The Secret Manuscript (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-One

"As it turns out, I found something of great interest down there," Ben said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out the secret manuscript. 

Kyle was not really sure what to say. He took the manuscript from Ben's hands, flipped through it and read a few bits at random, then handed it back. "Okay, so what is this?" he asked. 

"This here..." Ben said, stalling for dramatic effect, "is a manuscript of my entire life." 

The words hit Kyle's ear, but did not induce the expected result. 

"What do you mean?" Kyle said, sounding confused and unimpressed. 

"Kyle, don't you realize what I just said? I found a story about my life - every major moment from past, present, and even future - buried behind some secret door, which I just happened to have the code for in my pocket." 

"Look Ben, I'm not sure what inspired you to come all this way to tell me this nonsense, but I have a hectic schedule and a lot of work to do. So if you don't mind..." 

Ben repositioned himself in front of the door, blocking the only exit. "Kyle, you don't understand. Read this." Ben shoved the papers in his face and he began reading. It described Ben coming to the university to look for Kyle. In an effort to save time, Kyle skimmed the rest of the text. The last part he read described the preceding events, which led to the precise moment they were in. This definitely caught Kyle's attention. Even though he had yet to say a word, the intrigue was written on his face. His eyebrows furrowed as his logical mind tried to make sense of it. 

"You see now?" Ben asked. "How did I know you would lead me into this back room?" 

"Is this your idea of a joke, Ben? Is this the story you've been working on?" 

"No, I swear on anything. I'm telling the truth." Ben shouted. 

"Okay, okay, calm down." 

"Want to know something even stranger?" Ben asked as he frantically flipped to the part in the story where he met Vanessa. "Okay, here. In this version, it says I met a beautiful woman in a green coat moments before I found you. I said hello, she said hello back, blah-blah-blah, right? Listen to this," Ben said as he began to read:  

'The moment Vanessa walked away, Ben kicked himself for not getting her number. But that was not Ben's style. Throughout his life, he had never once asked out a woman because he had always lacked the courage.' " 

"This actually happened," Ben said. "I was outside looking for you and then by chance decided to enter this building. Of all the buildings, I chose this one. I did that because it looked like it was going to rain. So I entered the building, sat down, and started to read the manuscript. I wanted to find you and so I figured the story might have a part in it where I find you. I read the part that I just read to you, except instead of being a coward and not asking for her number, I asked for it and she gave it to me," Ben said, still with an overly excited tone. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with the name and number of the alleged woman in the green coat. 

Kyle wanted to doubt Ben so badly, but Ben was actually quite convincing. He had never seen Ben so excited in all his life. In addition to that, many other aspects of Ben's story seemed to be cohesive - the fact he found Kyle, the scene where they talked in the storage room, and the phone number from the woman. 

"Ben, if what you're saying is true, then it's beyond comprehension." 

"I know. Believe me, I am just as perplexed as you are." 

Kyle struggled to find the right words to say since the manuscript had so many implications that challenged his core beliefs. It seemed to imply the concept of fatalism - the idea that there are some events that inevitably happen regardless of the agent's choosing. Since Ben was still free to choose to act contrary to what was in the story, the concept of free will was not completely challenged. Nevertheless, it was a major breakthrough in human history. The next obvious question was, where did it come from?