The haggard-looking man stormed into the police headquarters and addressed one of the cops on duty:
“I’m turning myself in. I committed the worst crime a man can possibly commit. I don’t deserve to be alive anymore.”
“So what did you do, then?”
“I travelled back in time and killed my father before I was born.” The man almost broke into tears as recollections of this horrifying act flowed back.
“I don’t think it’s possible to do what you just said,” the cop replied calmly.
“I know what you mean. By killing my father before my birth I gave rise to a time paradox. By all accounts, logically, I should not be around anymore, and yet–”
“That’s not what I meant at all. What I wanted to say was, I don’t think it’s possible to travel in time. There’s no such thing as time travel. Now please, I’ve got work to do.”
“You have to believe me,” the man said insistently, then suddenly winked out of existence.
The cop stared in disbelief at the spot where the man had stood, and asked his colleagues:
“What the hell was that?”
“Impatience,” one of them replied. “It takes a while for these time paradoxes to have their full effect.”
Frank Roger was born in 1957 in Ghent, Belgium. His first story appeared in 1975. Since then his stories appear in an increasing number of languages in all sorts of magazines, anthologies and other venues, and since 2000, story collections are published, also in various languages. Apart from fiction, he also produces collages and graphic work in a surrealist and satirical tradition.By now he has more than 600 short story publications (including a few short novels) to his credit in 27 languages.Critics describe his work as a blend of genres and styles: fantasy, satire, surrealism, science fiction and black humour.
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13 Comments »
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I’d have changed that last line to ““It just takes a while for these time paradoxes to sort themselves out.”
Very nice, Frank–and to wrap the story in so few words is a marvel. How much time did you spend in the past tightening every word?
Hi Walt,
I’m used to writing short and flash fiction, so I don’t have to cut much. I do rewrite and polish my stuff, even the shortest stories - and I’ve done some very short ones. By and large I prefer the short form, both as a reader and as a writer.
That made me grin
Cool!
Good one, Frank.
ROFL! Loved it!
It’s about dang time someone who went back in time and created a paradox got what was coming to them. I haven’t seen a story yet that let that happen to the character(s).
But-wait-if-if he doesn’t exist then how did- *head explodes*
Nice work.
Good story…made this IT lesson far more interesting.
I got a good chuckle out of this. There’s a nice way with the conciseness of words in this piece. I do agree, though, that the last line might have needed a bit of tweaking. Just personal preference, I think, though. A solid story otherwise.
[...] A Tale of Patricide and Impatience [...]
I enjoyed it. Amusing.