THE MOMENT
"I don't know if you're stupid or up to something...," Craig glanced at his watch, then at the dark horizon. "..But, $50 is $50. You're on," Craig shook Rodney's hand to make it official. "If the sun doesn't show up in the next 20 minutes, you win," he chuckled. The two coworkers had moved past 'acquaintance' into friendship territory and they'd just finished their shift when Rodney suggested the bet in the parking lot. They joked around often and Craig did not plan on holding Rodney to the ridiculous bet; but, he enjoyed the conversation. And, the excuse to hang out more was nice.
"I'm just testing something," Rodney grinned. "I'll be able to prove it in a little while..," he gestured East toward the darkness. "...but, the gist is, I always lose bets."
"Well, if you're betting against the sunrise, I can see why," Craig chuckled.
"No, it's more than that," Rodney answered. "Reality changes to make me lose no matter what I bet."
"Huh?" Craig tilted his head at Rodney. "Then, if you wanted to prove it... shouldn't you have bet that it would come up?"
"Oh, no," Rodney shook his head. "This isn't to prove it to you, I'm trying something else," he said. "After we settle this bet, I can prove it," he said.
"Well here you go," Craig nodded the golden lining under a dark cloud and a faint orange glow. "Looks like you've lo-," Craig stopped speaking and it stood out to Rodney because the world seemed to suddenly stop. He was enveloped by instant silence all around. He looked up at Craig and saw his friend frozen in time. His mouth was open mid-word.
"Craig?" Rodney waved his hand in front of the man's eyes; but, he did not even blink. He turned and looked at the horizon. A perfect half of the round sun was up in the sky now, but everything was still dark. It was a strange sensation being able to see the light of the sun without daylight.
"On behalf of Sharp Development, I apologize for the inconvenience," a woman's voice startled Rodney from behind. He whirled around to see a woman wearing a white blazer with tails and a red sun stitched on the front. "This power was supposed to go to a different version of you; we'll get that fixed in a bit," she said. She spoke without looking up at him; her attention was focused on something in front of her. It was invisible; but, she was tapping and typing on something.
"Who are you? What's going on?" Rodney asked.
"My name is Sol," she replied with a smile. "What's going on is, you broke the universe; congratulations by the way," she giggled. "So, I'm fixing that and taking away the power so it can go to the right version of you."
"The right... there are other versions of me?" Rodney asked.
"Over a million," Sol nodded. Rodney was too awestruck to say anything else then and there. When he woke up with his power he had a clear sense of having it and how it worked. It was surprising, but he ran a few simple tests and broke the laws of physics before making his shift. He thought that the veil had been lifted and he could handle anything. He was not prepared to learn about alternate versions. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered that he was going to lose the power.
"Well with that many versions, how do you know which one is the right one?" he asked. Sol smirked and discreetly rolled her eyes; Rodney pretended not to notice. He wanted her help and antagonizing her wasn't going to get him anywhere.
"Sharp Development keeps meticulous records," she said.
"Then, obviously these powers were meant for me, right?" he commented. Sol giggled but shook her head.
"We keep records specifically to be ready to address software glitches like this," she said. "But, I can also say the version of you that is supposed to get this power wouldn't have broken the universe," she answered. Finally, she hit the empty air with a last deliberate press, then, she made a dismissing wave with her wrist. Rodney saw her move her wrist; then, he blinked. When he opened his eyes again the whole sun was out and up in the sky.
"I know it probably doesn't feel great to get that power taken away," Sol said as she offered him a transparent glass rectangle. "This is a node; you can do some pretty amazing stuff with it too," she said. "Have fun," She waved as a black portal opened next to her and she stepped in. The entire encounter happened so fast with so many strange things going on it was hard to keep up. The portal closed with her on the other side; but, once she was gone he caught something.
"Did she say 'software'?" he wondered aloud.
"Did who say software?" Craig asked. His question startled Rodney and he laughed at the fright. "Did you zone out or what? Did I surprise you?" he asked while still chuckling.
"No, sorry," Rodney shook his head. He slid the node into his pocket.
"Well, the sun's up," Craig held his palm out. "That'll be $50 please," he chuckled. "AND proof of your power."
"Yeah, alright," Rodney nodded as he pulled his phone out to send cash.
"Nah, hold on to it for me," Craig shook his head. "You can buy a couple of rounds next time we go," he said. "Hey, Frankie," Craig turned and smiled at another coworker approaching them. "Guess what, Rodney here just lost $50 to me," he said.
"Yeah, yeah. I saw the whole thing, don't rub it in," Frankie whined as he stuck his hand out toward Rodney with a $100 bill. "Only this lovable idiot could lose a bet he's supposed to win 'no matter what'," he sighed as Rodney took the money.
"Huh?" Craig felt like he was out of the loop all of a sudden. Rodney grinned.
"I bet Frankie that I could lose a bet against you; and, I won."