Lu’s Fulcrum of The Ancient Inca Staff
How Time Travel Works in the Story:
The paradox is set around an Inca staff. Legend says that the staff belonged to an ancient Inca king’s court magician who had the ability to shape the destiny of members of the royal family and others. Buried for centuries and its magical powers believed to have been lost forever, this golden staff was discovered during an archaeological expedition.
The staff, which was inscribed with intricate carvings, had an ancient script that reads: “With me in your hand, you may shape a new life in any timeline you desire.” The staff’s mysterious power enables its holder to teleport to a different timeline by simply stating their desire for the time and the life they wish to live. This would result in a full transplant into a new reality based on the wishes of the bearer of the staff.
The Paradox:
Lu Chanka, a brilliant archaeologist in his forties, loves ancient mysteries and civilizations and has spent his life in pursuit of these, but has continually felt unfulfilled in his personal life. Despite his love for his family, he found out that they had only disdain for him—not because he isn’t a nice person but because he isn’t rich. His family values material things and Lu’s modest earnings left him, in their assessment, as someone beneath the family class.
It became so bad after the death of Lu’s dad that his mom never consulted him before taking any family decisions even if it would later impact every member of the family. This is simply because, to her and Lu’s siblings, his opinions never mattered - after all, he’s not wealthy. He had resigned to the fate of living the rest of his life knowing that filial love is out of his reach and given up on his previous belief that family is everything.
The Expedition in Peru
During a life-altering expedition in the Peruvian mountains, Lu unearths the Inca Staff of Timelines in an ancient tomb deep in the mountains. After painstaking months-long research, he deciphers its ancient script and realizes that this is not just another ancient artifact, but an opportunity to recreate the life of fulfillment he had always desired.
In his quest to rewrite reality, he held the Inca staff and muttered: “I want to live in a time where I’m loved by my family.” Instantly, his world shifts and he finds himself transported to a new reality. Born into a modest loving family, he is left in no doubt that he is valued as a human soul in this reality. For the first time, Lu felt familial warmth and kindness, simple joys of life such as a home filled with laughter, shared story times and dinner fires are now normal in this life.
However, this peaceful existence quickly shattered one night when Lu’s village was raided by slavers, and Lu was taken prisoner. This was the beginning of a life of suffering and difficulty for Lu. The band of raiders bound Lu and other captives after their village was burned down. What pained him most was that in the melee that followed the attack, he lost contact with the rest of his family.
Bound and beaten, Lu and other captives from his village were moved through the jungle that night. In his numbed mind, Lu wondered what had become of his family and if he would ever see them again. But fate intervenes. As the caravan of raiders and captives passed through a canyon at dawn, they were attacked by a clan of warriors allied to Lu’s tribe.
As the fighting raged, the bound captives tried as much as they could to stay away from the slashing, stabbing and cutting blades of the attackers and the attacked. Lu barely escaped being tramped underfoot by a slaver horseman who suddenly charged in his direction. He had barely evaded him when a second horseman charged through. Lu watched the second horseman pursue the first and slay him. He also saw the victorious horseman come back towards him holding the horse of the slain raider. As he made way for the rider and horses to pass, the horseman suddenly stopped in front of him and said “If we had let them get to the coast, it would have been too late for you all.” Then he raised his sword and slashed, bringing it down towards Lu’s side, and then rode off.
Lu looked down and saw that the rope that tied him to another captive has been cut. With the slavers overpowered, Lu and the captives were overjoyed to be free again, but their joy was short-lived when they learnt that many in their village had been killed during the night raid. Not knowing if his family was dead or alive, Lu was torn in-between relief and despair at being free once again and not knowing if he would ever see his loving family again.
Lu and his kinsmen returns to their village to find just a handful of survivors, but of his family, he found only one, his little sister. The happy life Lu had now seems like a distant memory. Although he found love in this life, the life beyond his village is full of dangers. Driven by frustration and increasing confusion, Lu wished for a different life of peace and security. A life where love, wealth and freedom are intertwined and balanced. Immediately found himself in his recent life as an archeologist.
The Inca staff seems to have given him another chance to decide what ideal life really means to him. But at every timeline, Lu discovers that life comes with contradictions and costs. Here he is, a renowned archeologist but despised by his family. In another, he is dearly loved within but there is war without. He realizes that true satisfaction of the souls should not come from without but within. All he needed was stay true to himself.
Consequences:
The Fulcrum of The Ancient Inca Staff paradox leaves Lu in an endless cycle of wishes and dissatisfaction. As he used the staff to further his quest for the perfect life, he became detached from reality with an increasing awareness similar to clutching at straws. He remains unfulfilled at the realization that happiness must come from within, a puzzle that is missing in his life despite trials in different timelines of life. In the end, Lu understands that all realities come with sacrifices and that trying to create the “perfect” life is akin to the fragmentation of his very soul and existence.
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: It’s a Time Paradox!
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