Time Crime

The Story

Verkan Vall, a senior agent of the Paratime Police, oversees a vast reality-spanning empire centered at the Dhergabar terminal. His jurisdiction is not merely geographic but temporal; his people traverse "probability lines," moving between alternate versions of Earth where history diverged long ago. The Paratime Police maintain a strict, often ruthless policy of non-interference, ensuring that the advanced technology of the higher-level sectors does not leak into the primitive worlds below. However, this equilibrium is shattered when a clandestine group begins kidnapping humans from less-developed sectors, such as the Kholghoor region, to sell them into slavery on the Esaron Sector.

Vall and his wife, Dalla, a skilled practitioner in psychology and undercover operations, receive orders to infiltrate the criminal supply chain. They pose as traveling performers and artisans on a quiet, non-violent world, waiting for the slavers to reveal their transit points. Using narco-hypnosis and advanced intelligence gathering, they map a network of rogue agents within their own government who are exploiting the very security measures designed to protect the timelines. The investigation reveals that the criminals are using stolen conveyer technology—the physical bridge between worlds—to bypass the usual patrols.

The scope of the conspiracy widens as Vall discovers that the slavers are not just independent brigands but part of an entrenched, high-level organization that includes influential political figures. On the Home Time Line, a politician named Salgath Trod engages in a dangerous game of duplicity, publicly feigning outrage while privately coordinating with the hidden syndicate to destabilize the Paratime Commission. Vall’s team manages to intercept a shipment of slaves and capture members of the smuggling ring, but the deeper they dig, the more they realize that the syndicate is protected by members of the government who view the Paratime Police as an obstacle to their own predatory expansion.

The turning point comes when Trod, realizing he is being squeezed by the police, attempts a desperate power play. In a chaotic, high-stakes confrontation, a team of assassins attempts to eliminate Vall and Tortha Karf, the head of the police, by posing as their own colleagues. The attempt fails, but in the ensuing violence, Trod is killed, along with crucial witnesses, leaving the police with a dead end. Vall realizes that to catch the masterminds, they must stop looking for static hideouts and instead analyze the patterns of the "Wizard Traders"—a group operating with such sophistication that they have managed to stay invisible across a hundred thousand timelines.

Vall, Dalla, and their support team use advanced computer analysis and forensic dactyloscopy to expose the imposters who attempted to take over Trod’s political position. They systematically dismantle the network, using gassed-out conveyer heads and tactical strikes to reclaim the stolen technology. After a brutal, multi-world operation, the syndicate is broken. In the quiet aftermath, the agents are left with the reality that their service is unending. While they secure a temporary reprieve for themselves and those they have saved, they are immediately called back into action to address a sudden, bloody revolution on another sector, illustrating the constant, exhausting nature of their duty.

The People

• Verkan Vall: A high-ranking Paratime Police agent. He is exceptionally disciplined, methodical, and detached, viewing his work as an engineering problem that requires constant vigilance. He is defined by his ability to maintain his composure under immense pressure, though he is weary of the moral compromises required to police infinity.
• Hadron Dalla: Vall’s wife and a highly skilled intelligence operative. She is more emotionally intuitive than her husband, often using her expertise in psychology to manipulate situations and individuals. She is fiercely loyal to the mission and arguably more proactive in seeking retribution against those who commit atrocities.
• Tortha Karf: The veteran chief of the Paratime Police. He represents the institutional memory of the organization and is the primary strategist behind the scenes. He is tired of the political infighting within his own government and relies heavily on Vall to act as his proxy in the field.
• Salgath Trod: A corrupt Councilman who serves as the face of the criminal conspiracy. He is a man of high ambition but fragile nerves, terrified of the consequences of his actions. He ultimately becomes a liability to the very syndicate he serves, dying in a failed attempt to protect his political standing.
• Zinganna: Trod’s housekeeper and mistress, a woman of lower social standing (a "Prole") who is caught in the crossfire of the conspiracy. Through her contact with the police, she undergoes a transformation, eventually finding a path toward a new life and marriage, serving as a reminder of the human lives impacted by the police's cold calculations.

In Its Own Voice

The sheer scale of the operation is captured early on, setting the tone for the logistical nightmare the police face:

"Tracing one man in a population of millions is easy—compared to finding one gang hiding out on one of billions of probability lines!"

The conflict between the cold efficiency of the state and the humanity of their subjects appears when the investigators reflect on their methods:

"If that made you sick, remember we've been listening to things like that for the last eight hours."

The bleak irony of the police's existence, where a victory only leads to the next crisis, is summarized in the closing moments:

"Well, it looks as though our vacation's out the window for a long time."

What It's Really About

This story is a rigorous examination of the cost of power and the moral hazards of surveillance in a society that has effectively conquered geography. The "Paratime" conceit is not merely a setting for adventure; it is a laboratory for exploring the consequences of unrestricted access to history. The argument at the heart of the book is that when a civilization reaches a level of technological mastery that makes it functionally omnipotent over its subordinates, the greatest threat is not external, but internal. The syndicate is not a foreign invading force; it is a manifestation of the inherent corruption that arises when a governing body decides which lives are "expendable" for the sake of stability.

The police operate under a mandate of non-interference, yet they are constantly forced to interfere to clean up the messes created by their own rogue elements. This creates a feedback loop of moral ambiguity. The "Paratime Police" are the heroes, yet they use methods—such as mass narco-hypnosis, forced personality modification, and the total erasure of individual autonomy—that would be seen as monstrous in any other context. The book asks whether a society can remain "civilized" if its survival requires the systematic dehumanization of its enemies and, occasionally, its own citizens.

Furthermore, the book explores the concept of the "proletarian" class within a technocracy. The criminals prey on primitive societies, but the political masters on the home line treat their own servants with a similar, albeit more polite, detachment. The characters who successfully transition from a life of servitude to a life of agency do so only by aligning themselves with the power structure. The book suggests that in an infinite multiverse, the individual is utterly insignificant, and the only thing that confers value is one's utility to the state. There is a deep, underlying cynicism about human nature: regardless of the technology available, power inevitably gravitates toward those willing to act with the fewest scruples. The "Wizard Traders" are not just smugglers; they are symptoms of a society that has outgrown its own ethics, leaving its agents to perform a never-ending, thankless task of trying to keep the chaos contained.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate the "hard" side of science fiction—where the focus is on the mechanics of a world, the logic of its constraints, and the cold reality of trade and logistics—will find much to admire here. The world-building is remarkably dense, grounded in a mid-century sensibility that favors bureaucratic realism over space-opera heroics. There is a distinct, almost noir-like atmosphere to the investigation; the characters navigate smoke-filled rooms, conduct interrogations, and engage in high-stakes political maneuvering that feels very much like a spy thriller transposed onto a cosmic scale.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the mid-1950s cultural perspective. The book reflects the period's attitudes toward social stratification, gender roles, and the use of "psychological hygiene" as a tool of the state. These are not presented as topics for debate but as settled facts of the characters' reality. The dialogue is brisk and professional, focusing on the "job," but the emotional distance between the characters can feel jarring; they discuss the kidnapping of thousands as if they were discussing a minor inventory error.

The prose itself is precise and unadorned, lacking the flowery descriptions found in contemporary fiction. It is a lean, efficient reading experience that moves at a relentless pace. If you are interested in a book that prioritizes the "how" of a plot—how a conspiracy is built, how it is tracked, and how it is dismantled—this is a masterclass in procedural storytelling. You will likely walk away thinking about the sheer, dizzying vertigo of an infinite multiverse and the crushing weight of a job that can never truly be finished. It is a book about the exhaustion of holding the line when the line is made of time itself.