The Advancement of Mateo Matic: April 12, 2403

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Moray McIver was one of the first students accepted into an experimental time school that existed inside of a time bubble, which accelerated the age of everyone within by several years for every year outside. While this was happening, legislation was passed to ban such use of these new time powers that people were suddenly experiencing. Most countries created entirely new branches of law enforcement in order to regulate the salmon and choosing ones of the Third Rail Earth, but the only one that really mattered was the Temporal Police Force in the United States. It wasn’t a particularly original name, and its mandate was different than what one may find in stories, but the majority of people with abilities lived in and around Arvazna. The U.S. and Arvaznian governments worked closely together to allow passage back and forth between the border since the Superscraper was nowhere near self-reliant. To make this work, the TPF had to enjoy the same freedom of movement in a jurisdictional sense.

Right now, Moray was leading Mateo, Angela, and Marie up to the ship that was going to take them to the planet of Violkomin, which was a corruption of the German word for welcome. The group was not invisible, per se, but they could not be seen as they wandered through the crowd. They were passing through a special spatial dimension that Moray created for them. Or rather he opened it, because it was always there, just beyond the reach of normal man. As far as parallel dimensions went, it could be considered the closest one to normal space. Slipping into it was trivially easy if you knew that it was there, and where specifically it was. Slipping out of it was also easy to do accidentally, which is why they had to stay with Moray at all times. Only he could see the exact pathway that they needed to take in order to stay within bounds.

“They’re working on technology to detect things like this,” Adult!Moray explained to them as they were snaking their way forward. “They’re...struggling with it.”

Mateo laughed. “Yeah, what you’re talking about is a disturbance detector, and only a few temporal objects can do it, like the Compass of Disturbance, and the HG Goggles. Whoever is looking into it is probably severely underestimating how difficult it is. If it were easy, we would have tons of them already.”

“Good,” Moray replied. “It’s an invasion of privacy. Most citizens are against.”

“Can people hear us?” Angela asked. “Because we can hear them. Sort of.”

“Under standard circumstances,” Moray began, “yes. Sound freely passes through the dimensional barrier, almost completely unencumbered, in both directions. However, I’m actively shunting the soundwaves elsewhere. If someone were underwater in the middle of a particular spot in the ocean, they might be able to hear us. The downside is the sound from the people around us is muffled. Maybe nothing to be done about that. It’s a tradeoff. A friend of mine is working on a workaround for me, though. She’s a temporal inventor, and she’s trying to design what’s basically a fancy hearing aid so I can spy on people from inside.”

“Oh,” Mateo said. “Her name wouldn’t happen to be Holly Blue, would it?” Perhaps they never really knew her origins.

“No,” Moray answered laughing. “Why? Who is that?”

“She’s the only inventor we know whose time power is inventing, instead of just being smart enough to do it.”

“Ah, I see. No, her name is Iona.”

“Is there something between you and this little inventor?” Marie asked, smiling. “It looks like you’re blushing.”

“No, I turned out to be gay,” Moray clarified. “I may or may not be blushing about her brother, Thurstan, who may or may not be a little too old for me.” That’s why I’ve been trying to get back into that time bubble.”

“Don’t do that,” Mateo suggested. “Just let time pass as it’s meant to. I’ve been in a few bubbles myself. No matter whether it’s slower or faster, you always come out feeling like you’ve missed something important.”

“That’s true. We’re here,” Moray said. The instruction on the door said to pull it, but he pushed, and moved it out of the way. Physical obstructions in the main dimension did have some kind of effect on the pocket dimension, but not always in the way they should, which was why they weren’t constantly bumping into people who couldn’t see that they were on the sidewalk with them. This was why Moray spent so much time in the bubble school, so he could learn to see a brand new geometry that a normal person couldn’t even fathom. Evidently, there was more he could do with this besides sneaking around. They snuck up to the launchpad.

They climbed the stairs to get all the way to the top, because Moray said that elevators were complicated. They decided to watch the launch in secret from the bridge. The crew was well-organized, but a little unpolished in their duties. It was understandable as all of this technology came as a giant leap in advancement, rather than a natural progression. These people had to learn their jobs in a short time frame. A few of them might have been part of their own time school bubble, but if these rumors were true, it was a different bubble than the one that Moray studied in.

Even with the issues, they launched the ship successfully, and kept everyone safe during the trip to Violkomin. From this region of space, traveling the long way around, using this vessel’s engine, was threatening to take a matter of years. Fortunately, the less violent majority of the Parallel decided to place supernexa near each version of Earth for shortcuts. These were not as large as the meganexa that they were still keeping to themselves, but more than enough for this diplomatic ship. What they could really use was the regular Nexus in Antarctica, but internal Third Rail sociopolitics prevented any one country from even stepping foot on Antarctican snow until the Global Council could renegotiate the treaties that dictated its usage.

For now, the supernexus was the only option for interplanetary travel for Third Railers and Fourth Quadrant dwellers, but it was not convenient. The Parallel didn’t place it near Earth. It was orbiting inside of the Oort Cloud, about 10,000 astronomical units away. At maximum speed, it would have taken them two hours to arrive. Out of fear, they didn’t push the ship that hard, so it took six hours. But once they were there, they were pretty much at Violkomin, because the supernexus of egress was built by the literal architects of the planet, who felt no need to make this whole thing a game.

“We’re close enough, we can take it from here,” Mateo said, now that they were well within teleporter range.

Captain Stefan Holland perked up. “Who was that?”

