Zack fell to the ground. Sweat covered his face and his head was already banging, but he didn't want to rest. His blue coverall was dripping, and wreaked of bodily fluids. Ever since he'd discovered there was a possibility he'd been working so hard to make it reality.
"If a couple million photons can be focused on a point and supercharged with just the right consistency it could create a stable wormhole which could allow for journeys between space and time."
This was done theoretically there was no physical evidence.
"all big discoveries started out as theories," he affirmed himself.
The mere thought of it was mind blowing. Think of all the things that could be achieved if they got it right, the information, technological advancements, the money and the fame, their names would go down in history and never ever ever be forgotten. But none of these things were his motivation. His motivation was Isabel
He can still remember the day she came into his life. He'd just come out of a meeting and was extremely famished. Usually he didn't eat out, but that day he made an exception. And that was when he first met her. She was beautiful, had a lovely voice, and there was just something about the way she spoke. He was intrigued, he wanted to know more. Before he knew it he found himself eating out almost everyday. He became a regular customer. They started talking and that was when he knew she had to be the one. She was so intelligent and graceful, and funny. She was perfect.
"How did she work here, she could easily work in the lab with me and my colleagues" he thought to himself.
With time he got his answer. She didn't have enough money to complete college so she had to drop out. She still learnt everything outside the classroom, but couldn't get any good job in that field without a degree. Zack was born with a silver spoon, he wasn't aware such things happened. But he felt empathy for her, so he used his connections to get her a job at his father's company where he also worked.
Somewhere along the line they started dating and before long they moved in together. They'd do projects together, have some fun, and everything in between. Those were the happiest days of his entire life.
Everything was going great till it wasn't. It all started after his father died. He had to step up so his father's absence wouldn't be felt, they weren't always together like they used to and once in a while they'd have arguments. But still it was clear the love was still there. It was just getting punched by life.
One day they got into a big fight. It was intense, with emotions flaring. She walked out in anger and he chased after her. She walked all the way out of the building onto the streets before he grabbed by her hand.
"let go of me" she screamed as she tried to escape his grip.
She lost her balance and fell into the path of an incoming vehicle. The driver didn't stop after hitting her. In that moment everything went silent. He rushed to her lifeless body, screaming at the top of his lungs for help as he lifted her all the way to his own car and drove as fast as he could to to the hospital. But it was too late, she was gone.
He blamed himself for what happened. He couldn't get over it. After the first two months of grief he stumbled upon one of his dad's minor projects, a time machine. From that very moment he poured his soul, money, energy and whatever he had to build the time machine.
On this night everyone else had closed for the day, but he'd refused to leave. It had become a regular occurrence. He was sure the device was close to working. It'd failed the last two times,but he reassembled it to try again.
"I miss you so much ."
He stood up and used his handkerchief to clean his sweat, then he walked all the way to the other side of the room where the controls were located. He turned the starter key and a loud whirring sound filled the air.
"Eureka! It worked. Now to test it out."
He looked around thinking of how he would test the time machine, there was nothing he could use. The only way to be certain was to try it out himself.
"ok let me start small"
He set the time machine to 15 minutes ago, then he picked up the large watch connected to the machine and set it to 10 minutes. He quickly got dressed in protective gear while he waited for the watch to be filled with enough energy for his return. Once he heard the beep he strapped the watch and he started the machine once more.
AI art generated by me
He stared at the wormhole in front of him and took a deep breath.
"There's multiple ways this can go, either I make it to the other side, or I die, or I turn Into some goo, or I just keep floating through space and time, or I find myself in an ... Okay, I need to stop thinking."
He took another deep breath and he walked in.
He felt as though he was falling from a tall building. His head was already spinning when everything stopped and he landed hard on his back. He opened his eyes and he was in the exact lab he'd been standing in a moment ago. Only difference was that the machine wasn't switched on. He looked back and he came face to face with a startled man. It was himself from 15 minutes ago.
"Wait, wait, does this mean... It worked".
"yes" he said still marveled at the fact he was talking to himself. Thoughts of the ramifications of this filled his mind.
"Have you spoken to her?"
"No this is a test, I'm just from 15 minutes into the future."
"Really? I better get to work then." Zacks past self said as he went back to start tuning the machine.
"What are the ramifications of this?" Zacks future self asked.
"Honestly I'm not sure, but we need to be careful. Don't touch me, dont influence too many things."
"Yeah I'm not here for long anyways, need to go save her. I'm not telling you anything so you can do your part and not ruin the timeline."
The big watch beeped
"okay, time up ciao"
The watch opened up and a large cloud shaped wormhole covered him and swallowed him before vanishing.
He found himself back in his timeline. Everything seemed the same, so he probably hadn't messed up anything significant. Now it was time to save Isabel.
He landed hard on his back in the exact same lab but from over a year and a half ago. There was no one and there was no machine there. He looked at the watch on his hand. He had one hour to set things right.
He snuck around to his father's office that he'd made his. That was where he found his past self.
His past self was stunned.
"who are you?"
"I am you. But from the future"
" Are you serious? , you're telling me time travel is possible? What happens in the future?"
"I'm only from over a year from now, I don't really know much."
"What are the potential side effects of time travel? How many times has this been done?"
"I haven't figured out all that yet, I just discovered it."
"What do you mean you just discovered it? You just discover time travelling and immediately come back to this time? What's so special at this time that you're endangering the entire universe and threatening to rip a hole in space and time for?"
He hadn't thought about all that. Based on his calculations changing major events could have devastating outcomes and could even lead to the collapse of space and time which would end all life.
"I can't do it" He thought to himself.
"can you hear me? What's so special about this time?" his past self snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Nothing. This was just a test."
"Can you atleast tell me how to build the time machine?"
"sorry, I can't change anything. It's almost time, I have to leave." tears were starting to build up in his eyes.
"time for what?"
Future Zack pressed a button and he returned to present day.
"Somethings aren't meant to be done."
With tears in his eyes he spent minutes destroying the machine he'd spent over a year trying to build.
"I'd be putting humanity in danger if I try to save her."
He couldn't go back, or let anyone else for that matter, the consequences would be too great. He just had to accept that she was gone and she wouldn't be coming back.
