The Advancement of Mateo Matic: July 3, 2485

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Dr. Hammer asked the team to take the Vellani Ambassador back to the future, along with Tertius Valerius. She worked with Romana in her own time period, and was able to jump to a few conclusions, though they still needed to be tested. Apparently, the dark particles that Buddy used to manipulate time were designed to replicate, and they were doing that in Romana’s system. To keep them from becoming overpopulated, she should probably find a way to purge them periodically, like the ship had to do with the excess heat shunt. Due to their immense power, these particles had become the dominant means of time travel for Romana. She wasn’t jumping forward in time, because the particles didn’t need her to. They weren’t sentient—they responded to her commands—but since she didn’t understand this, she hadn’t tried yet. Or she hadn’t tried in the right way. Theoretically, she should be able to force herself to return to her regular pattern, using techniques that a specialist Dr. Hammer had brought in to consult. They would not know until the end of the day when they could test it. But this had to be in the future, because they were trying to keep it matched up with everyone else on the team. Well, that was what she was trying to do. Mateo had other ideas.

“I know you want to be part of this, but you have an opportunity here. You have a choice. You should stay. Purge the particles when you need to, but otherwise stay in realtime,” he suggested.

“You don’t want me with you?” Romana asked.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Good, because actually, it’s not that I wouldn’t be with you. It’s that you wouldn’t be with me. I’ll have to wait a year at a time to see my own father. I’ll keep aging while you just stay like this.”

“I appreciate your position,” Mateo promises her, “but there’s a benefit to you staying.” He walked over, and slid then nearest viewport cover open. The Ambassador had landed in Castledome. Kivi and Dubravka had found swords in the castle a few months ago, and were teaching themselves how to use them properly. They were sparring now, not even worrying about amateur injuries, due to their access to great medical care. “You should get to know them. They should be your team.”

“Why can’t we all just be one team?” Romana questioned, tearing up.

He took a breath, and admired their surroundings. They were alone in Delegation Hall. “This ship was designed to protect people, not only from each other, but from themselves. We get it one day a year, and we make the most of it. But it’s not enough. Your stepmother wants to use it to rescue people from an oppressive empire thousands of light years away. This is one of the very few vessels capable of making that journey in any reasonable amount of time. And it’s not a once-per-year type of need.”

“You want us to go rescue people, one ship-full at a time?”

“I already spoke with Ramses,” Mateo went on. “He’s building a new model pocket dimension. It will be able to hold hundreds of people, efficiently, and safely. You can ferry one group per day. You’ll have to evade capture and destruction over the course of several hours, though, as there’s a time restriction for how many jumps you can make.”

“You’ve thought a lot about this,” Romana pointed out.

“Leona’s been working on the plans for a while now,” he explained. “All I did was multiply it by 365. By the time we get back, you will have potentially saved tens of thousands of people. That’s tens of thousands of people per year. This isn’t something that we can do. Only you and your sisters can, because you’re the only ones we trust with this technology, and the mission.”

“I’m surprised that you think I’m capable of such a thing,” she noted.

He nodded. “You’re eighteen now. Since I didn’t raise you, I have to assume that you’re capable. It would be as unfair as it is irrational for me to assume otherwise. But still, this is not an order. I’m only asking. Kivi and Dubra are training, whether they know it or not. If you wanna take a few years to do the same, that’s perfectly all right. You know, this planet has multiple simulations that can give you the skills you’ll need to protect those Exin refugees. The ship itself is automated, but you’ll run into conflict.”

“Oh my God, the planet...the dome! I never showed you the dome that I built for you! It completely slipped my mind.”

“You didn’t have to do anything for us,” he assured her.

“Well, I didn’t lay the bricks and plant the trees by hand.”

The two of them exited, and joined the girls. They then went around and gathered everyone else; Olimpia and the twins from the South Pole Ocean, Ramses from his lab, and Leona, who was finishing up a meeting with Hrockas and Tertius Valerius. They were trying to figure out if Tertius had any interest in staying here, or if he wanted to be transported to some other point in spacetime. They all held hands, and let Romana navigate them to the dome that she claimed for herself years ago.

They found themselves standing on the roof of a pretty tall skyscraper. It wasn’t as high as a megastructure arcology, but it clearly dominated the skyline. Everyone separated, and started to get a look around. It wasn’t the only building in the area. They were in the middle of a city fit for hundreds of thousands of people, and if their views of the outlying lands were any indication, even more. It wasn’t an original design, though. Many of them had been here before, just on a different world.

“I recognize this,” Mateo said.

