Reflection

"The future will collide with the past. Don't stress out, it will all make sense at the end."

The Masked Man tells Novikov. Novikov was confused yet captivated. The Masked Man gave him a small black notebook with $20,000 cash inside a metal briefcase. Not only did he know Novikov's front door security passcode, but he proceeded to steal his car in the driveway. Flipping through the notebook showed that each page of the notebook had different dates and times with instructions next to them. The dates and times refer to when each instruction should be read. The notebook was to guide Novikov on a time-bending heist.

The first agenda in the notebook is for Novikov to use the money to purchase a luxurious suit to wear, while also wearing black clothing underneath the suit. Then he was to spend the rest of the money investing in big tech public stocks. Afterwards, he was to meet with an executive transportation service that would bring him to an unknown destination. He brought a black leather duffle bag along. While sitting in the back of the car, Novikov kept reading the notebook. It became clear as to what was going to happen next.

Novikov is to play a character for the following act: the role of a rich businessman named Mr. Barjavel who is interested in potentially investing millions in a start-up company that researches quantum physics. The company in question is Hypnamic. They have a massive campus just on the outskirts of the city. Now, why was Novikov given a French name if he could not speak French nor with a French accent, will remain a mystery. When Novikov finished reading the page, they had arrived at the destination.

Novikov entered inside the campus building, which is modern and minimal in design. The CFO greeted Novikov at the entrance of the building. The CFO was eager to show Mr. Barjavel a tour around the campus as the company is in dire need of new investors. A couple of days ago the company managed to scare away most of their investors after an experiment gone wrong.

During the tour, Novikov carried the duffle bag and notebook in his hands pretending to seem interested in the details the CFO was spitting about. When the tour neared its end, the CFO started asking Novikov business-related questions. Novikov could not think of any responses, as he had no experience at acting like a billionaire. But as stated in the notebook, a distraction was to occur that would give Novikov enough time to steal what he was looking for. After struggling to answer any of the CFO's questions, the CFO asked the burning question of why Mr. Barjavel didn't have a French accent. Right before the CFO could see through Novikov's act, bright red lights start to flash in the hallway. Researchers were panicking as multiple guards raced around the building. The whole building was going under lockdown.

Two guards approached the men. One guard began to escort the CFO to a safe location while the other was escorting Novikov out of the building. Right before the guard could fully escort Novikov out of the building, the Masked Man appeared out of nowhere, pushing the guard down, temporarily disabling him. He too is carrying the same leather duffle bag and small black notebook. The Masked Man looks at Novikov for a brief moment before shouting at him,

“What are you doing? You have a job to do!”

The Masked Man ran down the hallway as multiple guards chased him down. This was the distraction. Novikov picks up the guard's key card and sprints down the hallway. He swipes the card, granting access to the server room. Novikov pulls out his laptop from the duffle bag and plugs it into the server. Downloading the necessary files. After the download is completed, Novikov sprints down to the opposite side of the building. He swiped the key card and entered a different room.

There was a single massive, yet slender, machine standing in the middle of the large and empty room. Novikov walked up to the console that is connected next to the machine. He looked at the notebook and typed the specific inputs required. Afterwards, he took off his suit and stuffed it into the duffle bag. As he wears his black clothing, he places a mask over his face. He steps inside the machine. The door closes behind him. Everything goes dark. It feels like déjà vu.

When the doors open. Novikov stumbles out, feeling disoriented and sick in his stomach. He looks up to see the room is now filled with a dozen researchers who all are just as surprised as he is. The room was just empty not even a minute ago. Novikov opens the notebook to read the next set of instructions.

"Run."

As Novikov bolts out of the room, a researcher presses an alarm button, setting the building to go under lockdown. Bright red lights start to flash in the hallways. He looks behind him as he runs down the hallway to see multiple guards are pursuing him. While Novikov is distracted, he runs straight into a guard, pushing him down, temporarily disabling him. He looks up to see what individual the guard was escorting. It’s his past reflection. He stands there looking at his past reflection for a brief moment before shouting at him,

“What are you doing? You have a job to do!”

Novikov picks himself up and runs to the nearest fire exit. He quickly takes off his mask and puts his suit back on. He hops over the bushes and runs to his executive ride still waiting out front. He jumps in the back seat and yells at the driver to press on the gas. The driver is terrified and also confused as he had just dropped off Novikov. But now is no time to ask questions. He pressed on the gas pedal, driving away from the campus.

Once Novikov arrived home later that night, he had the chance to analyze what events had just occurred. The notebook finally gave him some answers as to what had just happened. Novikov had just finished a heist yet was only halfway through. That is because he is halfway through a temporal causal loop. The future reflection was sending information via the notebook. He knew the outcome of the heist, yet he needed Novikov to commit the act. Now Novikov had to complete the temporal causal loop.

Novikov still has a million questions to wonder about, yet the one that stood out from the rest is where the $20,000 comes from in the first place. The information he had stolen back at the campus was insider information on several major tech corporations. Everything from unreleased quarterly reports to classified e-mails. Better yet, all of these major tech corporations also have public stocks, which all happen to be the same stocks that Novikov invested earlier that day. The future is sending information on which stocks to invest in as they already know the outcome of which stocks perform the best.

In the next following days, Novikov made a 1000% return rate on his investments. He sold the stocks and withdrew all the money from a nearby bank and placed exactly $20,000 cash in a metal briefcase. He would need a way to communicate with his past reflection. Novikov purchases a new small black notebook and begins writing instructions on each page with dates and times next to them, referring to when the instructions will be read.

He knew that he must write everything exactly the same as to what happened during the heist. If Novikov tries to change the past to have a different outcome, despite already knowing the outcome, then he would instead create a paradox. Novikov changes out to his black clothing and puts on his mask. He left his house with the notebook and briefcase, heading straight to Hypnamic campus at midnight.

Arriving at the campus, all the researchers had gone home and only the guards remained. Novikov silently sneaked past to the side of the building, swiping the key card to the same fire exit he had escaped from. He carefully sneaks around the building, avoiding any night-shift guards roaming the hallways. He knows his way around the campus. Novikov opens the doors to the large and empty room with the massive, slender machine in the middle. He types in the console the date of exactly one week ago. Novikov steps inside the machine, the door closes behind him. Everything goes dark. It feels like déjà vu.

The doors open and Novikov steps outside. He does not feel disoriented nor confused this time. The room is now filled with researchers, as well as a group of rich investors standing on the sideline. Everyone is stunned that the machine was operating. Novikov gives the researchers a peace sign and bolts out of the room. One of the researchers presses a button sounding the alarming, putting the building under lockdown, but it’s too late. By the time the guards could even start looking for him, Novikov is already outside of the building. Novikov takes off his mask, calling for a nearby taxi. He hops in, telling the taxi driver to take him home.

Once Novikov arrives back at his home, he puts his mask on again. The past reflection must not know it’s his future reflection talking to him as he may attempt to alter the future if he knows the outcome of it. Novikov types in the passcode to his house and enters. His past reflection stands in the middle of the living room, frightened as he believes he is getting robbed. Novikov drops the briefcase on the floor, handing over the small black notebook to his past reflection.

"The future will collide with the past. Don't stress out, it will all make sense at the end."

Novikov tells his past reflection before leaving his home. He gets inside of his car sitting on the driveway, starting the ignition. He backs up onto the street as his past reflection watches him. As Novikov drives off, he wonders as to what he could do with the extra money sitting in his bank account. Perhaps he could start another temporal causal loop to organize a new heist. After all, how confusing can it get?

End.