by Agster, Joe
On the night of day two, they sit atop a high mountain north of the ranch, getting a better view of the stars. Mason opens up about his insight into the other timeloopers.
“Friend, in my eternity here, you are by far the fastest I’ve seen progress at learning your skills. I’ve trained many timeloopers, hoping that the next one is the one to complete the quest, to finally be the one to succeed. But they have all failed.”
“Why do they fail?” Friend wonders.
“They succumb to their others. Some of whom I’ve trained willingly surrendered in defeat. They were, as I understand, not mentally fit to continue.”
“How exactly does this Other have the power to terminate my existence?”
“Simple. He wants to leave this world; you want to stay. If he defeats you, rendering you weak and unable to proceed, he will place his hand on your chest. He then channels all his power into your heart, administering the final coup de grâce. Then, you both cease to exist, gone from this world forever.”
The very thought sends chills up his spine. Friend is wise enough to never estimate the Other. Yearning to learn more about the Other’s missteps, he continues to push for more.
“Who has come the closest to stopping the asteroid?”
Mason suddenly has a look of contemplation, perking up in remembrance of one particular individual. “There was a woman. Her name was Katalia. She was sharp and cunning. With her training she was able to manipulate people, ascending through the government ranks, uncovering vast and dark secrets. Unfortunately, her other did the same. Katalia eventually linked with too many people, fell in love over and over, and became too distracted. Her other also linked with powerful people, and they were able to prevent Katalia from reestablishing her links, killing anyone who she linked with instead. It was a checkmate. After all of her efforts unraveled, she chose to take on her other, but was defeated.”
Friend takes a moment to ingest that tale of eventual failure. After emerging from deep thought, staring at the northwestern sky, he asks, “Do you ever wonder where we are exactly? What this reality really is?”
“Since we all have a double, perhaps we are living in a mirror world,” Mason answers lightheartedly. “This double represents that other self you see in the mirror, a polar opposite of who we are.”
“Why do these others exist?”
Mason stays quiet, in deep thought, before replying, “Do you know I’ve never seen a full moon? The moon waxes, but by the time it is full it is blotted out by the dust plume.” Soon he turns his eyes back on Friend. “So who knows? Just like the full moon, it’s one of this reality’s great mysteries I’ve yet to understand. Perhaps it’s a check on our power. I’ve spend countless lifetimes pondering that question.”
“What about your other? He’s out there somewhere, isn’t he?” Friend probes.
“Trust me when I tell you, you don’t want to know. There’s a reason why I hide here and not get involved. I found my purpose, to train the next timelooper that wakes up on that Las Vegas mountain path, to be a mentor. Nothing more.” Mason gets up, visibly tiring of the conversation.
Iteration 37
All this training is starting to get tiring for Friend. He has full confidence in his abilities, and through meditation he believes he will continue to grow. But Mason insists on one final trial, something he stresses is Friend’s biggest enemy.
They stand by the lake near the ranch. They have visited it sporadically, but usually not for training purposes. Mason looks on the vast blue lake, its reflective beauty in the early morning sun. There’s a cool breeze that blows from its shores, bending the tall blades of grass as it passes through.
“Friend, our biggest enemy is not our double, but fear. I bring you to the lake this morning because I want you to observe me embracing the thing I fear the most, the water. For some inexplicable reason, I’ve always have a terrible fear of drowning. I have drowned many times, and each time it haunts me deeply, even into the next iteration or two.”
Friend knows where this is going and is suddenly at unease. He knows what his fear is: heights. And he has a creepy feeling Mason knows too. There is one place he hopes Mason doesn’t bring up, the one place that paralyzes him with fear, that sky high tower in Las Vegas.
“I know your deepest, biggest fear Friend. It’s a fear of heights. You cannot hide it from me. You must learn to embrace that one fear, no matter the discomfort. Just as I bring you to this lake, we will be going to a special place.”
They spend the day meditating, visualizing being in the most fearful situation possible, with hopes to dispel it. Friend feels the conflict but realizes Mason is right, he cannot cower from it. In this visualization he pictures himself inside of the observation deck of the Star Tower, looking down hundreds of meters at the streets below. Then he visualizes himself outside at the deck level above. He feels the winds blowing hard at the high altitude, pushing him around. It fills him with fear, but he pushes through.
19:20
“Let’s go.” Mason interrupts Friend’s meditation to signal that it is time. Friend stands on his own, as he had been readying for this moment the entire day. Without delay, they teleport to the dark alley behind the Star Tower hotel, the waxing crescent moon in the western night sky providing most of the light. Friend takes a glance at the imposing structure while shedding a small smile to himself, feeling somewhat prepared for this moment.
“The Star Tower. Nearly 400 meters tall. A perfect obstacle for someone wishing to shed their fear of heights,” Mason introduces it, raising his arms in glee.
They teleport into the observation deck, to a quiet area away from view. He marvels at the people in the circular lounge, seated next to the meters-high glass panes as they enjoy their meal and cocktails, unfazed by their setting high above. In the moments that pass through, his gallant nature compels him to take on his fear, and he approaches the glass, looking below at the breathtaking view of the city that sits far below, the dwarfed buildings that remind him just how far up he is.