“Oh, shit,” Moray whispered. It was weird to hear him curse, but he was an adult now. He waved his arms around. “I forgot to hold the sonic dampener.”

A random crewmember reached over, and pressed a big mauve button near the exit. The door dropped down, the lights also turned mauve, and everyone got into defensive positions.

“Who is here?” Captain Holland asked again.

Moray held his finger against his lips to keep everyone quiet.

“No,” Mateo said. “Get me out of here.”

“It should be fine now. Just be extra quiet,” Moray continued to whisper.

“I need an exit,” Mateo maintained.

Moray sighed, and reached over to pull back the invisible curtain that separated the pocket dimension from everything else. Mateo ducked through it, and held up his hands. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt anyone.”

“A stowaway,” the Captain noted. “Put him in hock.”

“No, you can’t do that,” Mateo told them. “We have to get to Violkomin, so that’s what we’re going to do.”

“We? Where are the others?”

Moray dropped the barrier, and revealed the other three.

I was going to tell them I meant the royal we.”

“We can talk about toilet kings another day, Moray reasoned, unwittingly confused. “We stick together.”

“Take them all to hock,” Holland decided.

“Wait,” Mateo stopped the guards from approaching. “Do you feel that?”

“Feel what?” Captain Holland.

“Not you.”

“Yes,” Angela agreed. “It’s her.”

“I feel her too,” Marie said.

“She’s not on the planet.”

“No, but she’s close.”

“Whatever you’re talking about, you can continue talking about it from the other side of a cell. No more delays. No more resisting.” The Captain had had enough.

“I do too,” Moray claimed.

“You what? You feel Olimpia?”

“I feel...a disturbance in the force. She’s not out here. She’s in another dimension. Not my dimension, but similar.”

“Can you get her out?” Mateo asked.

“Not from here. But we can work together. One of you teleport me to her, and I’ll free her. But I’ll need a vacuum suit.”

“Yes. Sir, where are your vacuum suits?”

“We are not accommodating you,” Captain Holland argued.

“Right. I’ll find them myself.” Mateo took Moray by the hand, and started jumping around the ship until he found the airlock. Every time someone came up to stop them from getting what they needed, he would transport them to the other side of the vessel. Angela and Marie showed up soon to do the same. They kept working until Moray was protected and ready. They focused on the location of the empathic bond they shared with Olimpia, and made another jump, this time to the middle of space. She was floating there in a translucent cocoon of folded space, eyes closed, and trapped in the pocket dimension.

Moray reached for her, and pulled her all the way through to empty space. She woke up and tried to breathe, but found herself unable to. Fortunately, the few seconds she spent out in the black was nowhere enough to kill her. Mateo grabbed her in relief, and jumped the both of them down to the planet. Angela and Marie followed closely with Moray.

Once Mateo was sure that Olimpia wasn’t hurt, and wouldn’t need any medical attention, he hugged her again, and then started kissing her all over her face. “Mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah!”

Angela and Marie did the same. “Oh my God,” Olimpia exclaimed. How long has it been for you?”

“Over a year,” Angela answered.

“Four years for me,” Marie spoke for herself.

“Aww.” Olimpia gave her an extra hug. “It’s only been a couple days for me,” she explained when it was over. And they were awful. I think I was unconscious for the few days after that, though.”

“We had no idea where you were” Mateo began, “until we heard of the Sixth Key, but even then, it was a long time before we had an opportunity to come here. We’re so lucky to have found you when we did.”

“Score one for Ramses and his empathy upgrade,” Marie mused.

“Yeah, where’s he? Where’s Leona?”

“He has a mission, she has a meeting. They’ll find their way back to us later. We’ll explain everything, but first, what about you? How have you been?”

They heard someone approaching from around the corner. They hadn’t paid much attention to where they were. It was just kind of a big open room; maybe a hotel ballroom. It was Lowell Benton who appeared from the hallway. “Oh. Are you part of the diplomatic team?”

“Lowell?” Angela asked, shocked to see him here. “Are you in charge of this whole place? All by yourself?”

Well...Hogarth is supposed to be back from her little meeting, but she’s not returned yet, and I don’t know why. Ellie’s there too. I’ve been holding down the fort, but you know...I’m not great at diplomacy. I really shouldn’t be the only one here, but funny enough, the other meeting people didn’t want a serial killer crashing their party.”

“What?” Moray asked.

“He’s reformed.”

“I’m powerless,” Lowell said. “I died and was resurrected without my ability to witness past evil deeds. You have no idea how good that feels. You take your ignorance for granted. And who is this, by the way?”

“A new friend.” Mateo pointed accordingly. “Lowell Benton, this is Olimpia Sangster, and this is Moray McIver. Moray, Olimpia, this is Lowell.”

“I see. And why are there two Angelas now?”

“I’m Marie. It’s a long story.”

“I see again. I do not have time for it. I have to figure out what I’m gonna do about these diplomatic officials coming from the Third Rail.”

“I’m afraid we can’t help. We’re back on our pattern, so we’ll disappear tonight.”

“Plus, the bridge crew doesn’t like us,” Moray pointed out.

“Can you get us to the Nexus?” Mateo asked.

“I can’t do that.” He turned his face to stare ominously over at the wall. “It’s on the other side,” he said in an eerily quiet voice. “It’s on the other side,” he said even quieter.

