fearless, cheered by your nearness

I knew which direction was right'

Was right...

'The case had been tried by the jury inside

The choice between darkness and light...

The choice between Darkness and Light'

A ringing clang came after he had finished the last lines. He was irritated but at the same moment pleased that the noise hadn’t interrupted the words. He stood and made his way to the observation portal.

There were people in the vault below. One was the woman. Most had been there only a short time before. That was unusual. People didn’t return after such a short period unless there was something askew. He had seen this all beforehand so there should be nobody below – and yet there they were. It might be the old one’s doing. He was a blister. It might have been better if that one had not made his way to the watchtower in the first instance. It was my fault at that point in time. Gaining things meant giving too.

What to do about those below? What were they up to? Talking about the old one. I knew it! Let’s see where it leads.

He motioned at a panel of dials. One lit up red. He positioned his thoughts in the required way. The old one appeared next to the vault and stepped into it. The people already in the vault looked impressed, satisfied and wary.

Wary? They weren’t the last time and that was recently too. What had been changed? It was time to listen and learn and there was the woman to consider as well…