"You will, Jacob," Carl said.
"No, not likely," Jacob said, "You see, there is a group of people, a group known as the Gatekeepers, who have hunted us for the last 275 years. They've been trying to kill us because in their world, their reality, Trinity's message to you was to be the end. We were to fade in time and only be remembered by the words printed on the walls in the hallway. We have done our part for history, and now they are trying to...to remove us from this and any other time. We had a place in the 1750s; we no longer do, outside of that time. We are without a time now. And if we ever leave this house and go into the real world, they will find us, and next time, they will most likely kill us." Jacob looked at Trinity. "And I, for one, could not deal with such a loss." He then turned to Keara. "For next time, if it is one of us, it will be all of us."
December 22, 2016
On this day, the universe would once again change the course of their lives.
In the morning, Carl and Maria left the estate to do the last of the Christmas shopping in Santa Cruz. Two housekeepers went with them. Trinity, Keara, and Jacob said their goodbyes, turned, and made their way back into the house as the large wooden gates closed behind them.
The house was filled with the magic of Christmas. Trinity walked down the halls and started to relive all of her childhood memories of Christmas back home in Calgary, Alberta. The snow would fall outside the windows and as Christmas Eve came, the family would sit around the tree and fireplace, opening gifts. To Trinity it was a happy, simpler time. Those days were long gone now. To Maria and Carl, they were just a few years ago, but to Trinity it felt like a lifetime.
..."I want to go to Santa Cruz. To go shopping. I want to buy gifts for you, Keara, and my mom and dad. I need to get out of this house. I want to drive. I want to learn to drive again."
"Trinity, I don't think that is the best option right now. We first need to figure out a way to make sure that no one will find us."
"I'm tired of hiding, Jacob! We'll be careful! And if you won't take me...I will figure out my own...way to get there!"
..."Where are you going?" asked Jacob.
"Washroom..."
The young women walked up to the double sliding doors, which slid open. In the corner, over the cashier, was a small video surveillance camera. It captured every movement the two young women made...
Days later to the three time travelers, this information would be uploaded to a mainframe computer that had facial-recognition software. These images were stored away and would be forgotten--until three hundred years later, when the files would suddenly show up on the Gatekeepers' master supercomputer. A computer that had only one purpose: to compare stored history to new history as it evolved. A system that looked at known history to change history...
"My master, once again we have a shift in the timeline. The last set of backup history files do not match the present set. We have recorded the Origin on the island of La Palma but now in the year 2016.
Time had no release to him or any of his other followers; just weeks earlier, he had ordered the murders of Trinity, Jacob, Keara, and Tom, who were then living on La Palma in 1882...
~~~
Crossing the Rubicon III:
The Art of War
By R C Richter
As the front cover says, "Every Journey Comes to an End..." But there has never been a journey such as this one. The journey had been started just a few years ago, by a group of teenagers. You may have learned about that in the first books of the series. But hundreds of years have gone by...What?!
Check out my review of the first book, there were then two different stories as the group split, the second Rubicon and then the story of Andy, who left the main group to go off on this own... I highly recommend the entire series which centers on time travel and presents to readers a world of history in each book... In fact, negotiations are underway to produce the series for television! Very Cool! It should be an amazing historical plus technological adventure!
In this final book, the last three of the original group have returned home. I won't attempt to explain where that is, given the movement between years and locations. And readers will have somewhat of a recap in the early part of The Art of War. One caution for this last book, new readers may find it tedious because of the homecoming, the sharing of where/when they've been since they originally left home, plus the explanation of the danger the remaining group is now in. But of course it would happen exactly like that when your children came home and had lived in so many different time periods, they couldn't really determine exactly how old they were!
On the other hand, the thrilling action that soon starts is dramatic, far-reaching, with a futuristic vision that is, regrettably, all too plausible... Let me explain...
With ever-increasing computer power and technological advances, by the year 2337, the world has changed dramatically. Those with money have gained complete control and just a few families are living as royalty. All others, people like you and me, have nothing, slaves to the families in every way possible...
