Who is Harold Blackstone and what does he have against me?
During the second half of the 23rd century, historians gathered for one of the most extreme intellectual endeavors ever undertaken. At a colony they called “Antiquity,” they dispersed millions, then billions, of nano-cameras into periods of the past. Once the cameras time-traveled, their timeline became concurrent with the historians’ present; that is, a day was a day—an hour was an hour: it did not time-travel again. Historians studied the nuances of the past with a technology that allowed extraordinary detail. More nano-cameras made their trek, and more historians arrived at Antiquity to perform research. Yet, somehow, it happened that there was still a mystery.
Most people accepted that the most evil man who had ever lived was Harold Blackstone who killed millions with the Chicago Devastation and called for more destruction with his challenge to random terrorists. Still, however, almost nothing was known about him. Nano-cameras had the capacity to track by coordinates and by elaborate DNA tracking technology, but prior to May of 2019 no trace existed of Blackstone or his DNA. Before Blackstone and second to him in evil, it was generally accepted that Adolph Hitler carried the mark of the most evil. Historians observed every trace of his history, from his first word to his last, they understand in many ways the circumstances that influenced Hitler, but of Blackstone, no hint existed.
Of Blackstone, only the following is known: On May 19, 2019, his DNA manifested briefly and had been trailed for a few seconds. He stood in southern suburb of Chicago. He was a man of about 6 foot 4, of olive complexion, of shaved head. He wore a uniform without stitching or seam, save a small pouch at the nape of the neckline. The pouch held a trace of a radioactive substance, the same substance later used in the Chicago water supply. Nano-cameras monitored Blackstone for 22 seconds. Just as he had appeared, he vanished. Most historians surmise that uniform gave a complete invisibility, including DNA, and was probably powered they the radioactive substance. It must have briefly mal-functioned, allowing the momentary discovery. The technology of the suit was otherwise as inexplicable as Blackstone.
Blackstone’s DNA was next revealed 22 hours, 17 minutes after the Devastation began, in Milwaukee, WI. He had assumed the identity of Abernathy Cole, a graduate student at North Corner College in Chicago, who died in the disaster. Cole had a small family, all located in Chicago, and had traveled little. Blackstone must have chosen him carefully to be able to make the identity theft as simple as possible, but with a person who had an electronic trail for Blackstone to use. As Cole, Blackstone completed the remaining eight credit hours at Wisconsin Plains University, and accepted a professorship there at graduation. Blackstone’s DNA became available for tracking for the next five years, while he taught political ethics in Milwaukee. The suit was hidden in his personal effects for the time. Blackstone/Cole lived an absolutely normal life during that time, without any trace of the crime. In 2024, the uniform reappeared and Blackstone/Cole evaporated until he was caught and executed by CAN in Kiev.
This much is known about Harold Blackstone. Historians postulate he either had extra-terrestrial roots (unlikely) or was himself a time traveler, but it lingers as a mystery. His motives for the Chicago Devastation continued to be unknown.
Antiquity 