A week in the life of

Information

Status

Completed

Year

2025

Author

ptmesis

• A week in the life of
  Jan 26, 2025

What readers say about A week in the life of

• “I enjoyed the short story, although I am conflicted on how well the concept of paradoxes was handled in the time looping story. This is definitely more on the philosophical side of science fiction, but I feel like the author could have explored more of the…”

  abookRoyal Road5.0 / 5

• “It's a rare occasion when a few pages of a story can significantly change your perspective on an entire genre! The story is shorter than I would have liked, but perhaps that's the point? The protagonist is not the creator of a new and amazing story, but rat…”

  DekoduckRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• abookRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I enjoyed the short story, although I am conflicted on how well the concept of paradoxes was handled in the time looping story. This is definitely more on the philosophical side of science fiction, but I feel like the author could have explored more of the implications of the mc's situation.
• DekoduckRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  It's a rare occasion when a few pages of a story can significantly change your perspective on an entire genre! The story is shorter than I would have liked, but perhaps that's the point?
  The protagonist is not the creator of a new and amazing story, but rather a hostage to it... This brings a bit of bitter realism to our understanding of the time loop genre. It's not a gift, but rather a painful decline in everything in your life...
  Emotions, a desire for life, and, of course, a complete loss of oneself!
  An ordinary person will not become a superhuman by breaking through the barrier of time until the end of time. They will become an empty shell devoid of not only will, but also of common sense.
  What a dreary fate, isn't it? To be the protagonist of a madness that never ends... What a sad fate.
  But hey! Isn't this what we all love about this short story? It has been a long time since I have found such a rational view that the human mind is not designed to test such a perverse order.
  Torture by time/immortality... It doesn't sound as intimidating as it may seem, but the author has managed to prove that it is the most brutal form of torture imaginable...
  My respects to you Ptmesis. You have done a great job! I look forward to your future publications!
• DragonMaster66Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The concept that was put into writing in this book is honestly kind of scary, but it never got weird. Honestly, I will probably be thinking about this for at least a month, and I will probably recommend this to some friends (Some of them may not be ready for such deep philosophical concepts).Thanks for writing it.
• HairbalRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  this is beautiful. just insanely beautiful.
  the story is somewhat short, but I really recommend it. mind freaky story. beautiful.
  the time loop aspect is interesting, but different than other stories where it is typically temporary near the beginning. the idea of spending decades inside a prison of your own making, that you could theoretically get out of whenever you want, just repeating the same week over and over, is terrifying and beautiful at the same time. actually beautiful story.
• Joe WhoRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This might be the best story I've read on this site. In one single chapter, it sets up a character, an arc, and a downfall, without giving too much away. The scientist himself remains unnamed - a very interesting creative choice that I think works very well. Spoiler below.
  In fact, the only named characters in the story are those who contribute to his eventual downfall - the author, whose name I've forgotten, Miyamoto, and Laura. The author is the link that ties it together - he reads that book in a very early loop, and again at the end, which serves as a cold reminder that he can no longer be considered truly human - to be human is to be able to experience novelty. Similarly, Miyamoto starts out as his opponent of sorts, with the scientist trying to disprove the theory, and eventually accepting it and doing what he can to aid those outside of the loop. Finally, Laura is the catalyst of his downfall - the one who drags the last vestiges of his humanity with her. When he meets her, he has already turned social interaction and friendship into a non-entity, simply extracting information from others for pleasure. The reintroduction of real connection, and subsequent loss of it, is the moment that he realises that he can no longer consider himself truly real. He is an eternal hologram - a hundred years of data masquerading as human, and hoping against hope that this sacrifice will be worth it.
  From a less analytical standpoint, it's extremely well written - I normally find errors in grammar or sentence pacing and spelling, but here all I found was the rare typo. It reads like a song in places, almost poetically, and like a scientific paper in others. The balance of the clinical and the loquacious, and how it shifts, contributes even more to the evolution of the scientist's character (yes I know I said I would cut out the analysis, I lied).
  The story itself is also a very interesting concept. It's a take on time loops I haven't seen before, executed perfectly, and it play
• MK bk-201Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  A scientist who successfully created a form of time travel by creating a loop of a week, now he must gather all the data he can during that week, the thing is... he dosent know if he can get out, if he should get out, what about all the consequences?, the missed opportunities?, what if someone else was close to creating this and you became a piece in their own loop?.
• XablauRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I have to admit that I don’t usually like short stories, but I was intrigued by the ad, which was just the cover. I saw it was only one chapter, so I decided to take the plunge and read it—starting with the last part. Afterward, I got back to work, but the story stuck with me, so I went back and read the beginning that I had missed. It was an amazing story—short, bittersweet, and with an interesting time loop. I’m grateful to the author for such a great read.
• ArchonJRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I truly didnt expect this when I stumbled onto this shorts story, in fact i tend to not Even read stories below a certain size, thinking that they surely must be never finished sketches and ideas, so im not sure why i opened, but i'm glad i Did. This Masterpiece not only manages to build a compeling story but also throws some light into how a real time loop would be with how in depth it goes into the psyche of the character. It gave me the chills
• RznRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  This is a good short story that has a lot to deal with time loops and our MCs action's inside of the loop. A very simple structure with a restriction or two plays out as the piece progresses. From a scientific perspective, it does not make a lot of sense and those implications and other aspects get more and more dubious as time goes on. The ending itself feels forced for reasons that will become clear as you read it. Though that aside, the premise is unique and the story is fun. The prose and grammar are solid and the progression made sense. Definitely worth a read.
• Zhexiel YumespiritRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  While the science isn't the most, well, understandable. (Or that much grounded in usable/provable real world science, but fiction.) It still is good enough not to pull you from the story.
  The time loop itself is just dreadful in the feelings it inspire. Not quite in the horror categorie for me personnaly but i woulnd't be suprised if it was for some poeples.