An Entire Year of You

Chapter 25: The Future

For the most part, Carlos had accepted that time just didn't make sense in Night Vale. It was an annoying thing for a scientist to acknowledge, especially considering he would likely never know whether or not he caused the problem, but as long as everyone stayed in their own year, he could just about deal with it.

And then The Traveller showed up.

The Traveller showed up in the town centre at around 5am, causing a raucous and generally irritating everyone. Carlos was asleep at the time, but he was quickly awoken by the noise from the street. The first words he heard that day as a woman outside shouting:

"We get it, you're from the future."

The Traveller wasn't being at all coy about the matter. In fact, he was actively rubbing it in people's faces, which was infuriating the Sherriff's Secret Police, who not only regarded the man as not only an interloper, but a dangerous and untrustworthy interloper at that. It wasn't exactly clear why he was so hated. After all, nobody in Night Vale was surprised by the existence of time travel. It was kind of mundane really. Maybe they just didn't like smug show-offs. Carlos considered stepping in to shield the man. He had become somewhat of a protected individual thanks to Mr Markson's not so little bribe. He decided against it. He didn't want to find himself embroiled in some sort of messed up butterfly effect. Besides, he didn't like smug show-offs either.

What Carlos did like, however, was prime opportunities. They rarely dropped in his lap this way and he doubted he get another. Since the letter arrived Carlos' understanding of his own future had been even more in flux than it had been already. Who were J.Fink and J.Cranor? If they wanted to work with him while simultaneously being fascinated by the town, did that mean he could stay under their instruction? He couldn't know for sure. He couldn't know anything for sure. Unless of course he found someone from the future, Night Vale's future. Someone like The Traveller.

Carlos hovered around the town all day, hiding himself in the little crowds that often formed in various places. He even checked out one of Mayor Pamela Winchell's famous emergency press conferences, though he got very little useful information out of it. Finally, he caught up with the man while he was cornering an annoyed reporter to explain how the run for mayor was going to get 'very, very interesting over the next few years'.

"Excuse me." Carlos tapped on The Traveller's shoulder, giving the reporter a much needed chance to escape. At first, his face was laced with thunder as he turned around, but he softened as soon as he laid eyes on Carlos. His smile was wide, but Carlos wouldn't read whether it was in kindness or in malicious.

"Hey, buddy, how you doing?" He greeted.

"I'm..." Terrified. "Fine. Listen, I need to ask you question...about the future."

"I don't know." The Traveller smirked. "Telling someone about the future can be very dangerous. I mean, what if I tell you something and you change it. Consciously. Subconsciously. Who knows what'll happen?"

"You're right. I'm sorry. This was stupid, I-"

"What do you need?"

"Oh...um...well in the future, the future you're from, am I here?"

"Here?" The Traveller raised his eyebrow, but his knowing smile didn't fade. It didn't even flicker.

"Here, alive, in Night Vale." Carlos clarified.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. What's your name?"

"It's Carlos."

"No, no, no. You're full name."

"Carlos Ciencia."

"No." The Traveller laughed as he shook his head. "There's no Carlos Ciencia in the future. Now excuse me, I have to go make some more noise." The Traveller began to walk away, leaving Carlos more confused and scared than he was to begin with, but he turned back for just a moment. "You might want to stock up on supplies and sandbags. Night Vale's got a storm coming."

Carlos wouldn't see The Traveller again, at least, not for a very long time, and he wouldn't realise it when he did. The Traveller disappeared later that day, both physically and from the town's memories, but his words stuck with Carlos, though he no longer knew where they came from.

"There's no Carlos Ciencia in the future."