The Chronicle
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 11:29 pm
Homeline – Infinity Headquarters, Chicago – Spring 2027.
It was a beautiful warm sunny day, a balmy 18 degrees, a bright cheerful day that lifted every bodies spirits.
The Infinite Tower was an immense structure, towering some 120 stories tall, as the golden sun graced its eastern side its windows polarised.
The 32rd floor housed the Validation and Permits department, from its name an innocuous affair, but appearances were very much deceiving for this was the floor where cross-time travel was authorised.
Amongst Infinity Bureaucrats the administrators of this department wielded enormous power, a fact James McFadden appeared to have grossly underestimated.
Sat in the plush reception alongside his fellow Sports journo Mike Eldridge, a pair of kings surveyed all that lay before them, laughing raucously at their shared jokes, checking out the secretaries with cheeky winks, sneering at the male administrators and sprawled across the half moon Prussian blue sofas.
Their territory was encroached as a bespectacled man entered and took a seat, his tablet beneath his arm, the pair immediately adopted snipe expressions, this was the geek that they the jocks in high school had either ignored or ridiculed.
For his part the man ignored them, waking his Tablet up and catching up with whatever work he was involved in, Jimmy and Mike frowned at the lack of sport and returned to their conversation.
“So did you bone her!” challenged Eldridge
Jimmy gave him that what do you think! look
Mike produced his smart phone “Check this out”
Jimmy expected to see some naked or near naked girl draped in lingerie instead he was greeted with something of equal allure a Jaguar Hydro XJ775 super sports car, his eyes almost popped out of his head
“No way, yours!”
“Yep, ordered it Friday, last bonus cheques a biggy” Mike’s eyebrows raised knowingly
Inwardly Jimmy fumed, no matter how successful he was, Mike had a habit of pulling the bigger payoffs, still he had back to back stories lined up, 2027 was definitely going to be his year.
Both Mike and he worked for the Trans-World Chronicle Homeline and potentially the multiverses only inter dimensional newspaper, filled with breaking news from historical echoes, biographies of the historically famous, human interest stories, science, the arts and best of all sports.
Live reports of historic games and events from Echoes, futurist sports and even alternate versions of well known games, it was big business and the Chronicles biggest income driver.
For this simple reason its Sports Journalists were the highest paid, bonused on how many events they could cover and the level of coverage all while running that fine line of maintaining the Secret.
Which was exactly why the pair of them had to report to Infinity’s Head Office, to renew their Cross Time licences, without them they didn't go anywhere, which for the Sportsters was financial Armageddon.
“Did you hear about the stupid bitch Annette Garrett” sneered Eldridge
“Yeah crazy ho” retorted Jimmy
“Heard she’s completely blown her expense account in two days, plus got herself involved with some kind of cross time creature”
Jimmy snorted “Fuckin amateur”
The bespectacled visitor regarded the pair and frowned
“Problem buddy” snarled Eldridge
To his credit the visitor held Mike’s glare and merely shook his head
“Bookworms got a set” scoffed Jimmy
The three of them looked up as a man in a crisp suit had appeared before them, had he overhead the exchange, the Validation and Permits officer reviewed his tablet before turning to the visitor “Mr Dillon” and gestured for him to follow
“Hey buddy wait a minute, we've been waiting here over an hour” objected Mike
The V&P Officer regarded his tablet again before coolly regarding the pair “So you have” and walked off
“Dick” snarled Mike
Validation and Permits Office - Infinity Headquarters, Chicago – 14.30.
A further hour had passed before Jimmy entered the opaque office, sitting across the uniform desk sat a not unattractive but slightly geeky woman, again casting his mind back to high school the pretty geek.
Jimmy smiled Mike may get the payoffs but James McFadden was deadly with the ladies, he flashed her a killer smile and a raised eyebrow, the woman didn’t react in the slightest
A little perturbed by the woman’s immunity to his obvious charms Jimmy relaxed, leaning back into this chair.
