Further Theories

"Asher, this is Zhuang Lei, my best friend in the whole wide world," he said with a wide smile and put an arm around his friend's shoulders. I don't know why but this irritates me more than it should.

"Nice to meet you," Lei said while rising from his seat. At the moment I can't do anything else but find out where this is going. So, I greeted him back and sat down.

"I told Lei that you're writing a book about time travel. Lei is the biggest geek I know, so he can provide you with all the sci-fi knowledge you need. So, just ask away."

Don't get me wrong. I really do appreciate his effort of wanting to help me. But writing a book? Really? I'm glad he didn't tell him the real reason, but still.

"So, you need my help to make your novel more authentic, right?"

"As authentic as fiction can be," I told Lei as I sat down too.

"I mean you want to convince your readers that it's real," Jack's friend said while grabbing his glass to drink. He waved his glass towards me which I took as him asking me if I wanted to drink as well.

"No, thank you," I replied and he didn't try to persuade me just put down his glass after that.

"I think I could help you more if you tell me more about your story. What is it about, what is the role of time travel in it, and how it happens? It also saves time by narrowing down all the info, so you don't get to hear things which are useless to you."

"It's a historical romance," I said the first thing that came to my mind which Jack obviously found amusing as he kept smirking at me. "You know, the usual," I said with a blank face. The protagonist goes back in time, where he saves a damsel in distress with whom he fell in love at first sight. But they cannot marry because the girl's father wants to marry her off to a rich brute, so he does everything in his power to prevent the marriage. After many trials, the protagonist succeeds and then brings the girl back with him to the future and they live happily ever after."

"Wow... It sounds... intriguing." It seemed Lei couldn't find any words for this. Me neither.

"Well, these are just the basics. The story is more complicated."

"I bet," cut in Jack, with which he earned a side-eye from me.

"I see. And what did you choose as your time machine? asked Lei.

"A watch." As if it was my choice.

"Interesting choice. But not that uncommon. Clocks were used as a means of time travel in stories even as early as 1881. Well, you use a watch, which is different but also similar."

"I didn't know that. And I also have no idea how it works. Or how it should work, rather. I mean, it would be reasonable to make it work by adjusting the watch hands on the watch. But I've no idea whether it would work theoretically at all. I mean, how could the protagonist make sure to go to an exact date and location? What is more, where will he land when he finally goes back to his time? Logically speaking, if he leaves the past at the same spot where he was when he arrived there, then he would arrive at the same spot in his present time where he was when he left it, right?" Lei crossed his arms and stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"Technically, yes. And it's a safer choice than leaving the past elsewhere since calculating the location is the hardest, it's more complicated, so he might end up in a dangerous situation. Unless that's what you're going for. So, yes, the point of arrival and departure should better be the same as at the beginning. Now with the time, you may play with the numbers on the dial of the watch and the number of times you turn the watch hands."

"Sounds complicated."

"It is but in the case of a watch, there's a limited number of ways one can make it work, so..."

"And how about the actions? I mean, the protagonist meets people he didn't know before. As he interacts with them, it would affect both their futures, not only his, right?"

"I think so. Unless you include a fixed point in time. Have you watched Doctor Who?" I shook my head. "Basically, it's an event in the past, which cannot be changed, no matter what. Like historical events, for example. The protagonist may try to change it still, but the unfolding events caused by his decision to change it will try everything to prevent him from doing so. And even if he were to succeed, it would result in a catastrophe for the future of those involved in it."

"It doesn't sound good," said Jack intrigued. "But it would be interesting to find out. Don't you think so, Asher?" He asked and I realized this was the second time he actually said my name. Somehow, it feels rather good to hear him say it.

"It is. But there's something more important than that." Upon saying this, I saw Jack leaning forward, his face all serious all of a sudden. "I cannot decide on something which will have a huge impact on the outcome of the story. But I don't know which route to take yet, so I need your advice."

"I'm listening," said Lei seriously, putting down the glass in his hand.

"As far as I know, when the protagonist goes back to his present, he will still remember what happened to him. At least in most cases. But what about the other people? Those, whom he interacted with. Will they forget everything about him, or will they retain their memories even after he is gone?"

When hearing this, Jack became more alert, almost as if he was just as curious about the answer as me, or perhaps, even more.

"It hugely depends on how time is interpreted. I would say, in most cases, the traveler would remember everything. At least according to popular sci-fi works. And about the others... There are many cases where they also remember both the traveler and what they did together. And there are also cases when they don't. So, it's up to you to decide which path to choose. But be it either way, just remember to make your reasoning believable otherwise, your readers won't enjoy the story."

"I see. Thank you!"

"You're welcome! I'm always happy to help out a friend," he told me kindly and my mind might be playing tricks on me but he seemed to be glancing meaningfully at us.

"Thanks a bunch, Lei! As a sign of gratitude, we brought a gift for you," said Jack and looked at me.

I took this as a sign to give him the box which was resting on the seat next to me.

"There's no need to be grateful for a favor between friends," Lei said and I'm a hundred percent sure he was earnest when he said it. But he still looked at the present that Jack handed to him. "Oh, is that a golf club? You really know what I would like," he said to Jack. "You must really treasure your friend if his request is worth this much to you." They were both smiling and it is evident that they're close friends. But there is something strange in the way Lei said this. Not to mention, I can't even believe how expensive that present can be if he was this surprised to get it.

"Don't worry! I'm counting on you at the golf course again sometime," Jack said to his friend teasingly.

"How about next week?"

"Next week's good. We'll discuss the details later," Jack replied.

"Cool. Anyway, I'm glad I could help. Now, I must go because I have other engagements. See you later, Jack. And you too, Asher," Lei said as he turned to me to say goodbye. As I watched him leave, I realized he was nicer than I thought. When I looked back at Jack, I also realized that Jack was staring at me.

"I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask him. I trust him with my life. Lei is a great guy. We've been friends since middle school."

"Thank you," I told Jack sincerely which made his expression change a little.

"There's no need. You saved my life. I'm grateful."

"That's a stretch."

"Hardly," Jack said and got up from his chair. "For us, businessmen, being involved in such a scandal may equal death in the business circle. No one wants to do business with an infamous person."

"If you worry about that so much perhaps, you shouldn't have been swimming naked," I told him matter-of-factly and stood up as well so that we could leave.

"Yeah, I should've thought about that. But on the positive side, now I'm not the only one who saw you half-naked. You saw me too, so we're even now," he said jokingly.

What kind of reasoning is that?