The Advancement of Mateo Matic: February 8, 2399

« < » > Table of Contents

Roeland’s little outburst alerted the authorities to his presence at the quarantine hotel. They ran over right quick to place him in his own quarantine, which will only partially overlap Leona and Tarboda’s. It isn’t until late the next night that they’re able to reconnect in the post-transition lobby. “Mr. Roeland. Do you have time to talk?”

“I do if you have time to tell me what this is.” He pulls his shirt away to show the timonite stain again.

“We’re not sure how it works, or really why. My husband was infected with that—that’s not really the right word, he wasn’t infected. It started out as a rock, and he somehow...absorbed its power. It’s what fueled his ability to teleport to orbit, and install something I now call a leechcraft on a preexisting satellite. The leechcraft was designed to scan the entire surface of the Earth, looking for time travelers. Well, it was only meant to find a specific person, but we think it found everyone, including you and...”

“Go on. Including me, and who?”

“And whoever you’re living with on Vulcan Point.”

“I told you, I’m not living with anyone. I’m alone. Your scanner is wrong. And you’ve still not explained why this thing is on my shoulder.”

“It must have gotten on the scanner, and then got transferred to you during the scanning process. It was entirely unintentional, but as long as you don’t step within proximity of my husband, you’ll be fine.”

“What happens if I do get too close to him?”

“It would transport you to another universe. There you would find all sorts of objects that were randomly dropped there from the multiverse.”

“How do I prevent this from happening accidentally? What if we end up sitting next to each other in a couple of bathroom stalls without realizing it?”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Why not?”

“He’s dead.” She doesn’t believe that, but all evidence points to it, and admitting her true feelings undermines her argument that Roeland is safe, so she’s not going to mention it.

He nods. He’s old, and has seen death, so likely he no longer feels the need to pretend to be butthurt over the death of a complete stranger, like most people do. He’s more honestly indifferent. “So you have one too?

“A timonite stain? I don’t.”

“Why not. Were you not on Earth when it was scanned?”

“No, I was, but...” That’s a good question.

He turtles his head out when she doesn’t finish her sentence.

“You’re right. Why weren’t we also marked? We found eleven errors, but that number was in addition to the people we already knew about, so we disregarded them.” That’s a good goddamn question.

“This kind of implies that it actually was intentional,” Roeland points out. “Who’s the we in this scenario? Who helped you build the thing?”

“No. Ramses would never do something like that.”

“Ramses Abdulrashid? He’s one of us?”

“He’s a time traveler, but he doesn’t have a power or pattern. Or rather, he does have a pattern now, but he wasn’t born that way. He turned himself into it. How do you know him?”

“I don’t know him personally, only by reputation. In my timeline, he was a famous engineer for the Freemarketers in the early 23rd century. Legend has it, he defied them, and defected to the mainstream. They consider him the first domino to fall. The movement did not last long after that.”

“That’s a wholly inaccurate story. The truth is he didn’t defect to the mainstream, he defected to us. How you would have heard about it at all, but not known that part, is bizarre, especially since a great deal of Freemarketers were reportedly killed in an interstellar ship cataclysm, but were rescued by Dardius.”

“Then you and I are from different timelines, because the Ramses Abdulrashid that I learned about in school went on to become an activist for the post-scarcity lifestyle, focusing on educating and rehabilitating the most violent of antiestablishment insurrectionists. He refused most life extension advancements, considering him unworthy of immortality since he rejected handouts prior to his epiphany, so he eventually died. I don’t recall the details of his life; I was born in the 24th.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely different.”

“Is he here? I would not mind meeting him, even if it is an alternate version.”

Leona is staring into space. “No, he’s lost, I can’t find him.”

“Can’t your satellite scanner do it?”

“He designed the thing. I’m sure he has a way to shield himself from it.”

This piques Roeland’s interest even more than the news about Ramses. “Really? How would one go about doing that?”

“Are you hoping to keep us from finding the other ping that we’ve detected on Vulcan Point?” Leona guesses.

“I’m telling you, there is something wrong with it. I live alone. I chose that spot because it’s beautiful and remote.”

She takes out her handheld device, and shows him the data. “My satellite scans every ninety minutes. Whoever was there with you during the first pass is still on the island. See? This is you, this is me, and that is the other person.”

“I don’t know what to tell ya. If there’s another time traveler in the area, maybe it’s, like, a rabbit who unwittingly ate some—what did you call it?—timonite, and ended up there. It’s not a human. I would know. It’s a very tiny island.”

