Message From Tomorrow

by H Bradley Stucki

  He’d have to hurry, or the FBI would arrive and stop him. That couldn’t happen! Not now when he knew how he could fix this. Could fix everything!

  He sat still and closed his eyes while the computer booted up, accessing his memory of that particular night. What he was searching for flashed into the forefront of his mind. Indeed, it would be hard to forget that night. It was a turning point too, after all.

  A little over three years ago, about six months before making the big breakthrough, Andre had been working late at this very computer. He'd been tired so he'd decided to take a break and pull out a project he'd been tinkering with. It gave his mind a rest to work on something different. This was a neural interface. Essentially, he was designing a way to access and interact with the computer directly with his mind. He'd been toying with it for some time, and he'd finally got it to a point it could be directly tested. If it worked it would be huge too.

  What would it be like to be fully immersed in a computer game? Andre envisioned being able to 'log in' to the computer generated world and actually feel like you were there; a personal 'Matrix' so to speak.

  Of course, having instantaneous processing through Space-Time would be needed for the tremendous amount of data being processed. He'd need to have that figured out for it to realize its full potential. But it was ready for direct testing, to hook it up to the computer and actually access it with his mind.

  That night Andre had plugged the wiring into the specialized computer ports he'd designed and gently set the headgear in place. The program was loaded up and all he had to do was hit 'Enter' and it would activate. Then he would see if he could give the computer simple commands he'd laid out as part of the test program.

  He'd hit 'Enter' and mentally conjured the simple command. "Go."

  A surge of neural energy had flowed through the system and hit Andre with a psychic force that threw him back in his chair in involuntary convulsions. His mind flickered in an out of reality at incredible speed. He struggled against the convulsions and reached up to pull the helmet off his head. The convulsions stopped. He'd sat there a long time recovering. His mind was dazed and he'd wondered at the time if he'd suffered brain damage. Then he assessed the experience, quickly jotting down notes. The flickering in and out of reality gave him pause. His mind had gone in and out of Space-Time! It had actually happened! Which triggered knowledge of how to access Space-Time! He could bridge the gap now, because he'd just experienced it directly! That experience had given him the final path to get there!

  His test had born fruit, but not in the way he'd planned. It had filled in the last pieces he'd been searching for in accessing Space-Time. He'd quickly unhooked the neural interface and put the helmet back into the very file cabinet drawer he'd just pulled it from and got back to work on his primary goal, as excited as ever.

  It had been six months from that night he'd finally achieved it; stable Space-Time processing. It had been the experience of that night which had given him the confidence to push through to the end. He'd known it could be done because he'd actually done it!

  Now Andre sat with that same program booted up. The headset was attached and ready to go.

  The doorbell rang. Andre’s breath caught. The FBI was here! He needed to finish this. He’d ignore them and hopefully buy enough time to implement this final wacky leap of logic. It had to work!

  His plan was simple. Andre would put on the headset, access Space-Time and send himself a message into the past. He'd warn himself of this future so he could avoid it. If he could avoid this present path, it would essentially destroy his 'present' life. He would be committing suicide by computer.

  Did he have enough time to set the program and send the message?

  There was a muffled pounding on the heavy front door. They must really be hitting it hard to be heard down in the basement. His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He ignored it too while his fingers flew across the keyboard, typing in the code. It was complex, but not long. Still, it had to be perfectly right! The phone chimed as the caller left a voice mail. It wouldn’t be long before they’d break down the door and come looking for him. They’d figure he was running and want to access the house to see if he left any clues as to where he’d gone. His time was running out!

  Done! The coding was complete. Now what warning could he give? He couldn't write it down because it was a 'neural' interface. He had to implant the message into the brain of his past self in such a way that he would 'get it.' His past self would have to realize a message had been sent and hopefully from whom. All this had to be conveyed through the neural link. It had to be quick and simple because he knew he wouldn't be able to withstand the jolting his mind and body would get. And his past self would be pulling the helmet off quickly. It would have to be a compressed surge of thought with all the energy he could muster, along with all the 'feelings' he was feeling. Would his past self recognize it?

  Then Andre had a thought. He'd received a message back in the past already. It was through that mental jolt he'd realized his work would be a success and how to finish it. Was this one of those time loops? Had he already done it? But here he was. He'd still made his mistakes and his present hadn't changed.

  Shaking his head, Andre knew he could think himself into a mental corner. Best to push ahead and get to it.

  Then Andre stopped again and considered the true ramifications of what he was doing. He was trying to change the path of history. He'd read the scientific literature, the alternate history theories and watched all the movies. If he changed his past it would eliminate this present. The events would be changed and other people's lives would be affected irreparably though they wouldn't even know it. Did he have a right to do this? To alter everyone's history just for the sake of his own?

  Then he thought of Allie in the car accident dying alone, angry and hurt. He thought of Krissy alone with her heart broken and her life shattered.

