by Tony Ortiz
Democracy? Please. You know better than most that our political system is a Corporate Plutocracy where dollars and cents dictate what makes the most sense. Lobbyists wield influence and policy between a couple Political parties that are just two sides of the same corrupt coin.
Doesn’t everyone get a vote though? As well as the option to vote where it counts ... with their money?
Yes that is true but what good is a vote when the outcome is predetermined by the choices that are actually available and by forces at play that supersede the noblest of intentions?
Think bigger Jake. Us evolving into what we are today was due to a series of countless subtle changes over millions of years. It’s a gradual process. We should find solace in that our efforts will eventually yield positive results. Don’t let the ‘when’ distract you so much.
When exactly did you become such a hypocrite?
Excuse me?
When did you decide to turn? When did you abandon your beliefs? Your Virtues? I mean, you're literally working against 95% of the things that we collectively propose as changes. Wrongs that we find value in righting. You might as well be an anti-skipper. Let me ask you this; you know how hard I worked on that FDA case right? It was my heart and soul for over a year. Were you ever planning to consider it seriously or did you just give it the old college try because I was so vocal about it?
You clearly don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about.
You hide behind that phrase -‘think big enough’- like you’re on some all-knowing pedestal that no one else can fathom contemplating from. Ironically it’s your controlling grip on the team that perpetuates your cynical views as some acceptable form of reality. Somewhere along the line you seem to have had the right idea but I think you lost your way.
Sometimes you need to work within something, to understand it without. My tactics may shift from time to time, but my goals never have. I will make a positive impact wherever I am and however I can.
But at what cost? Transparency, integrity, freedom ... are these all overrated concepts to you?
That’s a little much isn’t it?
It’s like we’re jailed here. All of us. Imprisoned behind the bars of manipulation, misdirection, deception.
Like I’ve told you and everyone else here since day one ... you’re free to go at any time, with no hard feelings. So if you feel imprisoned or like you can't leave, that's on you.
Really? We built this thing together. Have you forgotten that?
No not at all, but this is a place for people that want to be here. I value you Jake, but I don't need you. And I think you have forgotten that.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It had been about a week since I skipped and the urge was growing. But skipping without a cause was like roaming around in a Grand Theft Auto video game. The missions are what gave it all purpose. I didn't realize it before I left but I became used to having my routines. I was comfortable there, which isn't necessarily a bad thing until you realize that having it all taken away from you, flips your world upside down. I also knew that Miguel gave me a spitefully long suspension. Jake even seemed blind sided by his decision. So I wasn't sure if my pride would let me go back to the team in four weeks. I remembered that the Skippers Gala was coming up. I figured I'd check it out, meet other teams and see what happens. Maybe there's a better fit for me out there. I planned to go, keep to myself and lay low. If I bump into anyone from the team I'll be cordial and keep it moving.
When I arrived, it was packed. A bunch of people dressed up, others not so much. I felt like I walked into another schools prom and had everyone wondering who I was. But that was just an insecure narrative I made up in my head. In reality, nobody knows everybody, and people were just mingling and carrying on.
I was sure there were enough people that I could easily lose myself in the crowd if need be, but I wound up right next to Jake and Charlie anyway. I was leaning up against a bar way in the back. I figured that with no one behind me I could just scope out the place and spot everyone from here. The person to my right, got her drink, tipped the bartender and left. I looked over when she did, and there they were on the opposite side of where she was standing. Charlie looked over toward me at the same time.
Yo, Hec! What's up bro?
He said as he came over and gave me a pound and a hug.
Bro, we’ve been trying to get in touch with you. We all think it's fucked up the way Miguel dogged you. Even Jake thinks so.
Hey Hector, what's up man? Jake chimed in. It is really good to see you. How've you been?
I got to admit, it felt good to hear that, but I didn't want to let on. Although they both seemed genuine, I didn't know who I could trust anymore. So I just told them:
It's good to see you guys too. I've been alright, just decided to lay low and do my time.
I hear you man, said Jake as he leaned in toward me. But you need to know that you have our support, like Charlie was saying. Miguel went overboard with those four weeks, and in other ways lately too. I started looking into the submission numbers that you mentioned and how skewed they really are.
Wait, you knew about that? I asked.
