yes, by someone who is a causality source, even in a state in which causality has ceased to self-generate.”
“Will! What’s…?”
“Time go bad! Get it? Causality, the flow of time, of cause and effect, is a lake. The lake contains an ecosystem. We live in that ecosystem. The lake itself is held in place by a dam. That dam is now leaking, thanks to you and Paul activating that machine. Now the cracks are going to widen, and then—”
“The dam breaks.”
“No more causality— stasis. A forever now. An eternally frozen present moment. Monarch knew this was going to happen. Banked on it, I think. The machine was calibrated incorrectly. Monarch blocked my case against activation at each step, refused my evidence. They wanted this to happen, Jack.”
“Why? If the world goes down, it takes all of us, Monarch included.”
“I have a contact inside the company. Horatio. A nice enough person. Boutique muffins, outrageous moustache, you know the type.…”
“Will.”
“He tells me Monarch’s been incubating something, an initiative directly related to the work at the university time lab. Project Lifeboat. Very few know about it. Nobody except the CEO Martin Hatch, a handful of experts inside the company, an unnamed contractor, a single lobbyist in D.C., and a lone recruiter in Europe.”
Then it clicked. “Those guys in the masks are Monarch.”
“Monarch doesn’t need to steal the machine, Jack: they own it.”
“I told you something was off about this.” Jack took Will’s arm. Tried to look him in the eye, but it was so dark in there he may have been staring at Will’s navel for all he knew. “Where’s your car?”
“In the parking lot, of course.”
“And the parking lot is where? ” Just like old times.
“Three hundred feet from the rear of this building.”
“All right, let’s—”
A pattern of high-frequency noise penetrated the tunnel, from outside the building. It started as a series of three triple-claps, and then became applause.
Panic cut back into Will’s voice. “Is that gunfire? From outside?”
Jack moved past Will, feeling his way along the wall.
“Are they shooting on campus?” Will’s voice was rising. “Who are they shooting at?”
“It’s an announcement. They want people to know this is going down.”
Will was breathing harder than Jack, about to hyperventilate. Jack ran his free hand over the 9mm, made sure the safety was off. “Three hundred feet to the parking lot, right?”
“Yes.”
In Jack’s current condition a flailing or unconscious Will would have been more than he could handle. A lifetime with his brother had provided a number of ways to get Will’s shit under control.
“Hey Will, what’s the capital of Nebraska?” Feeling along walls of warm steel. A light ahead.
“Lincoln.”
“Hey Will, what’s the temperature on Mercury?” Okay, that was definitely a door in front of him.
“That’s not my field. I know what you’re doing. Around five hundred degrees Fahrenheit as an average.” Will’s breathing was calming down.
“Hey Will, what’s a big word for someone who uses too many big words?”
“Sesquipedalianist.” He didn’t even have to take a breath in the middle of that one.
The corridor ended. “Hey Will, where’s this door lead?”
“That’d be the server room on the fifth floor,” Will said, taking a deep breath. “We’re below the time lab. The corridor beyond that has an elevator approximately a hundred and fifty feet to the right. That will take us to the ground floor.”
The elevator was dangerous. If anyone was watching the bays they’d notice the elevator moving. The doors could open and they could walk out into a half-dozen guns. But with Jack half-blind and unable to make out anything farther than thirty feet away would the stairs be any safer?
“Will, I’m gonna need you to keep your eyes open. Tell me everything you see. Quietly.”
They stepped out of the tunnel into a cold, dark room
“Will! What’s…?”
“Time go bad! Get it? Causality, the flow of time, of cause and effect, is a lake. The lake contains an ecosystem. We live in that ecosystem. The lake itself is held in place by a dam. That dam is now leaking, thanks to you and Paul activating that machine. Now the cracks are going to widen, and then—”
“The dam breaks.”
“No more causality— stasis. A forever now. An eternally frozen present moment. Monarch knew this was going to happen. Banked on it, I think. The machine was calibrated incorrectly. Monarch blocked my case against activation at each step, refused my evidence. They wanted this to happen, Jack.”
“Why? If the world goes down, it takes all of us, Monarch included.”
“I have a contact inside the company. Horatio. A nice enough person. Boutique muffins, outrageous moustache, you know the type.…”
“Will.”
“He tells me Monarch’s been incubating something, an initiative directly related to the work at the university time lab. Project Lifeboat. Very few know about it. Nobody except the CEO Martin Hatch, a handful of experts inside the company, an unnamed contractor, a single lobbyist in D.C., and a lone recruiter in Europe.”
Then it clicked. “Those guys in the masks are Monarch.”
“Monarch doesn’t need to steal the machine, Jack: they own it.”
“I told you something was off about this.” Jack took Will’s arm. Tried to look him in the eye, but it was so dark in there he may have been staring at Will’s navel for all he knew. “Where’s your car?”
“In the parking lot, of course.”
“And the parking lot is where? ” Just like old times.
“Three hundred feet from the rear of this building.”
“All right, let’s—”
A pattern of high-frequency noise penetrated the tunnel, from outside the building. It started as a series of three triple-claps, and then became applause.
Panic cut back into Will’s voice. “Is that gunfire? From outside?”
Jack moved past Will, feeling his way along the wall.
“Are they shooting on campus?” Will’s voice was rising. “Who are they shooting at?”
“It’s an announcement. They want people to know this is going down.”
Will was breathing harder than Jack, about to hyperventilate. Jack ran his free hand over the 9mm, made sure the safety was off. “Three hundred feet to the parking lot, right?”
“Yes.”
In Jack’s current condition a flailing or unconscious Will would have been more than he could handle. A lifetime with his brother had provided a number of ways to get Will’s shit under control.
“Hey Will, what’s the capital of Nebraska?” Feeling along walls of warm steel. A light ahead.
“Lincoln.”
“Hey Will, what’s the temperature on Mercury?” Okay, that was definitely a door in front of him.
“That’s not my field. I know what you’re doing. Around five hundred degrees Fahrenheit as an average.” Will’s breathing was calming down.
“Hey Will, what’s a big word for someone who uses too many big words?”
“Sesquipedalianist.” He didn’t even have to take a breath in the middle of that one.
The corridor ended. “Hey Will, where’s this door lead?”
“That’d be the server room on the fifth floor,” Will said, taking a deep breath. “We’re below the time lab. The corridor beyond that has an elevator approximately a hundred and fifty feet to the right. That will take us to the ground floor.”
The elevator was dangerous. If anyone was watching the bays they’d notice the elevator moving. The doors could open and they could walk out into a half-dozen guns. But with Jack half-blind and unable to make out anything farther than thirty feet away would the stairs be any safer?
“Will, I’m gonna need you to keep your eyes open. Tell me everything you see. Quietly.”
They stepped out of the tunnel into a cold, dark room
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