Stopwatch

Franciszek "Frank" Majewski (codename Stopwatch) is a fictional character in the Wild Cards anthology. Gifted with a power of temporal displacement, he can stop time for 11 minutes at a stretch.

History[]

Frank Majewski, an immigrant from Poland, discovered he was an ace in 1952 when he was nearly hit by a car while crossing a street. Subconsciously removing himself from the normal flow of time, he was able to evade the vehicle, and this event proved to be a precursor to several more incidents that taught Frank what he had become. He kept the discovery a secret for many years, fearing what would happen if SCARE ever discovered him, and ironically worked for the CIA as an analyst, a government operative right under the noses of the authorities he feared.

In 1960 he became part of a bungled intelligence effort when he wrongly determined that a spy plane lost over Russian airspace had been destroyed and its pilot killed. Even though he was stood down from the assignment, he continued to pore over data and managed to determine the missing pilot's location and execution date. Deciding that his discoveries were more important than his personal safety, Frank took the information directly to his superiors, revealing himself as an ace to the very people he had long feared, SCARE.

SCARE director Lawrence Hague, himself a telepath, and President Eisenhower soon seized on the potential of Frank's talents, both as an ace and a loyal agent with vital language skills, and inducted him into SCARE on the spot. For his first mission Frank was sent to Russia to rescue the captured pilot, Francis Gary Powers, who was also a valuable ace asset with extreme telescopic vision and someone valuable enough to risk Majewski for. Frank's first field operation was a success and he was subsequently employed as a SCARE agent embedded with the CIA.

Wild Card Traits[]

Frank Majewski has the ability to stop time, as he sees it. He is able to remove himself from the progress of time for eleven minutes at a stretch. While he is in this state he perceives the world around him as frozen in a single moment, but is able to move around himself. Movement is difficult and taxing when he slips out of time, with doors feeling like lead and air thick and difficult to push through. He can carry additional mass with him up to a single man-sized 'passenger' and the person likewise experiences the dream-like sensations.

The price of stopping time is that Majewski ages significantly while he is temporally displaced. His brief uses of his ace already had him looking like a man of 60 when he was only 51, and he had visibly aged by several years after his mission to rescue Powers where he had stopped time to his fullest limits several times.

Appearance[]

Frank Majewski is a middle-aged man who looks older than his years. He has thinning grey hair and wears wire-framed glasses.

Personality[]

A thoughtful and analytical man, Frank was often deeply concerned about the discovery of his power and what it would mean for his family. Only his wife knew about his ace.

Trivia[]

• Majewski speaks English, German, Polish, and Russian.
• An avid student of chess, Majewski studies and recreates games of world renowned chess players, but doesn't play against opponents himself.

Gallery[]

Selected Reading[]

• "Powers" (Wild Cards 2010 Tor Books reprint)

References[]