This story draws inspiration from the real-world "Birth" themes found in these media:

The room was pitch black, save for a single, blinding needle of light stabbing through a hole in the box. It hit the white sheet tacked to the far wall. At first, it was just a blur—a ghost of a shape. Then, Arthur’s father turned a hand-crank. Click-clack, click-clack.

"It’s a birth, Artie," his father said, the rhythm of the crank steady like a heartbeat. "We’ve figured out how to trap time."