Time Master: Rescue

Ebook

I ask the alien, “You then want me to travel to the planet in question, travel back in time and prevent the savage tribesmen from killing the king, of whom you speak.”
The alien says, “Obviously.”
I ask the alien, “How many tribesmen were in the group that killed the king?”
The alien is obviously shocked at my question. He thinks for a bit and then says, “I have no idea.”
I lecture the alien, “That's why you hire me. A wasteland can't support too many people in the same place, that's why it's a wasteland. Thus, the savages who attacked and killed the king were very probably a relatively small group. So far, so good?”
The alien thinks for a moment and then says, “What you say sounds reasonable.”
I continue my lecture, “I travel back in time and arrive at a place that your people think that the king must have survived long enough to reach. I then observe the king, plus probably at least a small party, traveling by the location where I wait. So far, so good?”
The alien says, “Actually, we know the location where the king died. One of his party escaped the savages.”
I continue my lecture, “I travel back in time and arrive at the place that your people think that the savages killed the king. I now, very probably, find myself in one of two situations. The first, most probable situation, is that a relatively small group of savages find the king and his party. I deal with the relatively small group of savages with a silenced rifle, from long distance. Probably the savages don't realize that they are under attack until at least most of them are dead. With any luck at all, none of the savages survive. What killed the savages?”