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The Edge: Enticement (Part IV)

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Leona and Aldona were talking about nothing and everything in Leona’s bed last light, and ended up falling asleep next to each other. They still didn’t know how they were going to get out of this star system, and back to where they wanted to be. Leona needed to return to her life, of course, and Aldona had more work to do for the Third Rail and Fourth Quadrant Earths. Would anyone let them actually go do those things, though? There was a knock on the door, but the person on the other side of it didn’t bother waiting for someone to answer. Ishida Caldwell walked in. “Hey,” she said in a very soft voice, like a mother to a child with the cold.

“We’re not going to be at the meeting.”

“Don’t ask us why, because you’re not going to like the answer,” Aldona added.

“I know why you’re not going to be there,” Ishida replied, “because you don’t wanna. If you don’t want to help, there’s no reason for you to be on this space station.”

“I thought that this was the only place that could protect us from the Reconvergence,” Aldona recalled.

Ishida shook her head. “There are a few others; namely Dardius, and Durus.”

“I don’t think they call it Durus anymore,” Leona divulged.

“Whatever.”

“Does that mean we can leave?” Aldona asked.

“Yes.”

“Can anyone give us a ride?” Leona asked.

“Let me show you something first. Get dressed.” Ishida left and closed the door behind her, but it felt like she was just waiting for them out in the hall.

They were both already wearing clothes, but from yesterday, so Leona let Aldona borrow an outfit. They scarfed down a meal bar each, cleaned their teeth with a couple of mouthbombs, and left too.

Ishida took them by the hands, and teleported away. They were now in Team Keshida’s new masterpiece ship, the Jameela Jamil, which wasn’t super new anymore. It was the single most advanced vessel in the galaxy, besides maybe the Matrioshka Body, which let’s just say, didn’t really count. Aldona was immediately smitten with its sleek curves, its absolutely cleanliness, and its perfect lighting balance. She had obviously never seen it before, even in the future, her past.

“Yeah, this is really nice,” Leona determined.

“This isn’t what I wanted to show you,” Ishida clarified. She started leading them down the corridor. “As you know, the JJ exemplifies the four pillars of spaceflight. Safety, Compartmentalization, Redundancy...” She paused while she slowly opened the last door, “and Modularization.”

They were in a shuttle bay, except fit for much larger vessels. Three were docked here at the moment, but there were spots for many more. “This is the Cleopatra. Next to it is the Ava, and that one down there...is the Phoenix.”

Aldona smiled. “I’m sensing a pattern.”

“Yes.”

“Where’s the Tahani?”

“It’s out with its new crew. Or should I say, they are out with their new crews,” Ishida began cryptically. “Quantum duplication is difficult to pull off. It takes a lot of energy, and what we’ve found is that the larger the object—or rather, the more massive—the likelier the duplicate is to come with issues. So we decided that the Reconvergence is an opportunity. We sent the vessels away from Altair in order to give them a fifty-fifty shot of sticking around. One duplicate will go to the Sixth Key, and the other version will stay here. The Sixth Key crews will go on missions in that universe, away from the guidance of the mothership. We’ll reconvene with the copies that stayed in this universe at a later date.”

“Interesting. But what does that have to do with us?” Leona asked.

“We kept these three here for their own reasons,” Ishida said. “The Phoenix is what concerns you, Mrs. Matic. Atterberry pods, Ubiña pockets, state-of-the-art molecular synthesizers, internal teleportation, lander beaming technology, more sensors than you could ever imagine, protective teleportation hull field, advanced holographic illusioning, and much more. Oh, and a true faster-than-light drive. Plus, the shuttle bay has enough room for two standard shuttles, and one...Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sized ship of your choosing. All this could be yours for the low, low price of...”

Leona closed her eyes, finally understanding what was happening here. “Attending the meeting,” she finished. “This is a bribe.”

“This is an ultimatum,” Ishida contended. “Come to the meeting, do your job, get the ship. It’s simple. We’re not asking you to make any particular decision at the meeting; only to contribute. Your attendance is mandatory, as is yours, Aldona.”

“If it’s mandatory, you wouldn’t need a bribe,” Aldona reasoned. “You could just force us to be there.”

“We can do that too, but we wanted to incentivize you instead.”

“It looks and sounds nice,” Leona started, “but the AOC is safe and sound where we parked it in the Fifth Division. We’ll get it back.”

“That’s cool, but you need something more,” Ishida said. “The universe is changing. The AOC was an amazing piece of technology two hundred years ago, but this is the 25th century, and regardless of how the meeting ends up, you’ll need to be in a position of power for anyone to take you seriously. But like I said, your original vessel has a place, which is why you’re getting that one, and Aldona is getting the Ava.”

“That one?” Aldona asked, pointing. “What am I expected to do with it?”

“Go back home. Stop the war. It’s got its own special toys. What it doesn’t have is what the Phoenix does, which is why we chose that particular name for it.”

“What, does it turn into a bird?” Leona questioned.

“It can’t be destroyed,” Ishida started to explain. She reached into her back pocket, and pulled out something Leona had seen before, but it was not in great shape. “This is the little gadget that Ramses used to generate recovery states of the AOC. I borrowed it from a museum in the future. Don’t worry, it’s completely inoperable, but it’s a genius idea, and we drew from it. You see, the Reconvergence has already happened, and the Phoenix was in the center of it. It was secretly buried underneath Stonehenge in the main sequence when your husband copied the entire reality. It was imbued with the power to recover from anything, and rise from the ashes to fly again. It can survive anything...as long as the blackbox in the center of it remains undamaged. Obviously that’s why it is in the center. I’ll show you how to work it. I’ll show you everything if you agree to our terms.”

