Fiction Num7's John Titor 2K Fanfic

[Num7]

Chapter 6

Unsolicited Observer​

Sometimes you have so much stuff, that you have a hard time sorting things out and finding exactly what you're looking for. This concept applies to objects, but also to ideas. In John's case, here, this wasn't much of a problem in regards to objects. But oh boy, did he have a lot of things on his mind...

As he returned from the IT hardware store with a new 56K modem, still in the box, he managed to remember he still didn't have a floppy drive. He'd need one to install Unix on his machine. John was pretty sure he had one somewhere in his trunk, but there were so many gadgets in there, so much... junk.

As he was still 30 minutes away from his lair, underneath the Subway restaurant, John decided to stop by the park right away and search the Corvette's trunk for that floppy drive. Worst case scenario, he'd backtrack to the computer store and buy one. He was still close to it.

At some point, John noticed he had made quite a mess around his car. Gadgets and miscellaneous items were lying all around him on the ground. While he was picking up some of these objects, he noticed a guy sitting in a blue Honda Civic, looking at him.

The blue Civic was parked about 30 to 40 feet away, on the curb. He could see the guy inside. Shaved head, round face, weird smile, and, at times, crazy-looking eyes... The guy would play with his sunglasses while looking at him. Take them on and off and so on... Sometimes he'd talk - to himself, thought John - and he would laugh at something as if he was listening to something funny. But the place was silent.

Odd, John thought. I hope he doesn't get out to talk to me or something...

John finally found the floppy drive he was looking for, at the bottom of his trunk. He threw it on the Corvette's dash, jumped in the driver's seat, and left.

Back on the road, he made sure the weird guy wasn't following him. Not a good time to make new friends...

 

[Num7]

Chapter 7

A Relic in the Making​

Back to John's Epoch Lair underneath the restaurant.

The more John added parts to his computer, the more he felt like Dr. Frankenstein. His computer was a strange, convoluted creation that would hopefully live, but not without extreme efforts on his part. Wires protruding here and there. External hardware cases. For the uninitiated, a mysterious computing apparatus.

Thankfully, the floppy disk drive and 56K modems were compatible, and John got to set up the IRQ hardware channels in no time. He was almost ready to get online all that remained was the slow process of installing UNIX, then a copy of the good old Lynx web browser.

John had used Lynx extensively back in 2036, as it was the norm for Internet browsing in the dystopian future he came from. The Internet, while still around, regressed at some point, into a text-only version of itself. A more primitive, yet, faster and lighter iteration of something that used to be way bigger, and much heavier, data-wise. Text-only websites, BBS forum platforms. IRC chat channels. So much old, obsolete tech that came back to life after the apocalypse of John's world.

While thinking of ancient web browsers and BBS platforms, John remembered something he'd been told in history class... A quote from a book.

-

They said the Age of BBS would never come again.

No, it will. It has to.

-

The way they describe this "Age of BBS" suggests it was an extraordinary time... A Golden Age that might one day make a comeback? It's as though they're implying the anticipated return of heroes and legends. But these are mere online forums, right? What is it that elevates the BBS period to such high status in the eyes of the author and historians?

How ironic is it, that John's experience with BBS communication systems, would help him get online in the year 2000? Who would have thought?

Hopefully, if everything worked as planned, John would be online in a couple of hours.

 

[lamdo263]

Mean while Marin gets probation for first offense. He becomes more sedated and seductive he plans to stop Titors rampage of getting any knowledge of c-203 he finds out Marin begins to follow him. He jumps back to 2036 to be with his family for an emergency. He traps Marin in the future.

Because of off valued to function components as aired on the early Titor prime BBS online group, there was the professing of certain components not functioning on the c-203.That these were in fact electronics boards, that Titor, probably the real one, not the actor as the Titor was a double experience happening, had erred electronic parts on the c-203.

Simply put the time displacement unit was broken and not capable of operating. This is why he asked for help on Arts show. It was at this point a listener in the audience suggested that he either go to a Raido Shack in the area he was at, or to an electronic fire that manufactured the boards that were in the GE c-203.

