mid-Fifty-Second Century of the Atomic Era. That would land him in the
Ninth Age of Chaos, following the Two-Century War and the collapse of
the World Theocracy. A good time for his purpose: the world would be
slipping back into barbarism, and yet possess the technologies of former
civilizations. A hundred little national states would be trying to
regain social stability, competing and warring with one another. Hradzka
glanced back over his shoulder at the cases of books, record-spools,
tri-dimensional pictures, and scale-models. These people of the past
would welcome him and his science of the future, would make him their
leader.

He would start in a small way, by taking over the local feudal or tribal
government, would arm his followers with weapons of the future. Then he
would impose his rule upon neighboring tribes, or princedoms, or
communes, or whatever, and build a strong sovereignty; from that he
envisioned a world empire, a Solar System empire.

Then, he would build "time-machines", many "time-machines". He would
recruit an army such as the universe had never seen, a swarm of men from
every age in the past. At that point, he would return to the Hundredth
Century of the Atomic Era, to wreak vengeance upon those who had risen
against him. A slow smile grew on Hradzka's thin lips as he thought of
the tortures with which he would put Zarvas Pol to death.

He glanced up at the great disc of the indicator and frowned. Already he
was back to the year 7500, A.E., and the temporal-displacement had not
begun to slow. The disc was turning even more rapidly--7000, 6000, 5500;
he gasped slightly. Then he had passed his destination; he was now in
the Fortieth Century, but the indicator was slowing. The hairline
crossed the Thirtieth Century, the Twentieth, the Fifteenth, the Tenth.