Tag Archives: Rachel

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 6

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I told them the whole story, explaining the statue and a little bit about what’s like to phase out. I finished with, “Julie’s not here anymore. I think we’ll be safe leaving after lunch.”

Tara had stopped eating while I talked. When I stopped, she started, her words coming out all at once, moving her hands as she talked, “So that’s how they keep tabs on everybody—I bet they’re listening to all of us. And you wouldn’t believe the stories I’ve heard about people who started fights here. They completely disappeared! I wonder if they’d talk to me if said hi on the way out?”

Rod opened his mouth a couple times when it almost seemed like the torrent of words would stop, but said nothing, looking frustrated. Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 6 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 5

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“Or,” I said, “if the Julie out there had a completely different problem which was worse.”

Tara broke in before I could continue or Travis could reply. “I think you both made good points. Julie’s powerful, and we don’t know what she’ll want to do because she doesn’t have the same history as our universe’s Julie. We’ll need to be careful on the way out. Does anybody have earplugs?”

Samita furrowed her brows, concentrating, and then started to talk. “I could have blocked out the sound around us, but I don’t have any idea where to get the materials I’d need.”

Tara smiled. “I’m sure I could help. We’d have to—”

“Leave,” Rod said, “and then we’d have to walk around deaf all day. I remember that spell. You used it when we ran into the banshee, remember?”

Samita held up her hand. “I know you didn’t like it, but it worked.”

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 5 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 4

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“Travis, don’t look now, but remember Julie? She’s over there, and there’s no way she came with us.”

Travis didn’t look. He smiled at me calmly, as if we were talking about something pleasant. He handled it better than I thought he would. “I smelled her. I’ve been pretending not to see her.”

“Good.” It took all of my self-control not to check whether she’d noticed us.

I remembered the briefing. You don’t mess with alternate versions of yourself or anyone you know. It’s right up there with going back in time to kill your grandfather—a dumb, dumb idea. You never knew what forces shaped them, and it was so easy to assume you were talking with the person you know.

Look, I may not always trust authority figures, but I listen when they’re talking sense.

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 4 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 3

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I tried to point out the euthanasia shop to Travis, but he missed it.

“Super senses?” I asked, speaking softly and, turning away from the window to look at him.

Travis frowned for a moment. “Night vision,” he muttered. “Not this. Besides you’ve got the window seat.”

I smiled at him. “You were polite.”

He had been. He let me on the bus first.

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 3 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 2

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Something about Bullet’s attitude rubbed me the wrong way, so I didn’t make a big effort to hurry. It didn’t matter. Half the people in front of us did.

Travis stood up before I even put my hand on the seat.

It didn’t allow either of us to exit the bus any faster—not with everyone getting up at the same time.

Eventually we did, and instead of being in a line waiting to get out of the bus, we stood next to the door, waiting to pick up our CDPS’s, split into groups, and step into an impossible place.

Why it took as long as it did, I have no idea. We’d been told which groups we were in before we’d even gotten on the bus. Plus it was cold. Standing on a grassy plain in the month of November isn’t something I’d recommend to anyone.

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 2 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 1

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Grandma Vander Sloot told me about the city, how it existed simultaneously in an infinity of alternate dimensions, how an alley could lead you somewhere Kaiser Wilhelm and Germany won World War I, and you might meet the version of yourself that lived there.

She told me about the people imprisoned there, exiles from too many universes to name.

You’d think a place like that might put you in mind of Victorian Gothic novels—Wuthering Heights’ moors and ghosts, a decaying aristocracy, and their uneducated, superstitious servants.

If you did expect that, it would only be the first of a long list of disappointments. Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 1 →

Arc 5.4: Picking Up Pieces

Picking Up Pieces: Part 5

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Jaclyn paused, and then said, “What happens next?”

Flick said, “Well, then we have to decide whether we take them in as soon as we can, or whether we watch them, and hope they’ll lead us to other people the Nine hired.”

The tone of her voice turned sarcastic as she said, “But that’s not the best part. The best part is the committee monitoring how we do it, and second guessing whether watching him without taking him in is really worth it. Plus with this we’ll get to discuss at any moment whether what we do will cause an international incident.

“Look forward to it kids, this is what you’re training for.”

Continue reading Picking Up Pieces: Part 5 →

Arc 5.4: Picking Up Pieces

Picking Up Pieces: Part 3

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Text appeared below the screen that showed our position and that of the other planes.

[You’re making yourself completely vulnerable. I’m not suggesting you attack, but landing and turning off your shields represents an unacceptable risk.]

I shut off the comm, and quietly asked, “What would you suggest?”

[If you have to appear vulnerable, lower the jet, but don’t land, and give me permission to turn on the shields whenever I think it’s necessary.]

“You need my permission?”

[Yes. My makers wanted artificial intelligences limited to minimize their risk.]

Continue reading Picking Up Pieces: Part 3 →

Arc 5.3: Breaking & Entering

Breaking & Entering: Part 12

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Flick threw a ball into the main group of heavy bird bots as they began to run across the floor toward us.

The ball punctured the bird bot’s chest, coming out the other side, and continuing through each bot behind it.

I’d never known for sure what her power was, but it had something to do with controlling mass and momentum. I’d heard that there were very specific rules about how it worked, but I’d never seen her in action, so I didn’t know what they were. Continue reading Breaking & Entering: Part 12 →

Arc 5.3: Breaking & Entering

Breaking & Entering: Part 11

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Much like in the control room, the second floor mostly stayed together. Spots of concrete fell and the nearest section of floor simply bent downward toward us, giving us a view of storage rooms.

A file cabinet slid sideways, and fell into the room, landing on the melted remains of the cloning tanks.

It would have been great if that had been the end of it.

It wasn’t, but it looked like it for a second.

Cassie lowered the gun. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Yeah.” Continue reading Breaking & Entering: Part 11 →