*Note inset: He may have inserted new components, but the boards in his time displacement unit were not working properly. Titor then tried to use the c-203 to get back to his timeline, but couldn't exactly do that, because the output boards were warped in their function, so hit or miss was ending up in the wrong timelines.

This was giving the home office located in the supposed by his, this timeline confederate girlfriend, the impression that the real Titor had gone both mentally insane, along with being rouge.

Because he and his lover from this timeline made unprotected romantic love, she become pregnant and gives birth to a child who is part Marantz Sterio and human but with the advanced style of humans from 2036.

 

[Tron1]

John realized he needed to move his stuff somewhere else other than his trunk. So he got a self storage unit and met the owner. He asked the owner if anyone was interested in his c-203 or knew about it. The woman over heard him which was his wife. The owner he was talking to was his son.

His Wife explained everything and couldn't believe she would do that. She told John that his stuff was being completely taken out of his house. She sold the house and bought the units in case of a nuclear explosion she could bunker down.

She replied "we are layered underground". The storage is for show and business management. John assumed he can take advantage of everything and did after asking. He thanked his wife. Also estranged son. His son helped him to his part of the layered bunker.

He stopped and talked to his wife "what happened that I don't have memory?"
She replied.with a obvious shrug towards the bunker. They went down and closed the building.

 

[Num7]

Chapter 8

Online at Last​

It was already early in the morning when John finished installing Lynx. He had barely enough time to set up his dial modem connection and test it out. As for most things, it didn't work on the first attempt. Or the second...

After a little more fiddling, John got to connect and open his web browser.

He typed "www.timetravelinstitute.com" in the address bar then hit Enter. At last! John was online! He got to visit TTI, the site he heard about more than 3 weeks ago.

This community seemed to be teeming with discussions and ideas. So many things about time travel, legends, and ancient astronauts. There were stories of people claiming to be time travelers, like him. So many thread titles grabbed his attention. Too bad he didn't have much time to check them out right away.

John only had a few minutes to browse the site, as his watch's alarm started beeping. It was 7:30 AM. Oops! He spent the whole night in his Epoch Lair, underneath the Subway restaurant. Now it was time to go up and open the place up for the day. No time to waste!

Thankfully, it was a slow morning at the restaurant. John had plenty of time to think about which discussions he'd read and perhaps take part in, on TTI. Between coffee refills and breakfast subs, theories of ancient astronauts and pocket time machines bombarded his already enthusiastic intellect, eager to read more tonight.

At break time, John didn't have time to go down to his lair. To be honest, he'd rather not go there in the daytime. He didn't want anyone to spot him. The basement entrance, behind the building, looked abandoned and deserted, and no one seemed to go there. It was fine that way.

John finished his break and went back inside the restaurant at the same time as a young lady. Our dear hero held the door open.

"Thank you, sir," said the young lady, in a very faint, barely audible voice, without even looking at him.

"You're welcome ma'am, everything okay?"

She didn't answer.

John watched her as she entered and sat at the last table, right in the corner. She stayed there for the rest of the day. Then she left as the place closed for the night.

Odd, thought John.

He went back to his Epoch Lair to sleep this time. He was so tired, he didn’t even think of going online…

 

[Num7]

Chapter 9

A Call For Help​

The next morning came rather quickly. In no more than an hour, John found himself back at the Subway, serving his regular customers once again.

It was around 9:30 AM, that the lady came back. She entered the restaurant, looked at John, then sat in the corner. Same place as yesterday. She was wearing a sweater and had nice long hair.

John figured he’d go talk to her this time, ask her if she was okay. This restaurant was pretty quiet and most customers were old regulars…

If she was waiting for someone, it wasn’t someone John knew, or had seen before…

Despite being a quiet restaurant, overall, this particular morning was pretty busy. John didn’t even have time to take his break… So he didn’t get to speak to her just yet. Parts of him hoped she’d stay until his lunchtime.

Finally, the many hours until John’s 1 PM lunch break turned into minutes, then seconds. He was relieved to see that the young lady was still there. John had a 6th sense for feeling people in need of help. In his mind, it was clear this lady didn’t know him. Still, he felt she needed his help, somehow.

“Hey, said John,” sitting in front of her, “my name’s John.”

“Oh! Hi, I’m Liza.”

