Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-27008899-20160427173319

"Time is an intangible resource that we are all continuously running out of. We are bound by it's laws and ,therefore, must use it wisely. The fact we are all allotted a certain amount, and that amount differs from person to person, shows it has no concept of fair. However, what if we could make it fair? My device can do just that. Once turned on, all humans will have the exact amount of time in their life as everyone else. From birth we will allotted 80 years of life. Each person will know the exact day of their death. It eliminates disease, ailments, and yes even repairs the body from catastrophic injuries. Healthcare will be a thing of the past. People will no longer have to worry about death." Thunderous applause proceed the announcement on TV. Billions world wide. I remember staring at the screen as my mother, stricken with cancer, began to cry while sitting on the couch. At the time she believed all of her prayers were answered.

It started off working great. When they turned on the machine, trillions of nanobots were dispersed into the water of every major city. There were lines for water fountains at the park. Within weeks my mother cured of her affliction. She began exercising and even got a new job. Millions of others world-wide experienced the same thing. Even myself, at the ripe age of 9, began losing weight. I was always a heavy child. My mother feared diabetes would soon be my fate. Plants and other animals were not effected by the nanobots, initially. The have the capability to recognize the human body, and remain dormant until they entered one.

As time went on wars had become only a thing people read about in history books. Seeing as it was impossible to kill your enemy, most countries completely disarmed themselves. The world was finally at peace. And without war and the fear of death, science began to focus on the outer reaches of space. By the time I was 15 we had begun colonizing Mars. The nanobots were able to sustain us indefinitely without oxygen. They also maintained our body temperature, preventing freezing. They regenerated our cells faster than we could be injured, preventing burning. It was an amazing time to be alive.

It all seemed surreal at the time. All humanity united under one goal, to further understand the universe which we live in. I was 22 when I first saw the jitter. Just like any other machine the bots would degrade over time. These malfunctions became known as the jitter. It took many forms in the human body, the most notably being an uncontrollable shaking of a limb. Sometimes the jitter would be a person becoming completely paralyzed, as though frozen in time, for a few moments. After which they would resume what they were doing as if nothing happened. On rare occasions the paralysis would last hours, even days.

When I noticed it, my mother and I were at the store. She had just picked up a tomato to test its ripeness. Slowly at first, then all at once her had shake, flinging the tomato up in the air. It struck the ceiling so hard there was little more than ketchup left. She just looked at me and smiled. "Whoopsie." she said as though the vegetable and slipped from her fingers and fallen to the floor. It happened again some two weeks later as she was washing dishes. I was watching TV and could hear her singing. Suddenly, she stopped. I could hear water running, but no movement. I walked into the kitchen to see what was happening. There she stood. A dish in one hand and a blue scrub pad in the other, not moving. She just stared down, her eyes glazed over, her hands still under the blistering hot water. As I walked up behind her, she began washing again. Just as abruptly as she stopped, she began just where she was. Even continuing to sing exactly where she left off.

I began noticing people on the street, just looking up, not moving. Others frozen in crosswalks in mid-stride, as if they were just shut-off. One of the scariest things I have seen was a man suffering from the jitter as he attempted to cross the street. His leg began to shake and he fell to one knee. A car came barreling through the intersection, as the driver froze with her own jitter, and tore the man to pieces. We all stood and watch as his limbs slowly crawled back to his body, and reattached themselves. The mans eyes opened and he stood up as though he had taken a short nap. Dusting off his, he simply turned around and walked off, complaining about having to buy a new suit.

I first experienced jitters at the age of 27. As I was having dinner with my girlfriend at a local restaurant. As I went to take a bite of my steak, my arm began to shake. I turned my head just quickly enough for the fork to be jammed through my right cheek. Luckily the steak prevented the utensil from tearing clean through my face, only allowing it barely pierce my inner cheek. My girlfriend just laughed as I withdrew the fork from my face. Within seconds, my face was healed, but I quickly lost my appetite with taste of my own blood in my mouth. A few weeks later I experienced my first freeze up. I was playing a video game and turned a corner to shoot at another player. The next thing I remember was looking at a "Game Over" screen.

Though the jitters had become an issue with people around the world, people were willing to deal with it. The trade off seemed fair to most people. They began introducing new nanobots into the water every 5 years. This helped to reduce the cases of jitters but they were still prevalent in every day society. I got to the point were I lost an entire day at work, just standing there, looking at my computer screen. The real issues began with a man by the name of Marcus Morales.

Marcus had been in the news for a few months because he had missed his death date. At the age of 80 years and 11 months, people began to wonder what his secret was. Marcus, himself, could not explain the phenomenon. On his 81st birthday, scientist became intrigued about his condition. A few weeks later another person celebrated her 81st birthday. And then another, and another. Before we knew it, everyone was living beyond their death date. The jitters became worse and worse. This is when the jitter syndrome began.

Millions of people world-wide became afflicted. Thousands a day would transform. Affectionately referred to as jitter zombies, peoples entire bodies would quiver as they walked. Completely cognitive of what is happening around them, but with no ability to control their actions, people could be seen wondering the streets, twitching and jerking as they moved. Cries for help from the poor bastards were met with sympathetic gawkers and some pretending not to notice. Others were permanently frozen in their last action, standing like statues in the middle of public places. Every so often their eyes would move, they would move a limb, or a cry for help.

I am now 157 years old. I pray for death every day. The first man to live past 80 has been frozen on his couch for 70 years. I imagine I have little time left myself, as I have begun to freeze for weeks at a time. I am conscious the whole time, unable to move, speak, or even type. It took me 6 months to complete this journal entry. To anyone who finds us, our world of people caught in time, we hear you, we see you. Please! help us! 