Chapter Twenty-EightGrace #2
“They look amazing on you. But then pretty much everything does.” His gaze went direct and intense.
My core tightened, and my heart fluttered. Smooth, you are so smooth.
I was here for the compliments.
“Thank you.” I picked up a lab book filled with complex equations and notes, and paged through it, curious. “What’s this?”
“All I have left of my father’s time and space research. In case you wish to attempt to return home. Unless you remember your work,” he added.
My fingers traced the equations. “Mine was a very different approach. I think.” I turned to another page, the question I needed to ask heavy on my heart. “Do I have to go home?”
Was this how he knew so much, such as what neutrons smelled like? What else did he know?
“Honestly, I think it would be best if you stayed. There are rules to interdimensional travel, and I know very little of them,” he told me.
“There are?” I put the book down. Anxiety shot through me. What had I done?
I meant that in every way.
He nodded. “Yes. The main one I know is that there’s a travel ban.
At least from this world to others. I also know that this isn’t known information, since in this world interdimensional travel, for most, is just a very plausible theory that never went far because of a horrible explosion the last time someone got close. ”
It hit me. “Your father’s lab.”
“Yes. It’s not known to most why it happened, or that he and Dr. Katsopolis didn’t die in the explosion.
They were taken into custody before the explosion.
Considering they never returned from wherever they were taken, I presume they were punished for crimes they didn’t know they’d committed. ” He sighed.
How awful. I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. This isn’t something I’ve ever mentioned to anyone, not even Mrs. K or Evan. I was afraid of what might happen if they knew what I’d seen,” he confessed.
“I understand that.” This was a lot to take in.
“It seems unfair to prosecute someone for ignorance, especially in the sense of a scientific breakthrough. Who came for them?” I asked.
“I always thought of them as the temporal police. They seemed like your basic black ops government agency,” he shrugged. “That morning you smelled a little like them, though it has since dissipated.”
Interdimensional travel might be possible. There were consequences and an agency that dealt with rule breakers. Shit.
Not to mention that all of this wasn’t known to most people.
The pieces fit together. “There’s a smell to interdimensional travel.”
“Yes. I did a lot of research after my father was taken by the temporal police. At first, with childish hopes of rescuing him and Dr. K from wherever they took them. I gave up on it, since the little I discovered made me realize that some things are best left alone,” he told me.
“That just because we can do something, doesn’t mean that you should.
Unfortunately, sometimes you don’t know that until you’ve done it. ”
“Oh.” It was almost painful to have all those hopes of proving my research, of figuring it out, dashed.
Yet if they were a means of coming here, of being with Wes, then they were no longer necessary.
“How old were you, when he was taken?” I asked softly.
“Fourteen.” He sighed. “Afterward, my mother and I moved near Evan and I attended high school in Rock Springs. She thinks my father died in the explosion, and that devastated her. I went to university here in Rockland and started a company. Eventually I sold it, helped Evan and his family out after their parents died, developed this company, and joined the pack. That’s the story of my life. ”
“Thank you for sharing. Do we exist in a simple universe of parallel worlds, a multiverse, or something else?” I asked, curiosity bubbling up inside me.
“I never found a version of Wes in my world, so I figured we’re not in a multiverse.
Though there could be a lot of reasons for there not to be a Wes.
Still, it’s much easier to believe that the universe is infinite and the laws of physics are absolute–and some worlds are similar because there’s only so many ways to evolve. ”
“There is a multiverse. We don’t exist within it. I know that much,” he replied.
“Oh. That’s amazing.” I’d always thought of parallel worlds as being like books in my favorite section of the bookstore.
While some were quite different, some contained a lot of the same themes, or they shared character names or places.
Others might be a lot alike. But in the end, each book was its own story.
While the multiverse was like fanfiction for a specific fandom—exploring the infinite what-ifs and could-have-beens of that individual world.
“I won’t stop you from trying to go home, if that’s what you wish.
But I want you to understand that being able to do it intentionally and reliably, could have consequences.
Also, you said that your research was theoretical.
It could take some time to recreate what you had and execute it,” he added.
“I don’t have enough of my father’s work to be of much immediate help. ”
“I never even considered that being able to travel interdimensionally would have consequences.” If I thought about it, having an agency policing interdimensional travel could make sense.
Reliable interdimensional travel could have many implications.
All this made me frown. “I shouldn’t go back?”
“Do you want to?” There was no judgment in his voice.
“Not really. I still don’t know why or how I got here. Ugh. I want my memories back.” I sighed in frustration.
How could I move forward if I couldn’t fully remember my past?
He squeezed my hand. “I understand. I’m curious as well. It would mean so much to Evan and Wes if you stayed.”
Me, too.
“Will the temporal police come after me?” That was a worry I hadn’t thought I’d have. Were they the ones chasing me?
“I don’t know. Perhaps it’s allowed in your world. Maybe it was an accident. I have no idea,” he said. “I suppose only time will tell.”
Time was the enemy. I needed to know what I was up against before loving Wes and Evan did irreparable damage to all our hearts.
Even if it was already too late.