The Final Obstacle (Flash Fiction)

"Thalassa used to be a paradise before the two powers decided that the archipelago wasn't big enough for the both of them."

Author’s note: This is a submission for an Iron Age Media prompt: The Academic.

By Michael P. Marpaung

“Dr. Gibson, surely you see that you are our best hope against the final obstacle?” he told me.

I shook my head at the man in front of me. Wallace was a sharply dressed man, just like me. We even had the same top hat, though he lacked my goggles. This was to be expected: I was a scientist; he a diplomat.

Though calling him a diplomat was somewhat of a stretch; he was more of a manipulator for the Commonwealth of Theia. His job was to talk people into doing the Commonwealth’s bidding for them.

And I was his target. The war between the Commonwealth of Theia and the Melian Republic had been going on for as long as I could remember. And I was no spring chicken.