This is the content from 2002, the year I actually completed NaNoWriMo.
Bonus Material: The Unrelated Short Story and Part 2
Excerpt Special: The Interview
(being the account of an interview held two days before Andrew Wolfe's 3000th birthday, the date he chose to join with the cosmos)
Interviewer, Carl Hicks, Archivist: Well, Andrew, you've survived everything the universe could throw at you. How does it feel to approach the end of your third millenium?
Interviewee, Andrew Wolfe, former Prime of The Order: It feels like a lot of different things, Carl. Mostly I just feel old. Not tired, really, but old as in, "I've been there and done that."
Carl: Did you get the tee shirt?
Andrew: *laughter* Of course not. I've always preferred to button my shirts.
Carl: Yes, certainly so. Andrew, I'm going to ask you some questions whose answers are already on record, just for the sake of having some of the more interesting facts about you in one document. Is that okay with you?
Andrew: Knock yourself out. I have nothing but time. Oh, wait, I don't anymore, do I?
Carl: Let's talk about that. Why now? It feels like such an arbitrary date, as if you'd picked it out centuries ago.
Andrew: I did. I've always known, right from the first, that at the end of three millenia I'd have accomplished all that I was supposed to. I fought the war, I fought the demons, and I helped get David where he needs to be.
Carl: The major battles against the demons were almost exactly a thousand years ago. Was this last millenia something of a reward, a vacation of sorts?
Andrew: To a certain extent, yes. There are other elements to what I've been doing since the Reformation but I can't really go into that now.
Carl: So you won't confirm the rumors?
Andrew: I can't talk about it, Carl. Believe me, it's best if everyone accepts that in a couple of days we'll be gone forever. Any other outcome would be dependent on the will of the gods.
Carl: You say "we'll be gone." Lynn, Amy and the others agreed to this. Why do you think that is?
Andrew: Damned if I know. *sighing* I've been telling them for a dozen centuries that when the time comes for me to go they should move on with their lives. They insist that it's all for love, but that seems improbable. *laughter*
Carl: What about the newcomers? The "Four Riders," they've been called. Why else would you have raised them up if not to carry them into your future calling?
Andrew: I'm only going to say this one more time, Carl. I cannot talk about it. They understand what's going to happen and accept it, much like the others have. Of course, I didn't ask any of them to do this, but...
Carl: Well, I suppose we'll see in a couple of days. I'll respect your wish not to discuss it further, though.
Andrew: Thank you. No matter what you've heard, I'm absolutely sincere in my wish to end it all the day after tomorrow. I'd never be so tacky as to stage something like this for a laugh.
Carl: I have a number of questions in my notes, little things many of us would like to know. One stands out, however, and if we learn nothing else from you, the answer to this question would be worth this entire interview.
Andrew: Oh?
Carl: How did you know what was coming?
Andrew: You'll have to be more specific, Carl.
Carl: The war, the demons, David op Oberon. Somehow you knew. When we look back on your actions during that time, everything points to a certain amount of foreknowledge. How?
Andrew: Well... it's hard to describe. Okay, yes, I knew certain very specific things, but I didn't really know them until a particular event. Damn, I'm not making sense here. Let me try that again. I first saw David the evening of the first day of my first assignment. Standing there on the island, looking out at the ocean, I see this tall, dark-haired man. He's watching me, so I watch him. And after a few moments I know that he and I are linked, that our destinies are entwined. It's a corny way to say it, but that's what I was thinking at the time.
Carl: What did you say to each other?
Andrew: *laughter* This is going to sound terrible, but I grew up watching cheesy spy movies. You know, James Bond ripoffs and the like.
Carl: I've heard about those, but never watched any.
Andrew: You're probably not missing much. Anyway, I felt like we were players in some shadowy game of espionage... which we were, really... and it seemed to call for some kind of gesture of recognition. So I said to him, "The owl flies at dusk."
Carl: You said what?
Andrew: You heard me. It was a parody, kind of. I was making up one of those stupid challenge/response pass phrases typical in those bad movies I mentioned. You know, "The train leaves at dawn," and the other guy says, "but the plane lands at midnight." Or something inane like that. In my defense I'd like to point out that I was just a punk kid freshly plucked from my mundane existence.
Carl: So what did he say in response?
Andrew: *chuckles* First he blinked a few times as if he wasn't sure I had my head on straight. I think he figured it out, though, because his response was, "and the moon lights her way." Then he just teleported off somewhere. I didn't see him again for, oh, I think another two centuries after that.
Carl: Strange meeting. So you never actually talked about the future?