“It’s Kansas City,” Leona confirmed. “It’s a detailed replica of all of Kansas City.”

“In the 2010s,” Romana agreed. “The whole metro area in the main sequence.”

“How did you do this?” Mateo asked.

“It’s actually not as hard as you might think,” Romana said. “I just searched the virtual stacks for this area, in this time period. Then I asked the computer to convert the map data to a format that the large-scale automated fabricators could read. Years later, here we are with a replica of the KC Metro within a diameter of 83 kilometers. The interiors of the buildings are predominantly unfinished, and definitely unfurnished, but it looks like the real thing from the outside. The mansion where you briefly lived with your once-mother in an old timeline is totally done, though with some creative liberties, since my access to real estate sales photos was limited.”

Tertius was looking towards the holographically simulated sky. “What’s happening up there?” He wasn’t looking at the clouds, though, but focusing on something protruding from the curved walls.

“Oh, that’s a second layer,” Romana said. “I started it, but commanded it to stop, because I don’t actually know what I would put there, or how big it should be.” Since these domes were 83 kilometers in diameter, the total height from the ground to the zenith was 41.5 kilometers. There was no reason why extra layers of livable space weren’t possible. In fact, one could build hundreds, or even thousands, of stacked layers, if they were so inclined. It could become pretty stifling, but with modern technology, it was certainly feasible. One extra layer several kilometers up was no problem at all. They could do whatever they wanted with it.

“I can’t believe you did this,” Mateo said.

“I thought you might like a taste of home,” she replied. “We could put Topeka in the dome next to it. Maybe Sutvindr next to that one?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Hrockas jumped in. “I didn’t approve this one in the first place.”

“Ya mad, bro?” Olimpia asked.

Hrockas smiled. “It’s fine. This isn’t where you were planning to bring the refugees, though, right? Because I have some other ideas for that.”

“Ideas, like what?” Leona asked him.

This world has lava tubes. Some of the domes were built on the mouths of these tubes, which give them extra space, and a place to hide from their enemies.”

“Are we worried about that?” Dubravka questioned. “How likely is it that the bad guys find them here?”

“Pretty likely,” Leona said sadly. “It would not be difficult for an empire sympathizer to infiltrate the refugees, and send a message back to the Goldilocks Corridor, with our coordinates, and other intelligence. Of course, it will take most of their ships 23 years to get here, but we can’t be a hundred percent sure that Bronach hasn’t cracked true faster-than-light technology, or stolen it.” She looked over at Ramses. “That’s why I had my engineer design a fleet of orbital defense platforms. In any case, I do not hate the idea of the refugees having bunkers to hide in during the eventuality of an attack. I would much appreciate access to all such domes. We don’t fully understand the politics of the Corridor. People from different worlds may not get along, or there may even be internal conflicts. This is gonna be very complicated.”

Roman stepped forward. “I’m up for the challenge.” She looked back at her sisters. “What about you two?”

“What was that?” Kivi asked, not knowing what she was talking about.

“Our father offered us a job. We’re to take daily trips to the Goldilocks Corridor to relocate refugees to this planet.”

“Uh, it won’t start that way,” Leona began to clarify. “You won’t be able to just land on a planet, pull in some passengers, then bug out. You’ll need to find out who even wants to go, and make sure that transporting them won’t make things worse, for them, or for those they leave behind. If a population of millions wants to leave, it’s going to take tons of trips, which will leave people vulnerable until their numbers are called. And that’s just one planet. The enemy will have so many chances to retaliate while you’re in the middle of this.”

“I may have a solution for that,” Ramses said. “Or a workaround.” He opened his bag, and removed a toy spaceship. “Battledrones. They can stay behind, and protect the innocent and vulnerable. They can distract the empire with war.”

Leona took in a deep breath, and exhaled it. “I was hoping to avoid violence.”

Mateo cleared his throat. “Bronach claimed that he maintained control over the resistance’s ships. War is happening. The right side needs resources, because they may not have any without us.”

“That’s true,” Leona admitted.

“There’s a lot to work out,” Romana admitted as well. “For now, I’m raising my hand to join the mission. Can you two say the same?”

Dubravka appeared to be considering it. “As long as we come up with a great plan, it would be more productive than just swingin’ swords, and lounging by the pool.”

“I’m not much of a fighter,” Kivi added, “but I believe I can use my vast lawyering skills to negotiate with the potential refugees.”

Tertius stepped forward. “I’m in too, if you’ll have me,” he announced sheepishly. “I can erase everyone’s memories. They won’t even know that their friends are gone while they wait for the next bus.”

