Superintendent Pearl could not believe what she was hearing. Of course this had to happen tonight, the night before Primary Advancement, and just before the new school year. If this got out, the next week would be a disaster. Nova Pearl does not allow disasters. She had been Superintendent for the last thirty years. She ran the Superior Institute of Young Trioka with an iron fist and warm heart. She loved this school more than her own life. 

The superintendent walked to the low-burning hearth in her office. She breathed in the nutty smell of the burning birchwood. Her office, positioned at the highest point of SIYT’s Time Tower, overlooked the shops and neighborhoods of Superior Skisland. During the light of a standard day, she could observe much of the farms and villages surrounding Lake Superior. High up in the clouds, the view reminded her of the importance of her position. Rules were rules. Without them, society on Earth would collapse. However, this matter was one that has never been faced by previous SIYT superintendents. Instinct was all she had. 

“I will reach out to the correct government time-travel managers in the HTPA and discuss our options,” Superintendent Pearl concluded to her visitors. 

“No! You can’t,” Xendo objected with a whisper. “That’ll make it worse!” 

Pearl was surprised with the boy’s conviction. Blinda leaned forward. 

“The global parliament would be in meetings about this for months, and it will certainly get leaked to the public just like last time,” Blinda argued. “At best, they study him like a lab experiment. At worst, some crazy group like OMNI could send a contract killer back to terminate the boy. Either way, if anyone but us knows, he’ll never be able to live in peace.” 

Superintendent Pearl exhaled in frustration. The dioka terrorist group Omnipotence was long gone, but secret extremists who claimed they had ancestors in the order still caused problems for society. These radicals kept popping up, secretly recruiting new cohorts to cause mayhem each year. Some of them attempt to illegally go back in time to swing history in their favor. Various horrible scenarios of the boy’s fate bounced around in Superintendent Pearl’s imagination. A decision would not come easily. 

“The school’s portal is not as precise. It must have an operator. I will have to find a trusted member of the Continuum Division to control it while I fetch the boy,” Superintendent Pearl posed, mind racing. 

“You know that any agent would be risking their career to do that, Nova, and we’d most likely be found out,” Blinda confided. 

Xendo glanced around Superintendent Pearl’s expansive office. SIYT students were not usually allowed to enter her official chambers. Above the burning fireplace was the same physical photograph he and his mother found in storage this afternoon. Superintendent Pearl had a larger copy; it was framed and in a space of honor for all to see. Even after all that has happened since that fateful afternoon, Superintendent Pearl was still proud to show her support for the infamous 2005 agents. Everyone else may think him foolish, but at this moment, Xendo never felt prouder of his father. 

Without thinking, Xendo spoke up, “You could just send us.”