Time, emiT, and Time Again

In a future where processing speeds allow computers to predict the future and advancements in genetic engineering allow people to design custom children, what happens when these technologies -and a couple who haven't kept pace with post-singularity advances in technology- are combined to try to create a family? When one can not only select for simple things like gender, eye color, and hair color, but also for likely future outcomes like when and where your child will have their first kiss, or what career they'll be drawn to, how far would you be willing to go to create the child of your dreams? In part 1, Harold and Anne find themselves unable to complete PreVision Reproduction's normal interview process, then watch a detailed holographic brochure about advances in reproductive technology while they wait for something more suitable to be cooked up.

This essay is a personal exploration of my own unusual relationship with time. It touches both on my mind and body's disconnection from a "normal" circadian rhythm and on my imagination and creative mind being six months (to many years) ahead of the pace of technology.

In part 3, after discussing a few of the more ambitious possibilities presented by Brent's new ability, then deciding not to talk about an argument Brent reversed out of existence, they receive an unexpected visitor from their future gone wrong.

In part 2, Charlie surprises Brent with a single ounce of unmarked gold, and over the course of several exhausting hours they use time manipulations to turn it into tens of millions of dollars' worth of precious metal.

Imagine you could change the direction you travel through time and actually go backward in time. In this story, Brent finds himself able to do just that and, along with his brother Charlie, explores some of the possibilities that ability creates. Together they look at problems of ethics, causality, and the possibility of doing heroic deeds and making themselves vast amounts of wealth very quickly. In part 1, Brent gives just a couple quick (if confusing) examples of what can be done, and begins to discuss the ethical implications of creating something from nothing with his brother.

This essay is about an alternate conception about visualizing the shape of time. Rather than the standard circles, squares, and grids created by the limitations of paper and other physical displays, I suggest a new model which fits time better and is very reasonable to be displayed by today's ubiquitous digital displays.

In part 3, after losing interest in a direct encounter with a frozen bolt of lightning, he finds himself less and less interested in his surroundings and simply walks on, across the country, across the ocean, then finally finds himself standing in a place he'd never expected to be.

In part 2, upon waking up to find himself in the same frozen moment he'd gone to sleep, explores the oddities of the everyday objects of his home before heading outside again, this time simply following the road where it takes him.

This is a story about getting so caught up in love with someone that you stop living your own life, stop moving forward. - This is a story about finding yourself so stuck in seeking the same somebody that you become unstuck from the world. This is a story about love, and about waiting. - In part 1 the main character, finding himself alone in a single frozen moment of stopped time, explores his neighborhood to see the extent of the situation.