INVERSION
By
M. W. Leeming
M. W. Leeming
It was too late.
At precisely 00:00:00, the Inversion commenced the way it was timed to.
I saw Renner dive across the lab, but it was a hopeless cause.
What a shame; what a shame it had come to this. That this was how I must make my final stand for the sake of humanity.
Blood pumped from the circular wound where the bullet had thumped into my chest, knocking me off my feet. It spread quickly into my shirt, soaking my front within seconds. I clutched at my chest. Aware that these were the last few seconds of my life. Tears of lament in my eyes, breathless and gasping.
The bang was louder than I could have expected. The feeling like a sledgehammer to the rib-cage.
He looked at me with the wide and panic-stricken eyes of a deer in headlights. A helpless frustration. The sequence of events about to unfold could not be avoided now and we both knew it. And all I could think was, how many times will this hurt?
A rhetorical question. A feeble attempt to distract me from acknowledging the very obvious. Even if there was an answer, it didn’t matter.
“You’re going to die,” said Renner, extending the gun towards me. “I’m going to win and there isn‘t a damn thing you can do about it. Now how does that make you feel?”
We looked at each other. A moment in which our feelings charged the silence like static. A fragment of time like the tension of a Wild West stand-off.
“It’s not yours,” I said. “You can’t have it.”
“Don’t mess around, Otto. Give it to me!”
He reached out his empty hand and grimaced.
But I hadn’t come this far to give in. Renner may have had the gun, but I had the advantage. Things were in motion that all the guns in the world couldn’t stop.
“It’s really not hard to understand,” said Renner. “This will have consequences that affect more than you can possibly imagine.”
“I am committed to my beliefs,” I said. “I will stop them.”
Renner frowned. “I know that you think that what you’re doing is right, Otto. But you couldn’t be more wrong!”
“I’m not insane, Renner. I am enlightened.”
“You are insane. You’re going to cause a temporal catastrophe. I will stop you no matter what it takes.”
I removed the device from my knapsack. The device that Renner and I had designed and built in accordance with our military contract. I weighed it in my hands, thoughtfully.
“It’s too late,” I said.
Renner was sweating. Fear and panic. “Otto, you have to think about this carefully. You’re making a big mistake.”
“No,” I said.
Renner pointed his revolver at me.
“You really should listen to me, Otto. End this.”
“No. The device is activated.”
“Are you joking?” Renner was clearly anxious.
“The device is activated and timed to go off…” I checked my watch. “Any minute now.”
“This is not the way to make your point,” he said.
“The government cannot be trusted. This technology is beyond them. It’s beyond us, Renner. We never should have made this thing. I’m going to stop all this madness. I’ve set the device to make a Temporal Inversion. A Causality Loop.
They cannot be allowed to time-travel. The Universe would be theirs to mould to their liking.”
Renner stepped toward me. I didn’t trust him. He was always the smooth-talking one. The one with wisdom on his tongue and listeners at his heel.
“Otto. I’m your friend. You know you can trust me.”
“I can’t trust you. I can’t trust anyone.”
Renner frowned. “Trust me,” he said. “I’m not here to hurt you. I just need you to hand over the device.”
Renner was a liar, and this was it. The moment when he would betray me. Betray humanity. Our beliefs. Everything we’d ever stood for. He was deep in the pocket of corrupt officials with a sinister motive. And the research into time-tech was never meant to benefit those with the power to do harm.
My path was laid before me. In order to do what had to be done, I had turned the device into a weapon. A necessary hypocrisy. These people had to be stopped before they started.
This was a cause that was greater than the strength of any self-doubt. This was the path I’d chosen. And I was committed to it.
Nothing could change that.
It wouldn’t be much longer, now.
23:57:00
It wouldn’t be much longer, now.
Nothing could change that.
This was a cause that was greater than the strength of any self-doubt. This was the path I’d chosen. And I was committed to it.
My path was laid before me. In order to do what had to be done, I had turned the device into a weapon. A necessary hypocrisy. These people had to be stopped before they started.
Renner was a liar, and this was it. The moment when he would betray me. Betray humanity. Our beliefs. Everything we’d ever stood for. He was deep in the pocket of corrupt officials with a sinister motive. And the research into time-tech was never meant to benefit those with the power to do harm.
Renner frowned. “Trust me,” he said. “I’m not here to hurt you. I just need you to hand over the device.”
“I can’t trust you. I can’t trust anyone.”
“Otto. I’m your friend. You know you can trust me.”
Renner stepped toward me. I didn’t trust him. He was always the smooth-talking one. The one with wisdom on his tongue and listeners at his heel.
“The government cannot be trusted. This technology is beyond them. It’s beyond us, Renner. We never should have made this thing. I’m going to stop all this madness. I’ve set the device to make a Temporal Inversion. A Causality Loop. They cannot be allowed to time-travel. The Universe would be theirs to mould to their liking.”