Leona shakes her head. He is showing all signs of lying, through macro and microexpressions alike. If she knew him prior to this, she might be able to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he could be keeping Alyssa prisoner. She could be trying to get away as they speak. It would be irresponsible of Leona to just walk away without investigating. If the other error is fine, she’ll leave without further questions, and try to forget it ever happened, but until then, she is getting on that damn island. It’s up to her to find Alyssa. She’s the only one who can. No one else is capable, and no one else cares. Ramses made that quite clear when he abandoned them. Roeland is looking at her with puppy dog eyes, so she can’t just keep arguing with him about it. “Okay, I believe you.”

“Good. Are ya hungry? I found the quarantine food to be no bueno. Perhaps you and your bodyguard would like to join me for a late night snack. I know a great place.”

She laughs. “He’s not my bodyguard. If anything, I’m his.”

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: February 7, 2399

« < » > Table of Contents

Leona received Ramses’ message. She understands the low chances of finding her husband, dead or alive, but she will hold onto hope. She’ll never let go of it. She’s never done it before, and she’s always ended up right. Mateo has died so many times, it’s not even funny. He was once completely removed from existence by an asshole god creature, and not even that lasted. She’ll get him back, even if she has to break Danica’s rule, and travel through time for a rescue mission. She does need more information, though, which is why she has asked Aldona for a favor.

“Well, which volcano was this?”

“Ramses didn’t say,” Leona replies.

“Did you try calling him back?”

“The line is dead. He’s cut all ties.”

“Makes sense. I’m sorry”

“So, is there nothing we can do? Is there no chance?”

“I’m an expert in antimatter rocket engines. I’ve never operated a teleportation machine. Is there some way to...I dunno, trace it? Seems as though it would make a pretty big mark on the world, an explosion like that. And since there isn’t much teleportation going on in this reality, it should be unique, or at least rare.”

“I don’t know enough about it either,” Leona admits. “That particular machine is more his area. But yes, there is a way to trace teleportation. Unfortunately, the, umm...”

“Oh, shit, you didn’t get your satellite in orbit.”

“No.”

“Because I didn’t let you.”

Leona waits to respond. “Right.”

Aldona sighs. “I don’t suppose getting up there now would do you any good.”

“Not for this issue, no.”

“I’m worried something like this will happen again, though. If you need to be able to trace temporal powers, then I’ll make sure that you have what you need. I’ll fast-track authorization. As far as Mateo goes, there may be other ways. Like I said, it was a big explosion. Sure, a volcano is already pretty violent, but maybe one of them exhibited some unusual behavior recently. That sort of thing would be recorded by other research instruments that have nothing to do with any of this. Let me make a few calls.”

“I would appreciate that.”

Aldona nods, and leaves Leona’s office. A few seconds later, she reopens the door. “You’re off today. Just relax.”

“Okay,” Leona says, but she’s not going to do that. It’s not what Mateo would want, and it’s not practical. She doesn’t have the resources or connections to locate the volcano where her husband supposedly died, so taking any time off is a waste of the stuff. As a traveler, she understands the value of a day, and what it will cost them if they lose one. When they figure out which volcano to even search in the first place, maybe she’ll stop what she’s doing to investigate. Until then, she’s going to focus on her work. This does not change her responsibilities or obligations. In fact, things are even more dire. They can’t prove that Constance!Five was destroyed any more than they can prove it for Mateo. The danger remains. Having that satellite up there sooner rather than later would sure help, though. So why wait?

They talk of it being placed in orbit, but it already is in orbit. It just needs to be deployed from Mangrove Zero, and become independent. That can be done remotely by piloting the onboard robotics. All right, so she’s not going to work exactly, but Aldona gave her permission to do whatever she wanted, so she’s going to consider this a gray area. She logs herself into the system, and gets to work. It only takes about thirty minutes before it’s where it needs to be, free from the confines of the rocket, and able to operate on its own. Now it’s only a matter of time before it makes a complete pass around the planet, and scans every brain in the world for neurotemporal irregularities. She leans back to wait for it, but gets a hit right away.

“What the hell is that?” she asks herself out loud. Antarctica is positively brimming with temporal errors. Coronel Zacarias must have figured out how to activate the Nexus, and has invited visitors to this world, perhaps from other universes. There’s actually no way to know if they are visitors. Maybe they invited themselves, and are starting an invasion. The Mozambican Navy may require assistance, or not. She does not have a way to contact them, and she has no idea whether Mozambique is even involved in the Mangrove Program, so it’s best not to cross those streams. And anyway, there were only eleven pings during the first scan, so these people don’t count. So she does lean back, and wait for the full scan.