Dave looked at Trinity. "Your sunrises and sunsets only exist in spirit. The people of 2337 no longer look at them with hope for a new day. The Gatekeepers are just that: gatekeepers to time. Nothing more. They are controlled by a group of twelve families that own everything. And I mean everything. They are God! No one has anything of his own. Nothing! In 2337, there are only nine hundred million people. The rest have been exterminated. Killed off. Those born in this time are only there to serve the twelve ruling families, or, as they call themselves, houses..."
During all those years leading up to this particular year, 2337, all people were monitored so closely that every piece of information has been collected and ultimately held within a supercomputer mainframe, under the control of an army called Gatekeepers whose job is to watch history and prevent anything that would affect the lives of the world's super-royalty...
From the very first, Trinity had taken on the job of recording their trip/travels and had soon figured out how to ensure that her records became available to present time people. Those teenagers who started out on an adventure years ago, using time travel for the first time, had since been called by historians, "The Origin" of time travel and had soon become problems for the Gatekeepers...Time travel must also be totally controlled...
Even though they were home, one video that had been taken during a shopping trip, had soon found its way to the computers that routinely compared historical updates. They not only now knew that The Origin" was alive but where they were!
A poignant story about Keara, who had lost her husband in an earlier attack by the Gatekeepers in the 1800s had been devastated and was seeking revenge...until she thought of a much more enjoyable way to help get over her loss... Time manipulation can be very helpful for special needs...
There really was no choice...They would never be able to live the rest of their lives as long as the Gatekeepers hunted them... But this time, they were no longer teenagers...and this time they would have help...
But traveling through time was not controlled by anybody. There was historical knowledge available and approximations were close, but, still, any plan would only be as good as being able to travel across time at the exact right times...Would they be able to do it? If not, the future for people of earth would continue to be hopeless. It was Trinity who could not accept that they would not try to change the future...no matter what...
In this final book, the last three of the original group have returned home. I won't attempt to explain where that is, given the movement between years and locations. And readers will have somewhat of a recap in the early part of The Art of War. One caution for this last book, new readers may find it tedious because of the homecoming, the sharing of where/when they've been since they originally left home, plus the explanation of the danger the remaining group is now in. But of course it would happen exactly like that when your children came home and had lived in so many different time periods, they couldn't really determine exactly how old they were!
On the other hand, the thrilling action that soon starts is dramatic, far-reaching, with a futuristic vision that is, regrettably, all too plausible... Let me explain...
 |
So there, we had it: a plan! We have
found a way to get to the
Gatekeepers in their Andaman
Sea Fortress--right to the
belly of the beast...
~~~
|
Dave looked at Trinity. "Your sunrises and sunsets only exist in spirit. The people of 2337 no longer look at them with hope for a new day. The Gatekeepers are just that: gatekeepers to time. Nothing more. They are controlled by a group of twelve families that own everything. And I mean everything. They are God! No one has anything of his own. Nothing! In 2337, there are only nine hundred million people. The rest have been exterminated. Killed off. Those born in this time are only there to serve the twelve ruling families, or, as they call themselves, houses..."
~~~
During all those years leading up to this particular year, 2337, all people were monitored so closely that every piece of information has been collected and ultimately held within a supercomputer mainframe, under the control of an army called Gatekeepers whose job is to watch history and prevent anything that would affect the lives of the world's super-royalty...
From the very first, Trinity had taken on the job of recording their trip/travels and had soon figured out how to ensure that her records became available to present time people. Those teenagers who started out on an adventure years ago, using time travel for the first time, had since been called by historians, "The Origin" of time travel and had soon become problems for the Gatekeepers...Time travel must also be totally controlled...
Even though they were home, one video that had been taken during a shopping trip, had soon found its way to the computers that routinely compared historical updates. They not only now knew that The Origin" was alive but where they were!
