Конец вечности
The Earlier Crime
IworkedattheChangeandIflattermyselfevenyetthatIdidaflawlessjob.Myfirstone.ButIsuccumbedtoatemptation.Isuccumbedtoitallthemoreeasilybecauseitwasbecominganoldstorynowforme.Iwasahardenedcriminal,ahabituйofcrime.IworkedoutanewLife-PlotformysonunderthenewReality,certainofwhatIwouldfind.
Butthenfortwenty-fourhours,withouteatingorsleeping,Isatinmyoffice,strivingwiththecompletedLife-Plot,tearingatitinadespairingefforttofindanerror.
Therewasnoerror.
Thenextday,holdingbackmysolutiontotheChange,Iworkedoutaspatio-temporalchart,usingroughmethodsofapproximation(afterall,theRealitywasnottolastlong)andenteredTimeatapointmorethanthirtyyearsupwhenfromthebirthofmychild.
Hewasthirty-fouryearsold,asoldasImyself.Iintroducedmyselfasadistantrelation,makinguseofmyknowledgeofhismother’sfamily,todoso.Hehadnoknowledgeofhisfather,nomemoryofmyvisitstohiminhisinfancy.
Hewasanaeronauticalengineer.The575thwasexpertinhalfadozenvarietiesofairtravel(asitstillisinthecurrentReality),andmysonwasahappyandsuccessfulmemberofhissociety.Hewasmarriedtoanardentlyenamoredgirl,butwouldhavenochildren.NorwouldthegirlhavemarriedatallintheRealityinwhichmysonhadnotexisted.Ihadknownthatfromthebeginning.