An hour and a half later, another hit comes up on the screen. No, it’s two hits in the same place. We got ourselves a pair, and they’re close. They’re on Vulcan Point. What a coincidence, that’s one of the places she’s supposed to go. Now is as good a time as any. She’s on vacation, and she’s all alone here. She’s experiencing a healthy professional relationship with Aldona, but they are not friends. They’re certainly not vacation buddies. Yeah, it’s not really a vacation, but that’s exactly what she’s going to call it when she requisitions the jet. She finishes a few outstanding items on her to-do list, then heads up to the transportation office. Apparently everyone at this facility has heard what happened, so the administrators are happy to give her access to a jet. She’s not a pilot, though, so she can’t go alone.

“Captain Tarboda Hobson,” Leona remarks as she’s walking towards the steps. “You’re involved in everything, aren’t ya?”

“I’m always here for you, Mrs. Matic.”

“I thank you for that. Have you finished your preflight checklist?”

“I have. I’m ready to go if you are. Allow me.” He holds out a hand, and escorts her up to the jet. In the main sequence, the U.S.A. makes the best aircraft, but here, it’s Russia without a doubt. This bird is one of theirs, and while Russia proper is not part of the alliance, there is a faction working at Mangrove in secret. They’ve not fully defected.

An hour later, they land in an airfield that’s about thirty minutes from Taal Lake. It is here that they are asked to wait in a 24-hour quarantine. They’re getting ready for bed when they hear a knock at the door. Leona opens it to find an old man on the other side. “Can I help you?” she asks.

“My name is Roeland Harlow.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Roeland Harlow.” Who is this guy?

“I believe you’re here for me.” He pulls his shirt away to reveal the timonite stain on his shoulder that got on all of the travelers that Ramses’ original satellite scanned.

“I was actually looking for two of you.”

He scowls and points aggressively. “No. There is only me. You’ll talk to me!”

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: February 6, 2399

« < » > Table of Contents

When Mateo insisted Ramses teleport out of the magma chamber of the volcano to save himself, he just jumped without thinking about where he wanted to go. Home would be the obvious answer, but he’s not had a home in a very long time. He’s lived on ships, labs, lofts, flying cars, and other random places. His subconscious must have taken over the responsibility of navigation, because he ended up in Egypt. It’s where he was born, and where he spent his younger days, but he feels no strong sentiment towards it. This isn’t even the right version of Egypt. It’s a bastardization, and that’s the nicer way to put it.

Danica’s Omega Gyroscope is what explains why anything in this reality is even remotely similar to the way things are in the main sequence, but something went wrong when it was programming Egypt. This area is where civilization began, but it did not thrive here. Great unrest forced mass migration centuries ago, to the West in Africa, the North in Europe, and to the Southeast in Asia. What was left was a sad approximation of what a culture should look like. While his Egypt stood tall, especially in the latter century, this one was short and pathetic, literally speaking. Their tallest regular building is four stories high, and there’s only one like that. It’s the Port at Said, and it was partially built by Greece, which exports to the rest of the world through the Suez Canal. That’s the only reason this version of Egypt is still alive at all, because they’re in the way.

The Great Pyramid is here, which is surprising, but it’s the only ancient structure that the people still maintain, because they do get a few tourists. Plus, some ships are required to wait in the canal for customs approval, or because there’s a line, so sailors stay in Giza, which boasts the only moderately decent hotel. It’s also anonymous, which is perfect, because that is what Ramses needs right now. He’s not going back to Mangrove One, and there’s nothing left for him in Kansas City.

Angela and Marie are in space, Mateo is dead, and Alyssa is missing. Yes, he made a commitment to find her, but he would probably just mess it up. He’s not the only one who could. Leona can do it just as easily, and she will, because she cares about her just as much. They now have the world’s most powerful governments at their backs, with all of the resources they could need. They don’t need him. He can’t face Leona with what he’s done. He lived. He escaped when Mateo couldn’t, and he’ll have to live with that for the rest of his life, which could be a pretty long time if something eventually changes, and he gets his transhumanistic upgrades back.

