Years of gruelling tests got us to where we are today. Time travel into the future was possible. I was testament to that. The experiments started small, half a second, then one second, then five. That was more than enough to prove that it was achievable. We were at the start of something new.

 

It was time to go public with the biggest leap I, or anyone had taken. A whole year. Long enough for the general public to be intrigued and the stocks of the private businesses who funded this endeavour to skyrocket, but immediate enough for people to not lose interest.

 

A press conference was arranged for the next day. The media were summoned to our testing facility in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. It was a modest spot, but it was out of the way enough to deter prying eyes. There were already rumours that a similar technology was being tested in Luxembourg. I didn’t pay much heed to them; I had my own mission to focus on.

 

The lab was kind enough to provide me with counselling throughout the endeavour; I was going to have to come to terms with things not many people could relate to. Missing out on a year of everyone’s lives in the space of a nano-second could have serious repercussions on my psyche. They used similar techniques with coma survivors, and I was assured the same counsellor would be waiting for me at the other end of my next jump in time. The general public might not think that privately owned science experiments care about the lab rats, but I can attest that my wellbeing was taken to heart those few days.

 

I wouldn’t have slept that night without the provided concoction of sedatives. I needed to be well, rested to face the press, answer inane questions in an engaging way, and then prepare to skip a year. As I entered the press conference, I was blinded by camera flashes. The PR team insisted I wear the suit I’d have on during the experiment. Said it would make me more identifiable to the public when I arrive in a year, but I knew it had more to do with the plastered sponsors. I answered questions for fifteen minutes, deflecting to the scientific brains when needed. As the conference concluded, I was ushered into a private room for a final briefing, whilst the press were corralled into the chamber where I would travel through time. One hour away, before the entire world.

 

My final briefing came as somewhat of a surprise. The speed and efficiency of the past two days meant that the government hadn’t had the time to try and put a stop to proceedings. There was a worry that they’d insist on non-human long-term trials first, and that it would allow the team in Luxembourg the chance to catch up and potentially beat us. All I received from the government was a shoddily-filmed good luck message from the Minister of Science, Research, and Innovation.

 

The rest of my briefing was going over what to do if I arrived in a world that is drastically different. The sociopolitical landscape had been rocky for as long as we’d been testing, but the uncertainty had really ramped up in the past year or so. I was given a laminated piece of paper with the chain of command should I arrive to no welcoming committee. Billions of pounds of research, and my only lifeline for the journey was a piece of paper.

 

The time to the jump drew near. I began making the rounds with my family, friends, and the team. I was escorted to the chamber where history was about to be made. The press was deadly silent. The anticipation was palpable. I could be the poster-child for the next step in humanity.

 

All the checks were carried out, but all the world heard was me responding to the voice being piped in my ear. “Check. Fuel lines secured. Date is set. 29th November 2034 arrival.”

There was a moment of silence before I was given the all clear to engage. I needed a moment to compose myself. My last words needed to be memorable. With the whirlwind of the past two days, I didn't plan anything. My fingers twitched, anxious to press the button in the centre of my chest that would initiate the time jump. I looked at the floods of cameras surrounding me, cleared my throat and steadied myself.

“People of Earth, it may be a year for you, but I’ll see ya real s-”

I hit the button and felt the familiar whoosh of traversing through time.

“-oon.” I concluded.

 

Complete darkness surrounded me. I felt faint. I drifted.

 

* * *

“Where the hell is he?” asked a member of the press, in the same room a year later.

I was due to have arrived an hour ago. The scientists were getting worried, but they were nowhere near as concerned as the shareholders. A wiry man came shuffling through the room to address the press.

 

“It seems,” he started, “that we made a grave mistake. The time travel was in itself a success, however we had not accounted for the movement of the Earth. The co-ordinates were fixed to the point in space that the experiment started from. A point in space we are actively moving away from. It’s a terrible loss that I’m sure the world will mourn, but this will not deter us from attempting this jump again in the future.”