Todd explores frozen time while walking a greenbelt

Todd decided to explore. For a while, it was just interesting being able to go any where and see everyone and everything frozen in time. Todd didn't know much about the device. Did it freeze time completely or did it just slow time down very slowly? Todd had to know but as he searched through the lab, everything was too technical for his understanding.

Todd pulled the device itself out of his pocket to see if getting a closer look would give him a clue. It did. The display indicated that time wasn't moving at all. It looked like Todd had several options to choose from. He could speed up time, he could slow down time, he could completely freeze time or he could even reverse time. At the time, Todd couldn't think of any reason to reverse time but maybe he'd think of something later. For now, he was just happy to explore a frozen world where he could do what he wanted and still get back in time to finish his job and no one would be the wiser.

This device could work to Todd's advantage but he needed to mull over his ideas before he decided what to do. So for now, he left the lab and just went for a walk. There was a greenbelt within walking distance.

As he walked, he wondered about what exactly was happening. If time was frozen, how was it that Todd could move around? Todd continued to breath and see. How was that possible with time absolutely frozen? light should be frozen too which would make Todd unable to see but Todd could see just fine. Gravity was also still in effect. Gravity was frozen for everything and everyone except Todd but for Todd himself, gravity was normal. Todd also felt the heat of the sun or the cool of the shade. Heat should be frozen too but for Todd it wasn't. This made Todd wonder if time was really frozen or just slow. Todd looked at the device again and confirmed, it indicated absolutely frozen, not merely slow.

However, sound was definitely frozen and frozen time was silent. Todd tried snapping his fingers and clapping his hands but there was no sound. It wasn't completely silent. Todd could hear the sounds that were already in his ear such as the sound of his own blood moving through his veins but that was it. No sound from outside could get to his ears.

Todd felt thirsty so he tried a water fountain. No water came out. Todd wondered if it was a broken fountain or if it was because the water couldn't move through frozen time. Todd stole someone's water bottle and tried to get a drink but the water would not pour out of the bottle. This could become a problem. Todd would have to find a water source that didn't have to pour.

He looked around and noticed some kids had gotten into a water fight. Todd was able to drink all the water that hung in mid air. Then he found a fountain which had shot a lot of water into the air. Todd was able to climb the fountain and get his fill. Todd's clothes had even gotten a little wet, not as wet as they would have gotten but somehow they had absorbed some water.

Todd then needed to pee. He walked over to a tree and let it out. The pee shot out only a short distance before it froze in mid air leaving a blob of pee hanging there near the tree.

Todd decided to remove all of his clothes except his shoes. He stole a bottle of sunscreen and because it was a squeeze bottle, Todd was able to get some out which he slathered all over himself. He walked on, leaving his clothes floating in mid air.

After a while, he got tired. He didn't want to have to walk all the way back to the lab but he also didn't want to start time so he could catch a taxi. There would be too many questions. Why wasn't he at his job? Who had shuffled through all the papers at the lab? Where had the water from the kid's water fight disappeared to? Why was he naked?

Todd sat down on a bench and looked at the device contemplating what he should do. Then Todd noticed a FAQ on the device. Todd activated the FAQ and learned the reason why he was not frozen. It had to do with quantum fields. Todd remembered how he had heard that light seemed to be aware. According to the FAQ, light, gravity and heat should still be aware that he wasn't frozen and therefore, light, gravity and heat should still work for him despite being frozen for everyone else. Todd was inside a quantum field that extended out from him just enough to let him breathe as well but he would need to keep moving around. If he stayed in one place too long, he'd run out of air inside his quantum field and he'd suffocate and die.

Then Todd learned that the device had the ability to manipulate these quantum fields, to extend them to other people or things so that those people or things would not be frozen in time. For some technical reason Todd didn't understand, he would not be able to extend the quantum field to include only part of a thing or person. He could either unfreeze a whole person or thing or he'd have to leave the whole person or thing frozen.

Still, this could be useful. He saw a guy riding one of those motorized scooters, the small kind with a motor no bigger than a baseball. Todd could steel the scooter, unfreeze it and ride it around allowing him to travel much further and faster without getting so tired.

Todd picked up the guy and moved him to the bench so that he wouldn't crash or fall. Todd then got a devilish idea and stripped the scooter guy naked. The scooter guy did look really good.

Todd extended the quantum field to unfreeze the scooter and he rode it around a little to make sure it worked. Once he was sure the scooter would work for him, he stopped to take one last look at the scooter guy.