Nah man, sadly no. I was too blinded by my own trust in how things were supposed to work, that it slipped through the cracks. After you left, Laura told me that you mentioned it to her. So I looked into it and you were absolutely right.
Damn, I can't believe she actually told you. She looked at me like I had two heads when I mentioned it to her.
You should have seen how Miguel looked at me when I confronted him about it. He wrote it off like it wasn't a big deal and then got all righteous on me saying that I was getting caught up in minor details. He said he values me on the team but doesn't need me. Wild shit man. Very unlike him, Jake said.
I hope you're not thinking of leaving though, Charlie said, changing the subject. This whole mess is bugged out, but you're a perfect fit. Family. These other crews don't deserve you.
Not that we do right now either, Jake chimed in. I mean, with the way Miguel treated you and with the level of talent he's been recruiting lately, I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to come back, but you should definitely know that you have the entire teams support.
The entire team? I asked sarcastically.
Well, maybe not Miguel’s but even he will eventually come around. You'll see.
He doesn't give a fuck about Miguel right now bro, Charlie said laughing. He meant Laura.
Oh ok, Jake said. No worries there man, she definitely has your back too.
I'll be honest with you guys...I haven't made up my mind yet, one way or the other. I have almost started missing you guys though, I said laughing. Let's have a shot before I duck out of here.
I turned around and got the bartenders attention, while someone tapped the mic and drew everyone else's attention to the stage. I brought the shots over to the guys who were listening to the presenter.
Check it out, Brance is about to get the Radium award for like the fourth or fifth time in a row, said Charlie.
Who's Brance? I asked.
Brance Centron. He's like the Kobe Bryant of skipping. He's the best at this shit right now, responded Charlie.
So catch his speech again next year, I responded jokingly. Let's take this shot, I got to go.
We laughed, took them, I gave them a pound and started toward the door. As I was walking out, I spotted Laura at a distance listening to Brance on the stage. I didn't know what I would say to her if she saw me so before it was over, I walked out of the side door.
I stepped outside but couldn't leave just yet. Too much of this party environment at one time makes me uneasy, but she was such a sight for sore eyes that it hurt to even look away, let alone leave completely. The fresh air was also doing its part to make me feel comfortable enough to think about going back in. About a minute later Brance stepped out to where I was. The Brance Centron. He apparently wanted to get away from it all for a bit as well. He took out a cigarette
and began smoking. After exhaling his first drag, he gave me a friendly yet indistinct nod, and went back to keeping to himself. He came off as very pensive, like he was deep in thought. We stood there for a while, in the clear fair-weather night, not saying anything else to each other. So I decided to cut the noticeable tension and said the first thing that came to mind.
Hey, congrats man.
Huh? Oh yea, thanks. Much appreciated. You're Hector right? The new guy on Miguel and Jake’s crew?
Yea, I responded surprised he knew who I was. I guess this dude really was on top of his game.
I've heard about you. I'm sure you'll be getting awards like this soon enough. Here's some unsolicited advice though, if you don't mind hearing it of course.
No not at all. Please do.
Don't let them, let you get it twisted. None of this means anything yet.
What do you mean? The award?
Yea, it's bullshit. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it and all, but it's the starting point, not the ending payoff. I could undue all the progress I've made, with a handful of bad skips. Then this award literally means shit. It’ll go from being a symbol of realized accomplishment to one of unrealized potential. Now is when the real work begins. The twice-as-hard-to-keep-it work. Awards and accolades aren't ever really earned. They're leased with an option to buy. If you ever stop showing up and making those payments, it's gone. If you buy into your own hype too early, you miss out on the potential growth. But if you show up when you're supposed to and pay your dues consistently, then when it’s all said and done, you’ll be able to solidify this and any other accolades you've gotten along the way. That’s legendary status. In the end, hindsight is the only perspective that holds weight when it comes to any of this meaning something.
Wow ... those are really deep points and a really useful perspective to place on all this. Thank you Brance, I really appreciate it.
No problem, he said as he flicked his cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. Then as he walked away to the adjacent parking lot he turned and said: “when you get to where you're going, don't forget about what got you there. Good luck with all this.”
I never did make it back into the Gala that night. I headed back to the shanty motel I was staying in instead. Brance’s talk about legacy and adding a purpose to all this was swirling around in my mind and I felt like I had to put this Trancetol thing to bed, one way or the other. It really did seem to be an impenetrable, but at the very least maybe knowing why or how it works, would shed light on a different angle and perspective to approach the issue from.
