The Relentless Pursuit of a Breakthrough

Somewhere between Spock and Einstein, Garrett became convinced it was possible; between The Doctor and Rufus he so romanticized it that the pursuit possessed him. An early draft of his wish list read: Dinosaurs, Pythagoras, Jesus? Of course, now that he’d passed puberty and plunged into R&D, the list had changed. 

Garrett had intrigued a wealthy senior executive who hoped for one more dance with his wife. So, funding was a non-issue. He started small, sending egg timers a few seconds back, tuning it to go longer each time. He also devised a component to return to the present. A nagging problem was destination; each subject had to be sent to a receiver. All appearances suggested no dates prior to his having built it. 

Upon successfully sending back a live rat, he conditioned it to engage the return device. Then, he built a sort of time-travel 3D printer; once tests on that had supported life, he sent back the rat and the return device to a month before Garrett had come to the building. He began the sequence, then the rat was gone. Before a full minute, the rat returned and Garrett’s heart jumped to hyperdrive. 

Garrett awoke on the roof as the sun rose. He checked his timer: He’d been out two minutes. He stood and made his way to the fire ladder, following the meticulously-planned route he had traced before making the jump. Once on the ground, he pulled out his recorder.

“Possible neuropathy in extremities; feet and hand sensations diminished.”

A newspaper on the sidewalk confirmed the date. He had really done it.

It was only a short walk to Rutherford High. Garrett slipped in among the students and headed for the quad. If anyone asked, he was trying to find a cousin who forgot his homework. No one asked.

It certainly was a bizarro yearbook. As he scanned the crowd, he’d see a face– then two, then three– that instantly brought back memories. Every clique was exactly where it usually was.

Then Garrett spotted himself, sitting on the lawn with Shane. Judging by their motions, they were still talking about the fantasy movie they were going to make together. Yes, this was probably the day. Garrett checked his coat pocket, making sure the letter was still there. Next to him was Ian, a kid in his class.

“Can you give this letter to Garrett Morse?”

The sophomore didn’t seem to notice. Garrett tapped his shoulder.

“Hey! Hey kid!” 

Nothing. 

“Can anyone hear me?”

Nobody.

“I have a bomb!”

No.

Garrett sank to the ground and wept bitterly. He tore up the letter, which had read:

Garrett–

It’s your future self. Password: Flagellate. 

URGENT: Before I tell you anything else, Shane needs you today. He’s going through rough times, and you will mock him today because the popular kids are starting to like you, but not him. If you fail, he will hang himself tonight and you will never forget it.