Microstory 1257: Thando Kovar

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Thando Kovar was one of the hardest working men on Durus. He didn’t much mind doing the dirty jobs that no one else wanted to do, and even though he was fairly intelligent, and pretty well-educated, those were the jobs he stuck to, just so no one else would have to do them. It wasn’t until he was older that he realized he was taking those unglamorous jobs from people who didn’t have any choice, but by then, it was too late. He kept his head down, and didn’t make trouble. People would have called him average if they even knew who you were talking about when you brought it up. Still, there was this side of them that craved adventure. He wasn’t constantly pining after a more interesting life, but he not infrequently wondered what it would be like to see other places, and try new things. He hadn’t even realized he wanted this until The Elizabeth Warren came to his planet, and gave him the chance to throw his hat in the ring. He applied for passenger status, but did nothing else to help his case. He didn’t make conversation with the crew, or attach a letter. He just quietly delivered the application, and walked away. It was his good track record that ultimately won him a spot on the ship, but as soon as he boarded, he knew he had to voice his concerns. He didn’t want to just sit around and wait until they arrived at their destination. He had been a worker his entire life, and he wouldn’t know what to do with himself without it. His parents taught him the value of work, which was a lesson not so easily shaken. It wasn’t until he finally made it to Earth that he saw how fulfilling life could be when one’s days could be dedicated to hobbies, rather than tedious labor. While all the others were just hanging out in the pocket dimensions, Thando remained on the ship proper, and kept it clean and maintained. Sure, there were lots of automated systems to take care of that, but the captain turned some of these off, just to make him feel useful. He attempted to continue the way his life had always been upon reaching the homeworld, but that was a lot more difficult. Earth had transformed enormously since the first refugees were stranded on Durus. They had done away with work for the most part. People made themselves useful by creating new things, participating in socio-political debates, and preparing to colonize other planets. He wasn’t really qualified to do anything like that, so if he wanted to help, he would need a more relevant education. Before he got started on that, his case workers set him up with a new identity, and a new life, in what was formerly North America. They all but forced him to go on an extended vacation, so he could really think about whether he wanted to be part of the optional workforce, or if he just wanted to enjoy his life. After only a couple weeks of this, he decided on the latter, even though it was a choice he never could have fathomed making just a couple months ago. He forwent his education, and spent his days traveling the world. He didn’t much care for the virtual constructs that other people were visiting, but he saw a lot of fascinating things until he died of age-related causes many years later. He could have upgraded himself to live forever, but there was still a line he wouldn’t cross, and that was it.

Microstory 1256: Elliot Channing

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Most people can probably accept that, while they’re the hero in their own story, others may not look so favorably upon their actions. Elliot Channing hated this possibility, and was on a constant quest to somehow become the hero in everyone’s story. He knew this was an absurd goal, and he wasn’t delusional, but he figured the closest he could get to achieving it would be to get himself into politics. Elliot could always see the difference between a good politician, and a bad one. He would often overreact to other people’s claims that all politicians were dirty, and could not be trusted. It was his own damn fault for getting into those arguments, as he would goad people into them by volunteering his opinion unprompted. His was an altered perspective, however, as he believed these were debates that would bolster his experience. His efforts did not prove pointless, as he was routinely elected into higher and higher office, until he really made his mark as a Missouri state senator, where he served his eight full years. By then, he had had a lot of experience in lower offices, including having been part of the House of Representatives for eight years, and he was showing no signs of stopping. Many believed he was going to be Missouri’s next Governor, but life took him in a different direction. He suddenly pulled out of the race, and permanently joined the City Frenzy committee. He never vocalized his reasons for this, but the truth was he was instructed to do this by an individual who claimed to be able to see the future. The Frenzy was a different kind of race; a literal foot race, but it was important to the Kansas City economy. And if it was important to his constituents, then it was important to him. After all this time, making sure both Kansas and Missouri were  financially and socially prosperous seemed like the most important thing to accomplish. Though he had been a lifelong civil servant, most of the electorate did not pay much attention to him until he switched tactics. The average voter only notices whether a candidate has a little D next to their name, or an R. He didn’t feel like he wanted to be part of that anymore, and also that he wasn’t doing much good. It was under his leadership that the event committee grew, and eventually took on more than the annual race. Soon, they were drawing in crowds from all over the country—and even out of the country—for all sorts of concerts, fairs, sports exhibitions, and more. It’s uncertain whether anyone would have called Channing a hero, but he was inarguably a celebrity, and he decided that this was what he truly wanted all along.

