The recordings began, as they always did, with a disconcerting hum. Not a mechanical drone, but something…organic. The Chronarium, a device built by the enigmatic Waymen himself, pulsed with an energy that resonated with the very fabric of time. It wasn’t a recording of events, not in the traditional sense. It was a *fractured echo*, a shimmering residue of moments that had bled into each other, moments so intensely felt they’d warped the temporal stream. Waymen believed, and his research increasingly supported, that time wasn't a linear progression, but a vast, interconnected ocean, and he had learned to navigate its currents.
“To listen to time is not to hear its past, but to feel its *potential*,” Waymen once mused, scribbled in a notebook filled with equations that defied conventional understanding. His work centered around the concept of “Temporal Harmonics” – the idea that every significant event generated a unique vibrational signature, and that these signatures could be amplified and replayed.
Waymen’s approach was…unconventional. He eschewed traditional historical analysis, relying instead on what he termed “Temporal Resonance Mapping.” He would subject individuals – primarily those involved in moments of intense emotional upheaval – to the Chronarium. The device would then attempt to isolate and reconstruct the temporal signature of the experience. The process was often described as “visceral,” leaving subjects disoriented and haunted by fragments of the past.
“The key,” he explained, “is to strip away the narrative. The mind imposes a story; the Chronarium seeks only the *feeling*.”
He used a complex system of crystalline resonators and biofeedback sensors. The data was then translated into visualizations – swirling nebulae, geometric patterns, and occasionally, fleeting representations of landscapes and faces from forgotten eras.
The origin of the Chronarium itself remains shrouded in mystery. Legend claims that Waymen discovered the core component – a singular obsidian shard – within the ruins of a pre-Collapse civilization known only as the “Silicates.” This shard, dubbed “The Weaver’s Eye,” was said to be a conduit to the temporal stream. Its properties were extraordinary; it seemed to *remember* everything that had ever happened, across all timelines. Some whispered that the Silicates had deliberately engineered the shard, seeking to understand and ultimately control time itself.
The Collapse, of course, remains a subject of intense debate. Some theories suggest it was a natural disaster; others point to a deliberate act of temporal sabotage.
Waymen’s work wasn’t without its complications. Repeated exposure to the Chronarium’s resonance led to what he termed “Temporal Bleeding” – instances where individuals experienced simultaneous memories from different points in their lives, or even from the lives of others. These anomalies were often accompanied by a profound sense of disorientation and, in some cases, irreversible psychological damage. The ‘Waymen Effect’, as it became known, highlighted the fragility of the human psyche when subjected to the raw, unfiltered currents of time.
The core components were assembled, and the first rudimentary Resonance Mapping attempts were made.
Delta-7 experienced a complete Temporal Bleeding event, resulting in severe psychosis and ultimately, his death.
A covert government initiative to weaponize the Chronarium's technology. Was ultimately shut down due to ethical concerns and unpredictable results.