A story about a scientist that get trapped in a time loop during an experiment.
Hector sat deeply absorbed, staring down into his coffee mug. Working with the analysis of unknown substances—especially those arriving with asteroids or collected by probes in deep space—had sounded incredibly exciting when he was first offered the job. In reality, it meant staring at mostly ordinary rocks and crystals through various high-tech microscopes, deep inside a mountain where the laboratory was located.
But now, something exciting had finally happened, and Hector was thrilled about the new object. The object in question was a red crystal that had arrived by helicopter during the night. Where it came from, they hadn’t been told, but it arrived in a military helicopter. The few who knew about it had to sign additional confidentiality agreements—on top of all the paperwork already required for the job—swearing never to reveal what they had seen or worked with.
The first report was puzzling. The team that started the initial tests had detected some kind of activity in the crystal—pulsing magnetic fields—but X-rays and microscopes showed nothing but an ordinary crystal.
Hector’s task was to illuminate the crystal with a high-energy laser to get a better view of its interior.
It was a routine job, but for some reason he couldn’t quite explain, Hector felt very nervous. That’s why he was now sitting and staring into his coffee as it gradually went cold.
“Hector, the crystal is in the test chamber. You can put on your protective gear and head over for the tests as soon as you’re done with breakfast.”
“Okay, thanks!”
Breakfast? Oh god—Hector had completely forgotten about the porridge in the microwave.
He hurried over, took it out—still warm—and on his way back to the table, grabbed lingonberry jam and milk from the fridge. He quickly ate the porridge, deciding to do the dishes later, simply dumping them in the sink, well aware of the sign above the kitchen cupboard that read “Your mom doesn’t work here.” Then he rushed off to the labs.
The protective gear for this type of test was practically a spacesuit, but surprisingly comfortable once you got it on.
Hector always felt a bit like an astronaut walking the corridors with his helmet under one arm.
“Good morning, Hector! So you’re the lucky one going in there?”
Alexandra was always so cheerful, and it rubbed off on everyone around her. For the first time that morning, Hector smiled.
“Yep, I’m the lucky winner. But hey, who wouldn’t want to wear such a sexy outfit?”
They both burst out laughing as Hector struck a pose in his bright red protective suit.
“Good luck!”
“Thanks! See you soon!”
Alexandra let Hector into the airlock and into the lab.
There it was—the crystal, mounted in a rotating stand. Above it, the high-energy multispectrum laser was ready. Hector took a deep breath and approached the testing equipment, powering it up.
“Leif, can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear. Begin the test!”
Hector was relieved that the lead researcher today was Leif. Always calm, clear, and to the point—exactly what you needed during difficult tests.
“I’m starting with low power to observe how the light reacts within the crystal.”
“Go ahead.”
Hector closed the radiation shield, turned on the laser at low power, and began the test. Slightly disappointed, he noted that the light behaved just like it would with any ordinary crystal.
That’s how science goes. He gradually increased the power, but the result remained the same—just another crystal.
Since nothing unusual happened, Hector and Leif decided to skip the intermediate steps and go directly to full power before concluding the experiment.
Hector cranked up the power to maximum and fired the laser. The moment it struck the crystal, a massive pulse of light surged through the lab, accompanied by a shockwave that knocked over the radiation shield. Another pulse followed—and then everything went black.
Hector opened his eyes, disoriented. Where was he? He seemed to be in a village or town. The houses were made of stone, with thatched or wooden roofs. It looked like he had landed in old-town Tallinn—or maybe Visby.
He heard footsteps rushing behind him and turned around. A short man in ragged clothes approached, then froze in place, eyes wide in shock. For a brief moment, they just stared at each other. Then the man turned and ran off, screaming something that sounded like “Satan has come.”
Hector was about to chase after him when the air around him began to hum, and a bright light engulfed everything. Blackness again.
He opened his eyes. He was back in the lab. Confused, he looked at the crystal again—just in time for it to emit another light pulse that forced him to shut his eyes. Darkness followed.