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: November 24, 2262

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The problem with time travel was that there was no such thing as total safety. If one were to imagine a world without it, finding a secure location wasn’t necessarily easy, but it was at least possible. An individual could theoretically fly a small plane to a remote and uncharted island in the middle of the ocean, and worry little about being discovered. Or they could build an impenetrable bunker in the center of a mountain. But either one of these things would be a three-dimensional endeavor. What would happen if a fourth dimension were to be added? Now someone could potentially find that person before they hid themselves away, or after they came out of it. They could kill their grandmother before they’re born, or even their ancestor from centuries prior. Surviving for a particular stretch of time doesn’t mean anything when an opponent could theoretically go back in time, and create a new reality for you.

Cassidy Long was always in danger; in her present, her future, and even her past. Last year, Pribadium seemed to think that there was a way to protect her from attack in all dimensions, so she and Hogarth spent that year working on it. “I call it a blind spot,” Pribadium announced.

“Are we married to that name?” Vitalie questioned.

“What does it do?” Mateo asked.

“How does it work?” Leona asked.

Hogarth open a small black case and removed an injection needle from it. “This solution is retroactive. If this works, no one will be able to find you. Seers won’t predict your future, remote viewers won’t be able to trace you, psychics won’t be able to connect with you. You’ll be invisible in every sense of the word, except the literal one.”

“People will still be able to see you standing in front of them, of course,” Pribadium clarified.

“How did you make this so quickly?” Mateo asked them.

“It’s been a year for us; not a day,” Hogarth explained.

“I know. That’s still fast. You didn’t even have time to study Cassidy.”

“We didn’t need to,” Pribadium said. “This could work on anyone. It just so happens to be for her, since she’s the one who needs it.”

“So, it hasn’t been tested,” Leona presumed.

“How could you test it?” Hogarth posed.

“I don’t know,” Leona responded. “I’m not a chemist, and also, neither are either of you.”

Even Mateo knew she was right. It sounded far too dangerous for Cassidy to just inject whatever this stuff was into her bloodstream. What exactly did it do, and how did they have any clue how to make it work? They’re both primarily mechanical engineers.

“I learned several months ago,” Pribadium said with a shrug, like it was no big thang.

“Okay, you’re smart,” Leona admitted, “but even you have limits. Learning the entire branch of chemical engineering in a matter of months is one thing, but coming up with a chemical that others in the industry couldn’t even fathom is quite different. How did you incorporate the temporal dimension?”

Hogarth and Pribadium exchanged a look. “We weren’t always on Glisnia”

“We took the AOC to Earth.”

“And we sought help from The Concierge.”

“Danica?” Mateo asked rhetorically. “My cousin let you into The Constant?”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Hogarth asked, but she very well knew why. There were rules.

Pribadium sighed. “We were convincing. And look.” She held the needle up higher. “The proof of our efforts. This serum is very old. It has seen time pass. The only way someone would be able to hurt Cassidy would be if they prevented Earth from coalescing in the first place. They would have to destroy the whole world before it even forms to get to her.”

“I’m not letting my daughter anywhere near that,” Étude promised.

“Hold on,” Cassidy finally said. “Is anyone gonna ask what I want, or does everyone here think they knows what’s best for me?” She turned to each person as she spoke. “Mom, I’m an adult now, and I can make my own choices. Leona, I appreciate your wisdom. Mateo, I appreciate your caution. Hogarth and Pribadium, thank for you everything you’ve done to help me. That all being said, my answer is no. I don’t understand why everyone in my life has gone to so much trouble to protect me. Well my mother, yeah, I get. But everyone else has been going out of their way to make sure poor little Cassidy doesn’t get hurt. I don’t need that.”

“It’s not just about you,” Leona said quietly. “Your blood is special. People want it for their agendas, and we can’t let that happen. It’s dangerous. We’re not just protecting you, but preventing the wrong people from gathering too much power.”

