How much is it?

Time Start Loop, Chapter 1

- I’m going to the shop. Do you want anything?
- Yes! Could you buy me this, you know, the thing we talked about yesterday in bed?
- Sure, but I don’t know if they are selling it.
- Did you check?
- No, but I’m pretty sure that they won’t have it.
- Then check, please. If they do not have it, maybe it’s available on Amazon. They claim to have everything.
- I will check, but you know, it’s not a popular product. It’s expensive and fragile. You never know for how long it will last. No one wants to buy it.
- Are you sure? So many people are speaking about it. Posting stuff online, and so on.
- People are bragging about many things. Put your money where your mouth is. That’s not happening.
- I know, I know, but could you check it for me? This one time. We really need it right now.
- As always… Yes, I will check.
- Thank you!

It was a sunny, chilly day in San Francisco. Not too hot and not too warm. Not windy either. He took his phone out of the desk and inserted it into the front pocket of his hiking trousers. The most comfortable pair of clouting that he had ever bought. He decided to take a jacket, just in case the weather would change. Since there was not much of a chance that he would find the thing in the first store, he prepared himself for at least a two-hour journey.

Exactly as he thought, they didn’t have it in the local store downstairs. He was not sure in which department he should be looking for it, so he checked all of the departments. He wanted to ask the shop staff for a brief moment, but finally, he decided against it. He was too embarrassed.

The next shop was located about one kilometer away. Too long to walk and too short to drive. Conveniently, he could use one of the publicly available scooters. A city scooter was perfect. Just the right speed, no need to worry about a parking lot, and this wonderful feeling of wind in your hair while moving.

All in One was the name of the supermarket he chose as the next location. The shop was much bigger than the local one he had checked earlier that day. The name was very promising, too. Indeed, they had a large variety of assortment — AGD/RTV, furniture, plants, alcohol, vacation trips, plastic surgeries, couple therapy, you name it. Since the shop was located further from their apartment and he didn’t know anyone from the staff, he decided to find assistance right away. Just after the entrance, next to the drugs section, he spotted a nice-looking young lady. She looked friendly as if she would care — he thought. He approached her expediently and briefly explained what he was looking for.

- I’m sorry, Sir. I’m afraid that we don’t have it at this time. I will double-check, though. Please wait here for a second.

She turned around and dynamically went towards the store backroom. Power walker — he thought.

It was Saturday. The market was full of people. Families with kids and dogs, old ladies, one of two teenagers loitering in small groups. There were few single men, though.

- Sir. Unfortunately, we don’t have it available now.
- Do you know if it will be available in the near future?
- I’m sorry, Sir, but it’s unlikely. — Teresa, according to the name tag, that was her name, hesitated for a second, but then she added — Sir, I was looking for that product for myself, but I couldn’t find it. It was a long time ago. I gave up.
- Thank you, Teresa. — She looked sad. Sad in the way that he almost wanted to hug her. — Do you have any idea where else I can try to find it?
- If I were you, I would try online.
- Oh yes, of course. Thank you!
- I perhaps should not say that since I’m at work, but Sir, if you find it, could you get back here and tell me how you did it?
- I will. — I’m too soft, he thought.

There was a coffee shop on the other side of the street from the All in One. Since he needed a quiet place to sit, and it was half past 3 pm — his coffee time, the spot was perfect.

He ordered flat with soy milk. Usually, he would go for a black coffee with honey and just a spoonful of lactose-free milk, but today, he felt like something slightly different. He spotted a nice, big table located in the left corner of the main entrance, next to the panoramic window, and he threw his jacket there.

Why am I even doing it? It’s Saturday. I should be playing a video game or lying near the swimming pool, but no! I’m here. I’m here looking for…

- Give me my stuff.
- What stuff? I need to know what it is.
- Give me my stuff!
- Oh, men. I need to know what it is…
The conversation was getting louder and louder.

He turned his head to see what was going on. There was a man and a woman standing in front of the order counter. Their faces were rather close, about 30 centimeters from one another. With a closer look you could spot a shadow of satisfaction on her smile.