“I’m curious,” Aldona began while Leona was considering the offer, and unable to speak herself. “What’s the special purpose of the Cleopatra?”

“Oh, that’s my personal ship, which is why it’s still here. Kestral and I don’t want ourselves to be duplicated, but she did want her personal ship, the Eris, to be copied, so it’s off on its own in the middle of interstellar space. She didn’t explain why.”

“This is a nice offer,” Leona said, “but what I’m curious about is if you think I won’t be able to refuse it.”

“This isn’t a trick, Leona. This is our last attempt to persuade you. I’ve just received word that Ramses is fine. He survived what happened to him when he stepped through the untailored portal. You’ll see him again. So there is no reason for you to be mad at us anymore. All you have to decide is if you’re over your exhaustion, or if you’re satisfied flying the AOC off to a remote star system somewhere to live our your days with no more adventures or intrigue. What would the real AOC do?”

She was right. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was a relentless fighter. Leona would feel bad about abandoning the ship they had used for so long, if only because of its namesake, so keeping it somewhere on the Phoenix would be a decent compromise. As far as spaceship names go, it’s not original, but surely there’s room for one more. It’s a great name, and if what Ishida says is true, it’s really the only one that fits. She’s not excited for what she has to do to get it, but she wants this ship. She really does.

“Well?” Ishida asked. “How about it?”

Aldona frowned at Leona. “I’m taking the deal. I have to.”

“I understand,” Leona replied. “I’m taking it too. I’ll be there tomorrow.”

Ishida grimaced. “That’s the thing. Errr, that’s the other thing. The meeting starts today.” She glanced at her watch. “It starts in half an hour.”

“Why did it change?”

“If you had stayed through the whole introduction presentation, you would know why.” That was uncharacteristically sassy of Ishida.

“Well...” Leona was going to clap back, but decided against it. “Can you teleport us back to my room, so we can get ready?”

“Everything you need is in your new ships,” Ishida suggested.

“Better not,” Leona decided. “I would just get distracted in there.”

“Same here,” Aldona agreed.

Ishida obliged them, but took Aldona to her own room, so they didn’t have to share a space. It was two minutes to the starting time, and Leona still hadn’t left yet. She bolted out the door, and prepared to run all the way when she noticed Pribadium Delgado leaning coolly against the wall. “I thought you might be running late.”

“Pribadium, I—”

“Don’t apologize, or I’ll feel like I have to too. Let’s just move on.”

“Okay.” Leona nodded, and stuck her tail between her legs. She took Pribadium’s hand when it was offered, and they jumped back to Lylla Hall. A couple of ushers opened the double doors for them, as well as Aldona and Ishida, who had arrived at about the same time. Everyone looked back at Leona again, but her tail couldn’t get more tucked than it already was. “Hi, sorry. I’m feeling much better now.”

They climbed on stage with the others, and the meeting began.

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Microstory 1925: Apostle’s Virtue

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National Commander Apostle Virtue: Not that I don’t enjoy our in-person visits, Director, but what do you have to say that could not be said over secure video chat?

OSI Director: Is that a new uniform? It looks nice, Commander. There’s an update on the alien situation. Remember how I told you we made contact with the human traveler?

Apostle: I recall, the supposed parole officer?

OSI Director: We let him interview the creature, and I believe that we have an opportunity here. I came in person, because we have a short window to act, and I don’t need chatlag getting in the way of me getting my point across.

Apostle: You let a civilian—an escaped jail detainee—interrogate another detainee, who also happens to be an alien from another world, and the greatest, most dangerous, discovery that this country—this planet—has ever made?

OSI Director: Yes, and I’d do it again, because he actually got through to it. We were right, it does speak. It knows a lot, it’s just stubborn.

Apostle: Well, what did it say?

OSI Director: It knows things about the P.O.’s future, and the P.O. was not surprised or confused about that. I think they experience time differently than we do.

Apostle: What’s this opportunity then?

OSI Director: It asked to be set free. No, it asked him to break it out. There’s more it could tell, but it won’t say anything further while it’s locked up.

Apostle: Reasonable response. I would probably say that too if I were in its position. That doesn’t mean we can release it.

OSI Director: I think we should. We could stage a fake escape. We already implanted the tracker in its arm, so we’ll always know where it is. Plus, we can place a tracker or two on the human, and a listening device. We can stay on them, no problem. My worst investigative team could pull it off.

Apostle: You have bad investigative teams?

OSI Director: Sir—

Apostle: No, Director, you’re having trouble understanding the gravity of the situation here. We are this close to getting military aid from Australia against Russia. I can’t make one misstep here. I can elevate our status on the international stage, but only if I play my cards right. It’s not poker; it’s a strategy card game. Because it’s not just about holding the right cards, but about you playing the right cards at the right time to get ahead. This alien is going to get us out of our hundred year slump, but not if it’s discovered by some village idiot in some rando town while it’s on the run from the government. We have to make the announcement. We have to control the narrative.

OSI Director: We still can. The alien doesn’t know what our world is like. We can control its environment. All we have to do is make the human feel like he’s one of us.

Apostle: This is a big risk. If it looked human enough, I would be more comfortable. Of course, that would make it less dramatic when we reveal its existence to the world...

OSI Director: I have an idea about that.

Apostle: Go ahead, soldier.

OSI Director: Its wings make it stand out the most, right? So let’s get rid of ‘em.