“Uhuh,” Cassidy says, “and who decides who the wrong people are? Ya know, I’ve never sat down and spoken with one of these people who are after me. All I have to go on, Mateo, is a brief conversation you had with one of them in an elevator. He wanted my blood to fight against a race of beings called the white monsters. So maybe I should help them.”

“The procedure could kill you,” Mateo reminded her. “I don’t care what the white monsters do; I’m not letting you die.”

“And again, I appreciate that, but maybe it’s time we stopped trying so hard. There are limits to what we should do to prevent this. If that needle kills me, then it will end up being worse. At least if those people had gotten to me, my blood could have saved lives. Now my life, and my death, will have just been wasted.”

No one had any idea how to respond to this.

“I gotta get outta here,” Cassidy says. Then she ran off.

“Let her go,” Leona stopped Mateo when he tried to follow.

“Do you know where she’s going?” he questioned her.

“Well, she can’t get far,” Leona reasoned. “This facility isn’t that big.”

Hogarth’s eyes widened in fear. “Yes it is. She could be two-point-eight-million light years away in minutes.”

“My teleporter,” Pribadium realized. “Dammit.”

Everybody ran off to stop Cassidy before she did something stupid, but Mateo had a different idea. He walked slowly down the hallways, and took the other tine of the fork. Cassidy was sitting in grave chamber four of the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, back against the wall. She had a manilla folder in her hands.

Mateo climbed in, and sat against the opposite wall. “What is that?”

She held it up slightly higher. “Oh, this?” This is just me. This is me in one ream of paper or less.”

“I don’t understand.”

“When the other version of my mother, Étude was given the memories of me, the first thing she did was ask where I was. A woman named Nerakali Preston agreed to help her procure the information she would need to find me. This is everything they have, from my fake birthdate, to my sudden disappearance.”

Mateo nodded slowly. “What bothers you about that?”

“I dunno. Just...look at this thing. Is this all I am? My whole life fits in one folder. Isn’t that sad?”

“How many folders do you suppose there should be? Fifty-two?” he joked.

“Don’t make fun of me.”

“Can I take a look?”

She handed it over.

“Where’s the part where you skinned your knee when you were six?”

“Huh?”

“What about how you felt after your first kiss?”

“What are you talking about, Mateo?”

“I’m talking about everything about you,” he insisted. “If everything is in here, then where is all that?”

“I don’t follow.”

“Cassidy, this isn’t your life; this is your data. It doesn’t include everything you’ve done with your life, and everyone whose life you’ve impacted. What about this reality’s version of Jai Quelen; the one you were in a complicated relationship with?”

“Oh, he’s definitely in there.”

“Right. He’s mentioned to the extent of your interactions, but not to the extent of how you changed him. He has his own hypothetical folder, but that’s not really what life is. You can’t just boil everyone down to a folder, or a deck of folders, or a million folders. And you can’t keep the folders separate from each other. Because, as they say, no man is an island. We’re all constantly walking in and out of each other’s lives, overlapping our stories, and altering each other’s paths. Nothing can be written that explains how that all works, because paper is two-dimensional, and the universe operates in four dimensions. Hell, as time travelers, we know that there are even more dimensions, and more universes. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, I guess it does.” She lifted her shirt, and for a second, Mateo was worried. “After your memorial, I’m going to leave.”

“Where are you gonna go?”

“With my mother, and Vitalie, if she’s going too.”

He understood. “Why are you showing me that belly button piercing? Are you about to take yourself off my pattern?”

“It doesn’t make sense for me to spend only one day a year with the only family I have left when I have a choice.”

“No, I wouldn’t have made that choice if someone had given it to me when this all started.”

“You’re not worried?” she asked.

“Oh, Cass, I’m always worried. I always will worry. But what Leona said to you was wrong. No one has the right to keep you locked up, white monster army or no. I still think you should keep a low profile, though.”

“I don’t plan on going into show business, or anything.”

“There’s one way you can go do whatever you want without fear of someone coming after you.”

Cassidy smirked. “If my father’s alive, he can remove my powers entirely.”

“What? No, I didn’t think of that. I suppose it’s true...if he’s still alive.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Vitalie has a way to contact The Prototype. It could take you anywhere in the bulkverse. They know which universes have Maramon in them, and which ones are safe.”

“Wow, Mateo. If you wanna break up with me, there are easier ways to do it.”

