Journal Of Simon Hebert 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

I have made a file about the people Webby marks. It contains more info that I should ethically have collected, but I justify it to myself by saying it is for science. It has to be done to understand The Rip, a never before seen cosmic anomaly. That's what I tell myself as I prepare to send it to Aber before I leave for Marvin's planet tomorrow. I am asking him to see what he can find out about them on that side. My suspicion is that they all no longer exist there. I also suspect that he and I no longer exist here on this side. But for some reason I am having trouble getting up the nerve to ask Pretentious for our histories.

My mind reels as I head back to my old reality one more time before I visit Marvin's home. I am spinning with questions and theories about the storm passing through The Rip, about the people that may have been lost on one side or the other. Is there some spooky effect entangling the two versions? Something that physically changes the ones that survived? Something that Webby somehow detects? The next stay at the transport station I will have modified the microbe detector to give me more info, and learned more about the math and science AIs in order to get them to help me with my hypotheses.

Something looks different as I approach the station. It's people. Of course, I had to eventually arrive at some point when there were travellers waiting for a transport. It's been a long time since I have interacted with any humans other than Aber and Marvin. I am suddenly unsure I even want to. There is a couple of people wandering around outside the doors, and three more inside, appear to be a young couple and their son. I nod as I pass the two outside. Once inside, I can hear the conversation.

“I don't know, George. I don't want to stay at your mothers for a whole week.”

“I think it would be good for Malcom to play on the farm more than one day. If he likes it, when he's older, he might want to spend a month.”

They are interrupted by a large crash as one of the traveller's kiosk hit the nearby chairs.

“Malcom Edward Reynolds! What did you do? Get over here!”

My first thought is that I indeed do not want to interact with people. My second thought quickly follows that I need to plug Malcom Edward Reynolds and George Reynolds into the AI when I get back to see if they exist on the other side. My third thought, I need to be the annoying stranger that wants to ask where they are from, how long they lived there, all those old people questions. My fourth thought, I am old. I wonder if those annoying old people were really doing research too, or just needed conversation. I really don't just need the conversation.

As I help George set the kiosk back to an upright position, I start my research. “Where are you headed?”

Turns out George and Regina were childhood sweethearts from a place called Amber on a planet called Raven. Raven. That's good for my research. They have been living on Vega Eight since before Malcom was born nine years ago. Nine. After the WR104 Event, a gamma ray burst that burnt up Earth and seven nearby planets ten years ago on the other side. They are headed to Raven. George wants Malcom to have a chance to spend summers on the family farm, like George did when he was a kid. Regina can't stand Elise, George's mother. Elise is always criticizing Regina. Elise Reynolds. Another name. Turns out people are more than willing to participate in my research. Fortunately, the transport ship would be here shortly; the research had turned into more of a therapy session.

The two people outside eventually came in. They don't need as much therapy, but are excited about their trip and more than willing to talk about their destination. Raven. Neither are from there. But they are from Wycca, a planet that I have decided is the looking glass duplicate of Wytch, since this side of The Rip never had a Wytch, and the other side never had a Wycca. Something in the history of that planet must have diverged greatly on one side or the other. I really want them to tell me more about Wycca, but they just want to talk about all the things they would see and do on Raven. But one very interesting fact, both Wytch and Wycca still exist in their appropriate realities, and neither name was ever used on the other side.

The kiosk starts making a loud notification sound. George and Regina look at each other. I know they are wondering if Malcom broke it. But I recognize the incoming communication sound. A recorded voice plays over the station speakers. “An unexpected storm has appeared at station direction 232 degrees.” I know that number well. That is The Rip. “The system has began tracking the storm to determine if it will cause delays. Updates will be announced as more data is available.”

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