Fired

"Elevation 17 degrees, angle 46 degrees!"

I quickly cycled the wheels around with my arms, moving the cannon around, while my legs moved the other paddles to lower the cannon quickly. Once it was at the designated angle and elevation, I pulled the firing lever.

I awaited the loud booming noise of the cannon firing.

Nothing happened.

I tried pulling the lever a few more times, but there was a lack of boom.

"Cannon malfunction!"

"Negative, cannon is at perfect angle for correct purpose!"

I was confused, before I realised the voice giving orders wasn't the radio, but the saboteur.

Dr. Kangles And Professor Interspion

The two of them had been thrown out of almost every scientific group in the world, given their slightly different but basically similar theories about time travel, and they were forced to share resources while working independently.

Across the years, they had an agreement that once one of them had cracked it, the first trip had to be to go back and tell the other to stop bothering at the point the other was on the right track.

Dr. Kangles instead made his first trip to kill baby Professor Interspion.

Where he was killed by troops of World Emperor Interspion.

On The Trail

I looked at the file.

"I know him, and I know how he thinks, how he acts. He's not going to waste his time, everything he did in the six months he was holed up here, it will be important to find out where he went next.

So, he was studying French, scuba diving, and the SS President Coolidge. So clearly, he's going to Vanuatu."

"But doesn't he know you're after him, so wouldn't he throw you off the trail?"

He stared at me.

"Do you want a free trip to Vanuatu or not?"

It was lovely, to be fair.

Prophecy Problems

There were two problems with the prophecy. One was that for all its detail about the name, appearance, and skills of the one destined to overthrow the tyrannical King Ciker and usher in a new government, it lacked a timeframe or date.

The second problem was that everyone knew of the prophecy, and thus that name was given to every child that vaguely fit the description, most of whom grew up to die storming the castle.

The fact the prophecy was completely untrue wasn't a problem as much as it was the point, that's why King Ciker had it made.

Legacy Layout

Log in.

"Hi! We've moved your account over to the new layout!"

Bring down options menu, click on revert.

"Taking you back to the legacy layout, but we're transitioning accounts over!"

Do my business. Log off.

Log in.

"Hi! We've moved your account over to the new layout!"

Options, revert.

"Are you sure?"

Yes.

"Taking you back to legacy layout!"

Do business. Log off.

Log in.

"Hello!"

Options. Stare. Help.

"What's the problem?"

Type in legacy layout.

"No results found!"

Close account.

"Can we ask why?"

Type in legacy layout.

Data shows legacy layout so bad still driving people away.

Unhuman Nature

The Golem sat, passive in a way only a being that was technically a thing could be.

The Priest railed and shouted at me, supposedly, but really, I knew, he was yelling for the benefit of those waiting outside.

His issues with the Golem were threefold.

Its 'immorality' I easily overruled, given the Priest's god was the origin of the magic.

Its 'being against nature', that was easy one, given we were in an unnatural building.

Its 'dangerous nature', I laughed off. To prove my point, I ordered it to kill the Priest.

I didn't know it'd actually do it.

The Bug Is The Feature

The mission was important, but it needed plausible deniability. If the target got even a whiff of the movement to oust him by any means necessary, he could retaliate against those planning to remove him, since they were under him in the power structure.

So there were middlemen and a lack of communication between the two ends of the plan.

Thus, it's no surprise that the cheaply hired bagmen managed to put the bugs in the neighbouring apartment from the target.

What is a surprise is that the target's choice of affair was so close to home, literally and figuratively.