“I’m serious. I’ve thought about leaving, but...I’m not sure I should. It would get me off my pattern, and free from the powers that be, but...”

“But what?” she prompted.

“Don’t tell anyone I said this, but I’ve grown used to this life. I wake up every morning, and it’s literally a new year. Who else enjoys that kind of fresh start?”

“I can think of two other people.”

“Yeah, but you have your family. Mine are gone. If I could go back in time, and undo all of this, so I could live happily ever after with my parents, would I? Well, no, because then Leona would be twelve years younger than me. But assuming I could somehow have her too, yeah, I would probably do that. But too much has changed now, and I choose to stay.”

“You’re not doing well if you’re trying to convince me to make this choice.”

“I’m not gonna lie to you about my feelings. It can only help you decide whether you feel the same way. You’ll never be safe in this universe, and I know that Étude would be perfectly happy getting you out of it.”

“This is a lot.”

“I know,” he acknowledges. “It all comes down to a few choices. I’m gonna lay them all out for you, even though I think some of them would be stupid. You can continue as you are. You’ll be on mine and Leona’s pattern, and you’ll accompany us wherever we go. You can leave, but remain on our pattern. You can stay, but get off our pattern, or as you said, both leave our pattern, and our lives. There are only two options left.”

“I can escape the universe, or I can take Pribdadium’s magic drug.”

“Yes.”

She sighed melodramatically.

They sat in silence for a good long while. When they finally emerged from the AOC, everyone was waiting in the hangar. Cassidy walked up to Pribadium. “Where’s the needle?”

Pribadium removed the needle case from her bag, and began to open it, but Cassidy made her close it, and hand over the whole thing.

“I’m going to keep this with me. I may take it in the future, but it will be when I choose, and it will be on my terms.”

“I understand,” Pribadium said.

Everyone else was either cool with her decision, or would just have to get over it.

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Source Variant: Heaven Protects (Part XIII)

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           Now things are really confusing. It was already tough for the Veardens and the Sagas to keep track of which Vearden, and which Saga they were interacting with. Who remembers what, and what have they been through? But now it’s all four of them, all together. They stand here awkwardly for a moment, in the Gondilak monitoring facility, before Vearen!Two breaks the ice. “So, you two figured out this was happening, right?”

“We had some idea,” Vearden!Three replies with a short nod, and a long blink.

“You’ve been dealing with the Gondilak?” Saga!Two guesses.

“Indeed,” Saga!Three confirms. “I assume you were in charge of the Orothsew.”

“That’s right.”

“So, are we gonna be okay?” Vearden!Two asks. “Are they gonna start fighting each other?”

“They haven’t been fighting,” Zektene explains from the computer.

Saxon is with her. He immediately jumped at the chance to look at a new system. “The Orothsew crossed the ocean decades ago. They came in peace, and they’ve remained as such this whole time. The drones report no history of violence.”

“Wow,” Vearden!Three says. “So we did it. Mission accomplished.”

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t any other threats,” Saga!Three explains. “Zek, what’s the last the drones saw of Cain.”

Zektene fiddles with the inputs. “He disappeared nearly ten years after we did. I think it took him that long to find it.”

“Find what?” Saga!Two asks.

“Don’t worry about it,” Vearden!Two assures her. “If he’s gone, that’s a good thing. This world should be safe now.”

“That’s not true,” Vearden!Three begins. “We still have to worry about the Worlonians.”

“The Ochivari,” Saxon says.

“The whatnow?” Vearden!Three asks.

“They’re not called Worlonians,” Saxon explains. “Ochivari is the name of their species.”

“Really?” Vearden!Three asks. “That’s weird.”

“Is it?” Saga!Two questions. “Humans don’t come from planet Huma, or something.”

“Well, that’s true,” Vearden!Three has to admit.

“Who are these people?” Saga!Three prompts.

“Bad aliens,” Vearden!Three answers. “Real bad aliens. Probably worse than the Maramon.”

“Maybe about equal,” Saxon claims. “The Ochivari want to destroy all life in the multiverse, so that no one else gets to go to heaven.”

“Then they must be worse than the Maramon,” Vearden!Two says. “The white monsters aren’t super great, but they don’t want to kill everyone. Their motivations are diverse, and their agendas nuanced.”

