Editing City Series:Volume7 Layer 6 (section)

===Record 68: Repeating It Forever===

'''06/19/1998

'''23:01

On a clear-skied evening in the rainy season, you and I took a telescope out to the school roof for a moon viewing. The astronomy club had a base camp set up on the roof, so we bought some of their food plus some basic supplies like a tent and warm clothing. We also got a coupon for next time and a guide to good moon-viewing spots. Finally, we laid out our mat and set up the telescope.

The moon in the sky wasn’t quite perfectly round. You gave Daitarou a dango next to me. And…

“Hi. Do you have a moment?”

I turned around to see Professor there. He shined a flashlight on his face up from below.

“You see, I have invented something extremely pleasurable and I was hoping to show it off to-”

He suddenly disappeared. I gave you a puzzled look, wondering what had happened.

“Just the usual nonsense I’m sure. Okay, Daitarou, say ‘ah’.”

You were entirely focused on feeding dangos to your pet. I had nothing else to do but view the moon. And…

“Hi. Do you have a moment?”

I turned around to see Professor there. He shined a flashlight on his face up from below.

“You see, I have invented something extremely pleasurable and I was hoping to show it off to-”

He disappeared again. I looked to you and you waved your hand to tell me not to worry about it.

I figured you were right and waited. And…

“Hi. Do you have a moment?”

I punched him away without turning around. The idiot bounced along the concrete roof and then rolled a few times before stopping. This time, he didn’t disappear. So I asked my question.

“What is this about? You won’t like what happens if you don’t answer me.”

“That may be the worst late-night greeting I have ever received. As for what this is about, I invented this.”

The Professor pulled something like a flashlight from his pocket and showed it to me.

“The principle behind it is complex, but to dumb it down much too far, it makes light collide with light to locally push back the light. The progression of the world is made from the audiovisual combination of light and sound, so shining this light on a location will reverse the timeline in that location.”

“So what happens if I shine it on something and wave it?”

“The target will be accelerated by the strength of your waving of course. Why even ask something so obvious?”

I shined it on him and waved it. He disappeared and I finally had some peace and quiet.

I sat down next to you and heard some very specific noises from the science room on the first floor: shattering glass, breaking desks, test tubes and electronic devices crashing against the wall, and the science club members’ screams.

“Hey, what is all that about?” you asked.

“I punched an idiot trying to get in the way our moon viewing.”

I noticed the moon had descended a bit below the sky. I shined the flashlight on it, but it didn’t move back.

You checked the flashlight in my hand.

“Its Phlogiston Tank is empty.”

'''Author Comment:

Replaying time with light.

I feel like I have a lot of stories that link light and shadows to time.