The haggard-looking man stormed into the police headquarters and addressed one of the cops on duty:
“I’m turning myself in. I committed the worst crime a man can possibly commit. I don’t deserve to be alive anymore.”
“So what did you do, then?”
“I travelled back in time and killed my father before I was born.” The man almost broke into tears as recollections of this horrifying act flowed back.
“I don’t think it’s possible to do what you just said,” the cop replied calmly.
“I know what you mean. By killing my father before my birth I gave rise to a time paradox. By all accounts, logically, I should not be around anymore, and yet — ”
“That’s not what I meant at all. What I wanted to say was, I don’t think it’s possible to travel in time. There’s no such thing as time travel. Now please, I’ve got work to do.”
“You have to believe me,” the man said insistently, then suddenly winked out of existence.
The cop stared in disbelief at the spot where the man had stood, and asked his colleagues:
“What the hell was that?”
“Impatience,” one of them replied. “It takes a while for these time paradoxes to have their full effect.”
Frank Roger was born in 1957 in Ghent, Belgium. His first story appeared in 1975. Since then his stories appear in an increasing number of languages in all sorts of magazines, anthologies and other venues, and since 2000, story collections are published, also in various languages. Apart from fiction, he also produces collages and graphic work in a surrealist and satirical tradition.By now he has more than 600 short story publications (including a few short novels) to his credit in 27 languages. Critics describe his work as a blend of genres and styles: fantasy, satire, surrealism, science fiction and black humour.