“He’s right,” Saga!Two supports. “I’ve seen what happens when a Maramon is removed from its natural environment, and taught right from wrong. They can be reasoned with.”

“Yes,” Saga!Three adds. “This world is proof of what they can do when they choose to be good.”

“Huh?” Vearden!Three asks. “What do the Maramon have to do with this planet?”

“They’re the Gondilak,” Vearden!Two says to him. “Or rather, the Gondilak are Maramon...their descendants.”

“Oh my God,” Saxon exclaims. “They’re the source variant, aren’t they!”

“That’s what Ramses called it,” Saga!Three acknowledges.

Now everything is starting to make sense. Both the humans and the Maramon chose to settle on this planet, but at different points in history. Now they’ve come together, and things seem to be going fine. Saxon and Zektene continue to catch up on the data, skimming climate patterns, and contact history. The other four mostly catch up with each other, even though this is the first time any of them has been in a situation like this. It doesn’t seem weird, though. Now that the shock of meeting alternate versions of themselves has passed, it’s actually kind of nice. Sure, their respective alts had different experiences, but there’s a shorthand between them that they would never be able to find with anyone else. Both Veardens know they can trust each other with their secrets, while both Sagas feel the same.

They listen to the updates that the other two in their newly formed group relay to them, but most of it isn’t very interesting. Current events have been pretty uneventful. This is around the same time Saga!Two and Vearden!Two were on Orolak in the second timeline, and things are extremely different. It’s satisfying to see the fruits of their labor, and to know that everything they’ve been doing for the last millennium hasn’t been a huge waste of time. The last thing they do before sharing a meal is show each other their funny McIver hats. Everyone is jealous of Vearden!Three’s beard beanie, which Vearden!Two recalls seeing once when he was browsing the internet in the other timeline.

“So, what do we think the mission is?” Saxon asks as Saga!Two is passing him the mashed potatoes. “I mean, why were you four finally reunited, and why now?”

“Well, this isn’t really a reunion,” Vearden!Two explains. “I’ve never met Vearden!Three here.”

“Neither have I,” Saga!Three says. “I hadn’t met anybody until all this, actually.”

“You know what I mean,” Saxon says. “You’ve spent centuries apart; separated on two continents by an ocean. According to our collective experiences, we haven’t gone anywhere without a purpose. But the Orothsew and Gondilak seem fine without us.”

“Maybe the missions are over,” Vearden!Three suggests. “Maybe that’s the point. We’ve done our jobs; preparing for the two races coming together.”

Saga!Three, Vearden!Two, and Zektene aren’t obligated to say anything at this point, and no one else responds either, but it feels like they’re somehow more silent than everybody else who isn’t talking. It’s like they’re avoiding the conversation actively, rather than passively.

“Okay, what is it?” Saxon asks, concerned.

“We went off mission,” Saga!Three finally replies.

“We weren’t supposed to help the Gondilak,” Vearden!Two continues the explanation. “We were supposed to kill them”

“Once we failed to do that,” Zektene contributes, “we were at least supposed to slow them down, so your people could wipe them out.”

“Oh my God,” is all Vearden!Three can say.

“That’s terrible,” Saga!Two adds.

“Well, it didn’t go that way,” Saxon reminds them. “What you did worked, and the Orothsew and Gondilak will never know how grateful they should be for you.”

“For us,” Saga!Two clarifies. “This whole thing required all six of us, and it required not listening to The Delegator, apparently to varying degrees.”

Vearden!Three smiles widely. “We should all feel proud. We stopped a frickin’ world war. Who else can say that?”

“I heard the salmon battalion stopped World War III,” Vearden!Two reveals.

“That’s an urban legend,” Saga!Two refutes. “They won wars, but they didn’t stop any.”

“Speaking of war,” Vearden!Two says, “tell us more about these Ochivari.”

“We don’t know much about them,” Saxon begins. “It’s mostly about three little Latin words. Loci non grata. Just the fact that Earth has banned all travel to Worlon space is enough to frighten me. I mean, there are worlds we don’t get along with very well, but we do try to interact with them on some level. LNG means no ambassadors, no mediators, no negotiations. If your ship has gone derelict within three light years of Worlon, you’re just straight up expected to let yourself die; it’s that bad.”

