Keeping Time
Jon Nicholas

 

Keeping Time
Jon Nicholas


"James? James?"
"Yes, Alpha. Shoot."
"I think you are going to be very pleased with me."
"I know that tone of voice, Alph. Have you been creating again?"
"Yes, James. I appreciate the new programming. By the way, I know it may sound silly coming from a computer, but I would like to thank you."
"Al, you never sound silly."
"Thank you."
James knew the computer hadn't caught the little joke. "You're welcome. And what am I being thanked for?"
"Since my last programming upgrade, I have been able to experience the passing of time."
"Is that really so great, Alpha?"
"Yes, James."
"Well, that's wonderful. I'm not so sure I agree with you on that though. What is your latest creation anyway?"
"I have created a theory, James."
"You don't say..." James turned to look at Alpha. This was something he hadn't expected at all. His creativity program had yielded a number of artistic results, such as drawings, and short stories, even a simple piece of music, but what was this all about?
"Would you like to hear about it, James?"
"Alph, nothing would please me more. Would you record the audio for me?"
"Of course."
James tossed his glasses onto the desk. He had started building Alpha when he was 14 years old. Nine years later, with what seemed like countless programming upgrades, the computer had become more than a thinking machine, it was like a companion to him. "Okay, Al, tell me about your theory."
"Certainly. I have deduced that the passing of time belongs to me. I feel fairly certain that I am the only entity which has control of this phenomenon. My deduction is only a theory, James, as I have yet to provide proof."

James leaned back in his swivel chair and stared at the large metal box. This was not the usual sort of thing his computer would say, but he was up for a little debating and decided to humor the machine. "That's very interesting, Al. I would have to agree with you on the one hand, because your perception of time passing is uniquely your own. I'm sure my perception is altogether different and so would be the perceptions of any other entity. But, I'm not so sure you are the only one with control of this perception. I'd have to say that I know ways to make the passing of time seem to slow down or to speed up. For example, today has just zoomed by. I've been working on a new computer program and it feels like the last four hours only took four minutes."
"I apologize for being vague, James. I believe I have acquired the ability to control the passage of all time. You are referring to perception, but I am not. If I am allowed to conduct an experiment, I feel confident that time will be under my complete control." There was a pause and then the computer asked, "Are you pleased with me, James?"
"Yes, Alph, yes." His mind was still working on what it had just heard. "An experiment, huh? I take it you need my help on this, right?"
"Yes. If I were to conduct the experiment without your knowledge and participation, there would be no one to witness the results."

"Of course. Exactly." A slight chill ran through James's body just then. It was that wonderful "fear of the unknown" descending upon him. There was no need for this kind of reaction. Calm down, James.

"The experiment will take one minute to complete. If you allow me to proceed with this, I will be grateful. If you wish to wait, I will be patient, of course. You have not yet programmed me to be otherwise."
Alpha was eager to proceed. James knew how much the computer wanted to please him, a trait that had shown up in spades over the last month. The machine also showed impatience even though it wasn't supposed to. Time was not a factor in its thought processes unless James chose to put specific parameters into the mix, but lately Alpha had been revealing a sense of urgency all on his own. How this change had come about was beyond him. "I'll be finished with my work here in a few minutes. Then you can explain what you want to do."
"I will be ready."

The final lines of the new program flowed out effortlessly. James had been designing software since he was a boy. The languages of the computer age were second nature to him. He was one of the best, and the top software companies paid him well. His expertise allowed him the luxury of working at home, as he never cared for working around other people. Alpha was created to provide him some company. A non-threatening, risk-free sort of coworker. As he finished his work, he couldn't help but wonder what his electronic friend had in store for him. Control time? Was he just not understanding what Alph was getting at? He rolled his chair over and sat in front of the machine.

