Time Agency by Aaron Frale Read Free Book Online Page A

“Customer’s Only” sign.
    Nanette stepped out onto the sidewalk. She scanned for 07760 and found him in the same place across the street. She jumped out into the street. A car honked and sped around her. She dodged through the traffic. Once on the other side, she looked for the homeless man. She pushed past the crowds of people. The homeless man was nowhere to be seen. She scanned the crowd. 07760 had gotten away. The question remained about how he was able to disguise himself so quickly. His hair and beard were real. There was nothing to suggest he double backed on his timeline. Looping a personal timeline was dangerous at best. She was too fixated on the mystery of the homeless man and didn't notice the 07760 without the beard running out of the grocery store across the street with a bag full of fruit. If she had noticed the fruit bearing 07760, she would have thought the homeless 07760 was a glitch in her software.

Event 5 - R
     
    Back in my room, I pulled out the mints. I opened the foil and looked at the device. It had four hooks to hold the mint in place and a blinking red light where the mint should be. I unscrewed the bottom, and there was electronic wizardry comprising most of the mint package. I went to the vending machine and bought a pack of real mints. I placed another mint in the machine and waited. Perhaps more of my memories were stored in the device.
    I pulled the mint after a while and crunched into it. Nothing happened. I tested it with more mints by holding it various ways, thought about charging the mint with memories and let the mint charge awhile before eating, and any tactic that may restore more memories. Nothing worked. They were still just regular mints. Nothing seemed to create more memories. I decided to put it back in my pocket. Perhaps it needed to be a special kind of mint treated with some chemical which aids the memory transfer. But somehow, I knew that wasn’t true. It’s like I had used this device before. Perhaps even to wipe everything.
    I decided to change gears. The ancient bookseller was something I could find. There had to be a limited number of them in the city. I looked for a phone book. There wasn’t one. I called down to the front desk, and the concierge was awkward. He told me how to access the Wi-Fi. I told him I didn’t have a computer. He began to explain how I could set my phone. I told him I didn’t have a phone either. He offered the use of the computer down in the lobby. I thanked him and went downstairs. I made a point of going the long way so that I wouldn’t see anyone from the bar. I really shouldn’t draw too much attention to myself, at least no more than necessary.
    Some kids were playing a game on the computer. There weren’t any parents in sight. I contemplated kicking them off the computer but decided against it. I needed to keep a low profile. Kids could inadvertently cause a commotion. Besides, I wasn’t in a hurry. I grabbed a magazine and sat down. I was reading about the wedding of two people who I knew nothing about when someone sat next to me. They sat so close to me that I felt uncomfortable.
    Perhaps the authorities caught up with me, or maybe it was the woman the well-dressed man wanted me to avoid. Either way, I was completely unprepared for who it was. The person was me, with a little more hair, a smooth face, and young smile.

Event 5 - J
     
    Jerry found himself in a vast void of blank space. There was no floor or ceiling. There were no walls. He didn’t even have a chair. He didn’t tire from standing because he wasn’t sure if he was standing. He may very well be lying down because he had no sense of space to orientate himself. He couldn’t figure out if he could relax his legs or keep them tight. He decided to try testing gravity.
    Falling in a room without gravity was more difficult than he thought. He couldn’t fall, but he could still move. He could run, jump, and sit, but they all seemed arbitrary. They led nowhere. There