“They’re a Class XI threat,” Vearden!Three says, “which Saxon here evidently didn’t even know existed.”

“Really?” Zektene is interested. “Tell me about the classes.”

Saxon wipes his mouth to prepare for the lecture. “It’s a pretty straightforward ranking system for threats to life. A Class I threat would be to an individual; like a murderer, or something. Class II would be for a group of people...a mass murderer. Class three is city, then region, then continent, then the whole planet. Class VII threatens the whole solar system, while Class VIII the stellar neighborhood. As far as I know, nothing has been designated threat level IX for the whole galaxy, or X for the universe. And as we’ve said, Class XI is an entirely new thing, for something that could be dangerous for the multiverse.”

“Bulkverse,” Zektene corrects. “It’s called the bulkverse.”

“Oh, okay,” Saxon accepts.

“So...” Zektene begins. “Would these Ochivari, perhaps...possibly resemble dragonflies?”

“Um...” Saxon is uncomfortable. “They do, yes.”

“Yeah, they came to my world once,” Zektene discloses. “They didn’t ask for anything. They just started killing people.”

“What did you do?”

“We used our superpowers, and destroyed them right back,” Zektene says as if it were obvious.

“We might need those powers here,” Saga!Two says to her. “We’re not sure when the Ochivari are coming, only that they are. The Orothsew and Gondilak might not be prepared for it when that happens.”

“Well, how has Earth prepared to protect themselves?” Vearden!Two asks her.

“A number of things,” Saxon answers instead. “I don’t have all the details, but it’s all about SCR&M. Safety, Compartmentalization, Redundancy, and Modularization. The first line of defense is recon and early warning, of course, but for anything incoming, they’re also protected by a gargantuan shield that encompasses the whole system. There are trillions of planetesimals, and other celestial bodies in spherical orbit in something called the Oort cloud, only fractions of a light year from the center. Almost every single one of them is equipped with defensive and/or offensive measures. If something were to get past that, they’ll have to deal with the armada of reserve warships, a satellite fleet, and an array of surface weapons. For the people, it’s estimated that Earth could be one hundred percent evacuated in an hour. Other planets have fewer people, and less atmosphere, so they could escape even faster.”

No one says anything for a moment or two. They’ve also stopped eating.

“All right,” Vearden!Two says, dropping his napkin on his plate. “Let’s do that.”

“Do what?” Saxon asks. “Build a defensive contingency around this solar system?”

“Well, I don’t know that it has to be the solar system, does it?” Vearden!Two believes. “We just need to protect the planet. It’s the only place that’s inhabited, ain’t it?”

“Theoretically,” Saxon admits.

Vearden!Three stands up. “We already have artificial satellites in orbit, right? I know the humans put at least one up there. I assume the Maramon did as well.”

“This is the mission,” Zektene decides. “This is what we’re here to do.”

“Hold on,” Saxon argues. “We are not qualified to try anything like this.”

“You are,” Saga!Two claims. “You helped build the quantum seeder network, and you told us about those gigantic telescopes just outside the Milky Way. We can’t pick up a hammer and some nails, and expect to get anything done, but we can come up with ideas, and you and Zektene can program the AIs to do the actual construction.”

“This sounds impossible,” Saga!Three can’t help but feel.

“I would rather try than not,” says Saga!Two. “If you’re anything like me, you feel the same.”

“Don’t you just wanna get back to your daughter?” Saga!Three asks her.

Saga!Two stands up. “I wanna protect her. Maybe this is how we do it, because we have to protect the human race, and everything that comes from it...even if it’s against something else that comes from it.”

Saxon shakes his head. “This is a tall order.”

“Then let’s find a ladder,” Vearden!Two and Vearden!Three say simultaneously.

