There's Always A Catch

"So, what's the catch?" 

"What do you mean?" He said with a slight scoff.

"The catch Dr. Hillock, what is it?"

"I don't know what you're referring to, Jake. There is no catch." 

"Oh please, there's no point in arguing. We both know it. There's always a catch..."

...

Dr. Hillock was a scientist, not legally. Right out of college, he had been rejected by dozens of organizations, their excuses were always the same. "Your ideas will burn the world." He'd always thought they were too stuck up to see his genius, too obstinate. The truth is he was a genius. The problem was he was too presumptuous. He had extraordinary ideas, and he wanted to show the world what he could do. Only no one could see from his perspective nobody could understand the visions he had for the world. Yet, this never stopped him. He started a company in Alaska, and the rumors spread like wildfire. Dr. Hillock-Alaska-Experiments-does whatever you're willing to pay for. And they were right. Mostly. 

He conducted illegal experiments and engineered unimaginably dangerous products. And yet, no one could stop him. He was hidden within fields of white. The government disregarded him, underestimating the seriousness of his inventions, as everyone had done his whole life. Only people of immense ambition would seek Dr. Hillock, pleading like newborn chicks. And of course, he would do anything they'd ask. He would invent the most preposterous things. Careless of the dangers, of the risks, of his own life.

People said he had no limit, that his negligence would backfire, and he would create something that would, in fact, 'burn the world.' But Dr. Hillock being like he was, continued his experiments. Each is more vicious than the previous. He always enjoyed a challenge. Until one day, he came across a man who braced the biggest of his requests, the most treacherous, even almost ridiculous plea.

He came dressed in dull clothes, a black suit that looked faded, almost a dark shade of grey, with the only pop of color being a navy blue tie. The man seemed pale, lifeless, even slightly uncanny. His dreary green eyes, looking upon him. Showing the slightest bit of hope. Stumbling through the room he reached Dr. Hillock's desk, and gave a slight nod of his head. Dr. Hillock fumbled at his depriving appearance, and gave the man a nod back, following with a slight smile.

"I've heard a lot about you." Said the man. Giving a modest laugh Dr. Hillock answered, his voice a bit raspy. "I get that a lot. So tell me, what are you here for?" The man leaned a bit closer, his eyes piercing Dr. Hillocks. "So you see, my request is slightly challenging." He smiled almost instantly. "I'm always up to a challenge," he said as he picked up a cup of orange juice that sat at the corner of his desk. 

"Good. I want you to take me back in time."

He had just sipped his orange juice when he suddenly started coughing. His irritated eyes stared back at the peculiar man. "I'm, sorry what?" 

"You heard me right. I want you to build a machine that will take me back to four months ago." Dr. Hillock stared, bewildered. 

"Sir, um.. what's your name?" 

"Jake."

"Jake. look, you are making it sound far too simple. Time travel isn't some sort of game, it's not like building an airplane or a car, or creating some sort of futuristic medicine. Time travel defies the very laws of thermodynamics and relativity. The past can only be witnessed, not experienced. It's something you can't just simply go back to. " Jake desperately answered, "You don't understand, this is my last chance." 

"Last chance for what?" said Dr. Hillock, somewhat irritated. "To save my daughter." 

Silence filled the room. Whatever did he mean? The view of Dr. Hillock with his wide eyes and mouth half open made Jake snap. "My daughter died in a car crash four months ago."

The silence grew deeper. 

Dr. Hillock struggled to speak, he just couldn't find the right words. He had never said no to a client, he had done things that were said to be impossible. Engineered wings. Made boots that could walk on the surface of any building. Glasses with intellectual chips that gave you the answer to anything. He was the future of modern technological advances, he was making history every day. He knew the dangers of his artifacts, he knew the wings could fail, he knew his boots could stop functioning mid-skyscraper, and he knew his glasses could explode, and their artificial wiring could overheat. He knew. But this, this was beyond anything he had ever done.

"Please." pleaded Jake. His sorrowful face made Dr. Hillock want to disappear from the room. "Jake, it's not possible, at least not in the way you think. I'm not some theoretical physicist, I'm a scientist that goes over the limits." Jake's face reflected his despair. "Exactly! You're a scientist. You're supposed to break the boundaries. You are Dr. Hillock, the man who has no limits, the man who will do anything you propose. Why let this destroy your streak." Dr. Hillock stayed silent, pensively reflecting on Jake's cautious words. 

"Think about it Dr. Hillock, a hot-shot scientist who plays around engineering nonsensical things...think...are you changing the world? Imagine, just imagine, what will happen if you succeed at this. You wouldn't be known as the guy who screwed around with ridiculous science experiments. You'd be known as Dr. Adam Hillock the person who invented time travel." 

Dr. Hillock, with each word Jake spoke, was more, and more intrigued. Eventually, he concluded that he had to, at the very least, try. It was time to use his talent to make something revolutionary. "Okay." He said. Gosh, I'm going to regret this. 

"Count me in."

...

Dr. Hillock devoted the rest of his life to the project, what were minutes for him seemed like hours for Jake. Soon enough months passed, then years. Dr. Hillock grew desperate, as Jake's grief grew deeper. It was a never-ending cycle. Dr. Hillock's business shut down soon enough. He didn't have the time to care for it the way he used to, nor for his clients. He used the money he had accumulated all those years and applied it to research. He became bankrupt about seven years after the closing. Over time Dr. Hillock and Jake became good friends, Jake's fading hope was all Dr. Hillock led to care about. It had been his motivation all along. It took him two decades to finally give up. 

How will I tell him? He thought, his dreary face against his mirror reminding him of the way Jake looked when they had first met. He couldn't believe how fast time had gone, all his life he spent working on this, all this time just to disappoint him. He couldn't bear it. He decided he would do one last project, one last thing for him. He convinced Jake that he had finally found the missing link and that in a couple more years he would send Jake back in time to that year, to the year they met. He told him he would be able to save his daughter, and that all these years worth of work had finally paid off. He'd never forget his face, the way he looked at him, his tears of joy.  

He instead made an artifact, like the ones he used to make. He studied neurology and learned all he could about the human brain. In his last years, he worked harder than all of the others, because now, he had finally found his purpose. He created a machine that connected to the brain and accessed memories so he would be able to control Jake's thoughts and feelings. All so that he would be happy. But this still, pained him. It would all be an illusion. It would never be real. The truth was that he had failed. This, at the very least, was the only thing he could do for him.

"So, what's the catch?" 

"What do you mean?" He said with a slight scoff.

"The catch Adam, what is it?"

"I don't know what you're referring to, Jake. There is no catch." 

"Oh please, there's no point in arguing. We both know it. There's always a catch."