Microstory 1924: Blinking Yellow

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Leonard: Hello. My name is Leonard. How’re you doin’? Need anything? They tell me you don’t drink water. You look a little desiccated. Sorry, that’s my big mouth. Let me just find the button on this remote. There. Now you can see that no one is watching us through the mirror. Then I’ll reach up here to shut this off too. Just so you know, in this universe, when the little slowly blinking light is yellow, that means the camera is on. When it’s solid red, power is running through it, but it’s neither streaming nor recording. That’s how they do things here. I’m not sure if you can relate. Do Ochivari have camera technology? Oh, I saw a little reaction there. You didn’t think I had heard of you, eh? You figured that as long as you stayed quiet—which is probably part of your training—they wouldn’t be able to get any information out of you. It’s a fair assessment. I’m assuming it’s not just that you don’t speak our language. Nah, your reaction tells me you understand me. Honestly, I think you lucked out that these people have profoundly strong anti-torture laws. Don’t you find that fascinating? I find it fascinating. Where I’m from, they passed anti-torture legislation too, but you can get away with it if you’re sneaky. If you get caught, you may go to prison, at worst. Here, you’re subjected to the exact same torture that you inflicted on others, compounded by the number of victims. They don’t think it’s worth it, so that’s why you’re fine. Funny how they extend it to aliens, though, right? Seems like that’s a whole other animal. Then again, they probably have anti-animal abuse laws too, and that’s really all you are. You see, the difference between a human and an animal is that a human can communicate with other intelligent beings at a higher level. We can ask for help, and we can provide help, and we can beg for mercy. You’ve not asked for anything. You’ve not said anything at all. They think you’re just an animal. What do you think of that? Any reaction whatsoever?

Ochivar: *says nothing*

Leonard: Hm. I can see that my predecessors have already attempted to torment you with words. That doesn’t count as torture, by the way. They have zero laws regulating mental and emotional abuse. Where I come from, you can get in serious trouble for that, but the way they figure it here, you should either be strong enough to handle anyone’s harsh words, or you should use such experiences to harden yourself against them, which is why they don’t even feel compelled to protect children from it. How does that make you feel? Do you care for your offspring? How do Ochivari procreate? Do you just spit into a giant cauldron together, and then mix it up until a litter of monsters solidify?

Ochivar: Stop! Stop! Dear Limerick, end my suffering.

Leonard: What’s a Limerick? Is that your god?

Ochivar: What is your second name?

Leonard: *pauses* Miazga.

Ochivar: Leonard Miazga of Universe Unlabeled. I’ve heard of you. Am I seeing your origins? This is the first time you traveled the bulk, isn’t it? Wow. What an honor.

Leonard: You could be making this up. You’re not saying anything that proves you know the first damn thing about who I am.

Ochivar: *leaning forward* Get me the hell out of here, and I’ll give you some proof.

Leonard: *leaning forward too* Now you’re speakin’ my language.

Microstory 1923: Lying Liars Lying

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OSI Director: Agent Parsons, Parole Officer Miazga. It’s nice to meet you both. Please, have a seat anywhere. Special Investigator, would you go get us some water?

Special Investigator: Right away.

Leonard: Thanks for having me. And you can just call me Leonard, or even Leo.

Agent Parsons: It’s an honor, sir.

OSI Director: I’ll start with you, Agent. Tell me about yourself. How did you get into fugitive recovery?

Agent Parsons: Well, sir, I wish I could tell you some interesting story about meeting an agent when I was nine, or that my father’s father’s father’s father worked in Fugitive Services. The truth is that I didn’t know what I wanted to specialize in when I signed up for the academy. So I did a full internship rotation, and ended up liking this the most. I’ve actually not been doing it for very long, though you might have assumed by my age. I spent quite a bit of time gaining experience from all facets of law enforcement.

OSI Director: That’s interesting. And you, Mr. Miazga? How did you become a P.O.?

Leonard: I was kind of a legacy. My parents both worked on the parole board for a nearby prison. That’s what they wanted me to do too, but honestly, I didn’t like the idea of sitting behind a table day in, day out. Maybe a third of people are given a second chance while the other two-thirds go back inside. I wanted one hundred percent of the people I worked with to be free.

OSI Director: That’s a fascinating perspective. I can respect that.

Special Investigator: *clears his throat* Um, pardon. Do you want lemon?

OSI Director: No, thank you.

Special Investigator: Lemon? Lemon?

Agent Parsons: I’m all right.

OSI Director: Tell me, Mr. Miazga, what makes you believe that you can get the creature that we’ve captured to finally speak?

Leonard: It’s alone. In order to advance to the level a species like that, or like ourselves, are, they have to value a sense of cooperation. How long have you had it? Six months? I’ve seen enough prisoners to know that everyone breaks. It takes longer for some than for others, but it will always happen, and in my line of business, that’s a good thing. I know that sounds heartless, but if you’ve done something bad enough to end up in a cell, the only way you’re gonna get out is if you admit the justice that put you in there. You may still be angry, and you may be unwilling to change, but the first step is admitting the logic in the outcome. Like I said, we all have our own breaking points, and if it hasn’t reached its point yet, we have to force it, and that may mean changing strategies. That’s all I am for you; a shift in strategy.

OSI Director: *nodding* I can accept this rationale. That’s all I needed to hear. If you’ll excuse me, I must return to my office to make a call.

Agent Parsons: You lied to her about your background. Did you forget that you already told me the truth about your career history?