A poignant story about Keara, who had lost her husband in an earlier attack by the Gatekeepers in the 1800s had been devastated and was seeking revenge...until she thought of a much more enjoyable way to help get over her loss... Time manipulation can be very helpful for special needs...
There really was no choice...They would never be able to live the rest of their lives as long as the Gatekeepers hunted them... But this time, they were no longer teenagers...and this time they would have help...
But traveling through time was not controlled by anybody. There was historical knowledge available and approximations were close, but, still, any plan would only be as good as being able to travel across time at the exact right times...Would they be able to do it? If not, the future for people of earth would continue to be hopeless. It was Trinity who could not accept that they would not try to change the future...no matter what...
Noa addressed the group, but she focused more on Trinity and Jacob. "Remember, the second we cross, everyone is a target. There is no room for emotions now. There cannot be any second thoughts. You see someone, you shoot! There are no friends. Only hostile people."
"I like how you simplify it so," Trinity said.
"War is simple, Trinity. Kill or be killed. One of the first rules of
The Art of War."
~~~
An amazing, breathtaking, heartbreaking conclusion to a fantastic trilogy! Don't read this book...start with the first and have a Rubicon read-a-thon! Historical thrills; SciFi Gadgets of all kind...The beginning always must have an ending... If you've already read the earlier books...this has got to be a must-read!
GABixlerReviews
R C Richter was born in 1964 to German parents and resides in Calgary, Alberta Canada, just 45 minutes from the Rocky Mountains where his book Crossing The Rubicon begins.
After graduating from school, RC Richter's first job was as a structural gas plant pipe designer, which only lasted one year before he moved on and pursued his dream of working in the film industry. In 1989 with three of his classmates he started Midnight HWY Film Company. Over the next 11 years, they produced well over 100 national and international TV commercials, music videos and films.
During his time with Midnight, RC won a number of awards for commercial, music video and documentary projects.He also began writing a number of screenplays.
On January 1,2000, RC Richter called it quits once again and now followed his other interest in military off road equipment. This evolved into Environmental Rescue Equipment, where he built special off road firefighting equipment for wildland fires. This further evolved into ERE Logistics which designed and built military emergency bridge systems, based on the company's fleet of all wheel drive trucks.
Over the years RC Richter has traveled extensively, through Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America and South America. Visiting most of the places in Crossing the Rubicon.
In February 2012, on his way to work at the aircraft hangar/shop facility in Southern Alberta, the story of Crossing the Rubicon once again came into play. The first ideas for the book were originally envisioned back in 1992 as a screenplay after exploring the Chungo Caves. Twenty years later, on that trip to the hangar, he made the decision to return to those original notes and write the book.
RC Richter has always believed you have to follow your dreams and never give up. Crossing the Rubicon, shares this important vision from start to end.
After graduating from school, RC Richter's first job was as a structural gas plant pipe designer, which only lasted one year before he moved on and pursued his dream of working in the film industry. In 1989 with three of his classmates he started Midnight HWY Film Company. Over the next 11 years, they produced well over 100 national and international TV commercials, music videos and films.
During his time with Midnight, RC won a number of awards for commercial, music video and documentary projects.He also began writing a number of screenplays.
On January 1,2000, RC Richter called it quits once again and now followed his other interest in military off road equipment. This evolved into Environmental Rescue Equipment, where he built special off road firefighting equipment for wildland fires. This further evolved into ERE Logistics which designed and built military emergency bridge systems, based on the company's fleet of all wheel drive trucks.
Over the years RC Richter has traveled extensively, through Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America and South America. Visiting most of the places in Crossing the Rubicon.
In February 2012, on his way to work at the aircraft hangar/shop facility in Southern Alberta, the story of Crossing the Rubicon once again came into play. The first ideas for the book were originally envisioned back in 1992 as a screenplay after exploring the Chungo Caves. Twenty years later, on that trip to the hangar, he made the decision to return to those original notes and write the book.
RC Richter has always believed you have to follow your dreams and never give up. Crossing the Rubicon, shares this important vision from start to end.
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