Andrew: Never. In fact, every meeting for the next two thousand years went almost exactly the same way. We'd meet at some odd time in some odd place, exchange silly made-up passphrases and part company. The important part, I think, was that reaffirmation of our bond. Whenever we saw each other, we were reminded of our destiny. I'd get... glimpses. That's not the right word, really. I'd get impressions of how things were supposed to be. A word, a... concept. Vague, but still powerful. I'm afraid I'm not describing it very well, but it's the best I can do.
Carl: Did you know you were going to kill his then-wife, the woman who called herself Titania?
Andrew: *nodding* I think we both knew what was going to happen to her from that first day. I can't imagine what his life with her was like for the next thousand years. She treated him like garbage, sure, but he was also absolutely devoted to her.
Carl: But he went along with whatever plan you two had.
Andrew: I don't think it was ever "our" plan, really. When the time came, we took the actions that we somehow always knew we would take. It was like, "ah, the time has come to do This and then This and That." We knew what the schedule was, we knew what actions to take along that schedule, but that's about it.
Carl: You were operating according to a higher authority, we now know.
Andrew: Yes. The, aah, powers that be. We were simply the instruments of change, the tools of reformation.
Carl: Did that end with the war, or did it carry on through the demon invasion? Does it still continue, for that matter?
Andrew: It ended with the Reformation. That was the final goal, for certain. After that he and I were able to hold normal conversations. Turns out he's a likeable kind of guy. *laughter*
Carl: You don't have to say that, you know. You never swore an oath of service.
Andrew: Hah! No, really. He's a good man, and the right person to be in charge of that rowdy crew. Not only that, but he keeps Elaine out of trouble.
Carl: Are you sure that's not the other way around? *laughter*
Andrew: Six of one, half dozen of the other.
Carl: Did you hear that Thom's in charge of training now?
Andrew: Hmm? Oh, Thom! Yes, yes, I remember now. How's he working out?
Carl: Fairly well, to hear David and Michael talk. He sends his regards, by the way.
Andrew: That's nice of him. Give him my best, would you?
Carl: Certainly. That was... quite a situation back then, wasn't it?
Andrew: You should know, Carl. That was the gig that convinced you to stick with the Archives.
Carl: Yes it was. *laughter* Well, I had to try. I'd have been miserable had I not tried my hand at field work. My whole life would have a "what if?"
Andrew: Fair enough, and you recognized the reality of the situation. At the end you acquitted your duties well enough, which is to say you stuck to the plan and didn't make a spectacle of yourself. *chuckles*
Carl: (dryly) Thanks.
Andrew: Don't mention it. *laughter*
Carl: After the war, many of the veterans hated you for centuries. How did it feel to be a pariah?
Andrew: I've always been at odds with the in-crowd. Before the war it was because most of them were greedy, selfish, snooty and lazy and I didn't mind saying so. After the war... well, there was no point hiding the fact that I was responsible for so many deaths. To be blunt, I was never meant to be adored by my peers.
Carl: The Reformation proved the value of your work, however. It earned you a certain amount of redemption. For the last thousand years new recruits have been taught the history of what you and David did for us all. You went from devil to angel almost overnight, at least by our measure of time. Does it help you sleep better at night to know that you're a hero to so many new talents?
Andrew: Of course not. Too many souls haunt my nightmares to be banished by the adoration of some punk kids who don't know any better.
Carl: Aren't you being a bit hard on yourself?
Andrew: *sighs* Maybe. But I have to live with what I've done... for another couple of days anyway. Okay, so maybe I'm bitter about these new guys and girls who don't have the kind of misery ahead of them that I had to live through. That I caused. It's just one more reason to be done with it all. I may be a shining example of duty and honor, but I'm also an old man with way too much blood on his hands.
Carl: *pauses* What was your favorite assignment?
Andrew: I have to pick only one? You've got to be kidding me.
Carl: You can do it.
Andrew: Says you. Oh, let's see. My first assignment was probably the most profound. That doesn't really make it my favorite, I suppose, but you never forget your first time.
Carl: *coughs*
Andrew: Anyway, that first time out was when I met Lynn. Right there that's enough to make it special.
Carl: You two played in a rock band together, didn't you?
Andrew: *chuckles* Yeah, she taught me to play keyboards and guitar. That was a strange, fun time. We were between wars, so the military didn't need me. I thought, "Heck, I should try my hand as a musician."
Carl: How did that work out for you?
Andrew: It's no secret that I can't write a song to save my life, but I do love to play in a band. The emotional rush when your bandmates are into it, when the notes just blend together perfectly, is just beyond description.
Carl: Music seems to be an important part of your life; it inspires your work.
Andrew: That's absolutely true. Mind you, there are those who say that I should keep my musical tastes to myself. *laughter* A good song just picks my energy way up, and if I play that song when I'm performing some difficult task then I can surpass my normal skill level. Not to mention that it can drive my opponent totally insane during a duel.
Carl: There is that.