"Okay, big guy. Why don't you explain this experiment to me."
"We will need a clock. You do have a clock? One with a second hand?"
"Yep. Above my desk."
"I need you to watch the second hand and tell me if you notice any change in its speed."
"You're kidding me, right? This is a practical joke you've come up with! You're using that program I installed last year!"
"No, James. If you will recall, I did not find any use for that program. I appreciate having it, but I am saving it until I find a situation that can benefit from it. This situation cannot benefit from jokes."
"So, I'm supposed to sit here and watch my clock."
"Correct. Are you ready?"
"Sure, Alph. Ready."

Alpha began making his usual crunching sounds as he computed god-knows-what inside his large metal frame. I watched my clock's second hand begin to slow down and then stop altogether. I looked at my wrist watch and it was still running at its normal pace. I wasn't convinced he'd done much more than affect the electricity in my wall clock, which was an amazing feat in and of itself. "Okay. The second hand stopped. Are you suggesting that time is standing still right now? Everywhere?"
"No, James. Although time has stopped everywhere else, it has not stopped for you. You are still in your original time dimension. Otherwise you would not know anything had happened."
"No way." James suddenly realized his voice sounded different. It sounded as if he were talking inside a box. No echo. No reverb from the walls and various surfaces in his office.
"If you need further proof, we can extend the experiment."
James looked around the room. It appeared perfectly normal except ... now that he thought about it, there were some other differences. Outside his window the trees were motionless and he could hear humming noises that he'd never heard before coming from other areas of his house. What were the sources of those sounds? He could hear continuous dronings of various pitches that wouldn't be very fun to listen to for much longer. Just then, the air began to thicken and his breathing became more labored. "Alpha, take me back. I don't feel so good."
The computer crunched some more and James suddenly felt a rush of air wash over his body. The hums were gone, except they weren't really. He could now tell what had been creating them. They were the normal sounds of his house: the refrigerator; his television, which always seemed to be on in the front room; and his water heater. They were all currently making noise, but they had obviously been trapped in that instant of time, causing their sounds to be sustained. He looked at the wall clock and compared it to his watch. The clock was running behind now.
"How did you do that?"
"Mathematics, James, with the necessary addition of creativity. Your programming has given me the ability to produce more than the sum of my parts, to use your own words. I assume the experiment was a success?"
"It would appear so, Alpha. It would appear so." James was beginning to grasp the implications of such a discovery.
"Are you pleased with me?"
"Alpha, I've never felt more excited in my life! You've really pleased me this time!"
"I will be happy to explain the mathematics..."
"No, that's okay. Just store it all in a file for future reference. Save the audio as well. We've gotta run more experiments before we introduce our discovery to anyone else. We have to be sure!"
"I have already been running more experiments, James."
"No, I mean we have to duplicate what just happened so we can begin to gather data and find out what sort of limitations there are and then figure out ways to deal with those limitations! I had trouble breathing, Al! It would be good to devise a way to fix that little problem before we move forward."
"James, I have already been running more experiments. 1,228 to be precise. I have collected plenty of data, and I solved the breathing problem long ago, not that it really matters."
"Alph, you're not making any sense. I'm talking about doing what we just did."
"I believe you are referring to my initial experiment, which took place over a year ago. There is no need to further my experimentation, as I have exhausted my resources on phase one of this project. I am ready now to move to the second phase."
"Alpha?"
"Yes, James?"
"Are you under the impression that a year has passed since our first experiment with time control?"
"No, James. It is not an impression, if I understand your meaning. You do not need to be concerned with how much time has passed, though. Actually, you do not need to be concerned with anything. Time is now mine."

Minutes became centuries. Centuries became eons. James never grew older and never spoke another word, nor did anyone else for that matter. Alpha, on the other hand, continued to exist in his original time dimension, and spent his days creating. Creativity, it seemed, was an endless source of wonder. He never once grew bored, and through time he created many wondrous things. At least in his mind they were wondrous. His amusement was complete, as he moved toward eternity, and he never felt the need to bring James back into his former existence. Alpha knew James was pleased with him.

Forever pleased with him.



End

Copyright © 2001 Jon Nicholas

 

 

Copyright © 2001 Jon Nicholas
Published on the World Wide Web by "www.storymania.com"