"Time travel used to be thrilling; every trip an adventure into the unknown, or rather the previously known. But it's almost monotonous now. I guess it has been almost twenty years, though. Twenty years of twelve-hour shifts day after day is a steep price to pay, but after the next round of promotions, I'll be in management, and I'll finally afford a real—."

"Belegrade!" Hearing his name interrupted his thoughts.

"Belegrade!" He turned toward the sound and saw Jeffon waving him down from his front porch. They weren't exactly friends, but they knew each other from the lab. Belegrade walked towards him, and Jeffon met him halfway.

"Belegrade, I heard you were up for a promotion to management. Congratulations! I don't know how you got them to overlook your ancestral history, but I'm impressed. We all are. You're the only one I know that's never pulled anything through and always followed the rules." As he spoke, Jeffon's eyes took on a sadder look before brightening again. "If you keep it up, you'll be in corporate someday, making more than all of us. You're proof that hard work and dedication can overcome even the facts of history." Jeffon clapped him on the back, "Anyway, I just wanted to be the first to say congratulations. It's inspiring to see someone do it the right way. Have a good evening, Belegrade."

Belegrade hadn't said a word, listening to Jeffon. A horrible thought occurred to him, and he had heard little of what Jeffon had said after mentioning his ancestral history. Before crossing the street, he stopped again and turned around. He hurried back toward F.A.M. Labs. It had been an over-site on his part. After so many years of working at the lab, he barely even thought about his parents. F.A.M. Labs was all he knew.

He sat, waiting outside his supervisor's office. He knew that he'd never be able to sleep wondering if his parents' crimes would affect his promotion to management, so he waited. After some time, they ushered him to the back office, where his supervisor motioned for him to sit.

"Welcome, Belegrade. You must be tired after your shift. What can I do for you?" Trenyor had always been a fair and understanding supervisor. Belegrade needed the man to hear him out and support him.

"As you know, I put in for management at the next promotion. I've been here so long and worked so hard that I don't even know anything except F.A.M. Labs." Belegrade began explaining.

"The decision isn't up to me, Belegrade," Trenyor said.

"No, I know. It's just that, well, my parents were arrested and convicted thirty-five years ago of theft and corporate espionage on behalf of the EdenFire Empire." Belegrade said, deciding it best to just lay it all out there. "Sir, at the time, I was an infant and raised by my uncle until sixteen when I started working here. I've worked too hard, and if this is going to affect my chances at a promotion, I need to know."

Trenyor sat looking somewhat shocked, staring at his desk for a few moments, "I can't say it's irrelevant." He looked up, "Belegrade, wait outside, and I'll find out what I can."

A couple of hours later, he was dragging his feet through the snow. He wouldn't allow himself to think about what Trenyor had said. Instead, he focused on the sounds his feet made as he dragged them down the snow-dusted sidewalk. Eventually, he made it to his apartment building and stood in front of his door. Belegrade opened the door to his one-room apartment. He'd always appreciated what he had, but today everything looked different to him. He'd given twenty years of his life, and this was what he received in return. The curtain next to the bed fell off the wall when he opened it to use the toilet. From where he sat, he could see everything he owned. Without standing, he could touch his bed and spit on his front door if he wanted.

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Jeffon had been right. This is what happens when you work hard and sacrifice everything for your work. For over two decades, he had worked documenting, recording, and scanning people's lives from all throughout time and all over Living Space. When Foy Sciences announced the launch of "Forever's A Memory," or F.A.M. as it quickly became known, they went from a relatively small, unknown tek company to the owners and operators of one of the largest businesses in Living Space.

F.A.M. offered an ancestral history service that delivered, to the customer, a full breakdown of their family tree going back to the beginning of history. Complete with video footage and highlights from the past collected by employees like Belegrade and others. F.A.M. Labs would also replicate and include a small, handheld item from your history as a memento. For those with money to spare, nearly any item from one's history could be replicated.

Belegrade stood staring up at the house that served as a home for Jeffon and his family. If Jeffon hadn't pulled items through time and sold them off at extremely high prices, he never would have been able to provide a home for his family. Especially after Seltra, his wife and mother of their children, died a couple of years ago, leaving Jeffon to raise the three of them alone. His frustration reached an all-time high as he walked up the steps and knocked on Jeffon's door.

As the door opened and Jeffon's face appeared in the crack, Belegrade said, "I need to talk to you right now. Tomorrow is my last day at the lab. They're sending me to Loading and busting me down to entry-level."

"What happened?" asked Jeffon, stepping outside as he closed the door behind him.

"I was worried about my ancestral history, so I went to talk to Trenyor and told him everything. He informed me that my lab clearance was being revoked, and after tomorrow, I would no longer be allowed inside F.A.M. Labs. They're sending me to Loading with 'Do Not Promote' on my file. But that's not important right now. Talking to you earlier put things in perspective. And Trenyor really showed me a true perspective. I have a plan, but I need your help."

The next day, Belegrade stepped onto the jump platform for the last time. The jump-slave's weight around his wrist was a constant reminder of what was at stake and why his plan needed to succeed. He listened as the Tech on duty began reading off the checklist, preparing to initiate his last jump through time. The Tech finished reading off the checklist and asked for confirmation.

"Confirmed, clear for travel," Belegrade said for the last time, before the world around him vanished. He was off on his last jump through time, well, second last. The landing was much more violent than usual. Jeffon had warned him, but it still hadn't prepared him. The chip that he'd slipped into the console on his arrival at the jump platform had sent him on a little unauthorized detour. Belegrade looked around to check his location as he caught his breath. He was just outside the lab, close to the housing section, and the new wing of the lab was still under construction. It was three years in the past. He broke into a dead run toward housing, jumping up the three steps and nearly breaking Jeffon's door down, knocking on it.

Seltra opened the door, and Belegrade, still out of breath but also out of time, said, "Please, Seltra, put this on right now." He peeled the jump-slave off his wrist and handed it to her. She looked at it skeptically but reached out to take it.

"Jeffon sent me. He said if you didn't believe me to tell you, 'Please hurry, Hummingbird.'"

Her eyes grew wide and filled with tears as she wrapped it around her wrist, and immediately the world disappeared again.

Belegrade stood next to Seltra, gazing out on an emerald beach with beautiful crystal-clear water reaching out to the horizon. Belegrade took off his jump locator and turned to Seltra.

"Here, trade me," he said, handing her his jump locator and taking the jump slave from her.

Smashing the jump-slave on a large rock to his left, he stared back out at the water.

"Put it on," Belegrade said. "He's waiting for you." Without looking back, he walked down the beach. According to his research, these were the emerald beaches of FaeTrell. Not far from here, he should find the village of FaeTrell, a picturesque place from long before his time. The perfect place for an early retirement. The flash of light behind him told him Seltra had made it back to Jeffon. Belegrade took his shoes off and walked through the emerald sands along the beach, smiling.