“Is everything okay? You look sad and scared… Are you waiting for someone or something?”

“I don’t know yet… I’m not sure.”

John looked at her, a little puzzled. Her face was thin and quite pale. She didn’t look sick, but she looked tired as hell.

“I don’t want to bother you, but I noticed that you were here yesterday and then this morning. Is there anything I can do to help you? Are you okay?”

“Well, I think I’m looking for someone, but I don’t even know his name. I’m so confused. I don’t even know if I should speak to you, or anyone at all.”

John frowned and leaned towards her, a subtle but gentle smile on his face.

“You must be hungry, let me get you something.”

John went behind the counter and prepared Liz a quick 6-inch sandwich.

“Thank you so much, you’re so nice to me, I don’t even know you. I’m so sorry to bother you…”

“No worries,” replied John. “I’m always happy to help. So… Do you have any idea what or who you may be looking for? A family member, a friend? A boyfriend?”

“Nah, I don’t have a boyfriend and my family is far away. I don’t know many people around here. I don’t know anyone…”

John didn’t know what to answer, so he didn’t say anything. He simply let her bite into her sandwich. Both sat there, in silence for a good 5 minutes, until Liza was about halfway through her meal.

Liza put down her sandwich in her tray for a minute, then looked at John, intently.

“How long have you been working here?”

“Well, about a month and a half, why?”

“Nothing," said Liza. "I live a couple of blocks away.”

“The nearby Apartment building?”

“Yes. My upper neighbor is a weirdo. Yesterday, he scared the hell out of me. It was so bad, I had to flee… And I came here.”

“Are you okay, did he hurt you?”

“No, thank God…”

“But… What’s the deal?”

Liza took a deep, laborious breath. John could tell she was about to open up or something.

“My neighbor is some kind of conspiracy nut, see? He believes in this New World Order thing, lizard people, time travelers from the future, and aliens from the far side of the moon and such.”

The word time traveler echoed deep through John’s entire being. Among all possibilities, this one he didn’t imagine. Coincidence… He’s way too low profile to get noticed, especially by some weirdo... Nothing to worry about, he thought. Still, the revelation that this guy was into weird stuff—especially looking for time travelers—made John uncomfortable. Curious, but uncomfortable.

“Okay, said John,” keeping his cool and hiding his curiosity. “I imagine a lot of people are into that sort of… Stuff. It’s quite entertaining, right? But why does that make him dangerous? Did he do anything crazy?”

“See, he’s very hardcore. He’s been harassing everyone in the building about this alleged time traveler individual who’s been living close by. He can’t even name him or say where he is. It’s like the whole thing is in his head. He looks everywhere in the building and outside, asking people questions and monitoring them when they leave for work… He has such crazy eyes too… He scares me.”

“Wow, a time traveler living in the area? That’s wild,” said John, not sure how to react to this revelation. “Hasn’t anyone told him to calm down?”

“Yes, we all did! Well… Look, I don’t believe in that kind of stuff and frankly, I don’t care. I just wish he’d leave me—and all of us—out of it!”

Liza continued.

“Yesterday, he violently banged on my door at about 11:00 AM. I looked through my door’s peephole and saw him. He was buck naked and had a large knife in his hand. Jeez, I’m still shaking just thinking about it.”

John was looking at her, now with round eyes.

“Erm… What did you do? Did you call the police?”

“At first, I just made sure the door was locked, but he somehow knew I was standing behind it, so he kept banging again and again. I started crying and told him I was gonna call the police. He then started stabbing at the door with his knife!!”

Her hands were shaking. Her whole being was shaking.

“Jeez,” said John, shocked, “did he break through the door?”

“No, thank God!” said Liza, with hints of tears in her eyes. “Just as I was trying to call 911, I heard a very loud noise coming from outside, which distracted him. He went downstairs and I haven’t seen him since.”

She paused for a second.

“Thinking of it, I have no idea where he went. A naked guy running outside with a knife would draw a lot of attention… Especially during the daytime. However, he was nowhere to be found.”

“It’s like he vanished! Are you sure they didn’t catch him?”

