[ WP ] You travel back in time only to discover that the past was a futuristic dystopian society that collapsed and we still did n't find out about it .

Time travel is n't exactly as hard as advertised. What the world powers do n't tell us is that the fabric of space time is easy to bend. And that time travel does n't really mess with anything. Whatever happened is doomed to happen. Do n't ask me how it works, it just does. The universe always finds a way. 
 
 I never knew my life would take me here. I was an archaeologist that got a bit too friendly with the Feds, I guess. They asked me to head their expeditionary teams on a secret project. I didnt realize that the project was time travel, but i accepted the position anyways. Yet, instead of traveling the world and history, I was put on the head of a biological research team. I get the `` privelege'' of ensuring that any safety or logistical details for the expeditions are accounted for. They told me `` I just have to be patient'' and that soon I'll be climbing the career ladder and visiting the ancient civilizations. 
 
 For the past few weeks though, I explored the Cretacious period. Nothing big, just checking out some of the plant life to see if there was any medicinal value to be found. It was boring to me, but I respected the work that came from it. These men might cure cancer or rid the world of migraines; I might not enjoy these trips but I could see they were worthwhile. 
 
 But then I got my promotion. I wish I had never taken that new position. Sometimes the career ladder does n't lead to new and exciting places. I was assigned to be a security assistant on one of the more secretive endeavors our agency was taking. The government made us sign some waivers and sign our lives away. I thought we were just going to visit a war and the government was covering its tail in case one of us got caught in the crossfire. 
 
 We were prepared rather quickly for our assignment. Our job was simple; infiltrate the palace of the of some ancient civilization, retrieve some important document lost to time, and then get out of there. 
 
 We were given clothes to fit the item period. They were different from any clothes I had seen. They were gold, and shimmered with the light. The top was a tunic while the pants were like blue jeans of that same gold fabric. And we were all dressed the exact same. Who knows, maybe we were going into a temple of some obscure religious sect. Maybe the sun worshippers had found a tailor to supply them with these clothes fit for kings. I do n't ask questions, and I did n't worry about it. 
 
 The leader plotted out the path and I memorized the palace's floor plan. It looked pretty complex for an ancient civilization. then again maybe we were visiting ancient Egypt. Or a Sumerian temple. For some reason I thought we'd be visiting a moral and religious people. 
 
 We made the trip through time. It was worse than usual. Usually you feel your stomach jump; this time it churned. My brain felt on fire and my eyes blurred. I fell to my knees and one of the men who had been sent to scout the place helped me to my feet. His name was Ben. 
 
 He calmly looked over and whispered, `` Do n't worry bud, it's a larger leap than usual and the airs a bit different, just give it a moment and you'll adjust.'' 
 
 I just nodded and struggled to my feet. Then I actually got a look around. It was beautiful, and it was not ancient. I didnt know what was going on but this was no ancient past. If i did n't know better id say we had gone to the future. 
 
 Like i said it was beautiful. The city was coloured in metallic silver and gold. And the geometry of the buildings just felt perfect. They were large with soft edges stouter than our skyscrapers but just as tall. When I later talked to Ben about that place, he said something about it being based on the golden ratio, that it was made to be perfect or something like that. And if you'd seen the place you'd believe it was perfect. 
 
 We had come around dusk. We knew from scouting that there would be a small window of opportunity where we could break into the palace. A guard of one of the obscure side gates would feel squeemish and sick and leave his post. We would sneak in and from there do our best to blend in. 
 
 Everything went fine. The guard got sick and we made it in right on schedule. Then we slowly made our way down to the basement of the palace. That's when things started to get weird. The place was lit with a dull red glow and electricity hummed from every direction. The worst part was the moaning. You did n't notice it at first but it was low and it never ended. It was the constant variable throughout the place. Now that I think back, if you listened long enough, you could probably have heard it anywhere in that city. 
 
 We headed straight for our target. Even then, I still noticed horrors throughout that basement, that dungeon. There were experiments being done. Through open doors you could see arms being sawed off and surgeries being performed. The one that stood out for me was walking through a corridor and seeing a man's eyes being ripped out. I do n't know what he did but he didnt deserve that. 
 
 We finally grabbed the book. It was hidden in a small library in those catacombs. We then hurried to get out of there. 
 
 We took a different route to exit the building. We were able to pass by the actual prison where all of the test subjects were kept. The stank is what I remember the most. It reeked of death and disease. We tried to get away from that smell as fast as we could. We traveled about a mile till we found a sewage drain that led to the outside of the city. We got out, set up the necessary equipment, and made the jump back to the future. 
 
 The first thing I did was shower. I had to get the stench off. I had to wash myself of that city. It bothered me that the place could be so perfect and so rotten at the same time. 
 
 I talked some of the other guys from the mission. One guy actually knew about the place. It was the race before all races. It was humanities precursor. They had come from the stars and after 50 years on the planet their civilization collapsed. They called themselves the Mortuians. It's ironic, they had tried to purge their society of death. That's what those prisons were and those experiments were underground. They were making a perfect society by sending all the impure to their deaths. It's where we get our word for death. That was their lone mark on history. The morbid Morturians led to our word for death. A society that despised death had died and were only remembered vaguely through its hatred of death. I guess that's fitting. I just wish I did n't have to see that. There are some things you just ca n't unsee and there are some places that are rightfully forgotten by history.
