1. The Setup
Sublevel 5 was colder than 4.
Jonathan felt it in his fingertips. The override chamber here was older—analog switches, magnetic tape, and a terminal that hummed like a sleeping beast.
Chairman Voss stood beside the terminal, hands folded behind his back. His gold cufflinks glinted under the low light, Rainescorp's crest etched into each one like a warning.
"This override," Voss said, "is not technical. It's symbolic."
Jonathan nodded. "I'm ready."
Voss turned. "You'll override a legacy transaction. But the system will lie to you."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "Lie?"
Voss smiled faintly. "It will present false logic. You must redirect without believing."
2. The Test Begins
The terminal flickered. A transaction appeared:
Transfer: $3,000,000 to Rainescorp FoundationFlag: Legacy-approvedNote: Authorized by Founder, 2002
Jonathan frowned.
The founder never authorized direct transfers to the Foundation. That was protocol.
He typed:
IF flag == 'Legacy-approved' THEN verify_origin
The system paused.
Origin: Jonathan Raines, CEO
Jonathan's breath caught.
He hadn't authorized this. Not in this life.
Voss watched him. "Override it."
Jonathan hesitated.
He typed:
IF origin == 'Jonathan Raines' AND flag == 'Legacy-approved' THEN route_to audit_buffer_12
The system blinked.
Error: Buffer 12 is locked.
Jonathan tried again.
Override to legacy_path_7
The system paused.
Then: Accepted.
Voss nodded. "You saw through the lie."
Jonathan exhaled. "It was familiar."
Voss stepped closer. "Why?"
Jonathan looked up. "Because I've studied the founder."
Voss's eyes narrowed. "You speak like him."
Jonathan said nothing.
3. The Pulse
Voss turned to the wall of switches.
"Final test," he said. "Override a contradiction."
Jonathan stepped forward.
The screen lit up.
Transaction: $500,000 to Eli RainesFlag: UnauthorizedNote: Approved by Jonathan Raines, 2025
Jonathan blinked.
He hadn't approved this.
He typed:
IF origin == 'Jonathan Raines' AND flag == 'Unauthorized' THEN route_to review_board
The system blinked.
Error: Review board offline.
Jonathan frowned.
He typed:
Override to legacy_path_3
The system paused.
Then: Conflict detected.
Jonathan leaned back.
Voss watched him. "What will you do?"
Jonathan stared at the screen.
His fingers twitched.
He felt a pulse.
Not in his body—in the room.
Time slowed.
The screen flickered.
The transaction rewound.
Transaction: $500,000 to Eli RainesFlag: AuthorizedNote: Approved by Jonathan Raines, 2025
Jonathan blinked.
He hadn't typed anything.
The system had changed.
He looked at Voss.
Voss hadn't moved.
The room was still.
Jonathan felt the pulse again.
He understood.
He had redirected time.
4. The Decision
Jonathan typed:
IF flag == 'Authorized' THEN preserve_path
The system accepted.
Voss nodded. "You resolved the contradiction."
Jonathan smiled faintly. "It resolved itself."
Voss raised an eyebrow. "Did it?"
Jonathan shrugged. "Sometimes logic realigns."
Voss studied him. "You're not ordinary."
Jonathan met his gaze. "Neither is Rainescorp."
5. The Aftermath
Jonathan returned to his office.
He closed the door.
He sat at his terminal.
He typed a note:
Event: Temporal Override triggered.Effect: Transaction rewound.Witnesses: None.Decision: Conceal.
He stared at the screen.
This world was mundane.
Magic didn't belong here.
If they knew, they'd dissect him.
He wouldn't be a CEO. He'd be a subject.
He whispered, "Not yet."
He opened a new file.
Project: Temporal LogicGoal: Understand. Weaponize. Override.
He smiled.
Revenge required patience.
And now, he had time.
Chapter 8 (Part II): The Hidden Investigations
1. Eli's Notebook
Eli sat alone in his office, the blinds drawn.
He opened his leather-bound notebook, the one he had inherited from his father. Its pages were filled with fragments—phrases, gestures, anomalies.
He wrote:
Jonathan Raines: Thumb-index tapping. Phrase: "Override is not deletion. It is redirection."
He flipped back to an old entry.
Founder's Notes, 2003: Same phrase. Same gesture.
Eli tapped his pen against the page.
Coincidence? Impossible.
He whispered, "It's him."
But he couldn't prove it. Not yet.
He decided to begin a covert investigation. He would track Jonathan's movements, his phrases, his overrides. He would compare them to the founder's archives.
He closed the notebook.
No one could know. Not Lena. Not Voss.
This was his secret.
2. Lena's File
Lena sat at her desk, staring at the training log Jonathan had planted.
It was convincing. Too convincing.
She opened a new file on her terminal.
Subject: Jonathan RainesSuspicion: Manipulation of records. Possible override access.
She typed quickly, her fingers flying across the keys.
She cross-referenced Jonathan's onboarding with HR logs.
Discrepancies appeared. Small ones.
A timestamp off by three minutes. A supervisor note that didn't match the style.
She frowned.
Jonathan had planted false evidence.
She decided to begin her own covert investigation. She would track his overrides, his interactions, his anomalies.
She closed the file.
No one could know. Not Eli. Not Voss.
This was her secret.
3. Jonathan's Experiment
Jonathan sat in his private office, the door locked.
On his desk lay a symbolic object: a fountain pen.
It was old, black lacquer with gold trim.
It had belonged to his past life. He had signed Rainescorp's founding charter with it.
He picked it up.
He whispered, "Override is not deletion. It is redirection."
He felt the pulse.
Time slowed.
The pen flickered.
Then it was gone.
Jonathan froze.
He looked around.
The desk was empty.
The pen had vanished.
He panicked.
He whispered, "No. Not this."
He felt the pulse again.
He focused.
He imagined the pen returning.
Time rewound.
The pen reappeared.
Jonathan exhaled.
He picked it up, his hands trembling.
He whispered, "Temporal Override… has aspects."
4. The Revelation
Jonathan sat back.
He realized he hadn't just redirected time.
He had controlled presence.
He had discovered a new aspect of his ability: Temporal Restoration.
He wondered how many aspects there were.
Two? Ten? A hundred?
He whispered, "Millions."
But he didn't know.
He only knew he had power.
And he would hide it.
This was his secret.
5. Parallel Suspicion
Eli believed Jonathan was his father reincarnated.
Lena believed Jonathan was manipulating Rainescorp's systems.
Jonathan believed he had discovered magic in a mundane world.
None of them knew the others' suspicions.
Each worked alone.
Each carried a secret.
6. Jonathan's Resolve
Jonathan placed the pen back in its case.
He locked it.
He whispered, "I won't be a subject. I'll be a strategist."
He opened a new file.
Project: Temporal OverrideAspect 1: RedirectionAspect 2: RestorationFuture: Unknown.
He smiled.
Revenge required patience.
And now, he had time.