Two men were sitting on adjacent seats on an American Airlines flight.

Well, this flight is long observed the first one. Chicago to Mumbai? Of course it is. replied the other one quite rudely. If the first passenger was offended, he didnt show it. Yes, in my personal experience, there is nothing like a quiet, decent conversation with a fellow passenger to kill time on long journeys. By the way, I am Somesh Surandran. The second passenger was rightly annoyed. Hello, Somesh. My name is Frank Tweedle. Just to make it clear though, I prefer sleeping on long flights. You see, I am not a chatty type of person, especially not with strangers. Dont mean to offend you, of course. He said this as politely and sweetly as he could. Oh, sure, sure. That was that. Conversation lagged for about half an hour in which time Frank read a newspaper. Somesh wasnt all too pleased about his quiet co-passenger but what could he possibly do about it? Just then, he noticed Frank frowning. What is it that you are reading Frank? Hmmm, local girl Julie Andrews goes missing eh? What? Oh, yes, yes. I knew her in college replied Frank tersely. Too bad. The city isnt safe anymore what with people disappearing and never turning up. Or worse, turning up dead. There was genuine concern in Someshs voice. Dead? Is possible, isnt it? Anything is possible in big cities. Anyways, would you please excuse me? I need to relieve myself. It was plain to the meanest intelligence that Frank was badly shaken after reading about Julie Andrews. Somesh decided to try and resume conversation to take Franks mind off that appalling piece of news. Once he returned from the washroom, that is. Frank returned after a while. As decided, Somesh tried to get the ball rolling again. So Frank, what do you do in life? enquired Somesh. What? Listen Somesh, I want to go to sleep now. I dont mean to offend you but I am not in the mood for small talk now. You can understand, cant you?

I can Frank, I can. But what I would tell you is that you seem rather shaken after reading about Ms. Andrews. I am just trying to take your mind off things for a while. I shall sleep in a little while too. I just wanted to talk to you to avoid boredom in the meanwhile. Come on man, its not as if gregariousness is a crime. Or would you rather ponder over this horrible event? Somesh, rather indignant, almost shouted. Oh my god, you wont give up, will you? Very well, lets talk then. I am an author. How about you Somesh? How do you draw your monthly cheque? I am a project engineer in Microsoft. Pretty stereotypical, huh? Anyways, I dont think I have read anything by you. What genre do you delve in mostly? I am mostly a mystery writer. Not surprised that you havent read anything by me though. I have just started out. I am only one novel old. In the mystery market, I am practically a baby. Frank was being modest though, his first novel had sold a lot of copies. More than he had imagined at any rate. Oh. So what are you working on currently? Or are you just vacationing? The date being 23rd December and Christmas close at hand, this was a reasonable assumption. I am vacationing, will be in Goa for Christmas. I have heard it is a nice place. Anyhow, I cant think of anything. I am suffering from writers block just after my first novel. How cruel is that? It was quite cruel. Oh, writers block eh? A pretty common problem in creative fields. Now, I am sure you would have heard this countless number of times, but would you like to listen to a great idea for a story? I think its great anyways. Hmmm, why not? Might as well kill time. Let me warn you though, if I find it boring, I shall ask you to stop. Oh yes, most certainly. Although this isnt exactly a mystery or a thriller, it should keep you engrossed. Do you like secrets, Frank? What? What kind of a stupid question is that, Somesh? I am sorry if that seems rude, but I mean, who doesnt like secrets? I cant think of anybody who doesnt. No, wait. Actually, I can. In any case, I do like secrets. Do go on, Somesh. Yes, a most profound insight into human nature there, Frank. Well, I have a secret myself. It should knock you sideways. Are you ready for it though? Yes, I am ready! Enough suspense already! Frank had grown quite interested by now.

