Pure chaos

If a certain set of events occurred in likeness to that of a day preceding it, every moment, every minute, every second in striking detail would that be a time loop?

If yes, is time travel moving through time or is it just a chain of events unfolding in the exact same way as they have before or they will? Or is it both?

These little thoughts, these theories are what the Fenikan R&D department have brooded on, refined and perfected over the years and this birthed the 4-dimensional event sequencer, The time machine.

A few meters from the institute another superfluous building taller than most stood, on it’s peak the icon “F-R&D” was overlayed on crystal clear glass.

Keres stood a few minutes mesmerized by the significance of this place and how that importance had been expertly materialized in the architecture. In its many halls and labs reside the minds and legacies driving the empire’s technological advancements.

A soft tap on his shoulder brought back his senses.

“Keres,” the accompanying voice said. “It’s time to go in.”

It was a lanky young man, a junior researcher  assigned to be Keres’ guide. He took out a key card and scanned the panel beside the entrance and the door slid open.

Beyond the door was a dark room with a huge cylindrical compartment at its center with huge wires connected to every port. Control panels with millions of buttons surrounded it, each one serving different purposes.

“The time machine.” The man said while air quoting the ‘time machine’ part.

“We’re here already?” Asked keres. “I thought I’d get a grand tour of the place.”

“Firstly, I don’t think it’s possible to explore the whole place, I’ve been here for a year and I’ve seen less than 0.05%.” The young researcher explained nervously in his squeaky voice. “I also think the whole point of the space warp indexing is to restrict access to certain places.”

“You mean they don’t want some parts to be seen?”

“I mean they don’t want some parts to exist theoretically. You don’t see it, it doesn’t exist.”

Footfalls echoed from near the door and a more rotund researcher walked in, he was at least twice the size of his junior and it looked like he’d been eating the latter’s share of meals.

The man had a scruffy white beard and gelled black hair swept to one side of his face. His name tag read ‘Dr. Gallagher’.

He paced about the room for a while taking a few steps toward the left, shuffling through some papers on the desk. Then a few steps to the right toward control panels, he tinkered with the switches and placed his ears over the wires listening to the electron hum, all the while letting out a ‘hmm’, an ‘ah!’ and other exclamations he felt befitting.

“Sir!” The young researcher called out.

Dr. Gallagher strained his eyes a bit and for a few moments he looked lost or like he didn’t recognize the person speaking to him.

“Oh! Young Ryker? You’re still here? I asked everyone to take time off. It’s been a long…” Gallagher’s voice trailed off as he noticed the other person, an unfamiliar face. “He’s the helping hand?”

“Yes he is.” Answered Ryker. “Doctor Gallagher, Keres. Keres, Doctor Gallagher.”

They shook hands.

“It's an honor to meet you sir.”

The Doctor relinquished his palm. “No it’s not. You accord honor to those you revere and you revere those you know. But you, Keres, don’t know me.”

Keres let out a nervous chuckle.

“But I know you. At least, The version of you Strootman told me about.”

Keres was gently stroking his right cheek and temple. A habit he engaged in when anxious. “ I’m curious to know what he—”

“He called you a fool. An occasional one, one smart enough to realize his folly. The kind of fools I admire.” Doctor Gallagher glanced around himself for a bit and sighed. “Let’s get to work shall we?”

The machine gave a low-pitched whirl when Ryker pulled the lever and purred to life. All the lights, the little bulbs on the control panels, the led lights in the cylindrical compartment came to life and so did the once dark room.

Doctor Gallagher snapped a finger at keres. “Would you please set a destination date for our test, the controls are just a little to your left.” He caressed his chin in a brooding manner. “Let’s keep it at a couple hours back at most.”

Keres looked back and found a screen with the text ‘second—minute—hour—day—month—year’, he scrolled on it a bit to set the date.

“All done keres?” Doctor Gallagher asked after a few minutes.

Keres was busy stroking his cheek nervously, covertly adjusting his position to hide the controls beside him. What he had set, only he knows. “Yes.”

Dr. Gallagher gave a slight nod. “Well then if you’ll do the honors.” He nodded in the direction of the compartment.

The next few seconds went by quite fast, too fast. With every inch keres made toward the machine vertigo grew stronger and his surroundings blurred. He stepped in and it made a hissing sound as the door slowly closed, before it did though, he caught a glimpse of Ryker who rushed to try and pull him out. Ryker seemed to have found out what was set.

Keres saw him yell something unintelligible to the doctor. They were both aghast, on the Doctor’s pale white face were both fear and intrigue. A lot happened in just that one moment, it was when the first domino fell.

December 18, 2026. A date more than two millennia ago.

The walls of the compartment flew apart as it sped to dangerous speeds. Cackling electricity spiked out of every corner and after a few seconds keres was in the vastness of space. It was quiet and cold, the view ahead suddenly tore open and drew him in, into a lurid hole where voices grew louder and louder the deeper he went. Different voices, Unrecognizable languages, meaningless words.

