Project Gutenberg 2019-12-09 Public domain in the USA. 130 Jacobs, Sylvia Ritter, Bob Time Payment Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, July 1960 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Time Payment" by Sylvia Jacobs is a science fiction short story likely written in the early 1960s. The narrative revolves around time travel and its implications on memory and consciousness, exploring the themes of redemption and transformation. The plot centers on Slick Tennant, a gangster who plans to escape law enforcement by using a time-travel machine created by Dr. Richard Porter. The story unfolds as Slick Tennant, desperate to evade capture, kidnaps Dr. Porter and his son, Dickie, to force Porter to use his Metachronoscope, a device that allows users to experience a compressed version of the future. Slick opts for a twenty-year leap into the future, believing he can start anew. However, the tale takes a poignant turn as Slick emerges into a vastly changed world, grappling with the consequences of his past while experiencing genuine emotions for the first time. Ultimately, he finds a connection with Dickie Porter, hinting at redemption and personal growth despite his earlier criminal life. The narrative concludes with Slick's passing, suggesting a reflective commentary on human experience and the possibility of change, serving as a philosophical exploration of identity and time. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 82.8 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Time travel -- Fiction Gangsters -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 55250 2025-07-24T08:29:09.853164 text/html 31474 2024-10-17T15:11:52 text/html 221507 2025-07-24T08:29:11.897157 application/epub+zip 220344 2025-07-24T08:29:10.297166 application/epub+zip 78235 2025-07-24T08:29:10.013214 application/epub+zip 258224 2025-07-24T08:29:13.273161 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 251423 2025-07-24T08:29:11.550143 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 109487 2022-09-27T14:06:23.274784 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 48734 2025-07-24T08:29:09.742146 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 28996 2024-10-17T15:11:52 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16634 2025-07-24T08:29:13.465125 application/rdf+xml 26827 2025-07-24T08:29:10.094154 image/jpeg 4627 2025-07-24T08:29:10.054135 image/jpeg 386706 2025-07-24T08:29:09.866202 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog