Beyond the Time Barrier

The story spans multiple eras: it begins in 1960 with a United States Air Force test flight, then follows the arrival of the 'scapes from 1973 and 1994. The outside world is ravaged by nuclear fallout and cosmic rays, causing infertility and a climatic shift that forces humanity underground. By 2024, time travel ties these eras together as characters attempt to alter history and repopulate the Citadel, with consequences weighing on every choice.

The Citadel is a sprawling underground metropolis where the last fertile population lives under the rule of the Supreme. The residents are mostly deaf-mute, and the two leaders—the Supreme and the Captain—keep the rest in strict isolation. Surface Earth remains dangerous due to nuclear fallout and cosmic rays, making the underground refuge the only viable home.

🕰️ Time Travel

Time travel drives the core conflict, placing Major Allison in a distant future and then back to confront his own past. The 'scapes’ journeys reveal that travel between eras is possible, but not without risking paradoxes and moral costs. The plot uses shifting timelines to explore desire, duty, and whether one can change a future that already exists in memory.

💞 Love

A forbidden romance develops between Allison and Trirene, shaping his choices and undermining rigid loyalties. Their bond confronts language barriers, cultural divides, and the ethics of mixing timelines in the name of affection. Trirene’s tragic death tests the lovers’ resolve and the fate of the Citadel’s survival.

👑 Power

Leadership in the Citadel is marked by control, secrecy, and the fear of extinction. The Supreme’s rule and the Captain’s suspicion create a tense dynamic that fuels manipulation, betrayal, and competing agendas among the 'scapes. Markova’s scheming, Bourman’s time-hopping plan, and Kruse’s ambitions reveal how power can corrupt even those who claim to seek humanity’s preservation. The story questions whether power can guide a doomed society toward redemption or simply prolong its collapse.