Technical Time-Out

FICTION







The other day I went visiting our man God, gawd what a waste of time that was, though I had it plenty with me. (By the way I am Chronos, the time itself; I would let you into all that dope later)

I had some trouble getting an entry to his place, had to play some cheap tricks to get through. The sentinels melted away after that.

The place was vast and somewhat blurry; I could not locate the guy nowhere. He was in hiding and would not come out.

Tring, tring. I said loudly.

I am Chronos, the time, so come out, or I would smoke you out of there, I have the whole US Treasury of time with me, so don’t expect me to leave before you come out.

Don’t play with that, he said springing up from his place of hiding; it belongs to the illuminati, that US Treasury thing.

He was somewhat flustered, all red in the face. I wondered at the alacrity with which he bounded out of there. The man was agile as a new born calf, he was practically skipping around the place in agitation.

You are playing with fire there boy. Don’t bring my ass into it, for god’s sake. I am having things difficult as it is.

Okay grand sire, won’t mention it again. I vouched.

Well he was what you call inscrutable; maybe he thought I was some kind of deicide. Not that I didn’t play a hand at it, everyone does nowadays, the dictates of fashion,you know, nothing else.

I did not want him out anyway; I have some love for the wizened bugger still.

All the same he seemed a little put out by my presence

Fuck, he said, is there ever an end of you!

Nope.

I had instructed the stupid’s to not let you in.

I winked at your angels; they thought that I am a weirdo and took to their heels.

He gave a short laugh

You didn’t seduce them did you?

They are hardly my type, besides I hate those wings being wrapped around me. Not that I didn’t try, that would have been out of character, wouldn’t it?

*Swami Sharanam. He said prayerfully.

Amen. I agreed.

He had become a little settled by now and stood still for a moment watching me. As always he was a bit unsure of me. I laughed.

All of them are neuter aren’t they? I said winking..

He colored. I rue the moment I made you.

His place was full of nice things. The guy seems to be a surrealist, everything was Daliesque, even the chairs and settees, the walls and carpets, and they felt fluffy, melting, made of clouds.

Nice place. I said, moving around. Movement was my thing.

Anyway I could not sit down; it was too uncertain a proposition, time sitting down! Besides how could you sit on lips and melting clocks, not that there were any real clocks, that were my domain, but everything appeared so vague and perishable.

The man was looking at me rather wistfully; maybe he was wishing me away. He had been reading Marcus Aurelius. It was a hard cover edition of Meditations.

Cool shit. I remarked pointing to it.

Pretty. He said morosely, hiding it behind. He was still not pleased with something.

Still ruing the moment? I asked.

He said nothing.

Anyway isn’t that a contradiction in terms? I mean, I being time and there being no moment before me?

He became somewhat non-plussed at that. The man hates thinking, I thought. His brows were as clear as the summer skies, not a wrinkle showing. Nice thoughtless existence. I don’t remember the last time I met a guy like that before.

Why did you come? He asked after a short difficult silence.

To talk matters over with you, why else?

That put him on a real grumpy mood.

None seem satisfied, he grumbled, with what I gave them.

He looked rather feminine at that moment.

The one thing in the world that pisses me off is such whining.

I taunted him:

You have gone and created an idiotic fantasy and now you complain when others are taking it seriously.

He was taken aback for a moment but then with characteristic cunning pleaded.

Don’t bring the roof down. Lets us have some peace and quiet for a change.

He winked at me this time, his face going all rosy. I was dumbfounded.

Peace and quiet, what the hell is the man talking about, I did not get the head and tail of it. I could not stay still for a second at someplace even if I had to. One needs to place oneself down somewhere to have peace and the other thing.

I went close to him and looked into his eyes.

You are not serious are you, grandad? Do you know the shit I am in; I am getting blamed for every dumb thing people do out there. The other day…….. Oh let it go. I am even called fate, can you imagine that? You seem to be having it pretty easy at the moment. None even remembers you.

He could barely disguise his pleasure at that. The man’s face was working as if somebody had morphed Charles Bronson’s mug on it. It was downright gruesome. His eyes rolled up as if thanking his stars.

You don’t say!

Don’t I? I said. Say I did. It’s the other guy who is getting worshipped down there.

That luminiferous ether of mine?

I shook my head, this guy, he is impossible.

You can make jokes about that?

He looked at me for minute and began to laugh. He laughed his heart out.

Oh he was so bombastic, that son of mine. Damn handsome too, no wonder they can’t resist him.

It gets you off the hook nicely isn’t it?

He tried to control his fit of laughter.

Anyway it doesn’t matter; the only trouble is guys like you.

Is that so? I want this resolved, I said hotly, I don’t want to push people off the edge, the other guy is too tricky , he is so glad that I am doing all the dirty work.

Hell, what you want me to do Chronos?

Do anything, spank reason into your retarded first born, drive him out of your temples like your other son did once.

Can’t do that, sorry!

You still love that dolt don’t you?

It’s not that Chronos, he stole my world from me, you let him do that. Bring the world back to me; I will make something out of it.

I thought long and hard on it. This man did not make the mugs in his own image, it was obvious he made them in the image of his first born, no wonder he is in hiding now when the truth has leaked out.

Where is the other son? I demanded. We don’t hear of him nowadays.

God choked.

Which son? Er…. Ahem…. there must be some mistake. What can I do if some call themselves that?

He began to bustle about busying himself with this and that.

You are a piece of work, granpa. You just admitted that he drove the wicked away from temples.

He now looked quite apoplectic and about to burst.

I did no such thing.

You did too.

You put words into my mouth. I only told you that I can’t cleanse the temples because my Luce stole it from me.

And that is not the same as saying the other son existed?

He grew all wise and tricky just then.

Think for yourself, what did I say, can I come and do the scavenging for you, you got enough hands and feet haven’t you?

He looked at me shrewdly and made himself scarce all of a sudden. He had me this time, the man is a riddle. He seemed to have become very wise too, out of the blue.

I was all bogged down. What in the hell did he mean about scavenging and hands and feet?

There was some light breaking into me from somewhere.

Then I heard somebody hollering.

Time out. Time out.

I was back in the running.

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* God Save Us