- Give me my stuff! — now, the man was furious.

The whole café silently steered at them. The scene kept going for a while. The man kept repeating himself. The woman kept almost pretending to be clueless. His face was turning more and more red with every second. — Hi will hit her — someone whispered. It looked like the young, muscular staff member, with the tag name Gregg, had enough. He jumped through the counter and forcefully moved the angry man out of the coffee shop.

The woman left the place immediately.

Finally, I can focus. — He grabbed his coffee and sat down in the place that he had reserved earlier with his jacket. He tried to avoid looking through the window since if he indeed would look out the window, he would see the same man and a woman still fighting. The same fight, different location.

It was still a quiet, lovely, calm day after all.

Internet. How obvious that is. Let’s start with the basics. — he thought and grabbed a phone from his left pocket. Usually, he would use a computer, but since the primary idea was to search in physical shops, he didn’t bring one.

Unfortunately, Amazon didn’t offer much. Couple of books, candles, and weirdly looking kitchen equipment that he had no idea what to use for. He tried different phrases, different settings, departments. Nothing. Nothing even close. However, during the process, he purchased gymnastic glows and a mini blender. The expected delivery was scheduled for tomorrow. He felt pretty happy about that.

Let’s take a step back here. Clearly, I’m not the only one who is looking for it. People are discussing the subject for sure. — he thought. He turned to searching on Reddit, then Discord, Slack, and some old-fashioned Internet forums. Indeed, people were discussing the subject in significant volume — thousands of conversations, hundreds of links. There were even “homemade” recipes, some rather extreme. However, there was not a single hint of where to buy it or how much it would cost.

Chat GPT and Bart binged some hope for a while. LLMs pointed him to the idea of organizations and companies working on prototypes. Some have even performed successful tests on a small scale. However, when he dug deeper, it became obvious that their business model was not based on selling the end product. The prototype will not be available in his lifetime.

The café started to emptying out. Gregg emerged from behind the canter with a mop. It was rather comical since the mop looked almost like a kid’s toy in Gregg’s giant hand. It was quarter to 5 pm, and they were about to close. Time to move — he thought. He felt tired and overwhelmed. Hungry, as well. He realized that since he had eaten only scrambled eggs and an apple in the morning, his stomach must been empty for a couple of hours now. It happens from time to time when he is strongly invested in a subject. He grabbed his stuff and walked out.

It’s pointless. There is no way that I will find it. Waste of time. — his thoughts were circulating. It’s not that he didn’t believe in the purpose. Hi did. Even if Angela had not asked about it, he had thought about it on his own for a long time now. It just didn’t seem to be achievable anymore. People are not willing to pay, so people do not produce it. — Put your money where your mouth is. That’s not happening — he repeated.

The empty stomach became to have the leading voice in his internal conversation. They had dinner plans for that evening, so he didn’t want to eat anything heavy now. An energy bar would do the job. He usually has some healthy snacks in his backpack, but again, he leaves the backpack at home.

He was going to check a grocery store on Google Maps, but when he reached for the phone, he noticed a bodega on the other side of the crosswalk. Perfect! — he thought.

It looked like one of these locally owned, family shops, with the elderly woman standing behind the counter. There was plenty of every sort of eatable assortment everywhere. Candies, pastries, coffee, sandwiches, cheeses, vegetables, and many more. It looked clattered, but somehow, everything seemed to be placed in order. He couldn’t guess what the key was, but he was under the impression that the key existed.

Usually, energy bars are next to the cash register. He checked. Not in this shop. Chocolate, chewing gum, ginger, books, but no trace of bars. Interesting — he thought. Curious, he turned into the first alley on the right from the counter. Video games, whiskey, plants, dumbbells, hot souses… What the fuck? What is this place? Where the fuck am I? Suddenly, he felt genteel rubbing in his left uncle. It was a cat. Slim cat with beautiful shiny fur. He really enjoyed the company of cats, and cats usually liked his company as well. He leaned over to cuddle the new, future friend. When he was about halfway down, the cut suddenly ran away. Weird — he thought and started getting up. Oh shit! Jesus Christ! — it was IT. The IT. There was a small, dusty glass bottle standing still on one of the lower shelves. The inscription on the label read “The World Peace”.