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Microstory 1255: Lita Prieto

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Angelita Prieto always felt like the world was magical, but she was still surprised that there seemed to be some literal truth to the matter. She first met Mario Matic in 1998 when he suddenly showed up, and warned her not to go out in the ocean. She heeded his warning, even though she had no reason to believe this random stranger’s claims that something bad was going to happen. It wasn’t like a Final Destination movie; no one died that day, so there was no proof that his caution was at all warranted. She felt like she could trust him, however, and she had to surrender to her intuition. He continued to appear throughout her life, giving her little snippets of advice, and making sure she stayed on track. Sometimes she could see the results of his interventions, like when he literally caught her after she tripped climbing up the stairs of a mountain, but other times she just had to have faith that what he was telling her was going to help. Between 2014, and most of 2017, he was nowhere to be found, until one day she saw him again. The funny thing was that he actually looked a little bit younger, a truth she realized when she made an inside joke to him, and he had no idea what she was talking about. In fact, he didn’t recognize Lita at all. This must have been in his past, before he started going through time, and helping her out. The interesting way that they met for the first time was enough to motivate them to stay in touch. She later learned that he was indeed a time traveler, but that he had no control over when and where he went. He had been given time off before to rest and recuperate, but never had he been allotted two straight years of vacation. This was long enough for them to get to know each other properly, and start a real life together. Like a gift, Mario’s time jumps began to be a little more structured. He still had no control over them, but the powers that be maintained a balance for him. If he spent two days at work in some other point in spacetime, for instance, two days will have passed for her in 2019. Lita was always waiting for him when he came home, just like anyone would for a globetrotting love interest. It didn’t take her long to get used to her new life. Lots of people didn’t see their spouses every single day. That didn’t mean they would grow apart, or she would start to resent that they weren’t in control of his schedule. They made it work. They would even call themselves happy. Unfortunately, their domestic bliss didn’t last forever. A vengeful time traveler took them from their lives, and marooned them on an island on a planet millions of light years from Earth. From there, things only got worse. Their daughter was taken from them to protect her, and it was a long time before either of them saw her again. The family reunion did not go as well as they had hoped either, and Angelita doubted that she would ever be happy again.

Microstory 1254: Apothem Sarkisyan

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All of the Sarkisyan children were named after mathematical terms, but Apothem Sarkisyan’s older sister, Dodeka was the only relative that he ever knew. His father was killed by a time traveling vigilante, leaving the two of them parentless. The rest of the children were being cared for elsewhere. Concerned for their wellbeing, a powerful choosing one named Meliora kept the siblings from foster care, and relocated them to a planet millions of light years away, where she had begun to populate a protected hotel for those who had been negatively impacted by time travel. Dodeka would come to work at the hotel, and unwittingly start a movement that would translate into an entirely new society, but Apothem had no such aspirations. Technically, at the time of his arrival, working was not a requirement. Of course, he was a child at that point anyway, but as he grew up, he didn’t really see the need for having a job. He did, however, seek adventure, and if there was one thing the warded planet didn’t provide, it was a life of excitement. He was in his early twenties, and living a relatively sedentary lifestyle, when a special machine arrived. It was called The Crossover, because it was capable of traversing the space between separate universes. The operator at the time was seeking guidance from Meliora on an unrelated matter, but since the Sarkisyans were close to her, Apothem was around. The crew agreed to give him a tour, and he was so fascinated by the machine that he expressed a desire to travel on it with them. Seeing no reason not to, everyone agreed to let him leave, but it was not without conditions. The Crossover regularly experienced personnel turnover, none of whom were only passengers. Everyone had something to do, even if it was only to complete missions on other worlds. Apothem could only come if he contributed in his own way. The only thing that he was qualified for, however, was working in the hotel section, so that was where he went. He didn’t really have any experience in the industry, but he often watched his sister work, so he had some idea of what to do. This was how he became Kingdom Hotel’s bellhop, eventually adopting the moniker of Bell. This wasn’t part of some master plan, and they weren’t codependent, or anything. He and his sister found their respective callings under wildly different conditions, and in the grand scheme of things, they had wildly different responsibilities. He would go down in history as the longest running crew member of The Crossover of all. Operators and pilots come and go, but he just stayed with it. Sometimes the job was really stressful, but most of the time, he just hung out, and visited strange new worlds. This was the life, and he would never give it up.