“Is this a joke Mr McFadden” said the woman not even looking up
Jimmy frowned, she was really uptight “Look Lady is this going to take long, I’m really bu”
She looked him straight in the eye “It takes as long as it takes!”
“I can see from your attitude why we have an issue” she continued
“Issue, look Lady I never normally have a problem, can you just stamp my visa for Gods-“
“Well we do have a problem Mr McFadden, you’ve been cautioned four times in the past year for Article 1 Breaches”
“Article 1” Jimmy shook his head ignorantly
“That little thing we call the Secret Mr McFadden, you’ve risked Cross world contamination that we’re aware of on four occasions”
Jimmy shook his head, how the hell did Infinity know about that, he couldn’t even remember any near misses himself “Lady I’ve got no idea what your talking about!”
“Let me refresh your memory, leaving a Smart Phone in Parallel -99S, your electronic driver’s licence in a girls apartment again in Parallel -99S current year 1927, involving yourself in a television interview in Parallel -73N and last but not least the birth of your daughter on Echo -56F”
Jimmy’s face had by this stage become very pale “The first instance the item being handed into the local Police due to its nature and having to be retrieved by an I-Cop at considerable expense”
“In the last instance you could have irrevocably affected the timeline”
“Look lady can I speak to a Supervisor you clearly have a beef with me!” retorted Jimmy
“No Mr McFadden you may not, the Infinity Patrol has been monitoring your activities for several months again at considerable expense, while they have seen nothing Earth Shattering the last issue having the Jury out, you are deemed an issue”
“What does that mean”
“It means Mr McFadden, that you will be permitted a Month by Month probationary visa and constantly supervised until such time as your suitability or lack thereof is fully determined, all costs will be met by the Chronicle, finally should evidence of Timeline shift be observed on Echo -56F you may be subject to a Criminal investigation”
‘Shit she had the kid, bitch’ mentally cursed Jimmy ‘Paid for the fucking abortion, bitch, bitch, bitch’ looking out of the window at the golden sun, Jame’s Mcfadden’s outlook had definitely grown cloudy.
It was a beautiful warm sunny day, a balmy 18 degrees, a bright cheerful day that lifted every bodies spirits.
The Infinite Tower was an immense structure, towering some 120 stories tall, as the golden sun graced its eastern side its windows polarised.
The 32rd floor housed the Validation and Permits department, from its name an innocuous affair, but appearances were very much deceiving for this was the floor where cross-time travel was authorised.
Amongst Infinity Bureaucrats the administrators of this department wielded enormous power, a fact James McFadden appeared to have grossly underestimated.
Sat in the plush reception alongside his fellow Sports journo Mike Eldridge, a pair of kings surveyed all that lay before them, laughing raucously at their shared jokes, checking out the secretaries with cheeky winks, sneering at the male administrators and sprawled across the half moon Prussian blue sofas.
Their territory was encroached as a bespectacled man entered and took a seat, his tablet beneath his arm, the pair immediately adopted snipe expressions, this was the geek that they the jocks in high school had either ignored or ridiculed.
For his part the man ignored them, waking his Tablet up and catching up with whatever work he was involved in, Jimmy and Mike frowned at the lack of sport and returned to their conversation.
“So did you bone her!” challenged Eldridge
Jimmy gave him that what do you think! look
Mike produced his smart phone “Check this out”
Jimmy expected to see some naked or near naked girl draped in lingerie instead he was greeted with something of equal allure a Jaguar Hydro XJ775 super sports car, his eyes almost popped out of his head
“No way, yours!”
“Yep, ordered it Friday, last bonus cheques a biggy” Mike’s eyebrows raised knowingly
Inwardly Jimmy fumed, no matter how successful he was, Mike had a habit of pulling the bigger payoffs, still he had back to back stories lined up, 2027 was definitely going to be his year.
Both Mike and he worked for the Trans-World Chronicle Homeline and potentially the multiverses only inter dimensional newspaper, filled with breaking news from historical echoes, biographies of the historically famous, human interest stories, science, the arts and best of all sports.
