A Glitch in Time

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 2:

"A temporal singularity," Kim repeated slowly, as though testing to see whether the phrase was to her liking. "Now, suppose for a minute I had no idea what that meant…"

"You're probably confused because there are a couple different meanings," Jimmy replied. "To some it means an instant in time which is common to all possible existences. That's more properly termed an existential nexus. But since such an entity would imply that every possible eventuality would need to converge to the same event with absolute certainty and hence contradict both free will and quantum theory, it doesn't really matter what it's called."

Kim raised one eyebrow. "Right," she said.

Jimmy continued with his explanation. "What I'm referring to is something else. Since you know about black holes, you know what a spatial singularity is, right?"

"That's matter that's infinitely dense, right?" Kim answered.

Jimmy nodded. "Right. In essence the object has collapsed on itself so that it occupies a single point in space. A temporal singularity is similar, except that an object has collapsed so that it occupies a single instant in time."

Kim shook her head at this. "Say again?"

Jimmy thought for a moment while he considered how best to explain the idea. "Okay, imagine the film for a movie. It's really just a series of still photographs, but when we watch film it looks like things are moving because each frame is slightly different from the next."

"With you so far."

"Existence is like that. Every instant of reality is like a frame in a film. Each instant is slightly different from the next. When you throw a ball, each instant the ball is slightly further away from you as you and it pass through sequential slices of reality."

Kim thought about that and nodded. "Okay, I think I see what you're getting at."

"Good. With Wade, that's no longer the case. Every moment of his existence has been collapsed into a single instant of time. If reality were a movie, it would be as though every instant of Wade's existence had been put into a single frame of the film."

"But how could that happen?" Kim asked. "I mean, what would do that?"

Jimmy shrugged and picked up several of the pages he had studied. "According to this, a time-travel device malfunctioned." He reviewed the pages again and shook his head. "An extremely dangerous time-travel device."

"Obviously," Kim commented. "But isn't all time travel dangerous? You know, what with changing the past and destroying the future…that sort of thing?"

"There is that aspect of it," Jimmy admitted. "But there are a couple ways to achieve time travel. This is a lot more dangerous than the way I usually do it."

Despite her previous experience with Jimmy Kim found this hard to accept. "Wait a minute. You've actually traveled through time?"

Jimmy felt suddenly embarrassed and hoped Kim hadn't thought he was bragging. "Well, yes. There's my time booth…and my time pincher…and my quantum replay device. But they don't work the same way as whatever did this to Wade. You see, there are a couple ways to get through time."

Although Kim wasn't much of a techno-geek she had nevertheless become interested in the subject. "I'd think that one would be plenty," she commented wryly. "So, what are the ways?"

"Pretty much the same as getting through space," Jimmy answered matter-of-factly. "Getting from now to then is a lot in principle like getting from here to there. One way – the way I use – is to take a shortcut."

"A shortcut," Kim repeated. "Through time?"

"Absolutely," Jimmy insisted. "Suppose you had some string that was kind of tangled up. That's a lot like the way time is, sequential but not very straight. One way to get from one end of the string to the other is to follow the entire length of the string. That's what we normally do. Another way is to jump from one place on the string to another and skip going along the whole length. The hard part is finding the right dimension in time that will give you the correction direction to take you from where – I mean, when – you are to when you want to be."

"Wait a minute," Kim objected. "The right dimension in time? I thought time was a dimension. You know, the fourth dimension and all that."

"It's convenient to think of time as a dimension of space. but it's actually an entity of its own, just like space. The two are interconnected, like magnetism and electricity, but just like space time has an infinite number of dimensions of its own. That's what lets you step outside the normal dimensions of time to travel through it."

"Kind of like a space warp."

"Uh…yeah." Jimmy wondered if Kim actually knew more about the subject than she was letting on, but decided to press on with his discourse. "That's how my devices work. Another way is to squeeze the points in time closer together, like an accordion. In plain terms, rather than taking an elevator from one floor to another, you compress the building, causing an implosion that brings the floors closer together."

"Compress and implosion," Kim said thoughtfully. "The temporal complosion device…that's what it means!"

"Apparently," Jimmy agreed grimly. "The danger is that massive amounts of energy are involved and you're tampering with the fabric of reality itself. Not good."

"So not good," muttered Kim.

"But it gets worse." Kim cocked a questioning eyebrow at Jimmy and he took a deep breath. "You know what happens with black holes?"

"Yes," replied Kim. "The gravity is so strong that nothing can escape it. Things too near it get sucked in and never get out again. Not even light."

"Yes. And just like the gravity of a spatial singularity pulls things through space towards it, the temporal singularity will be pulling things through time towards it. It's already putting incredible stress on time. If it isn't fixed, and soon, all of time will complode."

"What happens then?"

Jimmy shrugged helplessly. "Don't know exactly. Never been there."

"Okay, then let's just assume that it won't be a fun date." Kim smacked her fist into her palm. "So how do we stop it?"

"Well, first we have to know where in time the singularity exists. It could be in the past or the future – anywhen Wade existed in the timestream." Jimmy began to pace back and forth. "If I had a clue I could scan the timestream for anachronisms and zero in on the singularity that way."

Kim looked thoughtful. "What kind of clue?"

"Well…" Jimmy paused in his pacing to consider it. "Something that doesn't belong here. As the singularity pulls things through time towards it they would have to pass through our own time. If the singularity was in the past we'd see things from the future on their way towards it. If it was in the future we'd see things from the past. It would only be for a moment or two before they were dragged out of our time frame," he admitted, "so we'd have to be on the alert for them."

