I was carrying a pair of grocery bags in from the garage when I saw him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry Doctor,\u201d he said while pointing what looked like a gun made out of glass at me. \u201cI can\u2019t let this happen.\u201d He squeezed the grip.<\/p>\n

Nothing happened.<\/p>\n

I sighed and stepped around him and into the kitchen, putting the bags on the counter. He looked at the gun then pointed and squeezed it at me again. More nothing happened. He yelled in frustration and threw the gun at me. He missed and the gun bounced off the side of the refrigerator.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatch it!\u201d I said, getting annoyed. \u201cYou could break something.\u201d<\/p>\n

He yelled again and started to rush at me but tripped. He hit the ground hard and lay there unmoving. I sighed again and started putting the groceries away.<\/p>\n

Some minutes later I was looking in the back of the refrigerator to see if I had any beer left when I heard him groan. I turned around in time to see him push himself up into a sitting position. He looked around and saw me as he staggered to his feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow?\u201d he asked finally. \u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing.\u201d I said, popping the tab on the beer. \u201cNo need to. I figured that out a while back.\u201d<\/p>\n

He paused. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

I leaned back against the counter. \u201cWho do you think I am?\u201d<\/p>\n

That seemed to startle him. \u201cYou\u2019re Henry Armstrong, right? The physicist?\u201d<\/p>\n

I shook my head. \u201cPeople keep telling me that, but physics isn\u2019t my thing.\u201d I took a drink. \u201cNeither is time travel.\u201d <\/p>\n

He took a couple of steps towards me. \u201cSo you *are* him!\u201d<\/p>\n

I shrugged. \u201cSo people keep telling me. But I\u2019m not a physicist. I\u2019m the assistant manager at the Food World.\u201d<\/p>\n

He paused. \u201cPeople? Who? What are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n

I took another drink. \u201cDo you think you\u2019re the first person to have this idea? Well, you aren’t. A lot of people seem to think I invented time travel. Or will invent it. Or something. And apparently I will at some time because my doing so seems to have made a lot of people angry enough to come back and try to kill me before I invent it. A couple of you show up every week these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes narrowed, looking first at me then at the gun, still lying on the counter where it had landed. \u201cOh, so someone brought you a nullifier? That\u2019s what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

He started to move towards me again but I held up a hand. \u201cNothing that complicated. It\u2019s actually quite simple when you hear the explanation. And believe me, I\u2019ve heard it dozens of times. Now, why are you trying to kill me?\u201d<\/p>\n

He clenched his fists. \u201cYou invented time travel! Do you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

I cut him off. \u201cOK, let\u2019s say I will. Now, how did you get here to try to kill me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI used the time machine at…\u201d<\/p>\n

I cut him off again. I had had this conversation many times. \u201cOK, put it together. I invent time travel. You use time travel to come back to now to kill me before I can invent it. So time travel doesn\u2019t exist. So you can\u2019t come back to kill me. So I invent time travel. You can\u2019t kill me because the means you use to kill me require that you not kill me. Get it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head. \u201cSome people have made changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

I shrugged. \u201cNot many, and never for anything important. Or so I\u2019ve been told. People like you have been showing up my entire life. All of you keep trying to kill me and none of you succeed. Nothing ever works. It\u2019s kind of annoying, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked from me to the gun again. \u201cSo\u2026 you can\u2019t be killed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cApparently.\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

He thought a bit. \u201cWait\u2026 You said you were just a grocery store manager?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAssistant manager,\u201d I corrected him. \u201cWhy not? Apparently I\u2019m going to invent time travel some day whether I want to or not, so I haven\u2019t been particularly motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you\u2019ve been studying? Working on it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNope. Again, why bother? Apparently I can\u2019t not invent it. It will happen at the proper time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head. \u201cSo… you aren\u2019t in control of your own life then?\u201d<\/p>\n

I finished the beer and nodded. \u201cYeah. That\u2019s the downside. Just like you can\u2019t kill me, I apparently can\u2019t do anything different either. So why try? I…\u201d<\/p>\n

We were interrupted by a popping sound and a brief flash. Another person appeared in the room, wearing a jumpsuit and helmet and holding a ball-like object in his hand.<\/p>\n

Another sigh. \u201cHi.\u201d I said. \u201cWelcome to\u2026\u201d There was a bright flare from the ball.
\n\u2026<\/p>\n

