21 Lucky Shorts
by Lisa Rusczyk 2010
Dedicated to Rich and Claire Rusczyk
Change
What if changes caused time and not the other way around? Wes was thinkingabout this as he poured one solution into the other. Work was so boring and monotonousthat Wes had all kinds of thoughts like these. What if, he thought, the very act of dumping chemicals together was causing time to progress? That he, Wes Mallard, hadthe power to make time go on. And got paid to do it.Perhaps, he thought, at the moment of the Big Bang there was just a little changein that small, heavy mass of whatever it was and it caused all kinds of change. Nowchange can’t stop happening, and neither will time because of it.He mused further as he stirred his concoction. Time can’t move backwardsbecause of this. There’s no going back. There’s only change to change to change and weperceive it as time moving in a fluid direction of forward.Wes thought memory had something to do with the idea of time going forward aswell. Memories lined up in order from when we were young to now.The lab was empty this time of night. Wes was working overtime to pay somegambling debts. He hated that urge, the craving for the win. If only the casino werefarther away, then the temptation wouldn’t be so bad. Even better, if the casino didn’texist then he wouldn’t have to drive by it every day to and from work.In his beaker, Wes put two droplets of acid in and watched as they dissolved.Fumes were rising from the glass container. As long as Wes kept making things change,time would seem to continue. What else could he change with his brew?He had a great storage of memory as to what chemicals do what. A little of this, alittle of that. A little could go a far way. A little fluid could melt something big. It couldburn down a whole building with a little help from a lighter.Wes thought about that casino some more as he stirred his smoking creation. Justthe very act of thinking about the casino was causing change, which kept time pushingon.What if the casino weren't there anymore?Wes took a bio-hazard container and poured his mixture into it. It was time to gohome now anyway. He locked up the lab and the building and got into his car, thecontainer tucked away in his lab coat.
It was hot in Phoenix. Sure, there were other casinos in the area, but that one... Itwas always glaring its red and orange lights at him, teasing him for just one little win.His car took a while to cool down and by the time the casino was in sight thesweat had dried off his body.He turned into the parking lot and stopped the car in a parking space far from theentrance. He went inside, container still in his lab coat. The doorman greeted him byname.Wes walked by the blackjack table, and it was calling to him. Ignoring it, he wentstraight to the fire alarm and looked around. He knew he was on camera. He pulled itanyway.Masses of gamblers snatched up their chips and coins and tickets and made adash for the door. As the casino emptied, so did Wes’s container, all over the blackjack table that haunted his every desire.Then with a flick of a match from a matchbook lying on the table, he ignited thething. The mixture was more potent than he thought and he felt his eyebrows burn off inthe sudden blast. Wes ran to the door with a glance back and smiled. He caused goodchange today.In jail later that year, Wes wondered what kind of change was going on to createtime. Nothing happened in jail. He woke up, he ate, he showered, he read sciencemagazines. Stagnant as ever, time seemed to stand still and he was convinced thatchange really did cause time.
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21 short stories by Lisa Rusczyk. Enjoy!
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