“That’s a brilliant idea,” Leona said gratefully. “I think it would be profoundly helpful. Thank you.”

Tertius replied with a polite nod.

“I’ll need time to get the domes ready,” Hrockas reminded them. “And arrange regular transport from them to the recreational domes. I would like to create a welcome video too, so they understand what this world has to offer. It sounds like their lives aren’t all that fun. If they know how great the planet is that they’ll be going to, they might be more willing to entertain the option. I’m happy to use them as my gamma testers before the grand opening fifteen years from now.”

“Much appreciated,” Leona said, grateful once more.

“I can help with the video,” Angela said. “I have some experience welcoming people. I’m imagining a series.” She looked at her watch. “The problem is I’m only around once a year.”

“Oh, we’re not ready to go either way,” Romana explained. “I need time to train. I don’t have a lesson plan yet, but it’s gonna be somethin’.”

“I have some simulations that are ready to move from alpha testing to beta that I’m sure would be of help,” Hrockas told her.

Mateo had been listening to all this, taking note of what Romana and his other daughters were going to need in the coming years. This first year will be important, and they don’t have much time to prepare for it. Having a thought on something, he walked over to Ramses. “Sidebar.” He teleported them both to the middle of the woods on the outskirts of the dome.

Ramses looked around. “How did they get trees and other plant life here?”

“Turn off your comms.” Mateo tapped his neck as his friend did the same. “Romana wants to be trained, and I don’t want her teacher to be some artificial intelligence. We already took the VA to Snake Island today, and back again. How dangerous would it be for the slingdrive if we tried to make another trip?”

“Well, it would be two trips, not one, so...”

“So...” Mateo echoed. “You’re still the one with the answer.”

“So, I think I can make it work, if it’s an emergency.”

“It’s not an emergency, but it’s time-sensitive.”

“Are you trying to pick someone up?”

“Yeah. My brother, Prince Darko. And maybe the rest of my family. And Kivi’s beau, Lincoln. And a bunch of other friends.”

Ramses smiled. “Let’s start with the one.”

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The Advancement of Mateo Matic: March 9, 2399

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The locksmith, Evander Martinez told Mateo and Leona about a family who has just lost their home to money issues. They could use a place to stay, at least until they get back on their feet. They will not be able to pay, but they’re willing to keep the place clean, and help out around the building. They decide to take them up on that offer. What they really need is for someone to check every single unit, and every single other room, in The Superscraper. A flying drone could scan them, but it wouldn’t be able to open the doors, and that’s the bulk of the work. Plus, a drone doesn’t need and bed and a roof over its head. The family only requests that they be allowed to retain their citizenship in the United States, and to not vow any sort of fealty to Leona’s nation. Of course, that’s not something they would ever consider asking of anyone, so it won’t be a problem. As long as the U.S. doesn’t have a problem with people crossing the border, they don’t either. They might need to think about hiring some security, though. Once the world learns that they’re open to refugees, it could get chaotic, and they can’t expect the International Relations Bureau to protect them from all threats. It’s really not their job.

“Am I the only one getting the feeling that this is going to grow really quickly?”

“No, I’m feeling it too,” Leona agrees. “We’ve been here for three days, and we already have tenants.”

“I have zero problem helping them out, but we cannot manage this whole building by ourselves. Maybe we should call Heath and Tarboda.”

“Maybe. Maybe we need to start thinking about branching out beyond that...well beyond. I’m picturing welcoming people from all over the world, and Tarboda could be responsible for transport. Heath’s a teacher, he could make sure the kids are getting the resources that they need to keep their minds engaged. Like we said earlier, we’ll want our own form of security. The U.S. government is keeping people away from the border, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any risk from within. I mean, does Mexico not have their own border management system? What about food? The IRB has agreed to let people go back and forth, but what happens when that becomes more complicated? These things are called arcologies because they’re self-sustaining, but someone has to start the sustenance, which means that someone has to plant the seeds in the grow rooms. Do we know anyone who knows anything about that? What kind of technology does the Third Rail have in regards to that. We haven’t even begun to discuss—”

“Leona. You’re spiraling just a little bit. Look at yourself. I mean that literally. Look at your face in a mirror.”

Leona steps over to an aluminum encased support column. It’s not as reflective as a mirror, but it’s good enough. She looks like her sixth grade art teacher, who was—for some reason—responsible for the school’s community garden. He would have loved to see this place, and work on the plant life project. Mateo is right. What they’re talking about is a city, which is obviously what arcologies are designed for. They can’t start with looking for help. They need help finding the help. It’s a daunting task, and it feels like they’re forgetting an unrelated pressing matter. “I’m moving too fast. I’m missing something. Someone made this to keep us busy. It’s a distraction. But from what?”

