THE TEST PLAN

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"I'm clueless."

He stared at me in a dumbfounded way. The thought that he believed me did not cross my mind for once as I was surprised and shocked at his words;

'Who could be behind this?' The survivors had speculated that someone pioneered the disaster, reason why my future-self did not rush on to inform the world powerhouses as a large scale disaster of such nature could not be carried out without adequate affluence.

Although, I knew his words were impulsive, it was a very crucial question at the least and if there truly was someone behind this, things would get rough.

"What the fuck are we doing then?!!!" He yelled out loud with his eyes wide open, gaining everyone's attention with me in the grand spotlight, playing the role of a heartless 'lover'.

"I don't know." I answered honestly as I leaned over the table.

"No no no no no!" he murmured repeatedly like a broken tape and held his head in a dejected manner.

I sighed at the sight of him acting like this. Well, I've been there before, but really, everything feels surreal and it felt as if I've lived this present moment before. What was this feeling? Deja Vu?

"We need to tell everyone!!" He suddenly stood up with the intention of making the news public. I knew he wasn't in his right state of mind, hence, his irrational decision.

"Wait!!" I yanked him back to his seat before he could take a step and glared at him seriously.

"But we need to~"

"Nobody would believe that the world is ending in a few months.... coming from low-lives like us especially!!" I reminded him in a low voice. He seemed to calm down afterwards and sat slowly in a daze.

Seeing that he was lost in his thoughts, I sat down as well and gave him time to recover from the shock.

Silence fell over the table and it wasn't until several minutes passed that he raised his head up and asked;

"So what do we do?" He seemed to be eased a bit judging from his voice.

"I wouldn't be here if I knew what to do." I replied. He stared at me for a short while before lowering his gaze again, thinking of what to do. Realizing the severity of the situation, he must have deemed it unreasonable to argue with me so he could only looked for a way to support. Seeing this, I could only wait in silence and anticipation, hoping he'd come up with an idea.

"Argh!!" he snarled and slammed the table, frustrated at how hard he had been thinking and still with no breakthrough.

I gave no concern to his actions and continued to think on my own. An idea had popped up in my mind earlier. It was quite a straightforward but illusionary idea.

"If I was made to believe my future-self in a certain way, what if I made them believe me that same way as well?" my low voice broke the sentence and he looked up at me in confusion as I similarly averted my gaze from the nothingness that I had been staring at.

"Think with me, Dan..... If my future-self told me things and I believed, wouldn't that apply to others too?" I recounted. He looked surprised at first but was quickly replaced by a slight frown.

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"Dan, of course...with deception. I would fake my appearance with masks and transplants, the exact replica of Prime-scientist Mahaj, a perfect target don't you think?"

"Don't you think you'd be deemed an imposter?" he asked in a worried tone.

"That's... well, I'll have to be careful then."

"You'd need to tell him something only he knows.... a secret of himself perhaps, to make him acknowledge your authenticity too."

"That's the problem....."

"Well.... at least it's something to try." he tried to lighten the mood a bit which actually worked as I felt quite relieved.

Then as if something hit him, he tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"  He didn't say anything and just kept staring at me. I realized soon enough and I tried to speak but he cut me off before I could say anything;

"I know, your future-self is real and not an imposter. The news is enough evidence, Jenkins."

*sigh*

I nodded several times and he chuckled mockingly as he shook his head.

"Oi... that's enough now!" Alas, it only got louder and soon intensified into an annoying laughter.

"Relax..... I was only joking.  You never know when the world might end" he commented within his laughter.

"You...!"

*sigh*

As angry as I was, I was glad that he at least believed me and was supportive, even though he had nothing to lose.

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It's another day, the world was still on the verge of collapsing and I'm still nowhere near saving humanity. I've decided to test 'Operation Camo ' on Mr. Sri, a pretty lame name for a mission I know. Nevertheless, Dan had bought a device that could alter appearances which is a million fold better than latex masks. Although it was labeled a contraband and it could be detected by several security devices, I was still willing to take the risk. Moreover, since it was Mr. Sri, I could just tell him it was a prank and that I was there to thank him for what he had done for me if things went wrong.

"Are you sure about this?"  A deep shaky voice resounded in the vehicle. It was Dan's.

We were both in a bouncy mustard-colored Retro-van driving to our meeting point with our 'test subject'. We had called Mr. Sri earlier and told him to meet us at Gelfi district. Of course, we had utilized the 'Chameneon', the altering device in this scheme and with me knowing Mr. Sri that much, it wasn't much of a sweat.

"I can only try" I was determined to save these people. Even if they smile and carry out evil schemes, I wasn't going to judge them. They were my race, and I wouldn't abandon them.

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Gelfi district was located in the Low-lands, and in a certain place lies Mr. Sri's deepest secret. I wouldn't have known if i hadn't been brought here by himself. It was the only way I could get to meet him without going to the highlands that I knew off. Space-principal Sri had been a 'mister' before in his life, he lived in the slums with his mother in this same district. His mother died when he just got a job and hadn't moved out so she was buried at the district's cemetery. He'd come here every 5th of the month, to pay his respect with a flower.

I got off the van and quickly activated 'CHAMENEON'. In an instant, an old man with no hair on his head appeared in a black tuxedo and a black bow tie and strode casually into a building by the road with a bouquet of flowers in hand.  It was past 6pm and the sky had been painted orange as dusk arrived. I walked into the cemetery and searched for the right grave and soon I found what I was looking for;

 'Ms. Deborah T. Sri

 'A lovely woman with a very big Heart.

Tranquility and harmony,

             may you  find frith  in the

hereafter.'

I put down the flower and followed the religious tradition. I put my fists together leaving the index finger of both hands aligned  to form a triangular shape at the top and pressed it to my chest. I closed my eyes and recited the proper Orison.

          "Lightened is the way of those who 

            believe,

            in the darkest of the dark, the brightest

            of the bright

            Our beloved  'Mother', frith be upon

             you.

             May you find sanctuary in the

             Firmament.

             And may you find Welkins,

             so shall we unite,

             Verily is the Truth."

I opened my eyes and stared at the grave for a while.

'I have no choice.'

*sigh*

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