The Icebound Clocktower and Other Noise Inspired Stories

The Time Suspension Rendezvous

A Trip of Mind, Wind Noise, Babble Noise

The passage of time is not particularly flowing from cause to effect here. Despite best efforts to keep still, there is a constant feeling of being shifted. It's less a time line, more a time pillar, where its occupants exist saturated in the echo of past moments and the silhouette of future ones.

It is littered with round glass tables and red leather arm chairs, and around the edges are booths. The seat cushions are made of the same material as the arm chairs, but the chair itself is made of a dark brown wood, smooth to the touch and enhanced with small, swirling, lighter shades. The floor is a pure reflective white surface and the walls are painted the same red as the chairs, with intricate gold molding. The ceiling is a mural of the solar system, that due to being painted and re-painted seems to go 'round (in both directions at once) during the stay. Sparkling blue and green chandeliers hang from the ceiling and each table has a particular lamp. The venue is well-lit and feels magical, despite the slight chill.

While the illusion of wind blowing around can be felt and heard alongside the background prattle of visitors past, present, though it's confusing when the present is as after a while the internal clock goes awry, and future. The 'wind' is being shifted through time. The after (or maybe before?) images of the other patrons can be seen moving about, but are ghost-like and untouchable.

This is a place for people to meet and have no fear of interruption, being overheard, or running out of time to talk. Some come alone, simply to observe the scene, and some also come to work on things they either want to work on without disturbance, or that should've been done long ago and is going to be needed as soon as they leave.

On each table is a white box, laced with gold inlay and bolted to the table, with a round blue button on it. This button starts and stops the experience. When pressed, there is a brief feeling of freefall, then of being strung out, so to speak, or stretched. People dressed much like waiters come to see if the visitor needs help standing or has gotten ill or distressed by the ordeal, with knowledge of first aid and the means to call a hospital at once, as everyone reacts differently to Time Suspension. The offices are heated better than the room itself, allowing one to warm up while getting things back in order and signing the required papers. It takes a few moments to adjust to not seeing all the movements that have and are going to be made as a translucent shadow anyway. They do everything they can to make sure the visitor is all right after the stay.