Finders Keepers
Harry Chen, a lecturer in archaeology at a university in Singapore, is also a thief, who has a private
collection of artefacts he has stolen. He is frustrated that he cannot afford the choice items on display in the antique shops. One day, his superior, Professor Teo, asks Harry to check through a collection of goods found in a nearby grave. There appears to be little of interest until Harry accidentally smashes a sealed pot. Inside is a whistle with the inscription BE STILL. He decides to pocket it.
Later, on his way home, he blows the whistle. The effect is to make everything and everyone around him freeze, as if a film has been stopped. The next day, Professor Teo says there is something suspicious about the grave where the whistle came from. That evening, Harry realises how he can use the whistle — to steal antiques without fear of detection. His first acquisition is a valuable jade dragon.
The next day, the Professor has ominous news about the grave. The deceased was a man with an evil reputation, a priest who was cast out by his peers. Harry blows the whistle behind the Professor’s back, and observes the same effect as before — all motion stops. When the whistle is blown again, the Professor continues as if nothing has happened. Harry realises he has control over time itself.
Later, Harry decides to do some serious thieving, but he blows the whistle at the same time as a camera flash goes off. The blinding light is suspended in time. In
his confusion, Harry drops the whistle and crushes it under his foot. He is helpless — trapped in time, with no past or future.