“Nope, as far as I know, they didn’t,” replied Liza. “When he disappeared, I decided to go outside for a moment, to clear my mind. I brought my pepper spray, in case... I walked for a couple of hours in the neighborhood and ended up here for some reason. I did the same this morning…”

“At least you’re safe here,” replied John, “which must be a relief.”

Both stared at each other for a few seconds…

“So… Do you know who he is?”

“I don’t know his name, but I heard another tenant refer to him as the Marin guy.”

“Marin guy?”

“No idea what that means,” said Liza, rolling her eyes around.

John didn’t know what to do or say to make her feel better. Where’s this guy now? Will he come back and hurt her? Thank God this loud noise scared him.

He took a deep breath.

“You can’t go back to your place tonight, you know that?”

“I have to, I don’t have anywhere else to go…”

“I wish I could help you, but I’m kind of in the middle of a situation, here… I can’t take you in or whatever…”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to force you to, you barely know me and all. Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.

“The building belongs to my uncle, he was supposed to install a new door and reinforce the locks so I can feel safe again at my place. Thank God!”

“Okay, that’s better”

“Thank you for your help though, I appreciate it.”

“Anytime!”

Both sat there, as 2:00 PM came by and John’s lunch break was coming to an end.

“Oh, I gotta get back to work, ” said John. “I wish I could have stayed with you a little longer. You could share more about this guy and perhaps I could find a way to help you out of this dangerous situation…”

“You already helped me so much, John. Thank you for listening to my stuff,” said Liza, showing a hint of relief in her tone. “And thanks for the lunch.”

“That’s the least I can do!” said John with a smile and a slight wink, “catch you later!”

And so, they parted ways. John went back behind the counter to resume his shift. Liza went back home and found the door replaced and everything reinforced with newly installed locks. Hopefully, this weird guy won’t come back.

John hoped he’d see her soon.

This time traveler thing kept popping back in his mind. Did this guy know? Who is he and where—when—is he from? What if…

 

[Num7]

Chapter 10

Instinctive Apprehension​

John didn’t sleep much that night. The story Liza told him, of this weirdo looking for time travelers… It didn’t sit well with him for reasons that escaped him.

John was a sensible person for whom logic is key. He knew very well that his presence here was unnoticed. But was it?

The odds of someone finding out who he is—and where he’s from were nearly zero. He was low profile and quiet as can be, as his military training prescribed him to be.

He hadn’t noticed anyone who acted odd around him. Well, except for the strange old man from a couple of weeks ago. And now this Marin guy, seeker of time travelers…

These had to be a coincidence. His logic told him it was.

Yet, his mind couldn’t help, but think about it all, as if an intuition was telling him to be watchful and analytic. Told him to think.

When John finally fell asleep on his ground mattress, in his Lair, it was already 4:00 AM. At the night’s darkest. And dark were his dreams.

As if it was a warning of a coming conflict, John had nightmares in which he was facing dark entities. Indescribable twisted creatures originating from the cracks between worlds. Eldritch beings from the deepest reaches of the multiverse. Monsters from the absolute unknown…

As wild and fantastic as these creatures were, the setting in which these dreams took place was way too familiar: The Subway restaurant. John was combating monsters in the restaurant… As if this place was to become the epicenter of a future confrontation that still had to happen. A face-off of sorts, an unexpected squabble against an enemy yet unknown.

- - -

A long time ago, when John was a young boy, he was taught by his aunt how to understand and read his dreams. He was also taught how to develop his inner 6th sense, so to speak. How to be intuitive and observant of his surroundings. An ability that would aid him greatly later in life, when he joined the army.

Reading between the lines. Understanding one’s motivations. Sight beyond sight. Intuitive thinking. Power vs Force. In theory, nothing supernatural or esoteric. But when applied to perfection by an apt practitioner of these ancient arts, it would very well look like magic.

John wasn’t an expert, here. He wasn’t a clairvoyant. But he knew what he was doing, and he usually had good intuition.

His training and experience told him that his dreams were trying to pass on information. A warning, perhaps? What could it be?

Is something coming this way? Something dark?

- - -

When John woke up at 7:00 AM, it felt like he had barely slept. He was still as tired as when he went to bed. His mind was stuck on analyzing and reliving all the nightmares he had in the previous hours.