Now it was hot and humid. The vegetation didn’t look like anything he’d seen before—tall grass and fern-like plants. No trees anywhere.
He looked around, trying to get his bearings. Just endless wilderness. A lake seemed to lie about a kilometer away. If he followed the shoreline, maybe he’d eventually reach a house and could ask for help.
He wished he could remove his helmet, but after one scientist panicked and tore his off—burning his entire face—they had modified the suits so they couldn’t be removed without assistance.
As Hector made his way toward the lake, his mind began to race again. The scientist in him returned. The light from the crystal must be coming from the laser. If he could just stop the laser next time he came back, everything might cease.
His thoughts were interrupted by heavy footsteps in the vegetation ahead. Hector froze.
What emerged made his jaw drop. A Tyrannosaurus Rex.
He stood frozen, staring at the massive creature. Dryly, he noted that he could probably stop looking for a house to ask for help.
The T-Rex also paused, seemingly pondering what this bright red snack might be. But the pause didn’t last. It opened its enormous jaws wide and charged.
Hector turned and ran, screaming “Help!” in panic. But it was pointless—the beast was much faster and quickly caught up.
Just before the jaws snapped shut around him, a loud hum returned, and the blinding light enveloped him again.
Back in the lab. Hector saw his chance and dove toward the emergency stop button—but just inches away, another pulse hit, flinging him through time and space once again.
He groaned and opened his eyes. A hospital.
“Who are you?” a woman’s voice asked.
Hector turned. Before him lay a woman who had just given birth, a red-haired baby on her chest. Next to her sat what appeared to be the father, and between her legs a midwife was holding the afterbirth.
Hector froze. That really looked like his mom and dad. He himself had red hair, just like the baby.
Suddenly, he remembered how his parents had once told him a strange story about his birth—how just after he was born and placed on his mother’s chest, a person in a red spacesuit had appeared in the room, stared at them, and then silently walked out and disappeared.
His thoughts spun. His parents had told him about a man in red... and now he was the one standing there.
He stumbled out into the hallway, reeling.
There, the hum and light returned once more.
Back in the lab again. The emergency stop was right next to him. He slammed his hand on it and squeezed his eyes shut.
No hum. No light.
He opened his eyes. He was still in the lab. The laser was off.
He ran out of the lab. Alexandra met him with a puzzled expression.
“You’re done already? What happened?”
“What do you mean, ‘already’? That took hours!”
Alexandra looked at him skeptically, then glanced at the wall clock.
“No… you were in there for maybe half an hour.”
Hector looked up at the clock in disbelief.
“But… but…”
“Hector, what happened?”
It was Leif, poking his head out from the control room.
Hector went in and told them everything that had happened after Leif helped him remove the helmet and suit. When he finished, Leif sat silent for a long time.
“But you were only inside for 27 minutes. There was a bright flash, just like you said, and then you came running out.”
Hector didn’t know what to say. He looked up at the lab surveillance monitor. Next to it was the feed from his helmet camera.
“You didn’t see anything on my helmet feed?”
“No.”
Leif looked up at the screens—and then froze.
“What is it?”
“Look at the timecodes. Compare the clock on the surveillance cam with the helmet cam.”
The surveillance footage showed 10:42—just like the wall clock. The helmet cam, however, showed 13:39.
They stared at each other, wide-eyed. Then Leif’s expression shifted to something much more intrigued and hopeful.
“Damn, Hector… I think we just witnessed something big.”
Pieces of Eight, Part III is a collection of eight novellas to complement the eight in Pieces of Eight, Pieces of Eight, Part II and Pieces of Eight, Part IV.
Hector sat deeply absorbed, staring down into his coffee mug. Working with the analysis of unknown substances—especially those arriving with asteroids or collected by probes in deep space—had sounded incredibly exciting when he was first offered the job. In reality, it meant staring at mostly ordinary rocks and crystals through various high-tech microscopes, deep inside a mountain where the laboratory was located.