“Right, from what?” Mateo echoes. “What do we need to do besides this?”

They frown, then look at each other at the same time. “The immortality waters.”

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: March 8, 2399

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What Leona and Mateo learned when they tried to explore the upper levels was that all ways up were locked. Alyssa was gone by then, so they couldn’t ask her if she had anything to do with that, and if not, if she could transport them up just to see. They’ll have to get a professional to help them break through, because Alyssa granted Leona temporal energy. This should give her the ability to generate illusions, but it also means that they can’t teleport. Is Alyssa becoming an antagonist, like the Cleanser and so many others before? Different enemies have had different motivations, and different tactics, but one thing they’ve had in common is that they like to come up with arbitrary rules and limitations only to make the team’s lives harder, not usually because of any inherent unbreakable law of the universe. They hope to get her back on their side one day, but they’re prepared for the possibility that it may never happen. They are under the impression that they’ll work together on a permanent basis in the future, but time is in constant flux, and perhaps they were mistaken about the truth of that the entire time.

The doorbell rings, sending an alert to their phones, despite the fact that they never set up any sort of smarthome connections. The couple found a furnished bedroom near the back of the building to sleep in. It was the only one of its kind, leading them to believe that it was made that way specifically for them. Someone constructed this place, and they did so while it was both invisible and soundproof to the rest of New York. Friend or foe, it’s not random. They know what Leona was planning.

As they’re walking through the lobby, they can see two people through the glass doors. One is an IRB agent—or whatever it is they’re called—and the other is an oldish man holding a black bag that kind of makes him look like an old-fashioned doctor making a housecall. It must be the locksmith. Leona answers with a smile. “Hello.”

“Hi, ma’am, I’m Evander Martinez from Evandoor Locksmiths. I was called to get you into some rooms?”

“Floors, more like it,” Leona replies.

“Ma’am, where is Leona Matic?” the IRB agent asks.

“She’s busy with another project.”

“I would really rather speak with her, so I can be sure that this operation is authorized,” the agent requests.

Leona and Mateo exchange a worried look, then Leona sighs. I will go see if I can find her. It may take a little time.”

“We’ll wait.”

“Are you sure?” Mateo asks his wife. If she’s going to attempt to create an illusion mere millimeters from her skin for the first time, she may need, or want, some help.

“I’ll be all right,” she says.

Evander holds up his passport as Leona is walking away.

“We don’t need to see that,” Mateo says to him.

“I promise, I’m all up to code,” Evander says.

“I’m sure you are.”

“I’m willing to sign a nondisclosure agreement,” he continues.

“That will not be...” Leona hears Mateo say as she’s leaving the area. She assumes that his last word was necessary, and she’s wondering if Mr. Evander has some more things to say about this situation. He seems curious and interested, and nonjudgmental.

She rounds the last corner, enters the bathroom, and takes a breath in front of the mirror. She tries to shake the nerves and anxiety out of her body. “Okay, Leona, you can do this. It’s you. All you have to do is make yourself look like you. You know exactly what you look like, right? Who knows your face better than you? No one, that’s who.” She shakes some more, and jumps up and down like an athlete pumping themselves up before the big game. “All right, here we go.” Nothing happens. She doesn’t feel a thing, causing her to worry that Alyssa just shot some pretty lights into her chest, and didn’t give her any temporal energy at all. It was all just a weird joke. She’ll never know unless this works, at least a little bit. “I see now, that was asking a lot. Don’t change your whole body, or even your face. Hair color. You have red hair. Change your hair to red. Do it. Do it. Change your hair. Make it red.” She rolls her eyes, and turns away in frustration. “Here I am, trying to wiggle my big toe like Beatrix Kiddo.”

Leona glances back at the mirror, sure that nothing’s changed, and who should be staring back at her, but none other than Uma Thurman. She jumps back in fright, not because she’s afraid of Uma Thurman, but because she didn’t expect it to happen. It didn’t feel like she was changing. Though, that’s the thing, this isn’t shapeshifting. A perfect hologram of someone else has been wrapped around her body, but you can’t touch light, so it shouldn’t feel like anything. “Well, that sure is something, isn’t it? Problem is, I don’t think these people have seen Kill Bill. I need to look like Leona Matic.” She turns away again. “Here I am, trying to look like Leona Matic like...like Alyssa McIver.” She faces the mirror again, but she’s still Uma Thurman. “So those aren’t the magic words, it’s something else.”