Ramses is a genius, which is why it only took him a few minutes to write a little script that will allow him to leave Leona a voicemail without worrying about her answering any ringing. “Hey, it’s Ram. I’m sure you’ve been wondering where we are. I’m bouncing this signal all over the world, so you’ll never find me. You’ll never see me again. I’m sorry to rob you of your chance to confront me, but I... Mateo is dead. Constance!Five broke free, and he had to sacrifice himself. Now, I know I thought that last time, but I really don’t see any way out of this. He was in a volcano, and I programmed the Bridgette’s self-destruct to go off in seconds after activation. I got the alert on my device—he went through with it—it did blow up. I’m sorry I left him behind, I’m sorry I’m the one who lived instead, and I’m sorry for not coming back, but I have to protect you. I have to protect you all from me. I love you. Goodbye.”

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: February 5, 2399

« < » > Table of Contents

Mateo spent a little longer talking to the current passengers of the AOC than he intended, but that’s not really what’s preventing him and Ramses from returning to Mangrove One. After some thoughtful discussion, they decided that it’s time to get rid of Constance!Five for good. They also decided to keep Leona out of it, for reasons of plausible deniability, and to also keep her conscience clean. Some may simply call it destruction of property, but that’s in bad faith. What even is a person? Philosophers, civil servants, activists, and other thinkers in the main sequence spent millennia working on a definition that not everyone agrees on, even now. Constance!Five is a person, and if they want to destroy her, murder is the only word for it. To put it any other way would be a cop out.

They spent all day yesterday clearing the vehicle of all nonessential systems, including life support, which normally rests on the essential side of things. If the android wakes up before they get the chance to jettison her stasis pod, they don’t want her having any access to an electrical system. People often call ships tin cans jokingly, but in this case, that really will be what it is, except for the tin part. It’s the only post-transition metal that isn’t on the Bridgette.

They’re currently floating in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle to refuel with Existence water. “Are we ready to go?”

Ramses sighs, and looks around at the bare vessel, as if it were their home of the last twenty years, and they’ve just packed everything up to move. Ah, the memories. “It must be. I’ve modified the teleporter to only operate by the living fingerprints of both of us simultaneously, but only using my right pinky, left thumb, and left index, plus your right ring finger, right middle finger, and right thumb.”

“Sounds complicated,” Mateo says.

“It’s like a password. Constance!Five can presumably make herself look like anyone, perhaps down to the tiniest of details, but she won’t know which fingers to use.”

“She’s alive, though, so if you were thinking that her fingerprints also won’t work because of that—”

“No, no, no. That’s just so she can’t kill us, and then try to unlock the controls, because maybe she can’t replicate dactylograms, I don’t know.”

“Right.”

Ramses steps over, and hands Mateo a slip of regular paper. “Memorize this, and then destroy the paper.”

“This is what you just told me, about which fingers to use.”

“Yes.” His demeanor has suddenly grown somber.

“What is it, Rambo?”

“Did you memorize it?”

“Yeah, ‘cause I heard you the first time.”

“Recite them, in a random order, without looking at the paper.”

“My right thumb and middle finger, your left index, my right ring finger, your  left thumb, and right pinky. I’ve gotten better at my memory.”

“Okay, now switch my name with yours, and that’s the self-destruct sequence.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Your left thumb and index fingers, and your right pinky. If you place those on the panel of the teleporter, it will explode. You don’t need me to activate it, and I don’t need you. As long as one of us is alive, we can do it.”

“Why would we do that?”

“I think you know why. It is a last resort, but it is not a non-option. You hear me? We both have to go into this knowing it to be a possibility. Every enemy we’ve gone up against has been incredibly dangerous, but Constance may be the worst one. We don’t know that much about her, but think about how scared you have been of Danica because she runs the Constant, then multiply that by a thousand, and you may come close to understanding the threat she poses. Because she’s the one who truly runs it.”

“I understand. My right pinky, and my left index and thumb.”

“Okay, let’s hope we never need to use it. Remember, it’s only if she breaks free.”

“Definitely. Let’s do it to it.”

They take one more look around to make sure that everything is as safe as possible, then they prepare to make the jump. Ramses programs the teleporter to navigate to Heard Island. They align their fingers, and go.

Wreckage all over the place, the smell of once-burning fires overwhelms the air. Already decomposing bodies are strewn about. There’s a wheel, and there’s a wing. This was an airplane, and these people’s deaths are the team’s fault. They thought that this was a remote region of the ocean, but apparently not. They’ll have to worry about finding out why the plane was flying this far south later. For now, they have to find Constance!Five. They run over the rocks, avoiding the sharp edges of the metal. There’s the stasis pod. It’s closed. Not only that, but it’s still closed. She’s still in there.

