Doctor Time - Pep Talk

Doctor Time looked out at his audience -- from the audience. Not that many students took Advanced Time Theory. At least not in this iteration. He sometimes went back here to think and bug himself when he was in a different frame of mind. It was a little bit dangerous, but then everything with Time Travel was. It was simply a question of what you got used to.

The university let him shape events so that he’d have a reasonable excuse to see himself and not remember a lot of the details. The test worked, and soon it became the true year 3 end for Fractal Integration.

This was the opening class and he hadn’t been asked to teach another one. He wasn’t sure if the grammar was off, or if it simply worked best as an introductory lecture to orient new students. Or so the version of him on stage thought. Or at least with the full safeties on.

The correct version of this year end assignment was to do a Null Pulse on Doctor Time (Speaker) before and after the each day so he could keep teaching the class indefinitely and without too many specific memories to confuse himself. Each class was stored as a fractal pattern that would be graded based on how many memories you could unlock and still have people not be disorientated.

There was something about this particular mix of people that rated this fractal ‘class’ a bit harder, and it was bumped up to Year 4 end.

It was currently being taught by a time echo of himself, so he could answer basic questions and recognize new students, or so Doctor Time (Audience) thought. Again, not quite the truth, but it helped him ease his conscience about his other self getting Null Pulsed so often.

(Speaker) began.

“As much as we at the University taught about Time Travel, in reality no-one really understands it.

They could control it. Stretch it. Play with the order of events, but it was like moving sand on a beach.”

At this point he lifts a large tub of sand onto the table in front of him.

“Sometimes you end up with a castle.” He lifts a bucket to show a shape. “But more often you just end up with ... sand.”

His audience self spoke up “Isn’t that a little too binary?”

The man on stage was taken back a bit. He reaches for a red antenna, which was his little way of cancelling some of the Null Pulse, in a random sort of way.

“I see what you mean.” he sighed, recognizing himself in the audience “Ah, you. What do you want to be called today?”

His audience self smiled “Doctor Nathan Time, Retiring”. The version of himself on stage looked a bit surprised, then relieved.

“How many years?” Stage asks. “Don’t Ask.” is the response. “But lots.”

 

The Stage Version of himself grabs a Calculations Board from the back of the stage. “Is there something happening I should know about?" He says, trying to get a handle on the situation. “I mean, apart from my retirement. For the purpose of this conversation, you’d probably call me Professor Time, if you don’t mind Doctor.”

Doctor Nathan Time laughs at himself. “They’ve started to call it Vanilla Time, when nothing odd happens for a while, but we both know that’s subjective."

“Indeed” says the Professor. He tries his antenna on the highest setting, opening a flood of memories of each of the faculty stopping in on his class and going over various theories. The professor pauses.

Doctor Time notes the origin Trigger for the set of ideas he’s been working on. “That’s a lot of memories. I guess they do sort of sort out into some kind of order, even with all the bouncing around.”

“Is there anything you don’t want me to know?” says the man on stage.

Doctor Time pauses and brings out his sonic pen. “This was on my desk this morning.” He plays message on the Device. “Happy Imminent Retirement Doctor”

The stage version is confused. “Yes, my Sonic Pen. I’ve had it for years.”

Doctor Time starts crying. “Oh. Oh. That’s good. It’s just new to me today. You know it has a setting that clears Null Pulses a bit better than the antenna?”

“Of course I know that, I’ve just never used it with you in the room. Wait, I don’t know that.”

The professor tries it out and gets up to speed. “You know this has to trigger a TimeQuake. We can’t both be here with almost the same memories and still talk. But if my years of tinkering have worked, this should be a pretty quiet one. It’s a good thing I blocked the memories of the pen. That should shift things enough.”

Jade, who has been hiding quietly in the back of the hall, shouts despite herself. “Finally!”

The professor, who has been doing theory more than practical is taken aback. “This is serious.”

Jade apologies “Sorry Professor, it’s the year 3 Temporal Triggering question that nobody can answer. What caused the shift that is the precursor of the bigger TimeQuake”

Doctor Time jumps on stage. “I knew they were hiding that from me.”

A second year Temporal Siesmeics student speaks up. “So, wait. If we know the events the start the shift, and assume that “Doctor” and “Professor” are the fault line...”

“Brilliant” says the Professor still processing new and old information and settling it out. “And safe. Well mostly. I’ll likely have memory loss and probably lose a bunch of skills, but I’ve put in the, what did you call it ‘Vanilla Time’, to keep something.”

Doctor Time asks everyone to say what they know about the upcoming TimeQuake. Most of the students go on about the severity or disorientation. Particularly what you’d expect from a poor reaction.

“Anyone else?” he asks. Jade speaks up. “32” she says as blankly as possible.

The professor looks up from the calculations on his board, he’s just finished analyzing what happens if most of the energy of a TimeQuake goes into a large loops instead of a fracture.

“What did you say?”

“32” Jade says. “It’s the answer to the equation on the board.”

Doctor Time takes over. “I see, if you focus the loops into a large enough iteration then get a team together to focus the effect into smaller and smaller causes.”

Jade stands up. “And that’s why I’m here. I didn’t know the exact circumstances that prompted everything, but now that’s out in the open we can be more specific in the Null Pulses. Let people have more memories and skills to play with, though it seems like the two of you can operate pretty well without much to work on."

There is a large sigh of relief in the class, they’ve passed year 4 Fractal Integration Comm/Traffic.

The safeties drop and people remember the last few loops of the class they’ve been in.

iOi appears in the corner /Click Pop Whirr Clunk/ “Surprise to you too buddy!” says Doctor Time. “Thanks for keeping us safe and sane.”

Professor Time looks at the Robot with interest. “I see. That makes sense. The first time traveller would be a robot. Something that goes back in time, makes a paradox and loops till random fluctuations bumps it off course. Right, Doctor Zapp had mentioned that might be a solution the other day. ”

Jade taps her comm badge. “Doctor Zapp to Year 4 Fractal Integration Final -1 day, Robot Design”

The professor looks around. “Oh. So we’re just causing paradoxes now?”

/Click Whirr Thud/ The professor uses his Sonic Pen to Translate. “Of course, that’s how we power the time loops”