A Slice of Time

A SLICE OF TIME

This was the crucial moment. A wrong movement and hours of preparation would be completely lost. Taking a deep breath he looked briefly around the room, in an attempt to calm his frazzled nerves. His classmates were hard at work, trying to overcome the final hurdle in the long and difficult road towards the coveted badge of the Cosmic Police Force.
He couldn't help noticing that most seemed to be almost finished. This caused a new wave of panic. What if he was the only one to fail?
Calm, he needed to be absolutely calm. Closing his eyes he went through the prescribed exercises, pushing back any thoughts of failure or inadequacy.
Feeling better he looked again into the machine. The scene was almost perfect. The long hours spent in the Archives had paid off. It had been difficult, poring through old and almost illegible reels, but if he pulled it off he would get extra points for originality.
In recent memory no one had used this Planet or this period. Probably because with so much going on all the time it was difficult to isolate just one incident. But he had done it! Provided, of course, that the last bit went right.
Peering through the lenses he tensed, waiting for just the right moment. He couldn't be sure, of course, but he had a feeling that if he waited a few seconds more things would be even better.
There, now was the time. His right hand moved rapidly over the buttons. For a breathless moment it seemed as if he was going to fail. But no, the lights were turning green so he had a sample.
Doubt assailed him again. What if he had waited too long? What if the perfect moment had already passed?
The minutes ticked off, almost as loud as his heart. Win or lose, everything would be decided in the next few minutes.
Finally the last indicator turned green, indicating that the sample was ready. Holding his breadth he switched on the tiny screen and peered at it through the magnifying lenses. It was perfect, absolutely perfect.
He was certain of a pass, and with maximum points or very close to it. His sample had everything going for it: obscure origin, busy epoch, maximum number of main characters and perfect timing.
With a self-satisfied smile he looked again at his slice of life: a dark alley, one man frozen in the act of falling, with blood on his shirt, the woman next to him with her mouth open in a silent scream, another guy with a weapon in his hand and a dog at the end of a leash trying in vain to avoid being crushed by the falling body.
And in Chicago, 1973, a couple walking their dog vanished without a trace, baffling the police, their respective families and their friends. The same happened to a local petty crook but his disappearance went unnoticed: nobody missed him.