John was wondering if he’d see Liza again today. Was she okay? Has the weirdo returned? He wished he had more time to ask Liza about this strange dude and find a way to help her. Were those dreams and Liza’s situation related?

He decided to boot up his computer and take a quick look at Time Travel Institute while drinking his cup of instant coffee.

A couple of new discussions caught his attention.

- What are the odds...?

- Steven Gibbs and Time Machines

- Why is this not a good explanation of time

- Where are they?

Unfortunately, it was already time to go and open the restaurant. John took one last sip, and up he went.

“Welcome to Subway, what will it be today?”

 

[Num7]

I write less than before, but I plan to keep this series up and going. It's an exciting creative exercise and I want to get better at writing fiction.

The next episode - which won't be an actual episode - will be an interlude, to give our hero a little more background and to mark a change of pace. Episode 11 is about half done, and I have a good idea of what 12 and 13 will be. Among other things, our first antagonist will show up and shift things into gear.

My short-term plan is to map the episodes up to #20 so that each has a title and a synopsis. This way, I'll have a clear idea of where I'm going and the whole thing will feel way more cohesive in the long run.

See you soon!

 

[MODAT7]

My short-term plan is to map the episodes up to #20 so that each has a title and a synopsis. This way, I'll have a clear idea of where I'm going and the whole thing will feel way more cohesive in the long run.

Yeah, you want to be several episodes ahead of the release so you can weave in back story and start leading in what will come.

 

[Num7]

Interlude 1

A Stop on the Way Home​

John Titor was a time traveler from the year 2036. He came from a world devastated by nuclear war, Waco-type events, and civil war—a post-apocalyptic future. A dying world…

To save what remained of the United States of America in 2036, the military sent John back to the year 1975 to retrieve an IBM 5100 computer. This device will be used in 2036 to recompile and update Unix systems that are still in use in that era and beyond.

Many older systems are vulnerable to the dreaded 2038 Unix Bug. These systems track time using a signed 32-bit integer variable, that will overflow on January 19th, 2038, at 3:14:07 UTC. This overflow will be misinterpreted as a negative date, causing crashes and malfunctions. This Unix Epochalypse is a reminder of the importance of keeping software future-proof.

Unpublished and yet unknown features of the IBM 5100 will make a fix possible. This ancient personal computer system is the key to saving the future from this disastrous event.

It will effectively bridge the gap between the future and the past, so to speak. As a fascinating symbol of how the past's wisdom can contribute to solving future challenges.

- - -

John was indeed successful in retrieving the antique computer.

On his way back to 2036, he chose to stop by in the year 2000, for reasons unknown. He arrived in 2000 at the wheel of his 1967 Corvette, the C204 Time Displacement Unit still hot by his side, and the IBM 5100 in the trunk. As we imagine, he had all kinds of time travel gadgets and military survival gear in his car, in case of emergency.

Here he was. And now he was.

As his messages appeared online before our eyes, we found out later that John visited our era to warn us of coming calamities. He hoped that his interventions would eventually preserve our world from doom and destruction.

We followed intently, as he posted on the TTI BBS of old. Little did we know his messages would follow us over the decades.

Despite our passion and loyalty to him, we didn’t know much about him.

What was he doing when he wasn’t online? Did he have a job? Did he have a place to stay? A place to sleep? What was his time here, in 2000, like?

Imagine finding yourself in a place you do not know. Now imagine a place AND a time you do not know! This is the challenge John was facing in 2000.

Did he sleep in his car? Possibly, especially early on. It seems reasonable to believe that no one was expecting him here, in 2000, and that he wasn’t given a precise plan or strategy to find his marks in this era.

Did he have money? He probably had some change left from his adventure in 1975, but how much and for how long? Did they give him enough money and enough resources, to survive and to be safe? Enough to face most situations?

We know that he most likely didn't know anyone, so he was probably on his own.

We can assume he must have visited dinners and homeless shelters. Libraries, grocery stores. Perhaps he slept in a motel.

It's hard to know for sure what his occupations were when he wasn't online. Did he have a job? Did he need one?

If he had been working, it likely wouldn't have been a job requiring specific training or experience. Examples might include restaurants or retail stores. It was probably just a temporary position to hold him over for now.