Descending Road - FAST FORWARD by Dana W. Paxson

FAST FORWARD

2407 CE

Trin put the plug back in the vial. “Look, Mina, here. You shouldn’t be messing with stuff like this. Neither should Ludko. He’s just an asshole, and he doesn’t care if you live or die. Let’s get rid of it.”

To his surprise, she shook her head. “Well, Ludko thinks you’re an asshole too, and I stood up for you. I told him you could figure this out without him, and he told me to let you try. He laughed at me.”

“So how do we know this isn’t just sugar syrup, like you get at the store?”

“Ludko said–“

“Forget what he said. We have to test it some way. Maybe on some animal.”

“No, I don’t want to hurt anything! Can’t you test it some other way?”

“Well, no. What’s your idea?” Trin‘s annoyance began to rise. “It’s supposed to be for people, right? How would you test it unless somebody took it and you watched them to make sure they’re okay?”

Mina looked thoughtful, then said, “Maybe two people could take just a little of it at the same time. Then they’d have each other to check. It wouldn’t be good if one moved ahead or back in time and left the other one, would it?”

Trin had to admit that her idea was not bad. “And then if it went okay, they could both try a little more, right?” Time stuff. What did that mean, anyway?

“Only if it went okay.” Mina nodded.

“But I still don’t understand that part about the world speeding up and you going slow. And you said forward or backward in time.”

“Well, Ludko thinks it’s just, like forward faster, fast forward, that’s all.” Mina waved her delicate hand in a circle, then combed her dark short hair with her fingers. “Can we go up to your place? I don’t like it down here. My mom’s got Enrique over tonight.”

“All right. My roommates are all up in Montreal at a four-day party. They won’t be back until Sunday night, so we’ve got three days.”

“Trin, I’m scared of this stuff.” Mina handed him the second vial. He made sure both vials were stoppered, put them in his pocket, and they turned to take the trail up the valley side into the city.

“Look, Min, don’t worry. We’ll be really careful. We were careful with the ‘thellin, that one time, weren’t we?”

“Uh-huh. But I’ll never take that again.” She grinned, shadow-spotted in the dim lights. “It made us fuck.”

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	FAST FORWARD 2407 CE Trin put the plug back in the vial. “Look, Mina, here. You shouldn’t be messing with stuff like this. Neither should Ludko. He’s just an asshole, and he doesn’t care if you live or die. Let’s get rid of it.” To his surprise, she shook her head. “Well, Ludko thinks you’re an asshole too, and I stood up for you. I told him you could figure this out without him, and he told me to let you try. He laughed at me.” “So how do we know this isn’t just sugar syrup, like you get at the store?” “Ludko said–“ “Forget what he said. We have to test it some way. Maybe on some animal.” “No, I don’t want to hurt anything! Can’t you test it some other way?” “Well, no. What’s your idea?” Trin‘s annoyance began to rise. “It’s supposed to be for people, right? How would you test it unless somebody took it and you watched them to make sure they’re okay?” Mina looked thoughtful, then said, “Maybe two people could take just a little of it at the same time. Then they’d have each other to check. It wouldn’t be good if one moved ahead or back in time and left the other one, would it?” Trin had to admit that her idea was not bad. “And then if it went okay, they could both try a little more, right?” Time stuff. What did that mean, anyway? “Only if it went okay.” Mina nodded. “But I still don’t understand that part about the world speeding up and you going slow. And you said forward or backward in time.” “Well, Ludko thinks it’s just, like forward faster, fast forward, that’s all.” Mina waved her delicate hand in a circle, then combed her dark short hair with her fingers. “Can we go up to your place? I don’t like it down here. My mom’s got Enrique over tonight.” “All right. My roommates are all up in Montreal at a four-day party. They won’t be back until Sunday night, so we’ve got three days.” “Trin, I’m scared of this stuff.” Mina handed him the second vial. He made sure both vials were stoppered, put them in his pocket, and they turned to take the trail up the valley side into the city. “Look, Min, don’t worry. We’ll be really careful. We were careful with the ‘thellin, that one time, weren’t we?” “Uh-huh. But I’ll never take that again.” She grinned, shadow-spotted in the dim lights. “It made us fuck.”