Microstory 1253: Raphael Neville

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Though he was born and raised on Earth, Raphael Neville spent a healthy chunk of his life on Durus. He was an unwilling participant in the 2161 Deathspring, which saw to it that thousands of refugees were helplessly pulled up to a passing rogue planet. This occurred in the middle of his wedding with one Wayne Crawford, so he didn’t care, because as long as he was with the love of his life, it didn’t matter where they lived. Things were difficult for the refugees in the beginning, though. The native Durune, which were all relatively recent descendants of Earthans themselves, developed a nationalist-like attitude towards the newcomers. This was only exacerbated by the bigotry that plagued the government at the time. Though society was improving, and wising up to the logic behind equality, it would be a long time before the world truly functioned properly. Still, this was where Wayne and Raphael made their life together. There was no way back, so they had to make the best of it, and find joy where they could. Though institutionalized misogyny had been abolished, there were still a lot of men who believed that women could not be trusted, and even some who outright believed they were inferior. They were objects to be owned by a man, and treated however that man wished. One of these men decided that he wasn’t going to accept how the world had changed, and mostly as an act of defiance, he raped a neighbor of his. Not only did he not try to keep her quiet about what happened, but he proudly boasted of his conquest, to anyone who would listen. Of course, he was arrested for his crime, and was never given the opportunity to hurt anyone again, but this is not his story.

The young woman belonged to a religion that didn’t believe in abortion. She didn’t have to raise the baby herself, but she wasn’t allowed to not give birth. She did not feel pressured to follow these rules; they were part of her convictions as well. But she also could not take care of the child. It was the product of rape, and she didnt feel like she could handle that constant reminder. And so Raphael and Wayne adopted the little baby girl, naming her Vitalie Crawville. Before too long, some other people came to Durus in a ship, which provided a chance for a select few to be ferried to Earth, whether they had been part of the Deathspring, or otherwise. Wayne was ecstatic. He would finally be back where he felt he belonged, and might once more get to see everyone else he loved. Raphael did not feel the same way. He was against leaving. He and his husband were both from Earth, but their daughter was from Durus. Did she not have the right to know her own home? They fought about it for months until he felt like it was no longer worth it, and just gave in. After they were all three chosen as passengers, they boarded The Elizabeth Warren, and began the years-long journey to the homeworld. Little Vitalie grew up on Durus, and then on that ship, where they learned she possessed a special time power, and then she grew up some more on Earth. She had made friends with the crew, because of her gift, so her life took her on many adventures with her new friends; away from her fathers. Raphael began to resent his husband for having forced them into this, believing that they would have had more time with their daughter if they had just stayed put. The fighting started again, and eventually threatened their marriage. Only through hard work, and professional help, did they get through it. Raphael was able to accept that his new life was here, and that Vitalie was now old enough to live her own life wherever she wanted. That was really all he ever wanted for her.

Microstory 1252: Duke Andrews

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Duke Andrews was born in Grand Junction, Colorado, but he always had a draw towards the Kansas City area that he could never explain. He visited there at least once a year since he was eight years old, which his parents were happy to do for him, because they were happy to do pretty much anything. They didn’t coddle or dote on him, but they did believe it was important for their child to exert his independence, vocalize his desires, and try new things. They wanted him to see the world, so Kansas City was just one of the many places he went. His great aunt, Bubbles (real name) was a retired middle school teacher, so she traveled with them as his tutor. She didn’t know everything he wanted to learn about, but they always managed to find a really good library for him to study what he wanted. It was through these studies that he eventually landed in the field of natural science. He excelled in biology and physics, but he liked all science, and learning in general. He moved to Kansas City as an adult, and lived there permanently to pursue his work. The career he ended up with happened because of a series of events in his life, but it wasn’t like it was all part of some plan, or a dream. He didn’t want to be a scientist when he was a kid. He didn’t really have any thoughts on the matter at all. His parents taught him to live in the present, and not think too much about the future. He was always just what he was at any moment. That wasn’t to say he didn’t have ambition; he just didn’t let himself be disappointed when things didn’t go quite his way, and he liked to practice being grateful for what he was able to accomplish, or gain. It was a big surprise to everyone when he helped found what later became a multi-billion dollar corporation. It wasn’t something his parents would have wanted for him, but again, they were supportive of their son’s choices. He didn’t do it for the money, and he didn’t do it to change the world. It all just made sense, based on everything else he had done up to that point. He lived, he nurtured his company, he met a few time travelers, and he died. This was what Duke Andrews did, but it wasn’t who he was. Duke Andrews was a learner. His instinct to understand the world around him was what truly drove him forward, right up until the very end.