"The Second Rat" - On Spec magazine, Spring 2002 - MechMuse, March/April 2006     I always saw the universe as a great clock that ticked toward the end of my truncated life. All I ever wanted was for it to run the other way.     Rewind one second. Rewind two seconds. Rewind one minute--     I was twenty, in my dorm at college. I lay in bed, lost in exhaustion and confusion, and my 8:00 a.m. alarm droned mercilessly on.     "Turn it off," my roommate moaned.     Rewind one minute.     I could feel it happen that first time, that first second. It was like electricity dancing up and down my spine. I saw the clock and suddenly it was 7:59.     Todd Rawlins has discovered that he has the incredible ability to rewind time, to instantly return to any point in his past and begin anew. But every action has consequences, and he is about to discover that some things can't be taken back.     On Spec is a Canadian magazine of speculative fiction. The Spring 2002 issue also includes fiction by Ian Creasey, James Van Pelt, Natalka Roshak, Paul E. Martens, Julia Helen Watts, Karen Traviss, and James Allison.     An audio adaptation of "The Second Rat" was produced for the March/April 2006 issue of MechMuse. This issue also includes fiction by New York Times Bestseller David Farland, as well as Edmund Schubert and Richard Raleigh. "The Second Rat" was performed by Bob Barnes.   Illustration by Thomas Meldgaard for MechMuse. Used with permission.       David wrote "The Second Rat" at the 1999 Clarion writer's workshop.   "The twist to this one is totally logical and morally telling. One of the best stories of the year that might be missed by a lot of folks." - Rich Horton "In one stroke Kirtley turns a basic power fantasy into a moral cautionary tale--and keeps it entertaining." - Greg Beatty, in Tangent Online   Listen to the story free: Download the story:   On Spec Website