“Good,” Mason tells him, grabbing his arm and teleporting them to an even more fearful place: the top the tower’s pointed structure. Looking below, Friend deduces it is a giant antenna of some sort. The top platform where they stand is a three-meter square area, consisting of a mesh of thatching steel beams to barely support their footing. Underneath them is a powerful, sustained blue light through the shaft, an indicator of the antenna’s towering presence in the night sky.
A new sense of paralysis starts to overcome Friend. He didn’t intend for them to ascend to the very top. The winds continuously sway the tower, keeping him a bit off balance. The panic begins to grip him. As his breathing becomes more pronounced, he feels the tingling in his arms and legs, the numbness from lack of oxygen caused by the hyperventilating. Each jab from a wind gust or sudden shake from the tower brings him closer to a mental knockout. But as defeat just about takes root, he assures himself. My mind is firmly in my control… breathe.
Eventually, through controlled breathing, he begins to unwind his hyperventilated numbness. He wrestles his fear like a matador throwing a bull to the ground. He becomes embolden, unafraid, standing in rebellion of his fear, looking right at Mason and at the city below.
“This isn’t so bad,” Friend gladly declares.
“It’s lovely actually,” Mason replies, with a wide grin bulging through the gray beard. “But it’s not why we’re here. You are going to jump. After you jump, you are going to let yourself hit the ground, plummeting to your death.”
The fear in him reignites as his face shrivels up at the stark realization of the challenge before him. He didn’t mention this before, but he did allude to it after talking about downing in the lake. Did he do it purposefully?
Friend takes one look down, extremely hesitant, never knowing and never wanting to know what hitting the ground from so high up would feel like. One thought kindles in him, the idea that once he gets through this, he will be a new, better, bolder and
heroic man. This will get him one step closer to Cassie, one step closer to saving humanity.
“What are you waiting for? The asteroid is going to crash before you jump.” Mason sighs frustratingly in a mocking tone, the tone of a man who has successfully faced his fears of the water many times over.
Friend takes one more look, pointing in the direction of the southern Strip, the hotels he has been familiar with and taken a fondness too. Cassie. Do it for Cassie. These are the words he repeats over and over, taking one more breath, before sprinting southward and lunging off the platform.
In the first second, he reaches the base of the pointed antenna, his momentum and the wind carrying him past the upper observation deck and in a direct path with the street below. In the second tick, he just passes the lowest windows of the tower. He turns to a tranquility of mind, easing his fear. Five seconds into his fall he starts to reach terminal velocity, as he watches the stem of the tower scroll rapidly with his fall. Six, seven, eight, the pavement below races closer and closer, his heart racing faster and faster. By the tenth second, he makes contact with the street, and is splattered everywhere.
Iteration 39
Mason was right, the intensity of the fall sticks with him. It was like a dream that you can’t tell if it was real or not, except he knows it was real. He simply cannot shake the horror of the impact with the pavement. After ten minutes, an hour, even days, it still plays back over and over, vivid and never ending.
“Remember Friend, tranquility, mindfulness, self-control, all of these things can blow apart by giant winds of fear. Fear is what did in many of your predecessors. It is your single worst enemy. But you conquered it. By doing the thing you fear, it will dissipate over time.”
Iteration 40
Friend and Mason have rehashed the final portions of the training over the past couple iterations, with Mason divulging in Friend a code to live by.
Always be in control of your mind.
Meditate and visualize.
Never be overcome with fear.
Don’t over commit to your powers.
They meet once more at the ranch to discuss the end of the training and the new beginning that follows.
“Your training is complete, Friend. There is little more than I can teach you,” Mason confides.
Mason talks about Friend’s need for his own hideout, a place like the ranch where he can retreat. A shelter from the volatile world. A place to meditate when needed.
They teleport to Las Vegas, to the mountains in the south valley. They come to a windy road up the mountain, where there are sparsely scattered large houses situated along the ascending street. One huge white house in particular sits alone near the top, towering over the smaller houses below it. It’s a boxy design, white stucco exterior with a grayish black composite roof. Mason explains it belongs to someone famous, a musician who is traveling the world. It is left alone the entire six days and perfect for Friend, near the city yet away from the danger.
They approach the door. Friend is awed by the perfectly trimmed desert landscaping, the sandstone tiles decorated around desert flowers. At the knob is a keypad, and without fail he enters the code, 906543, and the door pops open. Mason explains the ease of access needed for the various housekeeping staff. Mason explains that at no point does anyone ever come to the house, and by the night of second day, most everyone vacates the city anyway. It’s perfect.
The interior theme is a white and a charcoal gray. The large kitchen is plenty stocked with food and beverages, even the bar for preparing cocktails. An office area houses much useful computing equipment. The large foyer and living room provide the rest, plenty of couches and space to host a gathering of minds. Gone are the days of scavenging for food, or finding a place to stay. It’s a spacious palace, very suitable as a home base
“Welcome to your hideout, Friend.”