Live reports of historic games and events from Echoes, futurist sports and even alternate versions of well known games, it was big business and the Chronicles biggest income driver.
For this simple reason its Sports Journalists were the highest paid, bonused on how many events they could cover and the level of coverage all while running that fine line of maintaining the Secret.
Which was exactly why the pair of them had to report to Infinity’s Head Office, to renew their Cross Time licences, without them they didn't go anywhere, which for the Sportsters was financial Armageddon.
“Did you hear about the stupid bitch Annette Garrett” sneered Eldridge
“Yeah crazy ho” retorted Jimmy
“Heard she’s completely blown her expense account in two days, plus got herself involved with some kind of cross time creature”
Jimmy snorted “Fuckin amateur”
The bespectacled visitor regarded the pair and frowned
“Problem buddy” snarled Eldridge
To his credit the visitor held Mike’s glare and merely shook his head
“Bookworms got a set” scoffed Jimmy
The three of them looked up as a man in a crisp suit had appeared before them, had he overhead the exchange, the Validation and Permits officer reviewed his tablet before turning to the visitor “Mr Dillon” and gestured for him to follow
“Hey buddy wait a minute, we've been waiting here over an hour” objected Mike
The V&P Officer regarded his tablet again before coolly regarding the pair “So you have” and walked off
“Dick” snarled Mike
Validation and Permits Office - Infinity Headquarters, Chicago – 14.30.
A further hour had passed before Jimmy entered the opaque office, sitting across the uniform desk sat a not unattractive but slightly geeky woman, again casting his mind back to high school the pretty geek.
Jimmy smiled Mike may get the payoffs but James McFadden was deadly with the ladies, he flashed her a killer smile and a raised eyebrow, the woman didn’t react in the slightest
A little perturbed by the woman’s immunity to his obvious charms Jimmy relaxed, leaning back into this chair.
“Is this a joke Mr McFadden” said the woman not even looking up
Jimmy frowned, she was really uptight “Look Lady is this going to take long, I’m really bu”
She looked him straight in the eye “It takes as long as it takes!”
“I can see from your attitude why we have an issue” she continued
“Issue, look Lady I never normally have a problem, can you just stamp my visa for Gods-“
“Well we do have a problem Mr McFadden, you’ve been cautioned four times in the past year for Article 1 Breaches”
“Article 1” Jimmy shook his head ignorantly
“That little thing we call the Secret Mr McFadden, you’ve risked Cross world contamination that we’re aware of on four occasions”
Jimmy shook his head, how the hell did Infinity know about that, he couldn’t even remember any near misses himself “Lady I’ve got no idea what your talking about!”
“Let me refresh your memory, leaving a Smart Phone in Parallel -99S, your electronic driver’s licence in a girls apartment again in Parallel -99S current year 1927, involving yourself in a television interview in Parallel -73N and last but not least the birth of your daughter on Echo -56F”
Jimmy’s face had by this stage become very pale “The first instance the item being handed into the local Police due to its nature and having to be retrieved by an I-Cop at considerable expense”
“In the last instance you could have irrevocably affected the timeline”
“Look lady can I speak to a Supervisor you clearly have a beef with me!” retorted Jimmy
“No Mr McFadden you may not, the Infinity Patrol has been monitoring your activities for several months again at considerable expense, while they have seen nothing Earth Shattering the last issue having the Jury out, you are deemed an issue”
“What does that mean”
“It means Mr McFadden, that you will be permitted a Month by Month probationary visa and constantly supervised until such time as your suitability or lack thereof is fully determined, all costs will be met by the Chronicle, finally should evidence of Timeline shift be observed on Echo -56F you may be subject to a Criminal investigation”
‘Shit she had the kid, bitch’ mentally cursed Jimmy ‘Paid for the fucking abortion, bitch, bitch, bitch’ looking out of the window at the golden sun, Jame’s Mcfadden’s outlook had definitely grown cloudy.