“Is this just a coincidence?”

“Not likely,” Ramses replies. “Wait, what the hell is that?” He kneels down, and looks at the keypad. “Oh, shit.” He pulls something out of it.

“What is that?” Mateo asks.

“Something I didn’t put there. I think it was hacking the lock to find the code.”

Mateo breathes a sigh of relief. “But you got it in time.”

A soft hiss is released when the hatch of the pod opens.

“Evidently not.”

Constance!Five smirks as she’s coming out of the pod like a vampire from their coffin. “Don’t feel bad. I reprogrammed avionics to upload a quantum hack to the keypad. The upload was completed days ago, it’s been working in situ this whole time. You couldn’t have stopped it.”

Trying to think quickly, Ramses teleports right behind Constance!Five, and tries to inject her with a power suppressant sedative. She grabs the syringe, and breaks it between her fingers. “Fool me once.” She takes him by the neck, and begins to squeeze.

With only a little left air in his lungs, Ramses looks over at Mateo, and ekes out, “destroy Bridgette; only thing that can find Cedar.”

“Cedar?” Constance!Five releases her grip, and drops him to the ground.

Mateo looks over his shoulder at the Bridgette, then teleports away. That’s not where he goes, though. He jumps behind a boulder, and secretly watches Constance!Five try to follow him. He then jumps back to Ramses.

“You have to destroy it,” Ramses argues, massaging his neck.

“We will, but she has to be in it first, and I want there to be no escape. I know where to take her.” Mateo makes one last personal jump, taking Ramses with him. They’re in the crawl space underneath the fuselage. They can hear Constance!Five moving around up top, trying to induce what the hell is going on. Mateo slides over to program the destination himself, having researched this a long time ago. He was told it was an idiotic idea, but it may be the only one they have. They jump.

It’s extremely hot here, as one might expect for a chamber inside of a volcano. “Now you can go,” Mateo whispers.

“No.”

“Only one of us needs to die. Go! Please!”

The hatch opens, and Constance!Five sticks her head down. “Here’s Connie!”

“GOOOOOOOO!” Mateo shouts.

Thankfully, Ramses disappears.

“You’re not getting off that easy.”

“Yippee ki yay, motherfucker.” Mateo places the correct fingers on the teleporter. He can feel it start to heat up, and in seconds, the explosion begins. But it doesn’t keep going. Everything freezes, including Constance!Five.

A hand appears out of the aether, between Mateo and Constance!Five. It bends the fingers to meet the thumb, and starts turning around slowly. It kind of looks like a periscope. It stops when it sees Mateo. Then it opens up, and waves him towards it.

Mateo crawls towards the extraction mirror, but does slip through it. He keeps going until he reaches Constance!Five. If his mysterious savior from the future has the ability to slow time down long enough to mount an effective rescue mission, Constance!Five has time to framejack a way out of this predicament too. He needs to shorten that time as much as possible. He takes her by the shoulders, and drags her along the floor until she’s right up against the teleporter. Only then does he make his way back to the mirror, and dive in head first.

“Did that work? Is she dead?” Mateo asks. He’s in a room that he doesn’t specifically recognize, but it looks a lot like Constant architecture. Leona is there, as are Ramses, Leona, and Winona.

“It has not been that long,” Leona answers. “If she survived, we’ve not seen her.”

Mateo looks around. He sees what looks like a closed viewport. He slowly heads for it, and even slowerly reaches for the shade. No one stops him, so he opens it, and looks out. He sees the stars. It’s nothing new, and it doesn’t give him even an approximate location. This could be anywhere. “Guys...where are we?”

Leona smiles. “We’re at that Phoenix location in the Oort Cloud that we’ve been talking about for ages.”

“Finally made it, eh?” He nods and returns to the viewport, just to enjoy the starscape. He turns back upon realizing something. “Aquila said you’d find me here.”

“Yes,” Leona says. “She wasn’t wrong or lying. We just didn’t have all the info.”

He steps away, and takes a gander at the extraction mirror. “Have you used this for anyone else yet?”

Leona steps over to a control panel on the wall. With it, she opens the hatches for three cloning pods. “You were never killed, so you don’t need a new body. Neither do we. The rest have been taken care of.”

Mateo gets closer to see the clones that are growing in the pods. One of them is himself. The other two are Ramses and Leona.

“Okay. Maybe you’ve been gone for a little while.”

