One night near Hollywood, California Doyle Austin Murphy left his cramped one room apartment and began the three-block hike to where he had parked his car. Doyle hated his hole in the wall apartment, but it seemed worth it whenever he saw the city lights. As Doyle walked a man in a trench coat and ski mask jumped in front of him from a nearby alley. Doyle stepped back in alarm. The man pulled out what looked like a laser pen and shined a green beam in Doyle’s face. Doyle went to strike the man but lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

Doyle awoke in the back of an alley. No one was around. Doyle stood up and discovered his clothing had been changed. He was wearing a metallic looking silver jumpsuit. On his left hand he noticed a barcode shaped tattoo.

Doyle didn’t have much time to assess his new situation. “I found him,” shouted a man in a military camouflage. Similarly dressed men joined him and they all pointed guns at Doyle. Doyle put his hands in the air. One of the men held out a remote and pressed a button causing some kind of wormhole to appear. “Step into the vortex,” directed the man. “I’d rather be shot!” answered Doyle. “That’s up to the courts,” the man responded. “What am I being arrested for?” demanded Doyle. “Shut your mouth,” snapped one of the soldiers. The soldiers tackled Doyle to the ground and handcuffed him. Shortly after Doyle and the soldiers all went through the vortex.

The vortex seemed to lead back to the same alley Doyle had come from. “Bag him!” ordered one of the men. A black sack was placed over Doyle’s head and he was placed in a vehicle. When the vehicle stopped Doyle was pulled out of the car and dragged. Finally Doyle was pushed down into a chair and the sack was removed.

Doyle could see he was in some kind of interrogation room. “Where’s my lawyer?” Doyle asked. “Scan his hand,” ordered the interrogator. The interrogator wore a business suit and had thick facial hair. He had a crew cut and appeared to be between forty and fifty years of age. A soldier grabbed Doyle’s left hand and pressed what looked like a calculator against it. “Commander Barnes, his I.D. is the wrong kind of ink,” the soldier replied. “You mean we got the wrong Murphy?” the interrogating Barnes grumbled. “Yes, Sir,” said the soldier. “Put him in the hole for now,” Commander Barnes decided.

Doyle was stripped of his jumpsuit and thrown into a small cell. “Put this on!” ordered a soldier. The soldier threw a pink prison jumpsuit at him. Doyle caught it and the cell door closed leaving him in complete darkness.

Time seemed to drag as Doyle waited in the darkness. He tried shouting for a long time, but there was no one to listen so he became quiet.

As time in the darkness pasted Doyle mind began to focus on random memories. He remembered times both good and bad. At this moment he would have traded anything for the experience of being a prisoner in solitary confinement. Then something strange began to happen. Doyle began remembering things that he hadn’t experienced. One memory stuck out the most.

Doyle could remember standing next to a window with a riffle. He has looked through the scope and had a well-dressed man in his sites. He took a few shots and a smile came to his face as his target fell to the ground. Doyle’s jaw dropped as he realized in this memory his target had been a man named Sebastian Stein, a man his memory seemed to confirm was an American President.

After an unknown period in the dark Doyle was taken to a room and a man with short red hair and a red beard was introduced as Doyle’s lawyer. “I’m Samuel Gains,” introduced Doyle’s lawyer, “You have been arrested for a crime you will later commit. That vortex you were taken through has transported you to the future.” “Did I kill the President?” Doyle asked. “No,” said gains, “A future you killed President Gains, “The future you traveled to the past to escape police and then framed you.” “The man in the ski mask!” Doyle gasped. “Yes,” explained Gains, “In the future you are the leader of a group called the Truth defenders. That’s why you were dressed in that silver jumpsuit. It is their military uniform.”

“Why do I remember shooting the president if I haven’t shot him yet?” Doyle asked. “It isn’t known for sure,” Gains answered, “but it may be a side affect of traveling to a future date where you are still alive. Your memories may be catching up with those created by your future self.”

“Send me back to my time and I promise not to shoot the president then,” Doyle said. “It’s not that simple,” Gains explained, “Because your future crime is so serious and you have evaded authorities so long, the government is trying to decide if sentencing you to death might be the best way to stop your future self. We can’t simply take your word that you will not kill the president. Even if you postpone it, there’s no guarantee you won’t change your mind.”

“I’m an innocent man!” Doyle claimed. “If you were still in the past you would be innocent,” Gains said, “Now that you’ve been brought to the future your crime has already been committed.”

Soon Doyle was returned to the dark cell. More time passed until the door finally opened again. A soldier took him to a small room and sat him next to Samuel Gains. A judge came in and everyone stood up. “You may be seated,” said the judge. Everyone sat back down. “Okay,” said the judge, “ I have tried to keep this trial as discreet as possible. We are meeting outside my courtroom because we don’t want the media to know about this trial until either Mr. Murphy is sentenced, or his counterpart is captured. Prosecution, please call your first witness."

