E-Equals

I am a Keeper of Time. I patrol the ages of the old and the new, guarding the fabric of reality and the fragile existence of the infinite space-continuum. Not long ago there existed a man who was intent on breaking time. A Time Traveller. He wasn’t inherently evil. And in most instances I supposed he was just curious. But curiosity is no excuse for carelessness, because on one of his ventures he managed to accidentally restart the entire human evolution span by swatting a mosquito that had landed on his neck whilst he was viewing a flock of pterodactyls. That one incident set off a butterfly effect that spiraled to destroy all present worlds! First, I had to go back to the exact point before he arrived in the Dinosaur Age, neutralize him and then fast forward to the point in which he first discovered time travel. It was in the 1800’s, in a lab in Germany. I didn’t know the time traveller’s name. How could I? My only job was to ensure he would never make his first trip.

I didn’t bother correcting his other travels. He hadn’t distorted time in his ventures to Greece, Pompeii or the Renaissance. However, in the modern day he refused to acknowledge his mistakes and therefore would have to pay the penalty. What I did next is something I’d prefer to never do, let alone, speak of. I had to erase him from existence. It wasn’t all bad though. There were still many more branched timeline in which he agreed not to tamper with time. Heck, there was one universe where he never even discovered time travel. And believe me, he was better off. I finally ended up visiting the version of him who would never discover the secrets of time travel. I got to know him, understand him, as a sentiment to the version of him I had to erase. I’ll never forget that time. A time so very long ago. And I’ll never forget his name. Albert.

Reviews

[D.M. Knight]

Very interesting short story... Thought provoking. I love the idea of multi universes in which a doppelganger exists in a different reality due to different occurrences... The idea that someone guards the integrity of the time-space-continuum is great! Nice job.