Chapter
65 Back to the Chateau
If you
think this Universe is bad, you should see some of the others – Philip K.
Dick
Even
before her vision returned, Marie heard Jenkins voice over the Egg’s intercom,
“She’s back! Welcome back, Marie.”
“Yup,”
she replied. “This time, I’m going to
need a few minutes, before we go again.”
“No
problem, I think maybe we should wait until extra early tomorrow before we ship
you off again, in any case.”
And
the Egg opened, and Jackie rushed over, hovering above her unhooking the suit
sensors. She paused over the IV
insertion and looked between Marie and Jenkins, “We should probably just leave
this in, honestly, I don’t know how many great veins she has in her hands, and
arm IV’s will only get in the way.”
“That’s
fine”< Marie agreed.
“I
see no problems if Marie is fine with it,” replied Jenkins.
“Okay,
in it stays,” said Jackie. “Let me know
when you’re ready to get out of there, then.”
Marie
concentrated and her vision cleared and her muscular control returned. “I’m good.”
She
sat up, and extricated herself from the Egg’s reclining seat, taking Jackie’s
offered hand as she did so. “Well, if
we’re taking the rest of the day off…let’s eat! I’m starved.”
“Sure,
ah…who’s the best short order chef between us?” asked Jenkins.
“Probably
you or Renee,” said Jackie preemptively, “But Renee’s got his hands full
working the Freezer, and either Barry or Stan have to man if not both have to
man Mawacky…and as I told you eight years ago…Jackie Shellborne don’t cook.”
“I’ll
help,” Marie chimed in cheerfully, her hunger making her extra eager to assist
in anyway that got food into her stomach as quickly as possible.
“Scrambled
Eggs and Bacon it is!” declared Jenkins.
“I’ll
make the toast!” cried Marie with enthusiasm.
“YaY!”
came three voices from the Freezer.
Jenkins
worked in quiet at the stove, Marie wasn’t sure if he was simply concentrating
on his task or deep in contemplation on other matters. He worked quickly and efficiently, though he
did assure Marie that bacon had to be slow cooked on cast iron for it to be of
any quality at all. Marie made herself
useful making toast, while Jackie set the table for the six of them. Jenkins did break his silence on one other
matter as Jackie entered the kitchen for plates and utensils: “Look, if Marie
and I are pressed into the cooking chores, and the other three are too
busy…looks like you’re our designated house cleaner and laundry mistress…and my
bathroom needs some attention after you breakfast.”For this he got a feigned
dirty look from Jackie, or at least Marie was pretty sure it was feigned.
Once
the food was done, Marie ran down to the Freezer to fetch the busy
scientists. Barry volunteered to remain
behind and maintain contact with their colleagues across the multiverse, if
Marie would bring him down a plate when she had finished eating. The rest sat at the table and began their
morning feast. Marie took her place
after taking food for herself and Barry.
“So,
Marie,” said Stan, his mouth full, “Tell us of your adventures this morning.”
She
recounted her quick visit to Fatima, which brought the scientists to fits of
laughter, and an Arthur C. Clarke, “Any sufficiently advanced technology would
be indistinguishible from magic” from Renee Friese.
“Well,
that’s one mystery down…” said Jackie, “I wouldn’t be surprised if most
accounts of the supernatural turn out to be extradimensional visitations.”
“But,
how did I go back in time? I thought, I
could only travel from universe to universe.”
“That’s
an interesting point, but easily explained, “ said Stan, “The past, the future,
are other dimensions really, completely other universes…for all practical
purposes. You simply can’t just travel
to 1917 like you can get in a car and travel to Fatima, right?”
“Exactly,”
continued Jenkins, “It seems most likely that what we think of as a universe in
the present…is simply a slice of a larger universe…a moment of space time
exactly one Planck unit in width. Most
human or any sort of consciousness can easily travel forward through these
Planck moments…and some scientists feel that memory is a sort of time travel
backwards via consciousness. Sorry,
Stan, you know how I get sometimes.”
“Yes,
Rian, we all know how you get sometimes.” He chuckled.
“What’s
a Planck unit?” asked Marie, in between bites of egg.
Stan
looked at Jenkins, who gave a gracious look and drank some orange juice. “A Planck unit, named after Max Planck,
father of so much of modern physics, more so than Einstein really, is the
smallest possible unit of measurement in the physical world. It is the scale of quanta. And hence Planck time is the shortest moment
that can take place. These moments are
strong together like popcorn garland on a Christmas tree, with consciousness
being the string.”
“Now
your conjuring images of Yygrestal the World Tree in your scientific metaphors,
Stan, tisk, tisk.”
“Which
takes us full circle to the Miracle at Fatima, or as we know her…Marie here.”
retorted Stan.
Then
she related her far stranger encounter with Mike the lemur. She did her best to recount their exchange
word for word. The scientists were
enraptured in her tale. All but Jenkins
paused in their eating to listen. And
even he stopped when she got to the part about the Right Jenkins.
“And
I’m the wrong Jenkins,” he said with a tiny amount of indignation.
“No,
sir” Marie answered, “You’re just not the one who has the answer to all of
this.”
At
that moment, Barry burst into the room.
“I’m sorry to ruin breakfast again kids, but we have a problem…a big
fucking problem.”
All
eyes turned upon Barry Allen.
“It’s
started, the Toxies are making their move in most of the other universes…their
storming the Chateau or have already successfully done so in almost all the
other semi-concurrent versions of the is reality. We’re damned near on our own. There’s only a couple of Chateau’s
resisting…those who have generators and guns.”
“How?”
asked Stan in shock.
“Apparently,”
Barry explained, “It all started just after our Marie got back. It’s a fucking blood bath. The Toxies had so many people…somehow they
got past the vibrational probes, got up the mountain and are storming the other
Labastides and Castle Wonderlands as we speak.
The few that are holding them off, won’t last for long, at least the
one’s we’re in contact with.”
“Fuck.”
said Rian Jenkins.
“Fuck
is right,” agreed Barry. “This shit
isn’t good.”
“Well”
Stan pointed out, “At least they haven’t started attacking here.”
“Yet,”
Jackie added. “Yet.”
“Stop
eating, Marie,” Jenkins commanded, “Looks like you’re going to have to start
Right Jenkins hunting tonight.”
copyright 2017 Diana Hignutt
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