The Time Stopper (A Mind Dimensions Story): Mind Dimensions
By Dima Zales and Anna Zaires
()
About this ebook
From a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author comes a novelette in the Mind Dimensions series. This short story does not require you to have read the other books in the series.
I can stop time, but I can’t change anything.
I can access memories, but not far enough.
My name is Mira, and my life is about finding the Russian mobster who killed my family.
Note: This short story does not require you to have read the other books in the series.
Dima Zales
Dima Zales is a full-time science fiction and fantasy author residing in Palm Coast, Florida. Prior to becoming a writer, he worked in the software development industry in New York as both a programmer and an executive. From high-frequency trading software for big banks to mobile apps for popular magazines, Dima has done it all. In 2013, he left the software industry in order to concentrate on his writing career. Dima holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from NYU and a dual undergraduate degree in Computer Science / Psychology from Brooklyn College. He also has a number of hobbies and interests, the most unusual of which might be professional-level mentalism. He simulates mind-reading on stage and close-up, and has done shows for corporations, wealthy individuals, and friends. He is also into healthy eating and fitness, so he should live long enough to finish all the book projects he starts. In fact, he very much hopes to catch the technological advancements that might let him live forever (biologically or otherwise). Aside from that, he also enjoys learning about current and future technologies that might enhance our lives, including artificial intelligence, biofeedback, brain-to-computer interfaces, and brain-enhancing implants. In addition to his own works, Dima has collaborated on a number of romance novels with his wife, Anna Zaires. The Krinar Chronicles, an erotic science fiction series, has been a bestseller in its categories and has been recognized by the likes of Marie Claire and Woman's Day. If you like erotic romance with a unique plot, please feel free to check it out, especially since the first book in the series (Close Liaisons) is available for free everywhere. Anna Zaires is the love of his life and a huge inspiration in every aspect of his writing. Dima's fans are strongly encouraged to learn more about Anna and her work at http://www.annazaires.com.
Read more from Dima Zales
The Last Humans: The Complete Trilogy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mind Dimensions Omnibus: Volumes 0-4 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mind Dimensions Books 0, 1, & 2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Other Worlds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Time Stopper (A Mind Dimensions Story)
Titles in the series (5)
The Thought Readers (Mind Dimensions Book 1): Mind Dimensions, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Thought Pushers (Mind Dimensions Book 2): Mind Dimensions, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Enlightened (Mind Dimensions Book 3): Mind Dimensions, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Elders (Mind Dimensions Book 4): Mind Dimensions, #4 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Time Stopper (A Mind Dimensions Story): Mind Dimensions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
The Thought Pushers (Mind Dimensions Book 2): Mind Dimensions, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elders (Mind Dimensions Book 4): Mind Dimensions, #4 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Enlightened (Mind Dimensions Book 3): Mind Dimensions, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Thought Readers (Mind Dimensions Book 1): Mind Dimensions, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dream Hunter: Bailey Spade Series, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSerpent Mound Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCandy Savant Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Brazen Amazon Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Destroyer of Worlds: Imperial Hammer, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInfiltration: The Athena Lee Chronicles, #8 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEye of the Pharaoh: Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire, #8 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Prophecy of the Heron: The AI Dystopia, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStar Forge: Imperial Hammer, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRevelation of a Moonlit Promise: Hidden Fae Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ziva Payvan Collection: Ziva Payvan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrim Girl: Reaper Files, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHaven: The Last Humans, #3 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Perilous: Hive Mind A Prequel Novella: Hive Mind, #0.5 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hangman's Army Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Arisen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecrets In Blood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mindjacker: Mindjacker, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSevered: Imperial Hammer, #4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrince of Pleasure: King of Prey, #5 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Detective Docherty and the Vampire's Mirror: Detective Docherty, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLong Live The Emperor: Imperial Hammer, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Beginning: Thea: Eve Of The Fae, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chronicles of Athena Lee Book 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Superheroes For You
Modified Volume 1: Modified, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5First Team: A Marvel: Xavier's Institute Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Are (Not) Deadpool: A Marvel: Multiverse Missions Adventure Gamebook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Siege of X-41: A Marvel School of X Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reign of the Devourer: A Marvel: Untold Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alpha Bots: The Womanoid Diaries, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSchool of X: A Marvel: Xavier's Institute Anthology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5First Knight: Capes & Masks, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShadow Avengers: A Marvel: Crisis Protocol Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Superhero Syndrome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Submerging: The Starlight Chronicles, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSquirrel Girl: Universe: A Marvel Heroines Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Modified Box Set: Modified Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWitches Unleashed: A Marvel Untold Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brothers: The Young Neos, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Two-Face Face-Off Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Superhero's Test: The Superhero's Son, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Time Around: A Canadian Werewolf Story: Canadian Werewolf, #0 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTarget: Kree: A Marvel: Crisis Protocol Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Liberty & Justice for All: A Marvel: Xavier's Institute Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Harrowing of Doom: A Marvel Untold Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5She-Hulk goes to Murderworld: A Marvel: Multiverse Missions Adventure Gamebook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Builder's Sword: The Legendary Builder, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Liminal People: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rogue: Untouched: A Marvel Heroine Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dear Cyborgs: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHas the World Ended Yet?: Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Silver Hood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blaze of Glory Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for The Time Stopper (A Mind Dimensions Story)
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Time Stopper (A Mind Dimensions Story) - Dima Zales
Chapter 1
It’s so smoky in here; it’s like someone set off a bomb.