  Upstairs he heard the door crash open. “Mr. Manus! Are you here?” Footsteps spread rapidly across the main floor. There were several agents here to take him into custody. Would they go upstairs first or split up? He heard the basement door open.

  “Mr. Manus! He’s down in the basement!”

  Andre sat the headgear on his head and accessed the computer program. Everything was ready but the message. Then he thought of Allie and the last words she'd said to him. He knew what his message needed to be. He reached out and pushed 'Enter' and thought the word, "Go."

  Rapid footsteps bounded down the stairs. He had to make it! He had to get the message off!

  Convulsions took him and his mind started to flicker in and out of Space-Time. It was hard to focus. Through force of will he gathered himself, all his energy, and sent his message in a surge. He thought he could 'feel' himself on the other end of time, picture himself convulsing in this same chair, three years and six months earlier. Did he get it?

  There was a hand grasping his shoulder – a searing pain in his mind -- and everything went black.

  Chapter 20

  Three years and Six Months Earlier:

  Andre convulsed in his chair. His mind flickered in and out of reality at incredible speed. He struggled against the convulsions and reached up to pull the helmet off his head. The convulsions and mental 'flickering' stopped. He was disoriented and it took him a long time just sitting to come to his senses. He wondered if he had suffered brain damage.

  Then he felt impressions entering his mind. For an instant it had seemed as if he were sitting at this very desk, though it was at a different time. It had been dark and oppressive and it felt as if he'd been in the future.

  He sat and let the feelings wash over him. They were overwhelming in their intensity, so much so he couldn't doubt they were real, that they came from a different time, as his mind had flickered in and out of reality.

  Tremendous sorrow, oppressive guilt, but also a feeling that he'd succeeded . . . and not! A distinct phrase came into his mind. "Don't be stupid!" Strange. It was associated
with something Allie said . . . or would say.

  What did it mean? Did it mean he'd failed? Should he give up? He didn't want to experience those feelings he felt first hand. He felt such torment he wasn't sure what could have caused it. Had his work caused some terrible catastrophe?

  He'd have to think this through.

  "Daddy!" Allie was calling at the top of the stairs. For some reason he felt a surge of relief and a swelling of love and pride at the sound of her voice. He shook his head. He'd have to sort this out later.

  Chapter 21

  Six Months Later:

  Andre was sitting at his basement computer watching the screen. It flashed. He stood, knocking back his rolling chair and pumped his fist. "Yes!" He did a victory dance realizing he must look all kinds of silly, but he didn't care. He'd done it! He'd finally reached a stable Space-Time link. The process worked! There would be a lot of testing and proving ahead of him, but he knew he'd finally 'hit it!'

  He had to call Krissy down and show her.

  Then he remembered that night six months earlier . . . when he'd been brain-jolted. He paused, his exuberance forgotten as the feelings all came back in a rush. And the phrase, "Don't be stupid!" slid back into his mind.

  He'd thought of this experience often. It was always in the forefront of his mind. He'd begun terming it his "Message from Tomorrow." Giving it a melodramatic title had seemed to soften the pain it always brought, but here it was again, in the very moment of his greatest triumph.

  Andre had been grateful for the message because it had been that moment he'd known he'd succeed. It had also given him the very path he'd needed to reach that success, and the drive to push on until he did. Now, those other feelings, those he'd suppressed until he'd achieved his breakthrough, came back with a vengeance, almost as if they'd been hard wired into his mind. And the message, "Don't be stupid." What did it mean?

  Now that he'd achieved one part of the message, he felt a compulsion to address the other. After all, there must have been a reason for the sadness, sorrow, guilt and yes, even anger. Those feelings were fresh in his heart, but he didn't have a context of what had caused them. He paused and 'felt.' It was something to do with Allie . . . and with Krissy. That's all he could draw out. Maybe they had been hardwired into his brain. There must be a reason.

  He must have done something in the future that caused the feelings and the need to remind himself. But it was so simplistic. Was he supposed to get something from that? He thought a moment and sat back at his desk.

  He must have made a mistake in the future that caused deep pain. A mistakes concerning Allie and Krissy? And that mistake would be considered Stupid?

  So he had to avoid being stupid. He smiled to himself. "Okay, I'll avoid being stupid," he said aloud. Even as he said it he realized there was more than just deciding. This was serious, if the depth of his feelings were any gauge.

  Was it possible to change the future? He could debate the different theories all he wanted, but the fact was he had free will. The fact that he'd received a message from the future – if that's what it was – meant his older self wanted him to know something critical to his future. But the exact nature of it wasn't or couldn't be transmitted. So what to do?

  The feelings and the phrase, "Don't be stupid!" were all he had.

  With the Space-Time barrier problem solved, he knew he had to solve this one before he went further, or he risked falling into whatever it was causing the pain pressing him now more than ever.