Leonard: I was just just following your lead. Did you think that I wouldn’t notice your lie? It was my job to spot liars.

Microstory 1922: The Director’s Direction

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Director for the Office of Special Investigations: Who is this man, Special Investigator? What does he want?

Special Investigator: He’s from another universe, like the creature we’ve captured.

OSI Director: And did he tell you that?

Special Investigator: I know what you’re getting at, but we believe him. His first appearance matches that of the alien.

OSI Director: I’m not doubting that the two events are related, but you can’t go on his word simply because he claims to be a member of law enforcement where he’s from, or because he’s telling a really good story. I can’t authorize a random civilian whose identity we cannot verify to interrogate a prisoner on our behalf. We don’t know anything about either of them. They could be working together. The creature could have been sent to stop the human, who is actually a world-killer bent on destroying us. We are in uncharted territory here, and your trust in him is not reassuring. You were given this assignment months ago, and you’ve still not come up with any solid answers. That could make anyone desperate for results, be they accurate or not.

Special Investigator: You’re right, sir. I don’t know if he’s lying, but it’s as he explained it—and like you said just now—we’ve been working on this for so long with all but nothing to show for it. So far, all we’ve been able to determine is that its wings allow it to float in the air a little bit, but not fly over long distances. Something has to change. It may be a bad idea to let those two be in the same room together. I can’t honestly promise that it won’t end up being the downfall of the world. But the same is true for anything. A humanitarian visitor to a wartorn developing country could accidentally sneeze too close to the dictator, spark World War II, and decimate the human population in ten years. Life is not without risk, but without effort, it’s not anything at all. If you just want to play it safe, then I say we cut off the alien’s head, and study it through an autopsy. But if you do that, I guarantee you that you’ll never hear it speak.

OSI Director: There are those who are not only willing to accept that outcome, but are actively hoping for it. They say it would be the safest route.

Special Investigator: *shaking his head* That may teach us whether those two organs in its back are kidneys, or something else. It will not tell us whether it’s here to kill us, or if more are coming. You pushed for a non-violent start to this investigation, and you got a lot of pushback for it, but I backed you, because I believe in this course of action, and I still do. That man downstairs can help us. Let him try. It could be disastrous, or it could lead to a breakthrough. This is the greatest discovery in human history. If they can travel between universes, maybe we can too. Think how the U.S. could benefit from such tech.

OSI Director: This is beyond against protocol. I admit, however, that your idea to treat him as a spy is an intriguing workaround to the paperwork parameters.

Special Investigator: It wasn’t mine. It was Agent Parsons’.

OSI Director: Then perhaps I should speak with Agent Parsons first, and also this so-called parole officer from another Earth.

Special Investigator: I think that would be a fine idea.

OSI Director: Make it happen.

Microstory 1921: Bureaucratic Protocol

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Special Investigator: Thank you for agreeing to come in, Mr. Miazga.

Leonard: I wanna see it.

Special Investigator: There will be time to se the Ochivar—

Leonard: We don’t know that. We may be operating on a tight deadline here. This creature and I have something in common; something that it does not share with you, or with him. I don’t know how the Ochivari developed, or why they go around destroying entire populations, but I know that they’re a curious species.

Agent Parsons: How do you know that? Nothing about its behavior thus far implies any strong feelings regarding anything.

Leonard: I know that its curious, at least it’s genetically probable, because it has to be. Any species that evolves intelligence will lose that character trait if they do not also evolve the tendency to exercise that intelligence to gain knowledge. It obviously learned a great deal about the way the multiverse works, or it would not be here, and even if its arrival were an accident, its people’s history suggests its motivations to be driven by higher-level thinking, rather than simply base instinct.

Special Investigator: I see.

Leonard: Basically, it’s smart, social, and alone right now. It will feel an urge to connect with me, even if it’s only as an enemy. Which is fine, because at the moment, you’re really just trying to get it to communicate, aren’t you?

Special Investigator: That is an accurate assessment.

Leonard: I’ll get it to talk. I can’t guarantee what it will talk about, or whether its responses will ultimately prove fruitful, but it will be a start.

Agent Parsons: Do you have experience in interrogation, though? Our parole officers are mainly here to keep track of the...freemen, and report their movements.

Leonard: Well, I wasn’t always a parole officer. I came up after a brief stint in the military before I was injured. Then I joined the police as a regular officer before becoming disillusioned with its inefficacy. After befriending a social worker, we came to the conclusion that I would be better off avoiding crime scenes. But I was required to study all aspects of law enforcement before that, including interview techniques.

Agent Parsons: Special Investigator? What do you think?

Special Investigator: You make a compelling case, parole officer Miazga. I’m inclined to let you in that room, but it will not be as easy as the three of us taking the stairs down to that level, and opening a door. There is a protocol here, involving an interview with you on the other side of the table, a not insignificant amount of paperwork, and...

Leonard: And what?

Agent Parsons: Oh. And a background check, I would imagine.

Special Investigator: Yes. We are as bureaucratic as any other government entity. I’m not entirely sure how we’re going to handle your situation. Records must be filed.

Agent Parsons: Treat him as a spy. Spies don’t have real identities. Surely you have a form you can fill out that just gets us by without worrying about verifying any data.

Special Investigator: Yes, that’s a good idea, Agent Parsons. Wait here, I’ll go procure what we need to expedite the process.

