Time Agency by Aaron Frale Read Free Book Online Page B

must be some sense of gravity because he was able to jump, but up had little meaning without a down. He jumped again and never went down. He floated, but still could walk. He used his mind to move around, but couldn’t tell if he was in motion. It didn’t do much good without something to orientate himself. He may be moving fast or not at all.
    The shaking began a day into his imprisonment. It was subtle at first. He could barely notice the discomfort, but then it began to crush him. He felt like his insides were being squeezed. He was being stretched then compressed. He was unable to sit for very long. His mind raced and haunted his thoughts. His body cried out for the nanomachines that used to be active in his system. When Nanette disconnected him, she shut down his control over the nanomachines flowing through his body.
    Days later, a woman entered the space. She was ageless and upside down. Or maybe he was the upside down one. He felt like he knew her. He was delirious and delusional. For a moment, he thought, she was Nanette. But he fell back into a fit of fighting phantoms. His body was in pain, and he was unable to control it. She looked at him with pity—or was it laughter? He had trouble reading her expression. His vision distorted. He cried out.
    Jerry’s mind reeled, and he felt wretched. He could scarcely focus. Voices spoke to him. They offered to guide him through the pain. His body felt as if it was failing. His mind sank, and there was this woman. She was talking to him. He tried to focus. She was saying something important. He needed to listen, but he could barely sit up before more spasms and hallucinations.
    “You've been approved for reprogramming,” she said.
    “You don’t have to be sad.” He tried to calm her. This phantom needed tranquility in a tumultuous storm.
    “What?” she said.
    “You don’t have to worry about me. I will be all right.” He tried to ease her. There was fear in her eyes. If he was going to spend an eternity in torment, he could at least provide some comfort to her. He remembered long ago. This woman was important to him. And he was important to her.
    “The symptoms will pass in a couple of days,” she said.
    “I’ve scared you, and I’m sorry,” he said earnestly.
    She studied him. And he simply stared at her and doubled over again. Agony seeped from every fiber of his being.

Event 6 - R
     
    My doppelganger spoke first. “This is highly irregular, but I couldn’t help myself.”
    “Who the fuck are you?” I said.
    “I’m you,” he said as if that explained everything.
    “I’m not an asshole. So give it to me straight,” I said.
    “I’m pretty sure you are from my future because I don't remember this,” he studied me.
    “That makes two of us.”
    “You've lost your memory? This is amazing! That means you are my future because I have never lost my memory. I am completely intact. Normally, I shouldn't cross my own timeline, but it's not like it's illegal or anything. This is such an amazing opportunity to study.”
    “Slow down. So you’re from my past. So if you knew about this before the memory loss, why didn't I take precautions?”
    “How do we know you didn't? History has a way of moving forward regardless of what we do about it. However, it's dangerous to know too much about your future.”
    “Because of universe-destroying paradoxes?”
    “Do you think humans are so arrogant they can unravel the fabric of reality from a paradox? People aren’t that important on the cosmic scale. Time is not some straightforward linear progression. It's more like branches of a tree or the growth of a vine. So if you kill your grandparents or do something to wipe your existence when you return to the future, you’ll never have existed, but that also doesn’t mean you’ll disappear from existence. You’ll be a person who appears one day from the past with no records. We call them the “lost,” and trust me. It’s not some nice way to start over.