  What to do? With practice of long habit, he immediately went into his 'problem solving' mode. The exuberance of his breakthrough fled his mind while he concentrated fully on solving this problem.

  He rolled in his chair up to his computer and typed: Prime Objective – Don't be stupid! Secondary Objective – prevent reasons for feelings of guilt, sorrow and anger.

  Then he typed: What causes one to be stupid?

  Poor decisions.

  What causes poor decisions?

  He sat still, thinking then started typing again:

  Deciding too fast

  Deciding without adequate information and research

  Not thinking things through

  Not examining all possible consequences

  Not giving enough weight to possible bad consequences

  You want something so badly you force a decision

  You trust bad advice

  You trust bad people

  You trust bad information

  You trust well meaning but stupid people

  Too emotional about a decision

  Not emotional enough – not using your heart

  Greed

  Anger or revenge

  Desperation

  Lust

  You have an addiction that clouds your decision

  Andre stopped and reviewed his list. It seemed long enough to hit the major points. He could fill more in later as they occurred to him. Now he stared working on the possible solutions. Fingers on his keyboard he typed the question and the possible solutions:

  How to avoid poor decisions?

  Don't rush!

  Examine why? (motivations)

  Examine possible consequences, good and bad

  Give accurate weight to bad consequences (don't minimize)

  Get 'enough' good, accurate information (and not too much)

  Insure the accuracy of your information

  Insure the expertise of those who are advising you

  Use your head and your heart

  Bounce it off a trusted, knowledgeable advisor

  Once a decision is made, stick with it

  Don't endlessly re examine (so can't talk yourself into a bad decision)

  Andre sat back and looked at this list. He realized there would never be a way to insure he always made the 'right' decision. But he wanted to figure out a way to insure he didn't make a 'stupid' decision. Stupid decisions resulted from ignoring obvious information and still making a poor choice. A person could otherwise be highly successful then lose everything by making one 'Stupid' decision. History contained several such lessons.

  He thought of Napoleon thinking he could successfully invade Russia in the winter. He thought of NASA losing a Mars Lander because half of the techs working on the project used the metric system and the other half used the standard English system of inches and yards instead of centimeters and meters. Neither side realized the mistake until it was too late. That's what he wanted to avoid. That's what the message was about – "Don't be stupid!" he said to himself.

  Could he have become one of those history lessons? Wow! He thought. I have to come up with something to avoid that.

  Then switching to his 'programmer' side, he printed off his lists and moved over to the desk. He got out a yellow pad and started making notes. At the top of the page he wrote:

  Decision matrix: Don't Be Stupid!

  Develop a decision matrix to make good decisions and avoid poor decisions. It's not enough to just focus on making good decisions. I also need to avoid making poor decisions – like having offense and defense in football. You need both to win. It also needs to be simple and comprehensive.

  Andre decided on a flowchart. He used those to solve logic problems in his programming. This was the same thing. If he made sure he had accurate input with a system to analyze and solve each step by asking simple questions, even the most complex problems could be solved easily, quickly and accurately. In other words, he would avoid being 'stupid.'

  For the next two hours Andre sat and wrote, scratched out, started over, shook his head and finally sat back, satisfied. He knew over the course of time he would refine the matrix, but was confident he had the basic system right.

  The matrix had easy component questions that lead through making good decisions and avoided making stupid decisions. It incorporated using intelligence and emotion, his head and his heart. It insured using accurate information, timing, motivation, weighted consequences and getting confirmation from a trusted advisor.

/>   He wouldn't need it for every decision, but for the most critical decisions he would carefully follow it.

  His final revision had been to insert an automatic response that immediately took him away from a poor decision. People often went back to bad decisions because they wanted something bad enough they kept re-evaluating a bad decision until they talked themselves into being 'stupid.' What they needed was to get away from that decision and not consider it again. His system provided for that.

  The matrix was done. The bad feelings were still there, but they seemed substantially eased. Andre hoped if he used it correctly he'd avoid the problems of the future. He'd be safe. He wouldn't be stupid!

  He held it up and read it aloud:

  "Don't Be Stupid!"

  Consider your decision. Have it firmly fixed in your mind then go through the following questions as directed. Personal honesty is essential! Only answer the questions asked. Don't attempt to justify, explain or rationalize. Stick strictly to the process!

  Step 1: Would making this decision be considered "Stupid" by me or by someone whose opinion I value and trust?

  If Yes? Then don't do it! Get up and physically move away from the decision and don't come back.

  If No? Go to step 2.

  Step 2: Do I have enough verifiably accurate information from trusted sources to make this decision without being "Stupid?"

  If Yes? Go to step 3.

  If No? Gather adequate verifiably accurate information from trusted sources then go to step 3.

  Step 3: Am I ready to evaluate the information objectively and emotionally without making a "Stupid" mistake?