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Back A Fractured Infinity Save as PDF
Chapters (41)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. Acknowledgements
  41. About the Author

“All of timespace exists simultaneously and linearity is a human model-dependent construct, you bckxxfkljakkxxb.” Which is to say that I didn’t understand what Figueiredo said at the end, until Kaori cut him off.

“Should we bring in Yusuf and see what he thinks?” she asked. “You are here alone out of respect to him and the years we worked together, and absolutely nothing to do with you. I assume you haven’t told him that because he’s alive billions of people will die as the scales that keep the multiverse in balance try to reset themselves.” Her sting, again and again. “I’d prefer to spare him that pain.”

The ground quivered beneath me, tectonic. I tried to steady myself by locking my eyes on my calloused hands in my lap.

“I get it,” she said, gentler. “I care for Yusuf too. I know I haven’t… haven’t treated him in the best way. But this is the kindest thing I can do for him. Come back with us and connect to the machine. Separate the threads and set them right. He won’t even know. He won’t be scared. And then he’ll just be—gone… like he should’ve been. You’re messing with things that you know nothing about. You have to change the past to fix the future.”

“Did you spin the box and ask it what I was going to say?”

She sighed. Her eyes fell to the floor and she shook her head, all the sarcasm and exasperation leaking out of her voice. “I didn’t have to. Just remember that I tried to do this kindly.”

Figueiredo reached into his waistband behind his back—whatever he had hidden there shrouded by his lab coat—pulled out a chrome ray-gun thing that looked like a kid’s toy and pulled the trigger, unleashing a blast of pink light.

26

ENTANGLEMENT

If I could just hit slo-mo here for a sec as the shatterproof glass between my intact body and Figueiredo’s rage is not living up to its name very well—big chunks flying apart and spiraling in fractals of jagged death in the air—I think that explaining some things would really help.

Why didn’t the security team check them for weapons, you ask?

Here’s what me and Yusuf pieced together from a history book that he’d flipped through earlier in Hassan’s house, along with some guesswork.