His breath ran much faster than usual, he felt as if his heart would jump out of his chest at any given moment. He was overexcited. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. He carefully lifted the bottle from the shelf and started looking at it from all sides. The bottle had a miniature book attached to it. “The World Peace — Instruction of Use” was the title. The bottle contained something that he had never seen before. It wasn’t a liquid, or metal, or gas either. He had no clue what that was. One thing was missing. The price tag. He checked, then checked again. It was not there. He decided to ask the cashier.

- Hi, how are you?
- I’m doing well, and you?
- Good, good. How much is it? — he put the bottle down on the counter.
- Oh, this one. I’m glad that you finally found it — said the elderly lady. — Do you see any price tag on it?
- If I saw a price tag, then why would I ask?
- So, you don’t see the price tag, yes?
- Yes, ma’am — He answered with a palpable impatience
- If there is no price tag, then it’s priceless.
- Does it mean that I can simply take it, or does it mean that you would not sell it to me?
- Your first answer is correct. You can take it, but there is one condition. If you are not able to use it, you will give it back to me. Is that clear?
- You have my word for it.
- Good.
He started approaching the exit. He seemed to be so shocked that he forgot to ask all the questions he had thought about before reaching the counter. Including the most appalling one — where I am?
- One more thing.
- Yes?
- Take your energy bar. You will need it.
- Oh, yes. Thank you!
- You welcome. Five dollars, please.

They didn’t go for dinner that night. When he got back home with the bottle, they couldn’t think of anything else. She was as much excited as he was. For the very first time in life, they felt as part of something extraordinary, something bigger than themselves.

The Instructions of Use seemed to be tiny. However, very quickly, they realized that there was a little trick in that. Even though the volume was limited, the words it contained were not. The text seemed to grow expansionary while being read. The book seemed to be infinite.

They tried to copy the book and made it read by LLM. It didn’t work out, either. LLM, the same as they kept producing new words again, again and again. Even if the first sentences made sense and were doable, there was always something more to do. Something else to accomplish.

That night, they tried to figure out how to use the World Peace bottle until 5 am. They tried the next day, too, and the next day, and the next day. After seven months, they decided to give the bottle back to the bodega.

This time, they went to the bodega together.

- Good morning — he said to the elderly bodega owner
- Good morning. I’m glad that you came together. — the lady answered
- It’s lovely to meet you — she said
- Likewise, my dear. All right, since you are back, I believe that you were not able to use the bottle. Anyways, if you two used it, we would all notice. As we know, it didn’t happen.
- That’s right.
- Oh well. You were not the first and will not be the last.
- With all due respect, does it even make sense? When I came to your bodega for the first time, you already knew that we would not succeed.
- Who tells you that you didn’t succeed?
- What do you mean? We didn’t bring the world peace.
- Yes, you didn’t, but you bring small, tinny pieces of peace into the world. Every time when you read the Instruction something good happened.
- How is it possible?
- Well, you can imagine that by reading the Instruction, you were creating some sort of energy. The energy was released into the air and travel around the world. When the energy comes across a human struggling with a decision to make, the energy helps them to choose a more compassionate, altruistic option.
- Does it mean that if we kept reading, we would keep producing the energy, and at some point, we could actually bring world peace?
- No — the elderly lady laughed — You would need to have an infinite lifetime to do that. - Do you have any other questions?

They kept talking for a couple of hours. The elderly lady answered most of the questions they had. She refused to answer some of them. The shiny fur cat was a silent companion of the conversation. This time, he was not ruining away. He allowed to be cuddled.

It started to be late, and the bodega owner was about to close the shop. It was the end of the day, but she didn’t seem tired. It rather looked like she had other things to do now.

— Thank you for stopping by and bringing the bottle back. There are more people who want to read the Instruction.