Henry Armstrong\u2019s head exploded outwards, splattering the kitchen with gore. The beer can dropped to the floor as the body wobbled, then fell itself. The first visitor looked at it in surprise then turned to the newcomer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, he had just convinced me that he couldn\u2019t be killed. Guess he was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe couldn\u2019t.\u201d said the newcomer, checking something on the ball. \u201cNot by you anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first visitor looked at him. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

The newcomer shrugged. \u201cThe universe will prevent a paradox at all costs. We figured that out as soon as time travel was proven to exist. But there are exceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The visitor nodded. \u201cYeah, some people have changed things, but not many.\u201d<\/p>\n

The newcomer smiled under his visor. \u201cActually, it\u2019s easy to change things. As long as the result is the same you can change the details all you like. That\u2019s the loophole. In order for there to be a paradox someone has to realize there is one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, yeah, but\u2026\u201d he pointed at Armstrong\u2019s body, \u201chow did you kill the creator of time travel then? Wait\u2026 If you killed the creator of time travel, how are we still here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHim?\u201d The newcomer gestured at Armstrong. \u201cThat guy never did anything. He thought he was destined for fame and just coasted along, expecting it to happen without any effort. He doesn\u2019t invent time travel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen who does?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first time traveller hesitated for a moment then his eyes widened. He dove and grabbed for the gun still on the counter. The ball flared.
\n\u2026<\/p>\n

The newcomer knelt over the other traveller’s body and placed the gun back in its hand. He then searched briefly before finding the recall unit on his arm. He pushed the button and stepped back, watching until the body vanished with a pop and a flash of light. He then removed the recall unit from his own wrist and wrapped it around the arm of Armstrong\u2019s body. Another pop and flash and the newcomer was alone in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

He sighed and looked around. He would have to clean up the mess but that could wait. Removing his helmet, he opened the refrigerator and found another beer then found and dialed the phone. He waited.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, University? Yes, this is Henry Armstrong. I\u2019ve decided I need to go back and get my degree and am wanting to know your enrollment procedures.\u201d He paused, listening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019ve always been interested in physics\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are loopholes in every set of laws. Even those involving Time Travel.<\/p>\n[Read More...]<\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[8,10],"tags":[25,56,26],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s75pr8-loophole","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2227,"url":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/fiction\/the-third-impossible-thing-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":1850,"position":0},"title":"The Third Impossible Thing – Part 1","author":"tanstaafl","date":"November 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"My NaNo novel begins. Nathaniel Mordecai is on his way along the Road, when he finds a number of stranded tourists. He stops to help, but quickly regrets that decision.","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1901,"url":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/fiction\/nanowrimo-2016-wrong-exit-week-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":1850,"position":1},"title":"NaNoWriMo 2016 – Wrong Exit – Week 1","author":"tanstaafl","date":"November 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Dale contacts some friends to try and get help figuring out what he has stumbled into, and re-opens some old wounds in the process. The information he has posted on-line about the strange exit seems to have attracted some unwanted attention, and the mysterious woman from the exit returns.","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1397,"url":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/fiction\/nanowrimo-week-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":1850,"position":2},"title":"NaNoWriMo 2011 – Week 3","author":"tanstaafl","date":"November 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Chapter 4 - The Division David did not relax until they had cleared the outskirts of Madrid and were driving through rural countryside. He was deliberately avoiding the major highway and using the SUV's navigation system to find a more indirect route. No one had spoken. Dr. Alvarez was apparently\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1993,"url":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/fiction\/nanowrimo-wrong-exit-week-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":1850,"position":3},"title":"NaNoWriMo 2016 – Wrong Exit – Week 3","author":"tanstaafl","date":"November 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Sara gets angry over Dale's sharing of the details of her relation with Caleb to the others. Dale starts to test his abilities.","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2024,"url":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/fiction\/2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":1850,"position":4},"title":"NaNoWriMo 2016 -Wrong Exit – Week 6","author":"tanstaafl","date":"December 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Sara, Scott and the others are slowly breaking down from the realization that they and the reality around them could change at any moment. Dale makes a final change and takes a final step to insure the safety of his friends and their reality.","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1979,"url":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/fiction\/nanowrimo-2016-week-0-wrong-exit\/","url_meta":{"origin":1850,"position":5},"title":"NaNoWriMo 2016 – Wrong Exit – Week 0","author":"tanstaafl","date":"October 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Dale Carter, a medical supply courier, takes a highway exit that leads to a place that doesn't seem to exist.","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/posts\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1850"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1850\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/14kofginafpd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}