A tall slender blonde woman arose. “Your Honor,” she said, “The Prosecution calls Dr. Darrell Emit to the stand. Dr. Emit was sworn in and the questioning began. “Dr. Emit,” the prosecution began, “please tell us about your expertise.” “I am an expert in the field of time travel,” Dr. Emit said, “I have received a doctorate in that field.” “ Dr. Emit, please point out to the court the person being accused of murdering President Stein,” asked the prosecution. “That would be Mr. Doyle Austin Murphy of course,” Answered Dr. Emit. “And has the murder taken place yet?” asked the prosecutor. “Yes it has,” agreed Dr. Emit.

Suddenly the door burst open and in walked President Stein. “President Stein?” gasped the judge, “You were pronounced dead.” “I remember being shot and dying but something has changed,” explained the President, “But I want to see Mr. Murphy convicted so that it doesn’t happen again.” “Excuse me Mr. President,” announced Dr. Emit, “but convicting Mr. Murphy would be a chronological impossibility.”

“How so?” asked the judge. “We all have memory of the President’s death and yet something has prevented it,” explained Dr. Emit, “Therefore, either Mr. Murphy’s trip to the future has changed his mind about killing the President or some other force prevents it. This would mean that as the timeline stands currently, neither Mr. Murphy, nor his counterpart has murdered the President.

“Then why is Mr. Murphy still here?” asked the prosecutor. “The effects of time alteration are still catching up,” said Dr. Emit, ”At some point Mr. Murphy will return to the past.”

A few moments later Doyle felt a chill through his body. His became lighter and soon clear. The courtroom froze in awe as Doyle began to disintegrate. He lost consciousness for a brief moment and then regained it. Doyle looked around to find himself in the alley where he had been arrested. He examined himself to find that he was wearing the silver jumpsuit again. He looked at his hand to find the barcode was still there.

Doyle returned to his apartment. This time it didn’t feel so small and depressing. He decided it was time for some much-needed rest. Doyle was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He began to dream about his visit to his trip to the future. He remembered being in the dark cell and having memories that hadn’t happened yet. As he relived the assassination memory it was different. Before he had remembered shooting from a window. This time he remembered holding a detonator. Then it hit him. Doyle woke up in a sweat. His future counterpart was still in the past. A few hours from then his future self would be bombing Sebastian Stein’s hotel. Doyle focused on his memories for a moment. “The Pacific Hotel,” Doyle said aloud. He contacted the hotel, the police, and the bomb squad. Doyle wasn’t going to leave anything to chance. He remembered where his counterpart was with the detonator and wanted to watch the police arrest him. In a motel room facing the Pacific Hotel he remembered triggering the detonator. Doyle parked on the side of the road between the motel and the hotel and waited to see if his rescue plans had succeeded. Suddenly the passenger door open and his future counterpart sat down. “I remember this,” future Doyle said, “ But this time I’m not going to fail.” “Yes, you are,” regular Doyle said pulling out a pistol, “Step out of the car and put the detonator on the ground.” Future Doyle listened and Doyle got out of the car too. “Now,” said regular Doyle, ”Go back to the future and never return.” “This was a one-way trip,” said future Doyle, “but time takes care of itself and I will soon disappear. If I can kill Senator Stein before he becomes president then I will be saving the future.” “Future Doyle lunged at regular Doyle, knocking the gun out of his hand. Future Doyle picked up the detonator and continued explaining. “Take a moment to remember and you will know what a terrible impact Stein’s presidency causes,” future Doyle explained. Regular Doyle knocked the detonator out of future Doyle’s hand and slammed him against a wall. “I can’t believe we are the same person,” regular Doyle said. “No,” shrieked future Doyle as he began to disintegrate.

Regular Doyle turned to discover a police officer that appeared to be in shock. Doyle put his hands in the air. “It’s okay,” declared the police officer as he approached Doyle, “ I saw a man disappear into thin air, but I also witnessed you stopping him from blowing up a building. You are a hero as far as I’m concerned.”

Doyle became a public hero. He was on the news and was given a key to the city. When Senator Stein found out about Doyle’s heroism he invited Doyle to have dinner with him to discuss a reward.

Doyle felt he had come full circle. He had gone from public enemy to public hero. Doyle washed up and put on his nicest suit for his dinner with the Senator. He took a moment to reflect and suddenly memories flooded his mind. Images of soldiers breaking into people’s homes and putting them on trains. Images of those trains arriving at some futuristic version of concentration camps. Memories of himself leading a group called the Truth Defenders, the only group able to fight an American government oppressing its own citizens.

He now knew that he had become future Doyle for a good reason. The doorbell rang and it was Senator Stein. “Hello, Senator,” Doyle said, “I’ll be right out.” Doyle looked through his cupboards and drawers for a moment. He looked carefully at his set of kitchen knives and then the various cleaners, as well as the various bug killers and rat poisons available to him. He started to think the future could be bright after all.

“Thank you for waiting, Senator Stein,” Doyle said. “No problem, Doyle,” said Senator Stein, “I’ve been looking forward to meeting with you.” “Same here,” Doyle said, “Same here.”

THE END.....OR IS IT?

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