Elliot snorted as he hit the activation button and everything went black. A moment later I found myself on the deck of a huge ship.

“Where are we?” I asked, glancing around at the immensity of the ship’s deck. The place seemed deserted, sleepy even, which wasn’t the usual environment a Butterfly liked to work in. This whole thing was making me feel off balance, but I felt the familiar Chaos Cuffs on my hip and calmed down. Elliot was right—worst-case scenario, I could just leave.

“Where do you think we are?” Elliot asked. “Actually, better yet, what time is it?”

With a sigh I decided to play along with whatever this was and looked around until I spotted a clock. “It’s seven fifty-four,” I said, and then I felt something in my brain click home like a key in a lock, and I turned to take in my surroundings with wide eyes. “Are we?” I asked, and then the clock I’d spotted mounted to the ship clicked to 7:55, and I turned as the buzz of low-flying airplanes hit my ears.

“This is Pearl Harbor,” I breathed.

“Sure is,” Elliot said with a grin. We both turned as a bomb hit a ship called the USS West Virginia.

“But the Butterfly,” I yelled over the noise of the explosion.

Elliot shook his head. “There is no Butterfly. Welcome to our study block!” What a study block it was. I’d never done this before, gone into a simulation just to observe and learn. As we dodged bombs and fled a sinking ship amid a pack of terrified sailors, I had to admit that it made sense. Instead of focusing on finding the anomalies in the situation, I was able to actually pay attention to the history taking place.

“So, Cadet Fitz,” Elliot said when the simulation was over, his voice dripping an exaggerated formality. “Can you tell me what time the first bomb hit Pearl Harbor?”

“Seven fifty-five,” I said as a smile spread across my face. Elliot fired off question after question, and I answered them correctly. Each and every one.

“I guess your brain isn’t Swiss cheese after all,” he said as he finally sat up to detach his simulation probes.

“I guess not,” I said. “That was amazing. Do you think we could do it again?”

“Definitely,” Callaway said as he came up behind us. “It appears your idea worked out, Elliot. The only trick will be finding the time in your schedule. I feel it is important that you continue your traditional study blocks with the rest of the cadets. This new method of study is still untested, and honestly, I’m not sure your mother would approve.”

“Why not at night?” I said, thinking about what Tess had said about how roaming the mountain at night wasn’t a big deal. “Could we come here and study before lights-out? Or early before breakfast?”