With a loud thud the walls came back and the door slid open giving view to a dark empty street. Footsteps echoed from somewhere farther in the shadows. Keres stepped out and stared squarely into nothingness, it was all around him except the floor on which he stood. Thick snow covered the ground, spotlessly white. The patterns fell slowly from the sky adding extra layers to the snow.

On a whim, He chased one with his finger, carefully tracing its flight but when it came to rest on the ground it found a different color. A deep red. It’s white color ebbed away with every second it stayed there until white turned blood red like the others around it.

Blood red.

Blood.

A roaring sound flew by, carried by the cool wind. From its direction flashing lights reflected off buildings with broken glass. He chased after it while the sound grew louder. A cacophonous sound Repeating in a chaotic rhythm.

Screams.

He heard distant screams.

Shapes carved out of the dark. Shapes that wore strange clothes and an even stranger face. The emotions on them were something deeper than fear, something more primal.

The stampede hurtled toward him, running away from what he was running to. Running away from the light and the noise.

When they got close and almost ran him over he held his arm over his face to shield himself, but they ran right through him like he was a ghost, a hologram.

With ragged breaths he moved from the posture he’d taken a while back. When he looked straight ahead they were still passing by, hundreds of them shouting in fear, what they said he didn’t hear. All he could hear was confusion as they clobbered against each other, stood on each other. Foot on face. Hands jabbed into eyes. Pure entropy. Pure chaos.

Some of the ones running far back fell on their faces. It was in perfect sync with that loud bang. Gunfire, they were being shot at. When keres realized this the camouflaged mass appeared almost on cue. The bangs got louder and the geared men moved closer. Why they shot at these people, keres couldn’t tell.

They formed a line, moving sluggishly towards their moving targets. Bang! Bang! Their bullets ran into the crowd before a familiar white light shone from behind them. Someone vanished, slowly turning into bright particles and whooshing away.

Anti-matter gun.

But there’s no way. They shouldn’t exist. They were made centuries later, why are they here? Why now?

He didn’t notice his jaw drop when he saw them. With their insignia and the swaying flag advancing with the group. A double headed phoenix, the Fenikans.

They shot at the people running ahead but not at the other soldiers with primitive weapons. Were they working together?

As they matched past him he noticed something, a red streak on the snow. Little droplets forming a line, he followed it to its source.

A young kid.

He found a girl lying on her side covered in light snow in a red pool. The color, the one he’d seen earlier, was in her hair, her feet and parts of her face. She was wearing a pink puffer jacket covered in cuts and holes and blue jeans turned brown, literal rags.

He tried to move her. To shake her. To somehow wake her up, but on every attempt his arm slipped through her body. He placed his cheeks on the snow near her face and in her eyes he saw nothing, no lustre, no warmth, no life.

He yelled out but nothing came out of his throat. He couldn’t speak too.

‘She’s dead’

In her curled up palm he saw something flicker, when he reached out to touch it he felt the cold of her skin. He could touch now, how? Why? The logic didn’t matter to Keres at this point.

He unfurled her hand and found a purple brooch stained by blood. He looked at the glass marble until his mind went blank.

Footsteps in snow. He kept looking at the footprints he made as he walked. Where he was going he didn’t know, how he was going back to the future he couldn’t care less.

Away from the gunshots and the running crowd and the advancing onslaught were another bunch of people. Hollowed cheeks, thinning limbs, lifeless and motionless husks they were, but not dead. They hunched together perhaps trying to keep warm. Keres trudged through them and they didn’t even notice the foreigner in their midst, they were completely unresponsive.

In the distance someone was yelling something, a name.

“Emma!”

“Emma!”

And occasionally it became a little quieter when it asked: “Please have you seen my…?” Keres couldn’t make out the whole sentence, he was too busy running through the thoughts in his head and gazing at the marble brooch.

Until he saw her. A woman. Her face was partly covered in dirt. The lines made by her tears more evident, her fiery eyes still burning in their swamps and her rioting hair moving with the wind. She affronted him and the words yelled earlier came out in full force.

“Please have you seen my sister?” The voice he’d been hearing was now a face, a sad, grief stricken face. “She’s this tall.” She gestured with her hands. “She was wearing a pink jacket…” A violent ringing started in keres’ ear. “…with a brooch, a marble…” her voice trailed off as her gaze rested on his hands.

Her eyes caught A marble brooch stained by blood. The woman reached out and yanked it out of Keres’ hand. “Where did you get this?” Keres’ mouth broadened but in place of words were haggard breaths.

“Did you see her?” “Where was she?” “is she okay?”

A thousand questions followed by: “she’s fine, I know she is.” “Take me to her!”

A thousand answers and a thousand demands.

Keres felt the warmth of her hand as she pulled him. “Please, take me to her.”

“Wake up Keres!” A familiar voice interrupted.

The lurid colors and the spinning compartment appeared around him. He passed out in the vessel.