Mateo enters the bathroom, startling her again. “How is it going, honey?”

“Why are you here?”

“I was worried about you.”

“I’ve been gone for, like, two minutes. It’s a big building, and we have access to a few floors.”

“Leona, you’ve been gone for more like twenty minutes.”

What? “Crap!” She realizes something as she’s looking at her watch. He didn’t seem to notice that he was talking to Uma Thurman. That’s because she doesn’t look like her anymore. She’s back to being Alyssa. Cool, so she can look like anyone but herself. “Are they pissed?”

“I let them in.” He shows her the security feed from his phone, which also just magically appeared when he needed it. “They’re sitting comfortably in the lobby.”

Leona nods, but she doesn’t really care. She’s not having a good time. “I don’t know if I can do this, Matty.”

He smiles kindly at her, and leans forward, planting a soft but passionate kiss upon her lips. When he separates from her, he’s looking at his wife. He smiles again.

Leona sees herself in the mirror. “How did you know that would work?”

“You’ve always disliked being affectionate with me in other people’s bodies. And hey, if it didn’t work, at least I would have gotten to feel what it’s like to smooch Alyssa McIver.”

“We are not using this power for roleplay.”

“No, ma’am,” he says with a faux serious face. He’s not so sure about that.

They leave the bathroom, and return to the lobby where they find the agent and locksmith unperturbed by the amount of time that took. Leona reintroduces herself, and assures the agent that he is free to go. They’ll be fine. If Evander the Locksmith turns out to be Evander the Assassin, she’ll just make herself look like a rageing gorilla, or something.

Once the agent leaves, they lead Evander up the stairs to the locked door that should take them to the residential levels. The first few levels are an assortment of offices, and similar spaces, and they combine to span the entire width and length of the plot of land. The upper levels are called spokes, but they could be thought of as wings. There are six of these spokes, in between which is open space. On top of the bottom levels is a roof that could be used for a garden, or short walking paths. This is very similar to main sequence architecture for standard megastructure arcologies, except half the size. Those are two kilometers tall, with twelve extra long spokes. The first levels are larger too, of course, and serve as communal areas for eating, socializing, and their form of shopping, which obviously doesn’t involve the exchange of money for goods.

It takes the man a good hour to break through. The lock was reportedly extremely complicated, and he apparently only kept going this far, because Leona is the king of the whole country. She tried to correct his perception, but he’s just one person. If that’s what people think of her, then she has an image problem, and she may need to think about hiring a publicist. Evander tried to step away to give them some privacy, but they ask him to press on, in case there are any more unruly doors they need through. They don’t need privacy anyway. All of this is going to become public knowledge at some point, as long as they clear any other hurdles standing in Leona’s way of doing with the building as she wants. If it doesn’t work out, then it really doesn’t matter what’s behind these doors.

They step through cautiously, and walk down the hallway. Everything appears as they expected except for the inside of each room. They’re of the refugee model, which is exactly what Leona was thinking for her goals, but main sequence arcologies have never really needed them. A basic rule of thumb is that a cuboid unit accommodates a single person. Now, that may mean that a hypothetical individual lives alone in a studio apartment layout, or it could be a family of five with a kitchen, a living room, a master bedroom, two bedrooms and a turfed lawn for a dog. That adds up to six units, but couples could also fit in a studio, or a family of six may only need four units. It’s the average that counts, and for the most part, the math works out pretty well, which is why estimating residential capacity is generally pretty accurate for these structures, even though they’re so customizable. Each unit is exactly the same size and shape.

The bottom floors were mostly not furnished, except for a few places here and there, like that little bedroom, one bathroom, and enough of the lobby to get by. The first unit they walk into is fully stocked with enough bunk beds for eight people. If they’re all like this, then we’re talking well over 600,000 potential residents. The bottom floors could be used for services, socializing, and recreation, but any unused rooms could be fitted with bunks as well to house even more people. They haven’t even checked for a basement.  Leona doesn’t know who might need to live in these units one day, but it may not be long before they can move in. The three of them spread out down the hallway, and check other rooms. They’re bunked up too. They manage to get the elevator working, and choose random levels to explore as well. All bunked up. All of them.

“Someone put a lot of effort into this,” Leona notes. “That’s either really good, or it’s really bad.”

“Perfect,” Mateo says sarcastically. “Another mystery. Add it to the pile.”

