ABANDONED: Charlie is Special

"Why did it have to be *me*?" Charlie said to himself. He didn't think anyone heard him, but someone did. A man sitting to his right said "There *is* a reason." "Huh?" "He's right," the woman said. "All of the other outlanders, including the one that caused Dr. Steinman to go into hiding, were vital to the history of Earth. You're no different." "But I'm nobody," Charlie said. "I sell insurance." "It could be a descendant of yours. Do you have any children?" "I'm not even married." "Were you *thinking* of getting married?" "No." "Then maybe you do something in your future that affects someone else to do something." "Then why didn't *that* person get brought here?" The people in the room looked at each other, briefly. "I don't know," the woman said. "But the point is that whoever is using this machine seems to be trying to change the past." "Why?" "It could be any reason." "I know what *I'd* use it for," Colonel White said. "I'd make sure those stinking squids never set foot on this planet." "Except, you know that wouldn't work," the woman said. "Anything that happened on this planet can't be changed, because of the radiation." "I can still dream." "So, what do I do now?" Charlie asked.