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: February 4, 2399

« < » > Table of Contents

Mateo and Ramses are still not back yet from dropping the boys off on the AOC. Aldona has not even bothered to think about long-range communications systems, because it’s not priority. They have to build the ships and satellites first, then they can worry about all that stuff. All Leona can do is hope that they wanted to have a longish conversation while going relativistic speeds, and that nothing is actually wrong. She’s been trying to keep her mind busy with her work, but it has not been easy. She’s been distracted, and not even by her husband’s absence. It’s something else. Something has been gnawing at her, and it’s not the loneliness, nor the exhaustion, though both of those have become real problems. No, she’s realized what it is. It’s the Constance!Five android they tucked away in the antarctic. She’s still a threat. She’ll continue to be a threat until she’s gone forever.

Aldona knocks on the door for her two hourly check-in, which she apparently thinks Leona has not noticed. “Hey, what’s up? Could you check these numbers for me?”

Leona accepts the tablet, and gives them a cursory glance. “They look great.”

“You barely looked at them.”

“I’m that good. You are too. Stop asking me for input that you don’t need.”

“Measure twice, cut once,” Aldona muses.

“That’s what the computer is for.”

Aldona sticks the tablet under her armpit, and folds her arms.

“Is there anything else?”

“You want to ask me for something.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Once a day, you ask for something extra. Resources, access to something. We’re nearing the end of the evening, and you’ve not done that yet. So, out with it.”

She stares at her for a few seconds. “Okay, you’re right. I was hoping to borrow one of your rockets.”

“What is it this time?”

“There is something that we need to get into space.”

“Okay. Because...?”

“Because...that’s where the sun is.”

“And what do you need with the sun?”

Leona scrunches up her lips, and shakes her head rapidly. “We may or may not need to allegedly throw something into it.”

“You need to throw something into the sun...like garbage?”

“That’s a word for it.”

Aldona narrows her eyes. “Are you trying to murder someone?”

“That...is a word for that.”

“Talk to me, Leona. Tell me what I need to know.”

“We call her Constance!Five. She can make herself look like anyone. We trapped her in a stasis pod, but it’s only a matter of time before she breaks out.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell me this? That’s who’s trying to kill Cedar.”

“I know, but not everyone believes that all’s fair in love and war.”

“If you have a version of Constance, I want it gone. Permission: granted.”

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: February 3, 2399

« < » > Table of Contents

Leona is in her office, doing her multitasking thing, but this time, she’s not trying to steal from the world governments. She’s only trying to help by making this the best planetary defense system in six realities. Right now, the biggest issue is power generation. It doesn’t matter how fast they build all these fantastic structures, producing and storing energy takes time. You can always cultivate more of it with more time. Aldona is an expert in antimatter production, which is a field of research that Leona knows relatively little about. The AOC runs on the stuff. She knows how to handle the storage pods, load them, and maintain the equipment. But she’s never had to make the antiparticles herself. She’s never even seen a power plant before.

Antimatter is, as the name would suggest, and to put it simply, the opposite of matter. When a particle and antiparticle meet, they annihilate each other. Since the universe is made of matter, there’s unsurprisingly not enough of the other kind around. It doesn’t last long; it can’t. It will take a culture decades to figure out how to do it, and that’s after decades of using other, completely unrelated power sources, like fossil fuels and renewables. It’s extremely powerful in small quantities, but requires a great deal of infrastructure. Aldona can’t figure out how to make it happen in time, which is a problem. Nuclear fusion is good enough for a defense system that doesn’t have to do anything, but once a serious force tests it, that whole system could fall apart. If an enemy were to bombard their weakest link with fodder, that part of the grid would run out of juice quickly, like the health bar for a video game character who’s underwater.

“What about the Fourth Quadrant?” Leona asks.

“We’re working closely with them,” Aldona answers. They’re in less danger, because the Kansas City bubble is virtually impenetrable on its own, and there’s a way to evacuate the other islands into it, but we’re still going to help.”

“No, I’m talking about power. Antimatter is better than fusion, but what’s better than antimatter?”

“Uhh...a blackhole drive?”

“In a way, yes, but you don’t need to capture a black hole, not when you’re one of us,” Leona says.

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”

“Temporal energy,” Leona explains. “It’s what powers the Novus Metro in the Fourth Quadrant. At least, it did at one point. Time moves at a different speed as the main sequence, so they steal the energy that the discrepancy releases, like static from your socks on the carpet. We can use that, instead of half-assing the construction of antimatter plants, just to get them completed in time.”