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: March 7, 2399

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About a week ago, a building in the middle of Manhattan, New York City, New York appeared out of nowhere that the people are calling The Superscraper. It was national news, but no one on the team—nor anyone affiliated with them—was paying attention to anything going on in the world. Their own concerns overshadowed anything in the public view. Not even Winona was apprised of the situation, though her father has been closely monitoring this development. The government is not allowed to go in, though, because while the building is located within the borders of the United States, it’s not technically a part of it. It is a Microsovereignty. It is Leona’s Microsovereignty.

The building is unlike any other in the world. It’s more like something one might find in the main sequence, or the Parallel. The Fifth Division doesn’t really do planetary structure as most everyone lives in space, but they would be capable of such an architectural feat. It’s a thousand meters high, and 180 meters wide, which is about half the size of a standard main sequence arcology. Depending on how high the floors are, you could serve hundreds of thousands of people here, or more. Who built this, and why? Leona had the idea to do something like it at some point, but a whole lot of other stuff got in the way, particularly all of her death threats, so she abandoned the idea, and the Microsovereignty itself.

Mateo and Leona only know now that anything happened to this place because it’s where Alyssa wants to meet. The whole area has been cordoned off by the International Relations Bureau, which normally wouldn’t be responsible for such matters, but it’s one of few exceptions. The two of them were placed on a list, because Leona no longer looks like herself. If she had access to temporal energy, she might be able to create the illusion of her real face, but as it stands, Alyssa appears to be the only one with such power. That’s why she didn’t need to put herself on the list, because she’s made herself look like Leona.

The outside is incredibly impressive, and the inside is just as, though still barebones, unfurnished. Alyssa, who still looks like Leona, greets them in the lobby. “Thank you for coming.”

“Hm.” Leona has interacted with people who look exactly like her before. One of them, Arcadia isn’t even an alternate version of her. She’s not sure why she’s so unsettled by it, but she would prefer it if Alyssa turned it off.

Alyssa seems to sense this. “Oh, sorry about that.” She drops the illusion, and goes back to her own face, which is weird too, what with Leona also looking like that. Everything and everyone needs to go back to the way they were.

“Are you feeling any better, or are you still against us?” Mateo asks her.

“I was never against you,” Alyssa tries to argue. “I’m brainwashed. Now, I know what you’re gonna say, if I’m aware of that, why can’t I just counteract it?”

“Neither of us thinks it should be so easy,” Leona tells her. “The mind is complicated, and space and time travel adds an extra dimension to it, because who knows where the technology that did this to you comes from?”

“I certainly don’t,” Alyssa promises.

“What’s changed then? Why are we here?”

“I would like to make a proposal,” Alyssa begins. “If you agree to cease all attempts at bringing temporal energy back to this world, I will bestow one of you access to your bodily alterations so that you may use them at your discretion. I don’t care which, though I know which one of you I would choose.”

“We weren’t trying to bring back temporal energy,” Mateo contends. I had to get out of range so I could bring my wife back.”

“Yes, I understand that,” Alyssa says. “I sensed your escape, and I sensed the bubble rushing out to keep up with you. Before you get mad, I did not personally make that happen. I am the Gyroscope’s caretaker, not its master. It works as long as I don’t leave for 50,000 years. No, I’m not talking about that, you were poking at the bubble before, and you still are. It has nothing to do with your little space excursion.”

Mateo and Leona exchange a look to see if the other has any idea. “We have no clue what you’re talking about. All we’re doing is observing it.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Alyssa requests.

“We’re not lying. We came to this world without powers. Our only concerns are Angela and Marie, and what happens to them when they get back.”

“They will be afforded exceptions as well,” Alyssa says. “I want them both to live as much as you do.”

“If you can make an exception for them—” Mateo begins before Leona hushes him up with a short shake of her head.

“So you are poking the bubble?” Alyssa presses.

“No, we are not,” Leona explains. “He just likes to poke holes in people’s arguments. If you’ll make an exception for Angela and Marie, and do whatever you could to help Arcadia, we would be grateful.”

“What’s wrong with Arcadia has nothing to do with me,” Alyssa reveals. “I’m afraid I can’t help her, though I would. You’re all my friends. I still want to be part of the team. I just have other loyalties now.”

“We understand.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, we do. We’ve been doing this a lot longer.”

Alyssa nods, agreeing to disagree. “Have you decided which of you will get their abilities back?”

“You’re still going to give that to us, even though we’re not...poking the bubble?”

Alyssa laughs. “I promised a gift, I’ll give you a gift. I suppose I should ask you to not poke the bubble, whether you have been doing it already or not.”

“Give it to her,” Mateo says of his wife. “She needs to look like herself.”

