Thread by @TheRealDoctorT

Untitled Time Travel Story.

Part II.

“If at first an idea does not sound absurd, then there is no hope for it.”

- Michio Kaku.

“Shh! Listen! Someone’s coming! I think — I think it might be us!”

- J.K. Rowling, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”

(Part I below) 1/

https://twitter.com/therealdoctort/status/1233088773900111873

“Look sharp doc, our rogue time traveler has entered the building.”

The timecop’s voice is quiet, but firm. He leaves the room and moves into the hallway, beckoning for me to follow.

Still unsure as to what I’m even doing here, I follow.

I have the beginnings of a plan. 2/

I resolve that if I see a security guard, I’m going to yell for help.

It’s one thing to have fancy eyes that change colors and funky heart sounds, it’s another to have a gun.

Unfortunately, the hallway is empty.

Suddenly, the timecop is motionless, squinting.

“Oh no.” 3/

Confused, I echo him, “oh no?”

But then I feel it too. A sudden shifting of the world around me. A tugging deep inside, like vertigo, like I’m about to fall over.

The hallway seems to be rotating, lights flickering.

“It’s gravitational distortion! Dammit, dammit!” 4/

I fall to my knees, feeling nauseous. As I look up, I see him. A figure, at the end of the hallway.

He seems, blurry, indistinct.

A low-pitched rumble is making the ground shake.

“Temporal law enforcement! Cease all anti-gravity ops! NOW!”

The timecop raises his gun. 5/

Suddenly there is a blinding white light.

I gasp at the intensity of it, closing my eyes, still on my knees.

I expect to hear gunshots, but I hear ... nothing.

Silence.

“Open your eyes.” The voice sounds strangely familiar.

I open my eyes, and look up at... myself. 6/

I know, it doesn’t make sense. But it’s me- an older me. The blurriness and indistinct outlines are gone.

I’m wearing some sort of complex bodysuit. A series of lights are pulsing in unison along a chest plate.

The timecop has vanished.

Older Me smiles sadly. “Hello.” 7/

“I’m dead, aren’t I? I got shot... or something. Is this-“

“No, this isn’t the afterlife. I’m not God, or an angel, or whatever you think I am. I’m you, Sayed. Or we’re us, if that makes it easier.”

Older Me steps forward.

“There isn’t much time. We have to talk.” 8/

A warning tingles in my memory. “Wait... I shouldn’t talk to you, the timecop said-“

“Said I’d lie? That I’d trick you somehow? He also didn’t tell you why he chose you, did he? He could have told you that you were the intersect. You have to trust me. There’s no time.” 9/

I decide to listen to myself, for once. Falling silent, I take a moment to really LOOK at my older version.

I’ve lost weight, but I don’t look healthy. I look gaunt, weary. There are thin scars across my face.

“I can’t hold this temporal field forever. This’ll be quick.” 10/

“I’m a time refugee, Sayed. In the future, people will resort to time travel to escape their timeline. I had to escape mine, ours, because it’s falling apart. And a very simple decision you made ended up killing millions of people. I had to tell you...”

“Wait, millions-“ 11/

Older Me seems to be visibly weakening. For the first time I realize the bubble of white light we are cocooned in seems to be flickering.

He speaks to me again, “Tomorrow morning, if you leave the house for work, a series of events are set into motion. Millions will die.” 12/

I feel a surge of nausea.

“But... but... that’s impossible. I go to work every day! That’s-“

“Yes, but something happens tomorrow, if you leave your house. I can’t explain it, beyond the Butterfly Effect. I’ve traced all the timelines, and the flux point is tomorrow.” 13/

Older Me slowly slumps to his knees. His breathing is getting labored.

“Sayed. I know you’re afraid. It’s okay. I’m scared too. I can’t hold this field much longer. The timecop is going to kill me the minute it’s down, to close this loop. You have to make a choice.” 14/

“What choice? If I leave for work tomorrow, millions die? So I’ll just stay home! What choice?”

“If you stay home, it changes everything too. I just don’t know how. I’ve only seen one outcome. It might be worse.”

“Worse than millions dying? I’ll take my chances!” 15/

He smiles. “I’d forgotten how strongly I used to believe in things.”

Slowly, painfully, Older Me gets to his feet. Reaching down, he unholsters a gun, similar to the timecop’s. He gives it to me.

I take it, hesitantly.

“I’m out of time, Sayed. I want you to do it.” 16/

“Do what?”

Older Me taps his chest, above his heart. “Aim for there. One shot will do it. Better you than him, buddy.”

Suddenly my eyes fill with hot tears. “Are you crazy? No way! I have so many questions! What about m-“

“There’s no time. It’s going to be okay.” 17/

Older Me is breathing with an audible wheeze now, sweat lining his brow. All around us, the white light is crackling and fading.

“Don’t make the same mistakes I did, Sayed. Live your life one day at a time. Enjoy it. Hey, maybe you can write about this!”

He smiles, weakly. 18/

I raise the gun, aiming. I can barely see, tears are streaming down. I know all the places this person has been. I know his life, his loves, his hopes, his dreams.

I am him.

I can’t do this.

A gunshot rings out, and Older Me crumples.

The timecop is standing there. 19/

“What did he tell you? In the temporal field, what did he say?”

I stammer. “N-n-nothing... he-“

The timecop aims the gun at me, “DON’T LIE TO ME, SAYED!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! He- he told me the lotto numbers.” I back away.

“DON’T lie to me!” His eyes flash. 20/

“I swear, it was lotto numbers and the next few Super Bowl winners. Don’t kill me!”

The timecop exhales, and lowers his gun. “I’m not going to kill you. This is your timeline. But I am going to make you forget.”

He presses a button on the gun, and aims it at me.

“Wait!” 21/

The bullet stings. I realize it isn’t a bullet. It’s a dart of some kind.

I feel weak. Woozy. Everything is fading.

There’s a body on the floor. It looks like me...

I have to stay home. Millions of lives depend on it.

Temporal refugees...

I can’t ... forget. I- I- 22/

I woke up this morning with a strange headache. I had the weirdest dream, I think. I can’t remember, it’s fading.

Time travel? Perhaps.

My shoulder is really sore. I found a puncture wound as I showered, wicked insect bite.

It’s time to go to work.

I’m getting ready. 23/

I don’t know why, but a crazy thought just seized me.

Maybe I’ll stay home?

My shoulder’s really sore.

The more I think about it-

Yeah, I’ll do it. No work!

Maybe I’ll write something.

Yes, I have to write this down.

Before I forget.

Breathe. Focus.

My name is Sayed...