Okay, ready or not, here it goes. I.I canI can time travel. Somesh said seriously. What? Frank looked at him for a moment and then exploded with laughter. That is rather incorrect though. I can travel both in time and space. It wasnt clear whether Frank had heard this latest amendment as he was still laughing wildly. He was also pointing at Somesh while laughing maniacally. You can laugh at me and ridicule me all you want, Frank. I wouldnt have told you this fact if I couldnt prove it right now. This shut Frank up instantaneously. Oh man, you are serious. Somesh, what have you been smoking? I wonder how you made it through security in this state. I will have you know that I am perfectly sober, Frank. Have always been. Didnt I already tell you that I can prove it to you right now? You can prove it right now? Without TARDIS? Oh, Somesh! A laugh escaped Frank again. TARDIS? I have no idea what that is. But, how clear can I be Frank? I will tell you again, I can travel in both space and time. Somesh was hurt. Okay then. Prove it right now. Frank was rather piqued. He wasnt a narrow minded person but even an author could stretch his imagination only so far. I shall. Do you find the Eiffel tower beautiful, Frank? Very much so, Somesh. Okay then, I suppose you would like to see it in the process of construction. Hold my hand Frank. We shall go to the site of the tower in the year 1888 and you shall see the magnificent structure in the midst of construction. You might feel a slight discomfort, Frank. Do try not to pass out though, it would be most troublesome. Frank closed his eyes. Although he was sure that this was all ridiculous, it was a knee jerk reaction. He kept them closed for about 10 seconds. In this interval, he did feel some semblance of a motion. He couldnt quite describe this motion, although he didnt feel any sort of discomfort whatsoever. Finally, he opened his eyes. They were in some sort of an alleyway, in a dark corner somewhere. The smell around him told him that this was a restaurant of some sort.

Follow me, Frank. Somesh seemed quite smug. He did. They walked for about half a minute before Somesh stopped. He was pointing towards something, grinning broadly. Frank couldnt quite make out what he was supposed to be seeing as it was night time, although he knew what it would be. And then he saw it. The four legs of the first level of the Eiffel tower stood before him. Only the four legs! The place was quite empty now, although it was clear that it was in the midst of construction. Somesh hadnt been lying! Frank couldnt believe it, he fainted. The next thing he remembered was lying in the same spot where they had materialized with Somesh shaking him quite vigorously. I told you not to pass out, didnt I? Somesh seemed quite worried. What? Frank was still groggy. And then it all came back to him. Holy fuck Somesh, you were telling me the truth! The damndest absolute truth! My word, the sight of the half - completed Eiffel tower shocked me. No, that is an understatement. IT KNOCKED THE STUFFING OUT OF ME! To say that Frank was excited would have been in actuality, an understatement. Oh my lord, dont shout, Frank. We should get going now anyways. Frank noticed Somesh glancing around quite nervously and with what he guessed was a bit of displeasure. What do you mean we should get going? Why are you so nervous? Do you have no brains, man? If you do, use them! This was uttered quite venomously. Somehow, in the course of events, the two men had switched roles. What is the matter Somesh? Just that we cant be seen here. Why? We are out of place, conspicuous. If someone catches us here, it would be a lot of trouble. Firstly, we arent supposed to be here at this time of the day. Secondly, as I said, we seem out of place. And that means a host of questions if we get caught. I want to avoid that. You do realize that I dont want random people to find out that I am a time traveler, dont you? This made sense to Frank. Oh yes, certainly. Sorry, I am still a bit groggy mumbled Frank. Not a problem, Frank, not a problem. So tell me, have I convinced you now?

