The Time Wrecker Trilogy centers around a fictional but incredibly controversial concept: timeline rectification. This alternative type of parole allows criminals to return to the day of their original crime and choose a different path. Throughout the series, I included news articles, blog posts, and opinion pieces that give different perspectives on the controversy. Should timeline rectification be legal? Even if it is legal, is it moral?
As I get Book 2 of the Time Wrecker Trilogy ready for publication this fall, I'm sharing a few samples from Book 1, Every Last Minute, here on the blog. The first sample piece is below. Enjoy!
Krushin' It Together
A personal blog by Klara Krusher
In Defense of Timeline Rectifications
Published March 31, 2011
So I try to stay out of politics on this blog. I do. If you’ve been following my blog for the last couple of years, you know I like to keep things upbeat. But in light of the protest in DC this week and the bloggers coming out of the woodwork to rage against Deirdre Collins’s new reality show—which, come on, isn’t reality TV pretty rage-worthy anyway?—I feel like I need to speak up.
Look, I don’t like the idea of timeline rectifications any more than you do. I want to say that they’re a terrible idea, that there’s no problem so big that it justifies mucking around with time. I want to post the numbers to some hotlines and give the websites for some charities and tell you that no matter how bleak life seems, there’s always help available.
But you know what? That’s not true. The kinds of crimes that qualify for a timeline rectification leave more lasting damage than you can fix with three sessions of talk therapy or a couple months in the slammer. They cause big problems that require big solutions.
I feel like I’m going to lose some readers for this. Maybe a lot of readers. But I feel like there needs to be a point where we stop talking ourselves in circles and start doing something to help.
I’ve been really frustrated with the tone of the online conversation surrounding timeline rectification. We’re all about raising awareness these days. We throw data and statistics at each other to support our points of view. We get angry and drop friends and lose followers as we passionately stand up for what we believe.
But what are we doing?
Because, honestly, if you’re so against crime victims agreeing to time wrecks, are you doing anything to help them in this life map? If their insurance runs out—or if they don’t have any—would you pay for their physical therapy? Their mental healthcare? Give them a job? What if they need help even after you think they should have “moved on”? What if they aren’t back on their feet before you’re bored of playing the white knight in their story?
And what about the offenders? How many people with a criminal record do you know, really? Are you supporting rehabilitation programs? Would you rent to someone who had just been released from prison? Would you hire an ex-con, or is finding them a job someone else’s problem?
Because if not, guess what?
You’re the reason why people think timeline rectifications are their best option. You’re the reason why people think they have more to lose and nothing to gain by staying. You’re the reason people think there’s no help for them in this life map.
Because sometimes, it’s true.
Interested in reading more from Every Last Minute? The book is available now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Books-A-Million. Ready to decide whether you would be a time wrecker? Take the quiz here to find out!