Andrew: The music guides me, flows through me along with the power I wield. When I'm done I feel complete, at peace with myself.
Carl: And how does Lynn make you feel?
Andrew: *laughter* You know I'm not going to answer that, Carl.
Carl: I know. What I guess I'm getting at is, you have these women in your life.
Andrew: Several, yes. I take a lot of flack about that, but... it just happened, you know?
Carl: How does that work out? Balancing so many love lives, that is.
Andrew: Exhausting. *laughter* Okay, seriously, it takes a lot of work. I didn't set out to end up at the center of such a...
Carl: Harem?
Andrew: Oh no. That implies that they all serve me. It's the other way around, I assure you. I adore each of them, and each a bit differently. Our bond is one of love and trust. That sounds so trite, but it's true. Only love could keep the five of us together for so long.
Carl: Amy was the last, wasn't she?
Andrew: *nods* We met a couple of centuries before the demon outbreak. She was my assignment, actually. It was one of those special assignments.
Carl: The "powers that be" sent you?
Andrew: Yep. I think they had ulterior motives. I was ordered to protect her, and one of the conditions of the assignment was that I stay within a certain spatial distance of her location at all times. Night and day, rain or shine.
Carl: And things just happened?
Andrew: You've met her, Carl. She's absolutely adorable. Mind you, I resisted. Boy did I resist. Like I said, I suspected ulterior motives, and I hate being manipulated. At the end, though, she put her foot down and that was that.
Carl: I've heard that she's both brilliant and determined.
Andrew: That she is, and then some.
Carl: On a related subject... this isn't pleasant but I have to ask, how do you feel being here today without Xian?
Andrew: *pauses* Oh boy. I... I'm still sad about it, but it was her choice. I've always said that each of us has to live our own life. She... couldn't do it anymore. Immortality wasn't working out for her, she wore out too fast. They tricked me, you know. Got me looking one way while she went the other so she could... Well. Anyway. She's gone, been gone for almost eight centuries now. And soon I'll be joining her. I guess the others will, too.
Carl: Do you think you feel now the way she felt then?
Andrew: No, probably not. For one thing we probably all feel a bit different about what's coming. And... I'm not worn out. This is a kind of duty for me. I did my part. I'm the kind of mean bastard who would hang around until the end of the universe, making a nuisance of myself day in and day out. Nobody wants that, and I don't want to be known as the guy who just wouldn't go the hell away.
Carl: You could have waited a while, though. The universe doesn't end for eons yet.
Andrew: True, but like I said, I'm done. I was brought into The Order to do a specific set of tasks. Those tasks are complete, so what's left? I won't take orders, not even from David, no matter how much I respect him. That makes me a renegade sorcerer running loose in the cosmos. No agenda, no rules, no specific job to do. It's selfish, and I'm done with accusations of being a selfish jerk. I am, of course, but there are limits even for me.
Carl: It's always been about duty and honor, hasn't it?
Andrew: Yes. Absolutely. And this, what I'm doing tomorrow... what we're doing tomorrow... is my last duty. It's an honorable end to my career. Nobody lives forever, not even the likes of us. Returning our essence to the cosmos is a traditional end to a distinguished life of service.
Carl: Most of us believe it has been, Andrew. Distinguished, that is.
Andrew: Thank you. At the end of the day, it's all I ever really cared about. Did I do a good job? Did I leave a world in better shape than it was in when I arrived? Were the people happier, safer? Even the dark and terrible things I had to do were for the greater good, though I'm certainly not proud of my actions during the war. Nobody with any kind of decency could be.
Carl: All of those brave dead souls. It must be hard to live with yourself sometimes.
Andrew: Yeah. *pauses* Yeah, it's hard. Some of those people were my friends, many of them were talented colleagues. They... had to go. Gods, I hate saying that but they did. They were selfish, they would have ruined what was coming. The Reformation couldn't proceed with so many rotten eggs in the basket.
Carl: Do you feel like your end will help redress the damage, the destruction of all those souls?
Andrew: I hate to sound like a martyr, but yes. Part of me says I don't deserve to live. Then again, it's been saying that for two thousand years, but now I can do something about it. It all works out, you see? My sense of honor and duty, and my guilt. Everything comes together, and finally the cosmos will be rid of me. We both know that there are people who will be thrilled to see my passing.
Carl: *nods* Sad, but true. Everybody has enemies, though.
Andrew: I respect most of them. They're right, more or less. I'm a visible, painful reminder of the darkest days we've ever seen as an organization.
Carl: Many of us will miss you.
Andrew: Thanks. Well... anything else you want to know?
Carl: Lots of things, Andrew, but I've taken enough of your time. You should be spending it with your loved ones. Thank you for granting me this short while to get a few things into the permanent record. And, good luck.
Andrew: Be well, Carl. And thank you. (interview ends)
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