[WP] Upon gaining control of a time machine you decide to use it to travel back in time and prevent the burning of The Library Of Alexandria. You succeed in your task, but only then do you realise why they really burned it down, and why it should have stayed that way.

The man in charge of keeping records, who seemed normally the cheery sort, ran about with no real direction. His plump little legs were barely keeping up with the effort, and his chubby cheeks began looking a lot like overly ripe tomatoes about to burst as he angrily fumbled to get the words out “Good lady why would you venture to prevent the burning of the library? We are all doomed now! Doomed I say!” He could barely choke the last words out, there was so much fear and dread in his voice.

Dread began to creep into me as well. It crept up my spine like a slow crouching spider taking its time. I thought about all the machinations my action could inspire of fate. Karma is a righteous bitch after all. “Sir please, I only mean to save invaluable information contained in the volumes of this library”

“There is no saving those volumes, the entire library is...completely infested with bedbugs...Every single inch of it! Every single scroll! Now we may be rid of them...”

/r/WritingPrompts Thread