I had to go back to the trial time. They were more careless with data and information then. No one had a reason to have their guard up, with the exception of Dr. Feinstein. That's the variable I had to isolate long enough for me to snoop around. But how? He was on to me and even monitoring my sleep at that point in time. Then in the middle of the night, it hit me. A redundant skip! Jake mentioned to me once that it had never been tried in reality, but it worked in the simulation. Given the circumstances, that was good enough for me. I just had to skip back to whenever it was that I skipped from the first time around, and then skip to the same trial time again. It was risky, but the only way I could know where Feinstein was at all times, while letting him think he still knew where I was as well.
The next morning I skipped back in that order, and the world didn't disintegrate or anything, so it seemed to work. I went over to the Losmina Inn, to get a room and lay low until after dark. I remembered that Dr. Feinstein and one other staffer were the only ones on duty that night. Everyone else would be at the Centennial with the rest of the town.
The building wasn't hard to get into. Knowing that Feinstein was monitoring the sleeping pods made it easier for me to look around. I only had to keep my eyes open for that other staffer. The first order of business was to loop the security camera footage just in case someone was actually watching.
I was able to do that fairly quickly, using a similar back-door hack to the one that worked for us in Chile. Then I went off to find all the paperwork that I could about Trancetol. The third office I rummaged through had a historical record of the research and notes that had been recorded to date.
Temporal Displacement commonly known as Skipping, circa the year 2015, is a gene alteration that causes a hormetic response that in turn creates a temporal displacement. It has only been clinically observed in subjects undergoing the REM state of sleep.
Trancetol acts as an inhibitor, which curbs that initial hormetic response by binding to the enzyme that triggers it, and shutting it off. Maintenance doses at a prescription level can cure temporal displacement in individuals. To target the masses, trace amounts of Trancetol need to be included in vitamins and minerals, via the unregulated supplement market.
I started going through the boxes fervently, trying to see if I found a file on me. Every tab had a written date range, similar to the digital files in Dr. Feinstein's office back at baseline but without the names. Then I heard someone coming and I quickly put the lid back on the box and ducked down behind the desk. I didn't get a look at who it was but I assumed it was the staffer since Dr. Feinstein should have been at the sleep pods at that time. He opened the door, and shone his flashlight in and looked around. As he scanned the room, he stopped the light right at the desk, for what seemed to me and my paranoia to be an eternity. He then clicked off his flashlight, shut the door and continued making his rounds.
I got up and continued going through the box. There was a file dated the date of when this trial started. I went through it and found my name, well the fake name I gave them, along with the names of everyone else that was part of the study.
It read: Aubrey Martinski tested positive for the gene mutation in all blood work samples. He is also a potential Skipper aka Hector Herrera coming back from the year range 2012-2016. High dosages of Trancetol recommended.
That's how they've been doing it. Testing our blood for the gene mutation, and putting Trancetol in us before we’re even aware we can Skip. I had to get this info back to Jake and the team. Every alternative reality we’ve recorded, where prescription Trancetol was successfully stopped, ended with a proliferation of worse versions of. But if the Trancetol supplements are actually a thing in the future, they're flying under the radar. Maybe something can be done there. With that, I skipped back to baseline in the reverse redundant order.
When I got back, I started searching for supplements online that had radical claims like ‘Cure cancer naturally, with one capsule per day’ or ‘Full body revitalization solution.’ I walked over to the nearest pharmacy and checked out their supplement section. Every other bottle I looked at, that had more than a handful of ingredients, had Trancetol listed as an active ingredient. I purchased a few, to take over to the team. They had to see this.
I text Charlie, and he told me to go over. “You're suspended from skipping, not from being here” he wrote, “you don't have to ask permission to be here.”
Charlie greeted me at the door when I got there.
Yo, what's good Hec? How are you?
Hey what's up Charlie? Good to see you bro. I don't have much time though.
The truth is I was rushing because I didn't want to bump into Laura. I hadn't spoken to her since I left, even though she tried reaching out a few times, so I had no idea what to say. We walked over to Jake’s sector.
Hey, Hector, slumming it today? What finally brings you back around?
What's up Jake? I just wanted to show you guys something I came across if you have a sec.