“This is not the way to make your point,” he said.
“The device is activated and timed to go off…” I checked my watch. “Any minute now.”
“Are you joking?” Renner was clearly anxious.
“No. The device is activated.”
“You really should listen to me, Otto. End this.”
Renner pointed his revolver at me.
“No,” I said.
Renner was sweating. Fear and panic. “Otto, you have to think about this carefully. You’re making a big mistake.”
“It’s too late,” I said.
I removed the device from my knapsack. The device that Renner and I had designed and built in accordance with our military contract. I weighed it in my hands, thoughtfully.
“You are insane. You’re going to cause a temporal catastrophe. I will stop you no matter what it takes.”
“I’m not insane, Renner. I am enlightened.”
Renner frowned. “I know that you think that what you’re doing is right, Otto. But you couldn’t be more wrong!”
“I am committed to my beliefs,” I said. “I will stop them.”
“It’s really not hard to understand,” said Renner. “This will have consequences that affect more than you can possibly imagine.”
But I hadn’t come this far to give in. Renner may have had the gun, but I had the advantage. Things were in motion that all the guns in the world couldn’t stop.
He reached out his empty hand and grimaced.
“Don’t mess around, Otto. Give it to me!”
“It’s not yours,” I said. “You can’t have it.”
We looked at each other. A moment in which our feelings charged the silence like static. A fragment of time like the tension of a Wild West stand-off.
“You’re going to die,” said Renner, extending the gun towards me. “I’m going to win and there isn‘t a damn thing you can do about it. Now how does that make you feel?”
A rhetorical question. A feeble attempt to distract me from acknowledging the very obvious. Even if there was an answer, it didn’t matter.
He looked at me with the wide and panic-stricken eyes of a deer in headlights. A helpless frustration. The sequence of events about to unfold could not be avoided now and we both knew it. And all I could think was, how many times will this hurt?
The bang was louder than I could have expected. The feeling like a sledgehammer to the rib-cage.
Blood pumped from the circular wound where the bullet had thumped into my chest, knocking me off my feet. It spread quickly into my shirt, soaking my front within seconds. I clutched at my chest. Aware that these were the last few seconds of my life. Tears of lament in my eyes, breathless and gasping.
What a shame; what a shame it had come to this. That this was how I must make my final stand for the sake of humanity.
I saw Renner dive across the lab, but it was a hopeless cause.
At precisely 00:00:00, the Inversion commenced the way it was timed to.
It was too late.
At precisely 00:00:00, the Inversion commenced the way it was timed to.
I saw Renner dive across the lab, but it was a hopeless cause.
What a shame; what a shame it had come to this. That this was how I must make my final stand for the sake of humanity.
Blood pumped from the circular wound where the bullet had thumped into my chest, knocking me off my feet. It spread quickly into my shirt, soaking my front within seconds. I clutched at my chest. Aware that these were the last few seconds of my life. Tears of lament in my eyes, breathless and gasping.
The bang was louder than I could have expected. The feeling like a sledgehammer to the rib-cage.
He looked at me with the wide and panic-stricken eyes of a deer in headlights. A helpless frustration. The sequence of events about to unfold could not be avoided now and we both knew it. And all I could think was, how many times will this hurt?
A rhetorical question. A feeble attempt to distract me from acknowledging the very obvious. Even if there was an answer, it didn’t matter.
“You’re going to die,” said Renner, extending the gun towards me. “I’m going to win and there isn‘t a damn thing you can do about it. Now how does that make you feel?”
We looked at each other. A moment in which our feelings charged the silence like static. A fragment of time like the tension of a Wild West stand-off.
“It’s not yours,” I said. “You can’t have it.”
“Don’t mess around, Otto. Give it to me!”
He reached out his empty hand and grimaced.
But I hadn’t come this far to give in. Renner may have had the gun, but I had the advantage. Things were in motion that all the guns in the world couldn’t stop.
“It’s really not hard to understand,” said Renner. “This will have consequences that affect more than you can possibly imagine.”
“I am committed to my beliefs,” I said. “I will stop them.”
Renner frowned. “I know that you think that what you’re doing is right, Otto. But you couldn’t be more wrong!”
“I’m not insane, Renner. I am enlightened.”
“You are insane. You’re going to cause a temporal catastrophe. I will stop you no matter what it takes.”
I removed the device from my knapsack. The device that Renner and I had designed and built in accordance with our military contract. I weighed it in my hands, thoughtfully.
“It’s too late,” I said.
Renner was sweating. Fear and panic. “Otto, you have to think about this carefully. You’re making a big mistake.”
“No,” I said.
Renner pointed his revolver at me.
“You really should listen to me, Otto. End this.”
“No. The device is activated.”
“Are you joking?” Renner was clearly anxious.
“The device is activated and timed to go off…” I checked my watch. “Any minute now.”