“Are you feeling okay?” Aldona questions. “You look—forgive me—exhausted.”

She is exhausted, but there is nothing she can do to change that. Too many people are involved; she can’t just do whatever she wants. She’s never been responsible for an entire world. All those people, and more, are relying on her to make this happen. “That’s not the point, I’m not making this up. Let me speak to someone in Novus Metro.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but this goes beyond my understanding. What would you even call something like that?”

“I believe they ended up going with temporal dynamo.”

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: February 2, 2399

« < » > Table of Contents

Angela is asleep again. Marie and Dr. Farlind woke her up for a few minutes to update her on the current situation, but she had to go back down so she won’t unintentionally purge the immortality water from her system. It’s been about a half hour, and they’re miles and miles and miles away from Earth now. Even so, the computer beeps.

“What is that?” Dr. Farlind asks.

Marie tilts her head at the screen. “It’s another ship. It just disappeared. It’s back again. It disappeared again.”

“Someone’s come after her. How long has it been on Earth?”

“Two weeks,” she answers. They’re about to be boarded. Marie goes over to the food synthesizer, opens the cabinet, and starts to pull the nutrient cartridges out. In the back are various parts. Half of the grip, the other half, barrel, trigger, magazine. In seconds, she expertly assembles them into a gun. She’s finished and aiming at the dark figure who has transported into the ship, and would have been able to shoot if Mateo had not been the one to step into the light. “Oh my God, I nearly killed you.”

“Wouldn’t have been the first time,” Mateo says nonchalantly. He looks around. “Room for three more?”

“Three who?”

“The McIver boys, plus another.”

“If need be, yeah, but who is this other?”

“It’s a newcomer. Name’s Cedar. I don’t know his last name. He’s good people. Constance is after him too. He can’t tell us why. We’ve accepted as much.”

Marie looks at the camera feed showing Angela sleeping in her grave chamber.

“Where’d you get the gun?” Mateo asks.

“Never mind that,” she replies. She tucks it into the back of her pants. “Bring ‘em on board. Then, unless you’re staying, you better get going. You’ve been here for almost an entire day already.”

“I know.” He holds up a portable drive. “This is the updated AI system.” He looks between the two of them. “One of you, or the other, can come back. This ship no longer requires human monitoring. It knows where to go, and how to get there.”

“I’m not leaving my patient,” Dr. Farlind says.

“I’m not leaving my sister,” Marie echoes the sentiment.

“Very well. You still need to upload this. It comes up with a full update on our lives since you’ve been gone. Not only does it tell you what we’ve been through, but you can ask the avatar for clarification. You can also ask it the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow, or how many dimples are on a golf ball.”

“Three hundred and thirty-six,” Dr. Farlind answers proudly.

“Well. I guess you don’t need the AI then,” Mateo jokes.

He jumps back to the Bridgette when it pings again. It’s not traveling at relativistic speeds, since it’s not a ship. It has to teleport within range, and then Mateo can reach it. He returns with Carlin and Moray, then makes a second trip for the last passenger. “Marie and Dr. Farlind, allow me to introduce you to...Cedar.”

“We’ve met.”

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: February 1, 2399

« < » > Table of Contents

They may not be individually modular, but the Mangrove rockets can dock with each other. They can, in fact, do so in eight places. They’re cylindrical, of course, but a walkway can extend from all four sides, around the center of the cargo bay, and also at the top, near the bridge. They could theoretically be linked together into one megaship grid of infinite numbers. It would become harder to maneuver with each additional vessel, but the option is there. For now, only two of the rockets are in space, and only those two need to link up. At the moment, the remaining members of Team Matic are having a meeting with Aldona. Her helmsman is running the bridge, while the boys are occupying themselves with playing cards in another room.

“I know I said this yesterday,” Aldona begins, “but I want to reiterate my gratitude for what you all did for my nephew. Mateo, you promised to keep him a secret, and you kept that promise. Leona, you went above and beyond to prevent that monster from breaching the airlock. I can’t thank you enough.”

Leona stops gazing out the window. They’re orbiting the moon again. “Thank you for coming for us,” she reiterates her own words from yesterday.