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: April 11, 2402

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With Danica gone, the only logical place to seek help from someone in the time traveler underground was at the Salmon Civic Center in Kansas City. The place was deserted when they teleported there yesterday. It didn’t look like anything had gone wrong, more like everyone who worked there just happened to call out sick on the same day. They tried to go to the Great Pyramid of Giza too, but there was no one there either, though that wasn’t surprising, because as important as it was, it wasn’t known for its hubbub. No one could think of any other options for a while until Marie remembered something. “Let’s just reach out to the Delegator.”

“Ah, that guy’s never helpful,” Mateo whined.

“We have to connect to somebody,” Angela contended. “He may not be able to help, but he may know where everyone else is. This is just meant to be a start.”

Mateo sighed as he was stepping over to the industrial synthesizer, which they requested in their unit. “Hey Thistle, build me two sets of Jenga playing blocks please.”

Once the machine was done, they arranged the blocks in the formation of Stonehenge, then Mateo laid the final stone, and uttered the magic words. Nothing happened. Well, not nothing, exactly. They could feel a tug on their skin. The Stonehenge dimension was trying to reach them, but was unable to, for some reason.

“Ugh, I guess we’ll just play a game,” Marie suggested, shaking her head.

“No, there’s one other option at least,” Mateo said. “I didn’t offer it before, not because it would be a worse option, but because it may take some time for me to remember the code. Stonehenge isn’t the easiest thing to build a replica of, but there are tons of photos for reference. This one can only come from memory.”

It took so long for Mateo to remember the special knock that it was early morning the next year. Baudin Murdoch opened the door. “Mister Matic. How long has it been?”

“Hard to tell. Are you the only one left?” Mateo asked.

“Yeah, everyone else is at the meeting.”

“The Edge meeting?” Angela questioned. “I thought that was just for The Shortlist.”

Baudin shook his head. “No, it’s for anyone who didn’t want to end up with a duplicate in another universe.”

“That doesn’t describe you?” Marie asked.

Baudin shrugged. “Not many can do what I do. The way I see it, this new universe is better off with access to my power without the OG salmonverse being S-O-L at the same time. Anyway, come on in, come on in. Let’s have a seat in the lobby.”

They stepped into his office building. The girls had never been here before, so they looked around. “Do we have duplicates?”

Baudin shrugged again. “I don’t know. I suppose so, though.”

“We were led to believe that we were not allowed to attend the meeting.”

“Maybe that’s really where they all are,” Baudin began. “The way I understand it, the entire planet they’re on was protected from that whole thing. I didn’t read the fine print, because I made my decision quite quick.”

Mateo nodded, but needed to readjust the topic of conversation “We need help. Our friend is missing. She’s somewhere in the Sixth Key, but we don’t know where to start, and we don’t have a ship, or know anyone who might be able to get us one. We don’t know where all the other Earths are either, in relation to this one.”

“Did you speak with Stargazer?” Baudin asked.

“We went to the Pyramid, but he wasn’t there. And I only know that because no one was there. We’ve never actually met. Paige told me about him.”

“He’s mapping the new universe,” Baudin said. “I figured he’d stay there, but maybe he needed access to other telescopes, which are all basically doing the same thing. With all the time travelers gone, there’s no one left to help them understand what’s happening. Perhaps that’s why you weren’t invited to the meeting; so that you can do that.” He studied their faces, which were making it clear that they were uninterested in the responsibility. “All right. In that case, I’ll reach out to him for you.” He went behind the reception desk, and started digging through the cabinets and drawers. Finally, he found the remote control, which he used to bring down a screen behind them. They moved so they could get a better look while Baudin turned the projector on too. Using a tablet, he searched for what he was looking for, and then he picked up a microphone.

“Are you going to sing?”

“I’m going to sing,” Baudin answered. “No judgments please. I don’t have to sing well. I just have to sing passionately.” He prepared himself mentally for a moment, and then he switched on the music. “There once was a season of infinite light // When the distance from heaven was not far behind // I was close to You // I was close to You!” He continued the karaoke song, which was evidently called Constellations by Ellie Holcomb. He sang the whole thing, and he did so with the passion he promised, and he actually had a pretty nice voice. “Never alone // Never alone!” When he sang the final line, “out here in the dark” a real darkness consumed them all.

Seconds letter, pinpricks of glory began to appear above them. They formed the shape of a human heart, and once this shape was complete, they fell together from the ceiling, into a three dimensional human silhouette. From this, a man appeared. It must have been Stargazer. “I miss that feeling,” he said as the last of the light dripped from his skin, and faded on the floor like liquid sparks. It seemed to be a pleasant experience. “No one ever calls me anymore. Thank you for the opportunity.”

“Hello, Stargazer. My name is—”

“Mateo Matic. I’ve met a version of you.”

“I see. We were hoping that you could help us. It would seem that the main sequence planets do not possess many time travelers, but if you’re one of them, perhaps you can find a friend of ours? Her name is Olimpia Sangster.”

Stargazer nodded slowly. “Is she a friend?”

“Of course,” Mateo insisted.

Stargazer looked over at Baudin, who nodded. “If he says so, it is so.”

“I have heard the echoes,” Stargazer said as he was staring up at the ceiling. He waved his arm above his face, and transformed it back to the night sky, but this time with more than just the one constellation. “My name is Olimpia Sangster, and I have a normal voice,” he recited. “A fool who refuses to follow their superior only proves why they are the fool, and why their superior is the leader,” he added. “Olimpia Sangster, circa 2371.”

