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    Timelock
    Timelock
    Timelock
    Ebook30 pages24 minutes

    Timelock

    By Nicholas Stillman

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Enter the world’s first secretly built time machine, the timelock. But beware: it works like an airlock to keep out contaminants--namely, mankind. When Stewart, a dedicated pianist, takes a simple stroll in the future, he collapses all of civilization just by having the wrong personality. His conscientious friend who built the timelock, Emerson, must keep sending Stewart forward in time to correct the hellraising fiascoes.

    Through nightmarish trial and error, Stewart discovers that the universe has its own catastrophist way of preventing a time-travel paradox: by crucifying everyone on Earth if the wrong people toy with time. Could a sentient universe care so much about order that it throws humankind into chaos? One man will have to bend the rules back to normal or watch each of his efforts warp the world like a wrecking ball. And the universe hates rule-benders.

    Get “Timelock” now for a stack of dystopias and the quest to erase them all.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStillman Sci-Fi
    Release dateOct 7, 2017
    ISBN9781386446897
    Timelock
    Author

    Nicholas Stillman

    Nicholas Stillman writes dark but entertaining science fiction. His weekly short stories and collections aim for variety and novelty with fun and thought-provoking twists. They often branch into dystopia, crime, horror, medical fiction, black comedy, romance, adventure, adult, and the completely new. Some of Stillman’s themes include civilizational collapse, addictions of the future, medicine in space, dark psychology, and the terrifying fate of our healthcare. Stillman offers monthly free short stories at StillmanSciFi.com. Get yourself free, easily accessible short stories for life--the perfect way for any science fiction fan to spend time on commutes or at home.

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      Book preview

      Timelock - Nicholas Stillman

      Table of Contents

      Timelock | By Nicholas Stillman

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      Also By Nicholas Stillman

      Timelock

      By Nicholas Stillman

      © 2017 Nicholas Stillman

      Get free short stories monthly at stillmanscifi.com

      IT DIDN’T LOOK LIKE a chamber that could transform the universe. Stewart opened the kitchen’s plain wooden door further and even poked his head in. He saw nothing inside but a small, empty room with a dark door directly opposite of him. The coal-black walls only looked remarkable in their faint shine and smoothness. Stewart’s piano back home, his livelihood, had the same sleek beauty, especially its black keys. At least his music could carry people through time, if only via memory. Emerson’s so-called timelock seemed nothing like an airlock to the future and more like a place to store firewood.

      The dark little room distracted Stewart for about two seconds. Emerson used that time to reclose his bathrobe and tie it shut. The drawstrings dangled and pointed like waving arms to his pajama bottoms and slippers. Despite inventing time travel—or perhaps because of it—he hadn’t even found time to dress for the afternoon.

      Stewart wore his spiffiest coat, something he usually chose for parties after one of his rare concertos. A few aficionados still paid for such performances, and they’d keep paying if their musicians upheld certain old-timey formalities. The presentation of the timelock seemed to merit much less. Stewart had taken Emerson’s advice by taming any excitement and by driving safely to get here. By the look of the room, he should have driven safer.

      You say you’ve already crossed time eight years? Stewart asked his friend.

      Yes, Emerson said. He still had his wide, expectant eyes from the experience. Then again, he always had those.

      What did you see? Or...can you tell me at all?

      Oh, I don’t think the universe will mind, Emerson began. I only observed more pedestrians than usual bustling about. I guess people will soon give up on their reclusive online activities and seek company outdoors. Not much happens over eight years.

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