The Timekeeper's Choice

The Timekeeper's Choice tells the story of Jeremiah Washington, a Black railroad conductor in 1878 who discovers his pocket watch is one of seven mystical Meridian timepieces. When his train enters the impossible Chronos Junction, ancient entity Cornelius Blackwood offers him power and reunion with his deceased sister FeeFee in exchange for his soul.
Seeing that Blackwood's gifts strip people of humanity, turning them into hollow shells, Jeremiah chooses difficult reality over false paradise. Using the watch as a compass to authentic life, he escapes with friend Harvey Burl and other trapped railroad workers.
Over decades, Blackwood hunts remaining watch bearers - Italian immigrant Giuseppe Torrino, scientist Clara Nightingale, musician Marcus Thompson - offering each tailored escapes from prejudice and hardship. All choose authentic struggle over perfect emptiness.
By 1930, survivors form a "Network of Truth," helping people recognize manipulation and value genuine connection. In 1936, they learn Blackwood plans to merge his shadow world with reality using Jeremiah's grandson Daquarius as the key.
This prequel to "The Black Bottom Shift" reveals the mystical origins of Daquarius's encounter with Julius Turner (Blackwood in disguise). The Meridian watch becomes a symbol of inherited wisdom, teaching that authentic human experience - with all its struggles - is infinitely more valuable than perfect but empty existence.

George Rios is an AI Native Developer and Entrepreneur. Raised in Michigan, Grand Rapids and currently resides in Detroit, Michigan.