‘Do we meet again?’ Elliot asked.

Ben shook his head. ‘You won’t see me, but you will meet your childhood self. Be kind to him.’

Elliot studied the sphere. ‘I just crush it?’

Ben nodded. ‘The nanoparticles create an energy field. It will recode your genetic information to manifest you in Sydney thirty-one years ago. One last thing. There’s a letter with instructions about the minor plastic surgery you need to have, and the contact lenses, so our resemblance isn’t absolute.’

Elliot took a deep breath.

‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Harri asked. She was in awe of the bravery and sacrifice of this young man.

‘What would you do?’ he asked. ‘If you had the power to save the life of someone you loved, how far would you go? What would you sacrifice? I miss my parents every single day. All I have is memories. If I get to see them again, and save them . . .’

Elliot slid the backpack over his shoulder and crushed the sphere. The stars rushed up his arm, expanding to become the geodesic mesh that flared brightly.

‘Goodbye, Detective. I’ll see you again in another time,’ he said, before he vanished.

Chapter 59

Harri looked at the space Elliot had occupied, and marvelled at what she’d just witnessed. Part of her refused to believe any of this was real, but the larger part of her couldn’t refute what she’d seen and heard.

Her assessment of Ben had changed through the telling of his story. A boy who had suffered terrible loss. A man cast as a villain, who endured prison rather than break his fate, a soul alone, raising himself, trapped in a loop in time to save the life of his mother and free his father from grief. No wonder he’d seemed unhinged. No wonder he couldn’t tell her the truth.

Her initial assessment of him on their very first date had been right. He was a good man, the noblest of souls, and she regretted all the evil she had believed of him and all the hurt she’d caused.

She realized everything she’d thought about him had been wrong. He was no villain. He’d suffered grief, loss, prison, vilification, and he’d done it all for the happiness of others. She’d been so wrong about him. And so right about him. Her initial impression had been true. He was greater than good, he was heroic beyond any normal measure. He was the man she’d first fallen in love with, and he was so much more.

‘You’ll have to accept my apologies,’ Ben said on screen. ‘Now Elliot is no longer here, I have no memory of what happens, so my timing will be off and I can no longer answer any questions.’

‘What choice do I—’ Harri began, but the video cut her off.

‘There are two transits left,’ Ben said, and a light illuminated two stone plinths. There was a sphere on each. ‘The one on your left will bring you to me. The other will send the boulder that blocks the cave ten seconds into the future. Long enough for you to escape. Know that if you come to me, you’ll be leaving your life behind forever. We’ll be together in another place, another time.’