You bloody well have Somesh. How do you do this? It is an incredible gift. More importantly though, where do we go from here? You tell me. We could travel to different eras; I could give you sort of a tour of history if you like. Then, we could travel back to the present, back to our seats in the flight to Mumbai. What do you say? Oh, would you do that? It seems a most wonderful plan to me. I have some questions for you, this way you can answer me. You are certainly helping me with my next novel here. Okay then. Care to see the ancient Egyptians and their way of life? Mind you, we can only observe from afar. We cant be seen by these people. It will screw up history a lot. Oh, yes, I understand that. Lets go. And so they went back even further in time. How do you do this, Somesh? Is it some internal mechanism? Were you born this way? Frank was curious to say the least. But what was really curious was why Somesh was doing all this. He had no obligations towards Frank. Not that Frank had any problems with the arrangement, he was extremely grateful. How do I do this? To that, I have no answer. I am pretty sure I was born this way, although I found about my powers during my teenage years. When I was thirteen, to be precise. It took me a further five years to refine and control them. Before that, I could time travel but it wasnt controlled. Since the age of eighteen though, I have been travelling in this fashion. What about spatial co-ordinates though? Can you materialize anywhere at any point of time? No. It all depends on the place under advisement. I cant materialize at any point inside the Berlin wall in and around the 70s. I could travel to that point as it was during 2004 though. I cant materialize in solid objects, that is. Usually, I need to have a particular point in mind before materializing there. Otherwise the process might go awry. Do you think I just happened to materialize in such a convenient spot near the Eiffel tower by accident? No. I have visited that same moment in time lots of times and I know what the best place to materialize is. Can you travel exclusively though? Just in space or in time? I sure can. Lets go see the pyramids, shall we? The newly constructed pyramids to be sure. And they did. I dont travel back in time exclusively a lot. I might materialize in front of someone which would be hugely problematic. I can be nonchalant in case of huge time leaps but if I am travelling only 30 or 40 years back, I have to be careful. Then too, I might get caught trying to materialize in some solid object.

Oh, this is fascinating. By the way, can we go see the Apollo 11 launch? Have you visited that? Yes, yes, I have. Excellent choice. Ready then? While watching the Apollo 11 launch, Frank asked more questions. Have you ever slipped up, Somesh? Made a mess of things? I have, Frank. I nearly bungled up the Lincoln assassination. I wanted to see it up close, you know. I figured I would materialize near the Fords theatre a few minutes before the assassination and then follow Booth. Imagine my horror when I materialized in front of the poor blighter. Let me tell you though, my reaction was nothing compared to his. The man lost his mind. Thought he had seen a ghost or something. He went half crazy on the spot. Turned around and started running away, screaming aloud in frenzy. Woah! What happened then? I couldnt let things hang like that, now could I? It would have altered history radically. I would have preferred an alive Lincoln, but it wasnt about my preference. Thus, I travelled back in time a bit more; say five minutes and near a safe spot. This time, I saw how Booth did his deed. So how does time travel actually work? Even if you scared Booth in that timeline, if you wouldve travelled back to our present time things wouldnt have changed, right? That timeline wouldve screwed up, for sure though. But those events wouldnt have affected our time, or so it seems to me. So, what are you saying that there are two separate timelines, one where Lincoln lived and the other one which we inhabit? You are wrong, Frank. My travels through time have taught me that time is one continuous stream. If I were to leave events as they were, I would have come back to a present where the ramifications of a failed Lincoln assassination plot would have been felt. I dont know how that present would have differed from ours, but it would have been considerably different. If I were to travel in time and kill your parents before they conceived you with you watching, you would disappear in front of me. There is no separate group of timelines, Frank. Anything I do has ramifications. It is up to me to minimize them. Meanwhile they were in Renaissance Italy. Oh? You must be very careful then, because you have the ability to change the entire worlds future. I do. Whats more, I know about it and I have to be very deliberate and careful in my travels. Say, Somesh, do you age? It seems to me that you can go back to your youthful self anytime you want.