Alyssa regards Leona. “Is this amenable to you? You won’t be able to teleport.”

“I want this building,” Leona clarifies. Powers are great, but something tells her that this tiny little nation will soon be far more valuable than being able to jump around the globe a few hours faster. “Give me back my face.”

“Very well.” Alyssa reaches behind her back, and pulls out a cane with a giant-ass diamond at the top. It’s the Dilara Cane.

“Where the hell did you get that?” Leona questions.

“Dalton Hawke let me borrow it.”

“That is what sent us to this reality, did you know that?” Mateo asks.

“Hmm.” Alyssa examines the object. “He taught me how to make exceptions with it, and to maintain myself as an exception. He didn’t say anything about other realities.” She points it at Mateo. “Do you want I should send you back?”

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: September 10, 2398

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It actually was helpful when Erlendr told Alyssa that she would be forty-two kilometers from the center of the island. Relatively speaking, that’s not too far from where the Capitol is, and if she has to walk the entire way, it’s going to take her a long time. That’s what she did all day yesterday. She snacked on the rations on the way, and only stopped to pee. She kept in contact with Leona and Mateo through her earpiece, which is working flawlessly. Everything is reportedly going fine on their end. They didn’t stay where they were, instead deciding to walk along the barrier, all the way up to a campground around where Smithville Lake should be. Part of it made it within the radius of the bubble, but most of it was not duplicated, and is just ocean. They walked through plenty of grass to get there, but that wasn’t the point. There is a non-zero chance that bodies of water serve as loopholes to the barrier, so they’re going to try today when the sun gets higher.

Alyssa found an abandoned house to stay in for the night. It wasn’t a difficult task as they are all over the place. These buildings are ancient by today’s standards. Most people live near the center now, in superstructures that are far more efficient, and environmentally friendly. This is a closed ecosystem with no resources available for import, so protecting what little they have is important. They have let the wild reclaim these areas for the most part. She hasn’t even seen a single soul since she crossed the threshold. Until now. She’s passing through an empty parking lot, distracted by the eerie sight of the towering rides at the amusement park that the residents don’t waste their energy on anymore. The bridge is only five kilometers away. She hears a noise, but doesn’t realize what it might be until it comes into a view. It’s a horse-drawn wagon. It looks new, not like it was found and recycled, but built for use in the modern day. The back is filled with some kind of grain, and only one man is on it.

She’s sick of walking, and if all he’s doing is going across the river then that will at least give her a break. Now, she could probably sneak onto the wagon, and hitch a ride without him noticing, but what happens the next time she has to sneeze, or accidentally bumps against the walls? He looks like a nice enough person, perhaps he can be trusted. She runs over to some trees before dropping her invisibility illusion, and then comes out, trying to appear as nonthreatening as possible. Let’s see, how might a farmer in another reality talk? Anything like her people would? “Morning, friend! I was hopin’ to trouble you for a ride into town!”

“What are ya doin’ all the way out here, Miss?” he asks, stopping his horse.

“I was on an urban hike,” she says, turning her shoulders a little to show her daypack. “I went a little farther than I was originally plannin’. Now I’m straight tired.”

“Where exactly you headed?”

Leona comes in through the earpiece, “don’t tell him you’re going to the Capitol. There’s a residence near it called the Parkview Megablock. Say you live there.”

“I live in the Parkview Megablock,” she goes on.

“I’m not goin’ that far West. “I’m distributing wheat at the Blue Valley Market.”

“That’s a big area. No way to know exactly where the market is. Tell him that’s fine, and to just drop you off at twelfth.”

“If you could just drop me off at twelfth street, I would much appreciate it.”

He waits to respond, hopefully weighing his options, and not picturing her with her clothes off. “Hop on in.” He scoots over on the bench to give her room. “Name’s Buck on account of the fact that I’m the last resident of Buckner, Missouri.”

“Umm...Jessie. Jessie James.”

He nods, but might still realize she’s lying. If he does, he’s not saying anything. They make the occasional remark to each other on the way, but mostly sit in silence. She enjoys watching the horse’s head go up and down as it trudges along the road. It reminds her of home. It seems to take them longer than she would have thought, but she’s not all that familiar with Kansas City, especially not in this reality. Now she sees that there’s a reason Leona called it a megablock. She finds them surrounded by tall structures, much wider than a skyscraper. Each one looks like it covers the distance of several blocks. Through the earpiece, she explains that they’re self-sustainable and carfree, and can accommodate tens of thousands of people. Some of them have storefronts on the ground floor on the outside, but others are gated up. That’s all just a generalization of what a megablock is; the Fourth Quadrant version of Kansas City has their own socio-political framework that she doesn’t know too well.

