Time stood apart from the rest of physics until in the beginning of the 28th century a young physics student proposed a new theory of time, Quantum Temporal Dynamics.

QTD treated time not as a consequence of the Second Law of Thermodynamics and entropy but as a field theory, similar to the Higgs field for particle masses.

QTD the theory was mathematically beautiful. But the technology that came from it could be deadly. That time can be slowed or sped up in a region of space attracted the military and the government takes over research.

They prove the theory by starting a time war and no matter the winner of the struggle there is only one outcome, spacetime is slowly separating into its constituents. And separate they cannot exist.

Hard Science Fiction - Old School.