You are wrong again, Frank. Say, I am seventy five years old and I go back to the year 2010, when I was only twenty eight. I would arrive in that year alright but I would still be a seventy five year old person. My body doesnt change during my travels. Whats more, I would be stuck in a time where I am supposed to be twenty eight but I would be seventy five. That would be difficult. Thus, I can visit different times but cannot settle in them. The cultures are too different, the people are all strangers and to them I am a completely new person they have never seen before. Also, I lack any kind of identification hailing to that period of time neither am I aware of their customs. Frank by now, and rightly so, was finding time travel extremely complicated and was confused. Oh my, this is all so convoluted. Do tell me Somesh, have you ever visited the future? I have visited one of several futures, Frank. We cant be sure how the future will pan out, there are too many variables. I once travelled 500 years in the future. In that time, human cloning had been legalized. All laborers were clones of a single person who had been selected due to his excellent physical condition. A troubling fact was that this clone was black. I came back to the present. Then I visited the same place again. This time, there was no human cloning because the worlds government had voted against it. The margin had been one vote. I understand now, at least superficially. Are you the only one with this ability, Somesh? Have you ever met anyone similar? I do think there are others like me. I am sure there is another; by chance we had both materialized at the Gettysburg address at the same time. They were in the future now.4000 years in the future, to be exact. A future full of domed cities. Asimovs visions of an agoraphobic general population living under caves of steel had been fulfilled in this timeline. They went back to the colosseum in Rome. They visited the newly constructed Taj Mahal. They stood and listened to Martin Luther Kings famous speech. They went back and saw Marilyn Monroe. They went back to a pre-Stonehenge England. They even saw dinosaurs. Frank had never had such an adventure in his life. Being of a quiet and reserved nature, he had shied away from anything out of the ordinary. But he had a fantastic imagination, thus he had become an author. His novel had been set in a Europe deep in the dark ages, now he was actually seeing the same with his very own eyes. He was ecstatic, like a child at Christmas laying his eyes upon Santas present. He was going to write that second novel in record time. Have your time travels affected you somehow, Somesh? Have they changed you, your views or maybe even your personality in some way?

I do think they have. They have given me a sort of a frigid detachment from events. I am but an impassive observer flowing along the river of time. I can change the course of the river but then I dont want people to go thirsty. Somesh seemed to become more ponderous and thoughtful. I have colored the world in my own colors, Frank. I have never grown out of the world of movies and fantasy. Revenge, anger, jealousy, hatred are all real for me but so is love. The basest and most carnal of human impulses lie deep within me, as they do with everyone else. I just know them a lot better. No doubt time travel has aided me in this because history is full of similar men who have left their impacts on it and Ive seen them. Frank was fascinated by Someshs conversation. When he had first started talking to the time traveler, he had assumed that he was the typical Indian IT guy. One who cared only for money, the intelligent not the intellectual. He had seen Somesh as a tool used by others to solve their problems, after which they tossed their loose change at him and made him happy. He had always seen such guys as idiots because they seemed to have ambition to him aside from making money and climbing the corporate ladder. They wouldnt leave their mark on history; they werent world beaters or world changers. They lived a petty and narrow life, almost like a herd of animals. That they would have such depths to them, he had never considered. He felt ashamed of it now. As an author he should have seen all this, he should have been a more accurate judge of character and shouldnt have been prejudiced. But heck, he was still learning, wasnt he? Have you had enough, Frank? The thing is, I am getting tired now as I havent travelled with such frequency before neither I have travelled for such long periods of time. He did look tired. Frank had had enough too, at least for now. Oh yes, Somesh. We should be getting back to the flight now. Ah Frank, I had something else in mind. We should go back to my apartment in the present I should tell you that I am a mean cook. Well eat something and then go back to the flight. This request seemed a bit odd to Frank. He couldnt refuse though, seeing that Somesh had done so much for him. A question was still troubling him. Why had Somesh done so much for him? Oh certainly, Somesh. Lets go back to your place and have a meal. He saved the question for later, perhaps on the dining table.

They materialized in Someshs apartment. A nice, cozy place where he seemed to live alone. They were in the living room, one wall of which was adorned by a closet of sorts, which seemed to be full of LPs. Holy smokes, Somesh! Thats quite a collection you have there. May I go through it? Oh yes, make yourself at home. Go through my record collection, you should find something to your liking. The turntable is behind you. Play something nice while I prepare the food. You are not to come into the kitchen, Frank. It is considered poor manners for a guest in our culture. I should take about 40 minutes. Take your time, Somesh, take your time. Frank Zappa? Beatles? Zeppelin? This should keep me busy for a long time. Frank was all smiles, Somesh was a kindred spirit. Franks favorite album of all time was the White album by the Beatles. He played that. Someshs records were in excellent condition, so was his turntable. Every now and then, some smells proceeded from the kitchen, odd smells. Frank was curious but he had his instructions. He thought it was the spices these Indian fellows used in their food. Just as the opening notes of While My Guitar Gently Weeps sounded, Somesh came in with the dinner. They sat at the small dining table, facing each other while Somesh served the food. The music was still clearly audible. I must say you have a great taste in music, Somesh. Your home is splendid as well. Thank you. Somesh was quiet. They started eating. My word, you werent kidding about your cooking skills. This is excellent, Somesh. What is it, curried mutton? Somesh seemed lost in his thoughts, something was playing on his mind. He was reading the newspaper. What? Sorry, I didnt hear you. he replied with a smile. I asked you what this dish that you have prepared is. Is it curried mutton? Frank was certainly enjoying the food. The meat was succulent, the spices hadnt been overdone and it wasnt too hot either. That is not curried mutton, Frank. Suddenly, Somesh threw the days newspaper towards Frank. Do you see that woman, Frank? Julie Andrews? pointing towards the meat he continued, Thats her. Or her thigh rather.

