Chapter 4 — The Impossible Device

“I’m not supposed to exist here yet.”

The words hung strangely in the warm afternoon air.

Lucas stared at her.

Behind them, the plaza was no longer quiet.

The crowd had exploded into excited chatter.

Phones were raised everywhere. Someone near the back shouted, “Dude this is going viral!” Another person clapped enthusiastically like they had just witnessed the greatest street performance in history.

Lucas slowly rubbed the back of his neck.

“…okay,” he said.

He looked down at the shattered remains of his table.

Cards were scattered across the stone plaza like fallen snow. The red top hat had rolled a few feet away and rested upside down beside someone’s shoe.

Lucas pointed at the wreckage.

“So first you destroy my stage,” he said calmly. “Then you claim you’re not supposed to exist.”

He tilted his head slightly.

“Not judging. Just trying to understand the theme of the show.”

The woman ignored him again.

Her attention was completely fixed on the small floating sphere of blue light hovering above her wrist.

“TARA,” she said quickly. “Run full environmental diagnostics.”

The glowing sphere pulsed softly.

“Scanning environment.”

A thin beam of blue light swept across the plaza.

People gasped as it passed over them.

Lucas leaned slightly away from the beam.

“…okay that is definitely not street-legal technology.”

The sphere continued rotating slowly.

“Atmospheric composition confirmed. Oxygen levels stable. Industrial pollution within expected parameters for early 21st century urban environment.”

The woman exhaled slowly, but there was no relief in it.

“Check temporal drift.”

“Processing.”

The sphere flickered again.

Lucas folded his arms.

“So… quick question,” he said.

She didn’t look at him.

“Yes.”

“Did you rehearse this monologue?”

Her eyes snapped toward him.

“I am not performing.”

Lucas gestured widely at the crowd filming them.

“You might want to tell them that.”

She turned.

Only now did she truly notice the dozens of phones pointed at her.

Her expression tightened instantly.

“Fantastic,” she muttered.

Lucas leaned closer.

“Congratulations,” he said quietly. “You’ve been famous for approximately twenty seconds.”

The floating sphere beeped again.

“Temporal analysis complete.”

The woman straightened immediately.

“Report.”

“Chronological displacement confirmed. Current year: 2026. Origin year: 2091. Total temporal deviation: negative seventy-five years.”

Lucas blinked slowly.

“…what.”

The woman pressed her hands to her temples.

“That’s worse than I thought.”

Lucas stared at the sphere.

Then at her.

Then back at the sphere.

“Okay,” he said carefully.

“I’m going to ask this once.”

He pointed upward toward the sky where the glowing rupture had already faded away.

“Did you… fall through some kind of science hole?”

She looked at him like the question was both ridiculous and completely obvious.

“Yes.”

Lucas nodded slowly.

“Alright.”

He took a breath.

“Follow-up question.”

He pointed at the floating sphere.

“…is that thing alive?”

The sphere turned toward him.

“Incorrect. I am an Artificial Intelligence assistant unit designated TARA-9.”

Lucas jumped slightly.

“Great.”

He pointed again.

“It talks.”

“Yes. Communication is considered a standard feature.”

Lucas blinked again.

“Of course it is.”

The woman suddenly grabbed the sphere and lowered it closer to her wrist.

“Focus,” she whispered urgently.

“TARA, where is the temporal engine core?”

The sphere pulsed.

“Scanning for device signature.”

Several seconds passed.

The woman waited.

Lucas watched her carefully now.

The humor was still in his face—but curiosity had replaced the confusion.

Something about her panic didn’t feel like acting.

The sphere beeped again.

“Device not detected.”

The woman froze.

“What?”

“Temporal engine core not present within immediate vicinity.”

Her breathing suddenly quickened.

“That’s impossible.”

She looked down at the shattered ground where she had landed.

Wood splinters.

Cards.

Hat.

No device.

Lucas slowly raised a finger.

“Before you panic too much,” he said, “you should know that when you fell, you basically exploded my table.”

She ignored him.

Her eyes scanned the ground rapidly.

“No no no, that core stabilizes the entire system—without it the return vector collapses—”

Lucas interrupted.

“Return to where?”

She stopped searching.

Slowly, she looked up at him again.

Her voice dropped to a quiet, terrified whisper.

“…home.”

Lucas opened his mouth—

But before he could speak—

TARA-9 suddenly emitted a sharp alert tone.

“Warning.”

Both of them turned toward the sphere.

“Temporal tracking signal detected.”

The woman’s face went pale.

“How far?”

The AI responded immediately.

“Distance: approximately 3.2 kilometers and closing.”

Lucas frowned.

“Closing?”

The woman grabbed his arm suddenly.

Her grip was surprisingly strong.

“We need to leave.”

Lucas blinked.

“Why?”

She looked directly into his eyes.

“Because the people who find me first…”

Her voice tightened.

“…won’t ask questions.”

Across the plaza, beyond the crowd—

Two figures in dark coats had just stepped onto the edge of the square.

And they were walking directly toward them.

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