The Chronomancer

A short introduction to a book not written.

Time. People use many different analogies and metaphors to try to understand it. Most know it to be a series of moments. Cause and effect. One way. Some who sit and think for a bit usually see it as a river, flowing inexorably onward. Forever pushing people along no matter how they fight the current. Some who think about it too much see it as a tangled web of interconnected lines of choice. Each choice and chance breaking off into a new direction. I think about time every day. I study it. I even manipulate it as much as I dare. So what do I think time is? It isn't a web. I know that. There's only one time. It isn't a river. It's flow and direction can and do change. Frequently. Most confusing of all, and this is the part that really gets people, it isn't even cause and effect. The things affecting your life right now can be consequences of decisions you haven't even made yet. Worse, they can be because of decisions you never will make. I think time is best described as a spark of lightning. It moves back and forth quicker than you can think, changing constantly. It's hard to grasp. The only thing I know for certain, is that time is a pain in the ass.