“Those are quotes from her. Where did you hear those?” Angela was nervous.

“She says other things,” Stargazer replied cryptically, “but those are the only times she mentions herself by name.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, she does say O-L-I at one point. I assume she was having to spell it for someone. I don’t know why she stopped in the middle.”

“Explain. Where are you hearing these lines?”

Stargazer looked up with his eyes, and pointed with his whole hand. “The stars. The stars are echoing her words. You can’t hear them?”

“No. We can’t...hear stars. Why are they talking about her?”

Stargazer was confused. “Because she made them. She made half the universe. Someone else made the other half.”

“What the hell do you mean, she made the universe?”

“Just what it literally sounds like.”

“Have you...seen her?” Marie asked him.

Stargazer shook his head. “She only speaks. She speaks from everywhere.”

Ramses suddenly appeared out of nowhere, holding Mateo’s once-rosary again. “Oh, hey. You’re here too? I just left you at your apartment, like, a second ago.”

“That was yesterday,” Mateo told him. “What are you doing? Where is Olimpia?”

“I need him.” Ramses gestured towards Baudin. “It starts and ends with the Superscraper.”

“Hm.” Bauden had never heard the term, but he was intrigued. “Tell me more.” He reached out to Ramses.

“Wait. Where. Is. Olimpia?” Mateo repeated urgently.

“Go to Violkomin.”

“What? Tell us what that is!” Angela pleaded, but it was too late. They were both gone. “Have you heard of this Volkomen place?” she asked Stargazer, mostly because he was the only one left with any answers.

“It’s the edge of the barrier between the two halves of the universe. The stars speak of it as well, but I can’t find it. I will one day”

“Grrr,” Mateo growls. “Then we need to go to the Superscraper. Hopefully we can catch Ramses a third time. Would you be able to take us to the Third Rail Earth?”

“That I can do.” Stargazer raised his arms, bathing them in light. When it receded, they were in the lobby of Leona’s Superscraper in the Nation of Arvazna.

A woman stepped out from behind the reception desk, which Mateo now realized looked a lot like the one in Baudin’s office. This whole building screamed Murdoch architecture, now that he thought about it. Baudin did build it. That made perfect sense. “Hello,” she said politely. “Welcome to Arvazna. Do you need to go through intake?”

“We’re pros,” Mateo replied. “We were looking for our friend, Olimpia. Or Ramses. Have you heard of them?”

“I’m sorry, I’ve not. Are they two of the New Arvaznians?”

“No, I...Alyssa!” Mateo could see her across the way. “Alyssa, there you are!”

“Mateo, you’re back!” She teleported the twenty-five meters to them. “Sorry I had to cut out a couple years ago. As you can see, I had a lot of other work to attend to.”

“You run this place?” Angela asked.

“Mhmm, I do. Someone’s got to help these people with their new powers, patterns, and afflictions.”

“Have you seen Ramses around here?” Marie asked, not caring about that.

“No. Why would he be here? He’s dead, isn’t he?”

“No.”

“Well, sorry.”

“Well, he built this building. I mean, he commissioned the man who built it, Baudin Murdoch.”

“Oh. Well that explains why the auditorium is called Murdoch Hall. I assume he went back in time to do it in secret?”

“Yes.”

“You work here? This place is yours?” Angela asked again, just in a slightly, but not any more helpful, way.

“Yes, I told you that, Ange. Are you okay?”

“You were supposed to be one of us. They know you from the past...the future...whatever. You can’t work here.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Angela. I can’t. This is my responsibility. Even if you stayed to help, I wouldn’t leave. These people need me. The normies are coming after us. We have to protect ourselves.”

“But...fate,” Angela pressed.

“It’s okay,” Mateo assured her. “It’s not meant to be.”

“No, she’s part of the team,” Angela argued. “We need her. We need all the power we can get. We need to find Olimpia, and no one else is left. They all abandoned the main sequence for the other main sequence.”

“I guess we changed things,” Mateo said sadly. “For Alyssa. For all of us.” Everything they knew about the timeline was up in the air. Maybe she was meant to join them on their future adventures, and maybe things will worsen because she chose another path, but they were not in the business of coercion, or even guilt-tripping. “It happens. Marie was never meant to exist, but she does, and I wouldn’t go back to put a stop to it. We’ll just have to find her another way.”

Angela scowled, and crossed her arms.

“Have you heard of...what was that again?” Marie asked Stargazer.

“Violkomin,” he helped.

“Yes, that. Have you heard of that world?” Marie went on.

“Yeah,” Alyssa replied. “The Global Council is sending one of Aldona’s diplomatic ships to meet with them.”

“We need to get on that ship,” Mateo decided.

“I can show you where it will be launching from next year,” Alyssa said, “but I can’t get you a seat. I’m sure they’re all full-up. This is a big deal. They’re trying to stop the Reality Wars. Of course, they don’t know specifically about them, but in these couple of years, there has already been a lot of tension. Everyone’s worried, and they’re hoping that the other half of the universe will help.”

“That’s okay,” Mateo said. “We’ll just teleport into a broom closet, or something.”

“Sounds cramped. Allow me to help you make it bigger. Take Moray with you.”

“Your brother? Does he have a power too?”

“Yes, as does Carlin, but it’s Moray you’ll need. Come on out,” she insisted to the aether. “Come out!” She rolled her eyes, and reached behind an invisible wall right next to her. She pulled Moray into view. At least it looked like him. He also looked about twice the age he did when they last saw him.

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