As soon as I say the stupid line, I Split into the Mind Dimension, and time seems to stop.
Victor is squatting over his chair, about to sit down. If this was still the real world, his legs would hurt in a minute or so. As it is, he’s as aware of his muscles as a wax statue would be. Shkillet, a guy at the poker table, is frozen in mid-stare at my body—a position I often find men in. The other players are similarly stuck at what they were doing when I Split. The strangest thing in the room is probably the thick cigar smoke that’s no longer moving. It looks eerie, like frozen clouds on an alien world. I don’t smell the smoke now, which is a relief. I also don’t hear anything other than the sound of my high heels clicking on the floor as I walk around the room.
I look at these men, these dangerous men, and an inner voice tells me, Mira, no sane woman would voluntarily be here. Not even to merely observe this poker game, let alone play with these savages.
It’s funny how this inner voice usually sounds like my mom.
You’re dead, Mom,
I mentally reply to the inner voice. And I’m here to find the fucker who killed you. Can’t we have an imaginary conversation without all this nagging?
The inner voice sneers—but that’s me. Mom was too nice to sneer.
The Mind Dimension makes it safe for me to walk around the room and peek at my opponents’ cards without them being the wiser. When I’m in the Mind Dimension, everything stops in a single moment. No matter what I do here in this alternate world, when I get back to my real body—the body that’s still sitting at the table—I’ll still be in the same situation as I was before I Split: still being stared at by Shkillet, and still having just said that line about the bomb.
When I first learned I could Split, I was a little girl, and I thought my soul was leaving my body. But that was back when I believed in such things as souls, and God, and goodness—words that are meaningless to me now. Back in those days, I also believed in silly things, like the fact that there is a purpose to life.
I don’t any longer. Not since that day.
Since that day, I haven’t believed in anything but myself. And sometimes—a lot of times—not even that. That little girl who believed in souls would certainly think I’m a stranger if she met me today.
And maybe, she would think I’m a monster.
Of course, that day did not just dispel my childish illusions. It also taught me more practical things, such as how impotent I am while in the Mind Dimension. How truly powerless. No matter how much I want to, I can’t change anything in the real world. Like a ghost, I don’t affect the world of the living. Maybe that’s what I became that day—a ghost of my former self.
That day. Why does thinking about it always hurt the same way, no matter how much time passes? Why is it so vivid in my mind at a moment’s notice?
For that matter, why does trying not to think about something bring that very thing into focus?
My mind flashes to that day as though I’m Reading other people, but it’s as if I’m replaying my memories instead of someone else’s.
I see myself walking home from school, my backpack heavy on my shoulders. I relive the excitement of seeing my dad’s car in the driveway when I get home. He hasn’t driven away yet, I think joyously, so I’ll get a chance to say goodbye. That last line will be singed into my mind forever, but I don’t know it yet.
And then I see the car explode.
I see it go up in flames.
I hear the most horrible sound.
Then... silence.
I open my eyes.
The fire is standing still.
The explosion had scared me so much that I automatically Split into the Mind Dimension, as sometimes happens under extreme stress.
Now in the Mind Dimension, I’m standing next to my other, frozen-in-time, self. She looks as terrified as I feel. I know that if I touch the exposed flesh on her/my body, I will leave the Mind Dimension—and the explosion will continue its destruction.
Leaving would’ve been a cowardly choice, a choice I didn’t even think to make at the time. I would later regret that bravery—or rather, lack of imagination.
Instead of leaving the Mind Dimension, I run toward the car.
The flames are frozen.