It wasn’t one last conversation. Old!Trina may have been holding onto life
so she could see her sister one last time, but in the meantime, her body
reacted appropriately to the treatment she received, and recovered a little.
She’s still on her way out of this world, but it’s bought her a little more
time with her family. Mateo, Leona, and Erlendr are still on the outside of
the bubble on the Kansas City Metropolitan Island of The Fourth Quadrant.
“Wait, Trina’s family is from the main sequence,” Mateo realizes.
“Yeah, but they all came to the Fourth Quadrant together.”
Mateo glares at Erlendr. “Don’t go anywhere, buddy.” He takes Leona by the
shoulders, and transports them to the part of the border where they first
landed. They walked all the way to the Smithville Lake Park without
remembering that he was capable of doing this. They’re losing their touch.
“What happens if she dies here? Will she go to the afterlife simulation?”
“No, she won’t. As far as we were able to tell, you have to be from the main
sequence, and in the main sequence. People from other realities lack the
physiology for mind uploading. Trina wouldn’t go there either way since
she’s from the Third Rail.”
“But she’s not anymore,” Mateo reasons. “She’s using a new body.”
Leona smacks herself in the forehead. “Of course. Clones are created using a
native prebiotic protein solution. Her brain would have developed with all
the necessary components.”
“We have to get her back there.”
“How?” Leona questions. “We don’t even know how to do it ourselves.”
Mateo searches for answers in the waves crashing into the wall of the
island. “They surely have stasis technology here. She could be placed in a
pod until we can break these dimensional barriers down.”
“She has rejected level three life extension practices and above. Stasis is
level four or five, depending on efficiency.”
“We have to try to convince her. Alyssa has to try.”
“You’re right. They have the right to know their options regardless.” She
taps on her earpiece to explain to Alyssa how and why Trina may never need
to die. Her family will go to the simulation whether she chooses to or not,
and if they want to join her in a hypothetical heaven, they would basically
be committing suicide. They spend a lot of time on this discussion. Leona
talks to Alyssa, and then directly to Trina. Mateo tries to talk to her
about it too, relating his experiences with the simulation. They talk to the
doctor, and Trina’s family. After all of that, they end up in the same place
as before. Trina is going to die here, and leave her fate up to God. She,
her husband, and her kids came to the bubble with no plans to return, and no
way to try, so they will remain, and hope for the best too once their time
comes.
Having done their due diligence, the Matics return to Erlendr without saying
a word to him about any of it. There they wait until Trina passes soon after
nightfall. They hold a funeral service the next day. It’s not like there’s
anyone who has to travel to it, or rather, there’s no one who can. Carlin
and Moray are behind too many obstacles. Alyssa doesn’t cross back through
the barrier until Sunday, but she’s not alone. She was able to support the
mass of two people for rescue from the bubble.
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