Www.wwwhat..?? stammered Frank. Yes, its her thigh. Her breasts have kept me well fed for the past few days. Frank just sat there in a state of shock while Somesh explained. I had to be very careful while abducting her, Frank. Time travel was of no use to me whatsoever. I memorized her routes from work to home. She didnt go out much. Four days ago, I hid in a rather shadowy alley sandwiched between two restaurants waiting for her. As she came walking, I started following her, being discreet always. She had no idea I was behind her. As soon as I saw an empty stretch of road, I nabbed her. Chloroform did the trick. Fortunately, I was very close to my home. I brought her in without much trouble. Then, I laid her in my killing room. We could go there afterwards, if you want. It is refrigerated to prevent decomposition. Costs me a lot for electricity, that room. Still, it is quite necessary. Then, I killed her. While expounding this, Somesh had risen from his seat and was walking around the room. Strange thing is time travel. You asked me whether I have made any mistakes, Frank. I have made many. Once, I materialized in front of a tribe in Papua New Guinea around the 1400s. I was careless that day Frank and the buggers managed to capture me somehow drugging me in the process. The drug was administered through a thorn shot out from a blowpipe. I am lucky they didnt kill me outright. Later, when I came to, I was in the midst of a ceremony where I was the main sacrifice to be offered to their god. I tried materializing out of there at once, but the drug had rendered my time travelling useless, at least temporarily. I discovered that I could travel spatially though. I tried jumping to my apartment at once but realized that long leaps were out of the question. It was the damn drug! Thus, I freed myself by materializing out of place of capture and in front of the dancing natives. I did this partly because of my weakness and partly because I felt that it would give the tribals a good scare. And it did, Frank, it did. Almost at once, they cowered in fright. To cut a long story short, I ended up convincing them that I was their God. I could have materialized out of there the next morning but I enjoyed their adulation. And that is where I tasted human meat for the first time. I was surprised by how good it was, Frank. To my dismay, I had never tasted it before. It was so good! Needless to say, I acquired a taste for it and even when I materialized out of those forsaken forests, I found myself craving it. He paused here to drink water. Now, I imagine you must be wondering how all of this ties to you, Frank and why I am telling you all this. Somesh sat in front of Frank now and looked him in the eye.

Do you remember UCLA, Frank? Do you remember the Philosophy course you enrolled in during your first year? Do you remember that it was during this course that you wooed Julie? Do you remember I was a student of that course too? Of course you dont. Do you remember how callously you treated Julie after college, Frank? You left her heartbroken. You took away my Julie from me only to mentally scar her for the rest of her life. When I tried to comfort her, she shrugged me away. Like I was a worthless piece of scum, not to be touched by anyone. Why did she do this? She was still pining away for you. And right then, Frank, right then I started hating the both of you. My burning love for her was nothing compared to my newfound hate. I told you Frank, revenge, hatred, love are all very real for me. I have had my revenge now. You mocked me in the flight, you bugger. I am not Dr. Who; I am the time travelling cannibal. Are you listening to me, Frank? He realized that Frank wasnt listening to his monologue. The man had died of shock. One can readily imagine that the shock of eating a past lovers thigh was too much for the poor guy.