12:01 PM

by Richard A. Lupoff

Formerly free online fiction, no longer available at the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

"12:01 PM" is a short story by American writer Richard A. Lupoff, which was published in the December 1973 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The story was twice adapted by Hollywood, first in 1990 as a short film, and again in 1993 as a television movie. Lupoff appeared in both films as an extra.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Time Travel, Fiction

11 pages, ebook

First published December 1, 1973

About the author

Richard Allen "Dick" Lupoff (born February 21, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American science fiction and mystery author, who has also written humor, satire, non-fiction and reviews. In addition to his two dozen novels and more than 40 short stories, he has also edited science-fantasy anthologies. He is an expert on the writing of Edgar Rice Burroughs and has an equally strong interest in H. P. Lovecraft. Before becoming a full-time writer in 1970 he worked in the computer industry.

Reviews

[SpookySoto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5 I liked it a lot


it is 12:01 PM and Myron Castleman, an executive in New York City, finds that he is reliving the same hour of the same day, over and over. His time loop starts at 12:01 PM and lasts until 1:00 PM, when he is somehow returned to the same place where he began the hour. All the people around him are unaware of the loop, and everyone repeats their actions exactly over the course of the hour, except insofar as they interact with Castleman. In one of his loops, Castleman learns of a local physicist's theory that appears to describe his situation. The physicist, Nathan Rosenbluth, theorized a "disfiguration of time" that could cause the universe to snap backward and repeat the period of one hour. Over his next three time-loops, Castleman tries desperately to contact Rosenbluth and ask him for advice. In the last of these attempts, Castleman collapses, suffering a heart attack. He realizes he is dying, but is grateful that this will finally break the loop and free him. He dies, and the hour of 1:00 PM arrives. Castleman awakens and sees he has been returned to the place where he begins every hour. The time is 12:01 PM

[France-Andrée · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's 12:01 pm for Myron Castleman. It's 12:01 pm for Myron Castleman. It's 12:01 pm for Myron Castleman.

The hero of the short is caught in a time loop, reliving the same hour again and again though he's the only one that remembers it from one hour to the other. I quite liked the concept of the time loop and how the author imagined the cause and effect of it. There's a short film and a full length movie based on this that played a little bit with the concept, but the short story is the best of the three interpretation.

[Neyebur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una interesante historia más por ser una de las primeras que por lo que cuenta. Richard A. Lupoff fue de las primeras personas en escribir sobre bucles temporales, pero dicho bucle es toda la historia. Muchos escritores posteriores harían más con este concepto, y sin necesidad de copiarle, como tanto protestaba el autor.

[Patrick Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

On of the first time travel stories that really grabbed me as a kid. Many imitated this story over the years. It is short, clever, and a good read...

[Lisa Hernqvist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice short story!
I wonder if this is the first story about time travel in repeted intervals / being stuck in a time loop? If so, it was the start of a genre, brilliant!

[Adam Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Myron Castleman is stuck. Every day he finds himself standing in front of the clocktower at 12:01. Every day the day is reset like nothing ever happened. Every day is only one hour long. Trapped in an endless loop, Castleman struggles to find a way out.

This is a story I’d heard of before but never got around to reading. It is marvellous. The struggle of Castleman as he tries to free himself from the hour-long Groundhog Day loop is both compelling and heartwrenching.

A devastatingly well told time loop story.

Read as part of The Time Travel Megapack: 26 Modern and Classic Science Fiction Stories.