Aldona pauses to gather herself. “I’m not happy with what you did, but looking back, I could have handled the situation better. We’ve met before, and I know you fairly well by reputation. What happened happened, and could not have happened any other way. You’re trying to find your friend with the same vigor and commitment as I exhibit when it comes to Cedar’s safety. If you were me, and I were you, I imagine I would have reacted the same. That being said, I am here to help bolster the defenses for this reality’s version of Earth. I am not a president, nor a prime minister, nor a king. They have given me everything I’ve asked for thus far, but that is because I’m giving them more than they knew they needed. Asking them to authorize a satellite—or satellite array, or whatehaveyou—which violates just about every constitution on the map would be unwise. It would not go over well, regardless of why you’re asking.

“That being said, I understand the need for this, so I am prepared to go against my oversight, and let you do it anyway. I can’t technically give you permission, but I can look the other way...as long as no one reveals the truth regarding my involvement.”

They all three shake their heads.

Aldona nods. “Unfortunately, that may not be enough, so I’ll ask you for your patience. Allow me to launch the first wave of defense satellites first, so my clients can hardly argue against my value to the program. They need to see tangible results first.”

“How much time?” Leona presses.

“Three weeks,” Aldona answers.

“We can’t wait to look for Alyssa for three weeks,” Ramses argues.

Aldona shuts her eyes, knowing that she would get pushback for this. “Not to speak ill of your friend, but I think we all know that she is not on this world. She would have most likely reached out sooner, correct?”

“Maybe she was sent to a prison, or something,” Mateo reasons.

“Maybe,” Aldona agrees. “But you don’t really think that’s a likely explanation, do you? Not in our line of work.”

She’s right, it’s not a good explanation. If you want to hide someone from a group of fiercely loyal teleporters, the last thing you want to do is take her anywhere in the present day. The best thing to do is use time travel, perhaps even to prehistoric times; a practice known as zoicization. She could also be in the future. Or another reality, or an old timeline, or another universe. The possibilities are literally endless, and very few ideas would be too far-fetched to consider. “We have to try,” Mateo insists.

“We can help speed up your interim deadlines,” Ramses offers.

“You’ll be doing no such thing. I need you up here,” Aldona counters.

“Up here for what?” Ramses questions.

“For Cedar. I need someone to protect him. Space is still our best option. Obviously I didn’t work hard enough to conceal him, but he doesn’t have the skills necessary to stay on the move. That’s what I need you for. I don’t trust anyone else. Well, except maybe for Mateo and Leona, but I need her with me.” She doesn’t bother to explain why Mateo is an inadequate choice.

Still, he may not be completely useless. “What about the AOC?”

“It’s gone,” Ramses says. “I don’t have any other saved copies.”

“We could always catch up to it,” Mateo reasons. “I assume they’re already too far for me to teleport there on my own, but I can do it in the Bridgette instead. I know enough about how to use that thing.”

“They’re almost 3,000 astronomical units away by now,” Leona tells him. “So yes, you would need a vehicle to survive. You wouldn’t want to spend too much time there. Assuming you can cross the distance, and hit the bullseye, if you stay on board the AOC for a couple of minutes, it’s a whole day for us.”

“That’s not so bad,” Mateo determines. He faces Aldona. “Is that safe enough? He’s not untouchable, because what we’re talking about is reaching the ship, even though it’s going at relativistic speeds, but it’s not going to be easy, and we already know where they’re headed. Constance would not know as much.”

“Who else is there?” Aldona asks.

“Marie, Angela, and Angela’s doctor.”

“He seems to be getting along with the McIver boys, even though they’re much younger. He hasn’t had much experience with friends. His life has been....tough.”

Ramses and Leona exchange looks. “They should probably go back into relativity anyway, now that this new looming threat has replaced the old one. They only came out of it due to unforeseen circumstances, which are not present with this second trip.”

Aldona gives it some serious thought. “I don’t know. I don’t like the idea of him being that far from me, and it being virtually impossible to communicate with him.”

Cedar scurries into the room, Carlin and Moray in tow. “Please, I would like to go. If I can’t stay on Earth, at least let me be with my friends.”

“It is equipped with six grave chambers,” Mateo mentions.

“I don’t like that you call them that,” Aldona says.

“They’re fun to sleep in,” Moray says excitedly.

“I assure you that Marie is more than capable of protecting them,” Ramses says. “I really should stay here; for Alyssa, for the threats, for everything.”

Aldona gives it more serious thought. She looks into Cedar’s eyes. “Okay, but only if you navigate the transformer,” she says to Ramses. “Mateo can go too, if he wants. I may consider shortening the amount of time you’ll have to wait to deploy the satellite, but it’s not gonna be tomorrow. So take your time, and do it right, please.”

“Thanks.” Cedar gives her a hug.