[ WP ] The lottery is an Institution designed to catch Time Travelers .

“ Charlie, I need you to look at this. ” 
 
 I absently ran my hand across my hair in an attempt to scratch to confusion away. 
 
 A tall middle-aged man rose from his seat. 
 His plain shirt crumpled to show his poor sitting posture. The stubble on his cheek rustled as his nails scraped the barely there hair. 
 
 Who am I kidding?! 
 
 We have stopped looking a day older than twenty-five after maturation. 
 We are able to change the way we look with some cosmetic modifications, but our normal self was that of a quarter-old human. 
 
 Charlie was one of the fashion-forward freaks. This month, he wore a rugged, middle-aged look, complemented with a pair of old denim jeans he bought at an auction last month. I heard it cost him quite a fortune. 
 I did n't bother much about changing looks, the one we have is very practical and requires very little maintenance. Besides, before our genetic alteration three centuries ago, everyone was obsessed about maintaining their youth with primitive medicine. Some temporarily worked while others just disfigured them instantly. 
 
 What keeps me unconvinced about this breakthrough aging process is that aside from being temporary and high maintenance, you never really look old, aged or “ full of wisdom ” as they called it. 
 You know how it's like to look at twins? You ca n't really tell the difference until you look close enough. Then you can not un-see it. No amount of modification can. 
 
 That ’ s how permanent we have become. 
 
 I guess it ’ s that permanence that allowed our bodies to travel time. The inability of time coming or going to age or make younger our kind prevented us from dying during the trip. Except it is highly illegal and is limited to historians and government-related research for obvious reasons: repercussions in the future. We call these illegal travelers “ sling ”. 
 
 “ What now? ” Charlie ’ s tone reminded me that work finishes in five minutes. 
 
 How do we catch these illegal slings? While we have achieved “ eternal youth ”, as our forefathers liked to call it, we are no longer able to do physical work for long periods of time. Our only option? Begging for enough current period cash and winning the lottery. 
 
 Except, it is rigged. 
 
 Advanced Mathematics have continuously proved that it is almost impossible to win the lottery by choosing random numbers. Of course we let others win lesser prizes and occasionally lets a random bloke win to keep it believable. 
 
 Every now and then, a normal person wins by sheer dumb luck. This happens once every three million wins—statistically at least. It is our job to weed out those unlucky bastards and make sure they are not deported into the future. 
 
 “ In December 9, 2017, the $ 470 million lottery was won ” I continued 
 
 “ Bigger pots have been one in the past. Remember that $ 590.5 million prize won in Florida in May of 2013? We made AI clones to replace her existence after three weeks ” Charlie was fixing his “ half-tucked ” shirt that he said was very hip in the past. 
 
 “ This is different, there are multiple winners ” My tone unsure. 
 
 “ March 2012, three chaps tried the $ 656 million prize. They are still in prison for illegally time traveling. Just send the order to deport and send an AI of the sling so we can get it over with ” 
 
 “ No. It ’ s not like that. There are more than three ” 
 
 I refreshed the data on my desk just to make sure I had the details correct before continuing 
 
 “ There are 10,487 winners. ” I continued. 
 
 “ Then have them all deported. Send AI to cover their existence until they are wiped from history ” Charlie was unchanged, unaffected. 
 
 “ We do not have that capacity! ” I snapped. “ Not without risking exposing our existence to modern society ” 
 
 I paused. 
 
 “ What about possible real winners? It will be difficult to weed them out ” it almost as a whisper. I shuddered to think how many innocents we could be condemning wrongfully. 
 
 “ Why do you think our people would do this despite knowing the consequences? ” I continued 
 
 Charlie let out a sigh. 
 “ When you have everything, you do n't have much. Without the idea of failure looming above your dreams, it makes it too easy and worthless. You no longer have to try, it loses its value. Victory does n't mean much. Life does n't mean much ” 
 
 He has a point. Our generation has found no means to make mistakes and grow as they did in the past. 
 
 To live in a chaotic period where people remember how to hope was better than all the luxuries we no longer enjoy. 
 
 I re-examined the locations, the profiles of the winners who have claimed their prize. $ 44,817 was n't a very huge amount, but it would allow someone to start a life. 
 
 A life requiring physical work. 
 
 They were willing to re-develop their evolved body make up. 
 
 I gasped. 
 
 “ We have been found out. ” 
 
 The shattering of ceramic almost made me jump my seat. 
 
 “ Charlie? ” 
 
 I was alone. 
 
 The management is n't going to be happy about this. 
 
 I took my things and prepared to follow the jump. 

