Lim’s face appeared on the screen. I couldn’t even guess where he was—someplace dark that wasn’t his office, for sure. The grey marble behind him and the hint of light reflecting from it suggested that he might be outside.
The polished marble in particular would fit with being in Washington D.C. or a suburb with federal buildings. Lim could easily have been mobilized by the AIs to take down one of the Nine’s outposts. Continue reading Reality Tweaks: Part 2
The glowing ring of the portal appeared before us, with the grey concrete of the dock’s control room visible through the circle. It grew larger by the instant, making it clear that we were exiting immediately.
It was less that we stepped through to the room, so much as fell through at an angle. There was no law, I supposed, that a tunnel through time and space had to synchronize with the orientation of the exit point.
Haley let go of my hand, rolling and coming to her feet. I turned on the suit’s anti-gravity, floating to the ceiling like a Rocket-sized party balloon. Continue reading Reality Tweaks: Part 1
Nataw said, “Of course. We need you… I’ve been waiting for you to say something like this since all the arguments started.”
Then he stopped and looked over at Kee and Lee, asking, “Right?”
Kee looked up toward Nataw, “I know it’s hard for you. We all have friends among Destroy. If it could possibly happen, we’d like to end this without fighting any of them. We also know that’s unlikely.”
Govan nodded. “I’ve had my own visions. I know it’s unlikely, but hearing you say you see value in their lives is good. The less we kill, the better..” Continue reading Engine: Part 11
Nataw sighed. “I’ve been doing what I always do. After the visions came and our whole race went mad, I left. I couldn’t convince anyone in Destroy that killing the younger races was unnecessary, and so I went out to see them before they disappeared. I’m not much of a fighter, you know.”
With a grunt that edged into a growl, Govan said, “It’s not a question of convincing. We all saw what happened. In universe after universe, lesser beings evolved, grew powerful, and sought us out to destroy us. Some of us were even helping them do it, betraying relationships that predate universes. What were we supposed to do?” Continue reading Engine: Part 10
From where she stood next to Nataw, Kee smiled. “You met him in the future, and he chose not to kill you. I think Govan will be reasonable, provided we’re talking to the version of him who spared you. If we’re about to talk to a version of him that doesn’t know anything about that, it could become messy.”
“Great,” I thought back to her.
Tiger, meanwhile, had begun to sniff Nataw and Lee, starting with their butts and crotches.
I wondered if he’d still do that if he understood that they were older than our universe. Then it struck me that, given his understanding of English, he might have decided to start there because he’s a dog.
Nataw watched him and then scratched Tiger behind the ears. Then he said a word that my implant translated as Hideaway’s name in the language of a long-fallen galactic empire. “[Hideaway]. You’re a long way from home. I never liked the Abominators, but I did like what they did with your people. Dogs for hunting dinosaurs. Who’s a good boy?”
Tiger leaned in to the head scratches. Continue reading Engine: Part 8
Lee and Nataw stepped up to the group. I overheard Lee say, “I told you that I couldn’t go with you because I was already inside but from a different time. It wasn’t that far, but the future’s unpredictable.”
He looked over the group—both versions of the League and Jody’s unconscious body on the ground.
“This is Nataw. He’s a very, very old friend.” Then he winked.
Grandpa said, “One of your people.” Continue reading Engine: Part 7
You can’t save everyone. Hypothetically, I could pass Cassie’s dad an implant, and maybe it could save his brain, but Spark had said that anyone passing through the fight with the Abominators while owning or using an implant could cause major deviations.
It wasn’t worth the risk.
Hypothetically, I could send Jaclyn back to grab Paladin, have him heal Giles from whatever damage the process of empowering him caused, but Vaughn might not even be born then. Continue reading Engine: Part 6
The dog observed the hand and sniffed it, but didn’t lick it. Tiger was smart enough to know he didn’t want to taste the metal-and-ceramic gauntlet.
Within a few moments, everyone had arrived: the old Heroes’ League, the new, Prentkos, and both Jody’s and Colette’s unconscious bodies. Talk about not being able to save everyone. Being turned into Rook’s mind-controlled cyborg was still in this Jody’s future. Though I didn’t need to, I made a check, changing that future had the same problems as saving Travis. I checked on Colette, too, but hers wasn’t any different.
I could do it, but it wouldn’t be worth the price. Continue reading Engine: Part 5
“I have the ability,” she said, “but I’ll need ideas from you for how to do it. I’m not allowed to change the past on my own without the command of a living being.”
“Okay,” I said, and realizing that this might take long enough that people would notice, I asked, “How hard is it to stop time?”
The instant I thought it, I knew. Using the device, it wasn’t hard at all. Everything froze around me, and I told Spark, “Tell me if I’ve got this right. Because Lee left this place hidden and abandoned, all times from the moment that he left until now are accessible if someone opened a portal here and stayed?”
She nodded. Continue reading Engine: Part 4