‘Manny, it’s not Jacob’s fault. He has a disease. While it may allow him to focus inward, it causes psychotic behavior, robbing him of his ability to grasp reality.’

‘And what about me? Will I turn out like him?’

‘I don’t think so. Even if this Hunahpu gene were to suddenly grow dominant, you’re already well grounded in reality. Jacob was born into his dementia, and he’s too stubborn and too damn smart for his doctors to be coerced into therapy. Everyone agreed our only option was to allow this whole thing to just play itself out. When he finds himself stuck on planet Earth in four days like the rest of us, maybe he’ll open his mind enough to allow us to help. But there are other complications. Dr. Mohr just learned the entire GOLDEN FLEECE project’s being absorbed by HOPE.’

‘So what happens to Jake?’

She looks away.

‘Ma, I’m here now, I’m part of the family again. You have to tell me. What’s going to happen to Jake after Saturday?’

‘He’ll be committed … to a private sanitarium.’

Thursday Evening
4:55 p.m.

Immanuel follows his brother and Dr. Mohr into the secured facility that holds the Balam. The chamber is deserted, GOLDEN FLEECE’s technicians having already left for their four-day Thanksgiving holiday.

The immense starship’s mirrored gold hull sparkles beneath the overhead lights.

Dr. Mohr pauses by one of the vessel’s massive engines, grinning at Jacob from ear to ear. ‘Okay, I’m ready to give this thing another try.’

Jacob stretches, feigning boredom. ‘Go ahead, Doc, but explain things so Manny can understand them. Remember, he’s only a PE major, not an expert in quantum physics.’

Immanuel shoots his twin an elbow to the ribs.

‘Okay, Manny, er, Sam, the thing you need to understand about space travel is that the universe is big. The fastest thing we know of is light, which travels in the vacuum of space at 186,281 miles per second. Even at that rate, it would still take light a full four years just to reach our closest neighboring star. According to the star charts your brother was able to access, this ship originated from somewhere within the Orion Belt, which means it’s capable of exceeding light speed. With that sliver of information, GOLDEN FLEECE scientists have been trying to reverse engineer these engines, trying to figure out how the heck they work. Now, we know the ship doesn’t use conventional rockets—’

‘How do you know that?’ Immanuel asks. ‘They look like regular engines.’