"Hmm…" Kim murmured. "I wonder…"

"Wonder what?"

"Well," she said, "when I was dropping in I saw an old-style biplane flying by. The pilot look kind of surprised, but I thought it was because he wasn't used to seeing someone my age skydiving." She gave Jimmy an embarrassed but thoroughly charming smile. "I tend to get that a lot."

Jimmy nodded, trying not to think of how attractive Kim looked. "An old-time plane. That's a possibility. Although there are people who like to collect and operate them, kind of like antique cars. But for now I'd say it's too much of a coincidence to ignore."

"So then what?"

"Well, if we can pin-point the instant of the singularity I can use my time booth to get us there." At the word "us" Kim frowned, but Jimmy was too lost in thought to notice. "If we get there in time we can reverse the singularity with the temporal complosion device. It's designed to expand time as well as compress it."

"Uh…" Kim looked flustered. "About that…"

Jimmy didn't like the sound of that. "What?" he asked.

"The comploder. I don't have it anymore." Kim frowned. "Sorry."

Jimmy stared helplessly at her. "What happened to it?"

Kim sighed. "Professor Dementor stole it from some top-secret research lab and I had to return it once I recovered it. I didn't think I'd actually need it, and I don't know that it would have helped anyway. It was pretty badly damaged by the fall that got Wade sucked into that singularity."

Jimmy began pacing again. "This is bad. Without a temporal complosion device I can't think of any way to get reverse the singularity and get Wade back again."

"Can't you build one?"

Jimmy gave his head a vigorous shake. "Absolutely not," he said vehemently. "It would take too long to test and would be way too dangerous to use without testing. It could make things even worse than they are now." He looked hopeful. "You have a lot of connections. Do you know of anyone who might have access to one?"

"No," replied Kim unhappily. "Wade usually had all the inside information on that sort of stuff. I didn't keep tabs on that myself." After a few moments of thinking her face brightened. "But I think I know someone who does."

"You do? Who?"

Kim smiled. "An old friend of ours who just loves to take those kind of things. Dr. Drakken."

It was long shot, but Jimmy had to admit he had no better ideas. "All right. When do we start?"

"Well…actually…" Kim fumbled. She steeled herself and managed to get the words out. "It'll just be me."

"What?" Jimmy couldn't believe his ears. "You're really going to see Drakken alone?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Kim replied as she began repacking her backpack. "I'll be okay."

"Drakken is dangerous," Jimmy insisted. "Not to mention Shego. You can't go alone." He stepped towards her. "I'll come with you," he said. "Maybe I'm not much good in a fight but at least –"

"No!" Kim snapped, so savagely that Jimmy involuntarily took a step back, looking both startled and somewhat frightened at this change in Kim's nature. She fought to compose herself and continued more calmly. "Thanks, but no. I can handle myself." She shouldered her backpack and headed towards the exit. "Thanks, Jimmy. I owe you one."

As she neared the door Jimmy activated his wrist-comp. "Okay, maybe you don't want me along," he said as he began pressing buttons. "But I can at least call Ron and have him –"

Kim's reaction surprised him. Before he could move she had back-flipped and landed next to him, grabbing his wrist and preventing him from completing the call in the same motion. "No!" she nearly shouted. "I don't want him helping me. You can't tell him what I'm doing or that I was here. Promise me you won't!"

Jimmy stared back at her, trying to read through the clouds covering her normally clear green eyes. "What?" was all he could say.

"Promise me," she pleaded. "If you're really my friend, promise me you won't say anything to him."

It was difficult for Jimmy to resist anyone who needed his help, and nearly impossible for anyone to deny Kim anything. But something was clearly not right and he knew, or somehow sensed, that agreeing would not be helping her. "Kim," he said at last, "what's wrong?"

Despite all that was at stake and the urgency of her mission, Kim released Jimmy's wrist and slumped numbly to the floor and sat there without speaking. Jimmy sat down next to her, also silent but watching her closely. For long moments Kim stared straight ahead as though oblivious to her surroundings or the boy at her side as Jimmy waited in patient silence. At last Kim said softly, "It's Ron."

"Ron?" Jimmy thought on that. "Is there something wrong? Did something happen to him?"

Kim shook her head. "Not yet."

"But you think that something will?" Jimmy pressed gently. Kim nodded wordlessly. "What? What will happen?" A chilling thought occurred to him. "Does it have anything to do with the temporal complosion device? Something about the future?"

"No," Kim said in a voice that was almost a whisper. "It doesn't. It has to do with me." She looked at Jimmy and once again he couldn't help but be fascinated by the warm depths of her large eyes. He struggled to focus on what Kim was saying, knowing that she was paying a high price with each word that she told him. "It has to do with…us."

"Us?" Jimmy repeated, startled, and then caught on to her meaning. "Oh. You and Ron."

"Yes." She looked down and bit her lower lip as she struggled to go on. "We were friends for, like, ever. Since pre-school. He was the first friend I met and he was always my best friend. Then, recently, things changed."

Jimmy fought to remain silent, afraid that his words would drive Kim into silence, but failed. "Something happened between you two?"

"Something major," she replied. She sighed again as she thought back. "It all started about a month ago…at the prom…"

End of Chapter 2

Author's Notes:

As some readers have no doubt surmised, this story does take place after "The Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama". One of my motivations for writing this story was to pay a last (?) tribute to the series, as the run of original Kim Possible episodes are now officially at an end and to offer my own ideas of what happened with Ron and Kim. I won't give away the contents of the next chapter, but I will say that it won't be as tragic or horrendous as what some readers might envision, so don't panic.