“Here we go.” Buck stops the wagon.

Here she sees some real skyscrapers. “Thanks, I’ll walk home from here.”

“If you really wanna go to Parkview, it’s about a mile that way. He points back the way they came.”

“We passed it?” she questions as she’s getting out of the wagon.

“If you lived there, you’d a’ noticed. You’re trying to go to the Capitol, though.”

“I’m sorry?”

Buck taps at his ear. “Superhearing implant. I can hear your associate on your comms. It’s okay, I know you were trying to be safe. I am too. You’re obviously on some kind of operation, which is why I lied about who I am, and where I’m from. I suspect you’re from pretty far away, or else you’d know that Buckner is on this side of the river.”

“I just don’t know who to trust.”

He nods, and engages his horse, who starts to walk away slowly. “Like I said, I understand. You don’t gotta worry about me. I don’t know nothin’.” He rolls away.

She watches him go for a minute. “Which building is it?”

“Tallest one that isn’t incredibly tall. It’s a normal skyscraper, like what you’re used to,” Leona explains.

Alyssa steps into an alleyway for cover, then reëmerges invisible. She walks right into the building, slipping through unnoticed as someone else is coming out. She walks over to the elevators, and tries to go to the top floor, but the button won’t light up, presumably because it requires an access card. It just defaults to the thirty-ninth floor. She tries to press the other buttons, but the thirty-ninth button blinks every time, and then stays on. It’s the only one she’s allowed to go to. At least it’s relatively close. “What’s on this floor?” she whispers as she waits for the ride to end.

“I don’t know,” Leona replies. “I didn’t know anyone would have superhearing implants either, so we better go radio silent. You’re gonna have to improvise, okay? That might mean revealing yourself. Can you handle this?”

She’s determined to get her sister back. “Yes.”

“Click your tongue five times to signal you need help.”

The doors open, letting Alyssa out to a hallway. There is a door to her left, and one to her right. Then all the way down at the end is another door. The first two don’t open, so she keeps going. Nervous, she turns the knob, and enters the room. An old woman is lying in a hospital bed, and a man in a lab coat is nearby, monitoring the medical equipment.

“Hello?” the old woman asks, staring at the ceiling, and not moving. “Is somebody there?”

The doctor looks over. “The door opened on its own, Señora Rendón. I don’t see anyone, it must have been a draft.”

Alyssa quietly steps over to the bed, and takes a look at the patient’s chart. Trina Rendón. “Trina?”

“Hello?” the woman asks again.

“Who’s there?” The doctor gets in a defensive position.

Alyssa drops the illusion, and comes into view. “Alyssa McIver. My sister’s name is Trina.”

“Aly,” the patient says with joy in her voice. “You’ve come to see me off.”

“What is the meaning of this?”

The doctor sighs. “Miss McIver, this is your sister. She’s older now, but it’s her.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Let’s talk in the hallway.” The doctor leads her back out. “I don’t have the whole story, I’m just here to treat her pain. From what I’ve heard, your sister, Trina came to the main world sharing a body with someone else. They used technology to separate them, and give her a new body. It was, I think, modeled on what Trina looked like before. Umm...I don’t know what she did with her life, but she lived it. She came to us two years ago—somehow found a way into the bubble—and I’ve been in charge of her medical needs ever since.”

Alyssa looks at the door. “Is this hospice?”

“I’m a hospice doctor, yes.”

“So she’s dying.”

“Yes.”

“But you can fix her.”

He hesitates a moment. “Señora Rendón has refused life extension treatment beyond Level II.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“On a scale between zero and five, the second level allows for generalized scientific medication, but not targeted medication, death-inhibiting therapies, or indefinite life extension technologies. She has let us keep her alive, but only to a point.”

That can’t be the end of the story. There has to be a way to undo this. “You can reverse aging, right? Or someone can. Your world has all sorts of technology.”

“Technically, yes, but I wouldn’t recommend it. She has experienced all those years. She’s not a child anymore,” he explains. “I’m sure it’s hard for you to wrap your head around this, but she has been able to tell us stories. She grew up, and she met someone, and they had children. They’re here, if you’d like to meet them, but you should speak with Trina first. She can explain it better, and she doesn’t have much time. I think she knew you were coming, and she was waiting.”

“You’ll regret it if you don’t go,” Leona warns.

Alyssa wants to, but she can’t convince her legs to move. Sensing this, the doctor physically helps her through, so the two McIver sisters can have one last conversation.