They walk toward the backyard and view the large pool. Mason jokingly refers to his own fear of water when he sees the large curved body of water with clear blue water.
“Friend, before I go, there is one more power I haven’t talked about or shown you. It’s something I’ve never been able to accomplish myself, but others have. It’s called projection. With projection, you can momentarily share your powers with another person, a person of this world that you have linked with. Meditate on this power. But be careful, enabling such a power could turn that person against you, and even if not, you become weakened and the Other can take advantage of that.”
Mason shakes Friend’s hand as a final goodbye. “Remember, never underestimate the Other, even if you’ve think you’ve won. I will now return to the shadows, watching from a distance.”
Friend is confused. He never learned why Mason prefers being in exile. The question has tormented him over these long and sometimes grueling iterations. He pleads, “Why return to the shadows? Together, we can solve this great riddle of the asteroid.”
Mason stands still in silence, conflicted and full of grief. “I… cannot get involved… I have taken a vow. If I break that vow it could unravel everything I have worked toward.” Mason expresses, exhaling a sigh of regret. Friend can sense it swelling but then abating. Mason is a man of principle, and he will never veer away from a vow. “This is where the road forks for you and I. I bid you farewell.”
Mason then vanishes into the air, for good.
Alone, Friend tours the house over and over, cataloging clothing, supplies, all the things he will need. In the solitude he takes to strategizing and thinking ahead. But where does he start? He will need Cassie, as her boundless intelligence, her fearlessness, and her worldliness makes her a true asset. He also needs Max, who harbors a secret which may hold the key to stopping the asteroid, if stopping it is even possible. Because right now, he cannot fathom or entertain even the slightest idea how an asteroid of that size can be stopped, when every expert, every soul he’s come across tells him it cannot be done.
So he sits alone, at the forefront of this quest, hoping to find the possible in the impossible, something in which every other timelooper has failed.
20
Iteration 44
The time is now, Friend tells himself. He stands up from his desert position and immediately teleports to his mansion hideout, reanimating on the upstairs balcony. From there he gazes out at the breathtaking view overlooking the Strip from the high up vantage point, watching the streaming cars on the nearest main road at the bottom of the hill about a kilometer away. Being up here provides additional seclusion, allowing him to conduct a momentary breathing exercise, a ritual of sorts he’s recently started after acquiring this wondrous base.
He spent the last three iterations making final preparations, and diligently formulating his plan. He has stressed to himself the need to be strategic in his quest, concluding that he does not have the luxury of endless, brute force trial and error to accomplish his goals. The Other could be stalking him, perhaps growing his power and preparing to force an endgame. He must be ready to face him at all times.
During the 41st iteration, he teleported to California, taking a train from the gangland neighborhood he visited during the second test to the city of Fontana. There, he established ideal teleporting spots near the Grasshopper device store, and the three coffee shops nearby. After day three, he chose various insertion points through the Strip, without the nuisance of dealing with various resort security forces. He chose points such as stairwells, rooftops, service closets, and other useful, unmonitored points that can be great entry areas or places to take cover. He practically cased the entire city, incorporating enough points into his mind for instant access, ready to move through any resort, shop, or building of his choosing on a whim.
During the 42st iteration, he located Max arriving at the Percolation coffee shop at approximately 10:12 in the morning. The coffee shop is small, but it provided its patrons with tables with induction charging surfaces, presumably used to keep the electricity in the devices at peak capacity. As typical with the so
cial behavior in this reality, everyone clinged to their personal effects, eschewing any kind of social contact. Friend watched Max get into his silver rental vehicle at 11:05 and drive away, as he scanned around for potential followers.
For the 43rd and most recent iteration, the final step of his reconnaissance was to follow the FBI agents as they track Max. Friend had worked backwards during all three iterations, knowing they finally confront Max at the Uvia at 21:58. Through all the bits of info he obtained being in this world, he dissected that drones fly over the Uvia and a few other hotels throughout the Strip. They also fan out through the city, aeronautically scanning the other located prepaid devices throughout the city. They pick up Max’s location at about 20:00 when returning to the hotel, and they emerge in two nondescript black vans from an offsite location about a kilometer east of the Strip. They enter into the Uvia by 20:30, fighting heavy holiday traffic cramming into the various hotels. After consulting with hotel security and their advanced multidimensional and multi angle surveillance system, they identify Max, last seen wading through large crowds to enjoy a late meal at the sushi pub. They wait for him to travel toward the back of the resort where the crowds are thinned, and after eating his meal at the sushi pub, they intercept him near the rear elevators. He of course fights back, firing his weapon, trying to escape, and is killed in the process. Friend has watched all of this unfold as a mere bystander, committing it to memory in exact preciseness.
Using the later days in the iterations, Friend would piece it all together. He was able to enter the hotel surveillance chambers, travel to the FBI offsite staging spot, recreate the conflict in his mind, after witnessing it live those few times. Using the large digital clearboard in the office, he now diagrams the complete picture so that he can recall it later.