Mindless Futures

"Do you remember any days past the due date?"

"Is it that time again or is just another injury, do you know who I am Professor Mark?"

Mark awakens to the voice, is his name Mark or was it Isaac, yes that has to be his name not this random title. Slowly the other eye opens to indicate a new day. A destination beyond any other he was promised in the past. But in the past, it seems Colt can't remember the times before today or yesterday's coffee. Maybe it was a sweet, sweet treat it had to be of course.

"Professor?" The old man beckoned for me to respond. It's like I know him, he's an important person I suppose. 

"Ah Issac is it, Now Colt it's a real name you scoundrel always changing your names giving yourself new meaning and succeeding somehow, it's like you remember backwards or I suppose forwards."

He hands me the coffee and the sweet treat just like I remembered the good thing the past is. But that isn't the case, this is the future I'm remembering. Well in a few minutes I look forward to it, the secrets of the vault, why I had my name and face changed a couple of times, the average life of the council scoundrels and another day's work put together lickety-split. Just like that Colt had fiddled around his pockets and there it was, the secret to a professional journey, myself I might for posterity and the face-changorama a very fascinating device even transmits a few background details. Of course I'm going to be hired at once with this truth and realization, the old man is my mysterious contracter, to him I'm a soothsayer could even tell him how he dies if I think far enough.

"So how about another job Colt? It needs an individual of your expertise… some cunning and truths to be collected once again" says the old man, his name still a mystery even with the improved memory.

"Ah don't worry about it, gotta pay the bills somehow for us "advanced" people, I know about the memory inhibitor, it's impressive you know even with my particular set of skills that's the mystery that keeps me going. Say are you ever going to tell me who you are, makes life still scary with that detail."

"Um no... and I don't plan to not for a long while but you already know that don't you worry about it, keeps you on your feet now about this contract, Shouldn't have to tell you go on and do what you do best"

With that Isaac runs off into his craft, and what a strange one it is, not his choice but he doesn't really know past remembrances anymore, dead history. Heck even if he didn't want to perish, he still would and it's the best feeling not to be uncontrolled, undestined, with no fate. The craft is a sturdy ship meant to be around for a while and it sure has been destroyed by a couple of incidents and individuals but Mark couldn't remember that not with his PhD's. The mission is fairly simple but for the first time there's a blank spot, the undetermined future is finally here. The old man is here and grinning for some strange reason and he finally takes off the memory inhibitor and it all floods back slightly.

You see Isaac was your average fellow walking around in the 50th century on Alps Alpha when a strange old man put a strange device into his hand. Memories flooded out of his head and all he could remember was this old man and that he was once again important. The memory flashed backwards flowing out of his head due to the old man putting his memory inhibitor back near his skull, sort of a mini radio for his ear. 

"Mitch!" Colt yells out "so that's your name, how intriguing"

Colt doesn't remember what had transpired but for one moment in one second he had recalled past and future. The forbidden gift was once again a slave to the mystery master of Mitch. Mitch stayed stern as he always did but Professor Mark knew better. He remembered an important detail but first he pulled Mitch to him to avoid a lifetime of confusion and that was always lingering wasn't it, holding to it's infinite creations. Mitch did it for fun and put a control of pure bliss and benefits off of corporate greeds, stealing from the poor sometimes even from the rich it was hard for even him to keep up.

Oh but then Issac doesn't have much meaning of a choice for that if he remembers it then it'll happen as it always does. The fate of infinity and the infinite possibilities and corporate taxes are in the best of minds of course. Before all this Mitch needs to tell Issac something even though he knows he still has to listen until his memory gets bored then it's off to mercanaring. It's almost fun to Mitch most days he could say nothing and be given all the gifts of the world. Issac knows things and he can't tell who Mitch is a malevolent man or an unlikely angel that can guide the future in it's next steps a strange realm.

All of a sudden the rain starts falling Issac runs off unbeknownst to Mitch, Mark needs to do something first. Acid rain I might add on a landscape that takes hatred to new heights. Nowhere to run Mitch calls for Issac desperate for the gift to save him but he doesn't he fades away, he was never here. Now Colt remembers differently he knew Mitch fades away but when well it's just about now he assumes. He was right but the memories work different and times of before soak in, the future too where it's all scattered like the stars on a bright clear cloudless night sky.

Now Issac knows when and knows when it doesn't. All future is expected and all of it is around the corner and some not at all. A gift has turned into a curse, Mitch was the one that controlled how much Professor Mark had foretold but now even that day is gone. The dust has cleared and now Colt goes forward braving the unknown and likewise learning the future like us all.