“This is not the way to make your point,” he said.
“The government cannot be trusted. This technology is beyond them. It’s beyond us, Renner. We never should have made this thing. I’m going to stop all this madness. I’ve set the device to make a Temporal Inversion. A Causality Loop.
They cannot be allowed to time-travel. The Universe would be theirs to mould to their liking.”
Renner stepped toward me. I didn’t trust him. He was always the smooth-talking one. The one with wisdom on his tongue and listeners at his heel.
“Otto. I’m your friend. You know you can trust me.”
“I can’t trust you. I can’t trust anyone.”
Renner frowned. “Trust me,” he said. “I’m not here to hurt you. I just need you to hand over the device.”
Renner was a liar, and this was it. The moment when he would betray me. Betray humanity. Our beliefs. Everything we’d ever stood for. He was deep in the pocket of corrupt officials with a sinister motive. And the research into time-tech was never meant to benefit those with the power to do harm.
My path was laid before me. In order to do what had to be done, I had turned the device into a weapon. A necessary hypocrisy. These people had to be stopped before they started.
This was a cause that was greater than the strength of any self-doubt. This was the path I’d chosen. And I was committed to it.
Nothing could change that.
It wouldn’t be much longer, now.
23:57:00
It wouldn’t be much longer, now.
Nothing could change that.
This was a cause that was greater than the strength of any self-doubt. This was the path I’d chosen. And I was committed to it.
My path was laid before me. In order to do what had to be done, I had turned the device into a weapon. A necessary hypocrisy. These people had to be stopped before they started.
Renner was a liar, and this was it. The moment when he would betray me. Betray humanity. Our beliefs. Everything we’d ever stood for. He was deep in the pocket of corrupt officials with a sinister motive. And the research into time-tech was never meant to benefit those with the power to do harm.
Renner frowned. “Trust me,” he said. “I’m not here to hurt you. I just need you to hand over the device.”
“I can’t trust you. I can’t trust anyone.”
“Otto. I’m your friend. You know you can trust me.”
Renner stepped toward me. I didn’t trust him. He was always the smooth-talking one. The one with wisdom on his tongue and listeners at his heel.
“The government cannot be trusted. This technology is beyond them. It’s beyond us, Renner. We never should have made this thing. I’m going to stop all this madness. I’ve set the device to make a Temporal Inversion. A Causality Loop. They cannot be allowed to time-travel. The Universe would be theirs to mould to their liking.”
“This is not the way to make your point,” he said.
“The device is activated and timed to go off…” I checked my watch. “Any minute now.”
“Are you joking?” Renner was clearly anxious.
“No. The device is activated.”
“You really should listen to me, Otto. End this.”
Renner pointed his revolver at me.
“No,” I said.
Renner was sweating. Fear and panic. “Otto, you have to think about this carefully. You’re making a big mistake.”
“It’s too late,” I said.
I removed the device from my knapsack. The device that Renner and I had designed and built in accordance with our military contract. I weighed it in my hands, thoughtfully.
“You are insane. You’re going to cause a temporal catastrophe. I will stop you no matter what it takes.”
“I’m not insane, Renner. I am enlightened.”
Renner frowned. “I know that you think that what you’re doing is right, Otto. But you couldn’t be more wrong!”
“I am committed to my beliefs,” I said. “I will stop them.”
“It’s really not hard to understand,” said Renner. “This will have consequences that affect more than you can possibly imagine.”
But I hadn’t come this far to give in. Renner may have had the gun, but I had the advantage. Things were in motion that all the guns in the world couldn’t stop.
He reached out his empty hand and grimaced.
“Don’t mess around, Otto. Give it to me!”
“It’s not yours,” I said. “You can’t have it.”
We looked at each other. A moment in which our feelings charged the silence like static. A fragment of time like the tension of a Wild West stand-off.
“You’re going to die,” said Renner, extending the gun towards me. “I’m going to win and there isn‘t a damn thing you can do about it. Now how does that make you feel?”
A rhetorical question. A feeble attempt to distract me from acknowledging the very obvious. Even if there was an answer, it didn’t matter.
He looked at me with the wide and panic-stricken eyes of a deer in headlights. A helpless frustration. The sequence of events about to unfold could not be avoided now and we both knew it. And all I could think was, how many times will this hurt?
The bang was louder than I could have expected. The feeling like a sledgehammer to the rib-cage.
Blood pumped from the circular wound where the bullet had thumped into my chest, knocking me off my feet. It spread quickly into my shirt, soaking my front within seconds. I clutched at my chest. Aware that these were the last few seconds of my life. Tears of lament in my eyes, breathless and gasping.
What a shame; what a shame it had come to this. That this was how I must make my final stand for the sake of humanity.
I saw Renner dive across the lab, but it was a hopeless cause.
At precisely 00:00:00, the Inversion commenced the way it was timed to.
It was too late.