Something doesn't add up.
Hans Kleber stared at the open file for SCP-7402, the newly discovered puzzle surrounding it weighing on his mind.
He swiftly whipped out his noteblock. Thoughts were precious and fleeting things. In the charming words of an old teacher: "You better write your ideas down somewhere, otherwise you'll flush them down the toilet next you go". Kleber thought up a lot of shit, but this was one of those rare occasions, one of those times where it seemed like there was good, something big. It was thrilling.
"Alright"
Jôwmang Bingis laid the document onto his desk. Kleber had asked him to have a look at the experiment proposal before sending it to the Director. Feedback was crucial, after all.
"I've read your notes and gone through this file here. I think I get it, but I'm gonna need you to explain it to me like I'm a child"
Kleber sighed. He knew this was coming, and it probably meant a rewrite, but you gotta do what you gotta do, he figured.
"So, remember 7402's file?", said Hans. Starting off was easy, but starting off right was the hard part.
"Yeah." replied Bingis.
"Remember how objects exist in space according to what I wrote?"
"Uh… They're like some sort of time baguette? The object exists in space and throughout time."
"Correct. Now, does the object move through time?"
"Not really, right? It stayed still while the little blue plane thing swept through it?"
"Yes, the blue plane standing in for the observer. Well, not the observer like a person, more like their consciousness. Their existence in the present moment. The blue plane stands for what is the present, and we, as observers, are always in the present, on that plane."
"So like, our consciousnesses are on that plane. Our souls, if you will?"
"That's beyond me. But if that's what you want to believe, then by all means."
"Ok, so what are you getting at?"
"There's something really subtle here I want you to notice. Tell me, at what speed does the plane move at?"
"Well it moves through time, so I don't think 'speed' really applies here."
"But it does though. Two time dimensions."
"You lost me."
"How many 'seconds of space' does the plane in the gif traverse in one second of real time?"
"One, I guess?"
"Right, it traverses one second of time-a in one second of time-b."
"Ah, I think I get it."
"And at how many second equivalents does a regular object traverse in one second?"
"They stay still according to you, right? So none."
"Exactly, except what if they didn't?"
"I don't follow"
"Think of a cube."
"Uh-huh."
"Think of the plane that sweeps the cube."
"Sure."
"Think of the cube moving at the same speed as the plane."
"Okay…"
"Now think of the implications if that plane were the present."
"…"
"A non moving cube would be swept by the plane normally. The plane would come up to it, intersect with it, and move on. The observer would see the cube come into existence and then disappear. Got that?"
"Sure."
"But if it's moving at the same speed as the plane, that's where shit gets fucked up. To the observer, they will always see the same slice of the cube."
"Got it. Not sure what's so fucked up about that though."
"Now think about the extremities of the cube. its front face, which is the moment in which it came into existence, is moving through time. Same with its hind face, when it disappears."
"Wait, so… Wouldn't that be actively changing the past and future?"
"Yes!"
"That is, indeed, quite fucked up."
"Now this is where the experiment comes in."
"How so?"
"What do you think the observer will remember seeing?"
"Oh… I guess… They will always remember the cube coming into existence a few instants ago?"
"Huh…"
"What?"
"Thought you'd agree with me."
"What?"
"I disagree with you. I don't think that's what the observer is gonna remember. My hypothesis is that the observer's memory isn't based on what is in front of or behind the plane in time-a. It's based on the history of what has intersected with the plane throughout time-b."
"Ah. So that's why you're so confident playing with fire."
"Hm?"
"This is dangerous, Hans. You're fucking around with causality, which doesn't play nice when provoked."
"Hey, trust me, didn't you see the precautions in the request? Causality isolated, XACTS activated."
"XACTS only means the outside is separated. Who knows what's gonna happen inside. Why didn't you consider using D-Class for this?"
"You know it leaves a poor taste in my mouth to exploit convicts like this. Besides, someone who knows what's going on needs to be there to properly relay what was experienced."
"I don't know, man. This isn't safe. Can't you do it remotely?"
"There is no 'remotely' with causality. Either you're causally affected or you aren't."
"I don't know… Won't you just drop the whole thing?"
"This is my life's work, and I'm not gonna be stopped by–"
"By what, Hans? By a concerned friend? How about by a senior researcher who's been dealing with time and it's bullshit for far longer than you? You're an amateur making a kid's mistake in your infantile blindness!"
"…"
"…"
"I'm doing the experiment, Jôwmang."
"God fucking damnit."
"Thanks for the crit" Hans said, picking up the file and closing the door.
Hans Kleber could feel his heart in his throat. He couldn't tell which was stronger within him: excitement or anxiety. It was thrilling.
Unrestricted files wouldn't tell you this, but the Foundation had studied 7402. From that, which was essentially a rotation in space (and time), a theoretical framework for not only rotations in this space, but translations, was developed. This allowed for the creation of the device that stood in front of him.
It didn't have a name. Not a proper one. Just the designation of Foundation Anomalous Technological Device #7256.
Hans called it "The Boot", because it was supposedly going to "kick" a certain object through time.
The desired object, in this case, was a small tungsten clock. Hans had always liked Tungsten. The little element bleeded of fun trivia.
He delicately placed the cube into the port, shut the door, and primed The Boot's timer. The sound resounded through the small room, only to subside, fading into the hum of the XACTS.
He swiftly whipped out his voice recorder.
"Temporal Dislocation Experiment #1 involving FATD #7256."
He gulped.
"The experiment consists of utilizing FATD #7256 to cause a small non-anomalous clock to be translated through the temporal dimension for 10 seconds, before ceasing motion through time. The clock is to be observed by me, Doctor Hans Kleber. The expected result is for the clock to remain stationary while translating through time, and for my memory to register it as remaining still throughout the 10 seconds. An alternative hypothesis suggests that the clock will remain still, however my memory will register it as ticking throughout the 10 seconds."
Inhale. Exhale.
"Experiment begins now" he said as he pushed the button on the Boot.
Something doesn't add up.
The clock was still, and Hans remembered that.
The first few moments after the realization were exhilarating. Bingis could suck it!
He stood there with a dumb smile on his face, counting to ten, just waiting for the experiment to be over.
Waiting.
Waiting…
He checked the Boot's timer
10.000
That ain't right.
He tapped it, and there it remained, at the start of the countdown.
Oh no.
His mind rushed, and he felt his stomach sink as he came to a conclusion.
Sure, he was causally just fine. To him, the experiment had started over a minute ago.
But for the Boot it hadn't.
For it, its countdown began as the clock started moving through time, and it would stop ten seconds after that. However, as the clock was moving through time, so was the moment where it had been "kicked". For the Boot, the experiment had just begun. It continually had just begun.
Jôwmang was as right as he was wrong. He was wrong about how Hans would perceive it, but he was right about how the machine would, due to how it had been built and programmed.
He paced around the room, trying to find a way out. The room was isolated from the outside world in such a way that no cause or effect could enter or exit until the experiment was done. The problem now being that, by the looks of things, it would never be done.
Both the machine and the XACTS were powered by the site's reactor, which was so well maintained he'd be surprised if there were ever a power outage in his lifetime.
Breaking the XACTS risked some serious causality fuckery. So did breaking the Boot.
He was alone.
The Boot had kicked him down the pit of Causality Gehenna, and all he could do was wait.
