Tali held Simkha, who whimpered and blinked up at her.
« Oh, my dear, » murmured Tali. « Oh, my poor darling. You are protected. You are safe. Oh merde… but… you are secure now. »
Simkha widened her eyes, prompting Tali to narrow her own. Did… did Tali say something incorrectly? Simkha started giggling, then laughing. Tali found this irritating. Tali had put in respectable work to improve her Saxonnaise language fluency. She wasn’t even sure what error she had made
« G*d, » Simkha said. « Hellusınaasyes ȷroerıch pınne . In mınut lyn te mınste mınut fen myn lıbben bwıe. No, to bwerom pıst. Tet goed ıs. Gyo bwerom. Bwent el myn echte freonen sılle my geu ferdlıtte. »
Ah.
« You no longer speak the Saxonnaise tongue… do you? » asked Tali, in Saxonnaise.
« Ig tyn spreeg net pegryp, » said Simkha in not-Saxonnaise.
A goat! Tali had thought Simkha’s little entropy anomaly would protect her first language. She had no idea why it didn’t. She supposed that’s what eight years of full-timeline entropy got you.
« Hello, » sighed Tali.
« Gye. Hoı. »
Tali found this irritating. She didn’t like to be wrong, which is why she usually avoided being wrong.
Tali received a ping for an audio call. She dismissed the “Audio Incoming” notification in the corner of her SIGN display. She heard her sister Hannah talking in their native High Tongue, transmitting directly into Tali’s inner ear.
« Diver Prime, this is Dive Control. Prepare to collect the Anomaly’s SIGN frame and return to the splashdown site. Elkano says they’re finishing the dimensional sync now. »
« Message received, Dive Control. I’ll return soon, I’m just going to stay here a few minutes longer. She’s having a really hard time and I want to help her calm down. »
Hannah sighed on the audio feed. Tali huffed.
« Look, Diver Prime. Elkano just confirmed that the Hologram’s timeline sync is complete. The Anomaly will be safe without a SIGN frame now. Just ask for the frame back. Head back to the splashdown site so we can extract you.»
« It’s not that easy, Dive Control. I can’t talk to her. We were wrong about her entropy anomaly. It didn’t stop her first language from changing. »
« I heard you two talking already, Diver. »
« Sure, Hann—er—Dive Control. Past each other. In two different languages. »
« It all sounded the same to me. Even if it didn’t, I know you can get that frame back from her, Tal. So get it, and head back to the splashdown site. You don’t want to be acting the goat when Elkano comes down to Dive Control from the Big Bagel. She will bench your ass for future dives. »
« So just tell me if you see her coming. We have hours before my calibration turns into a safety concern. I’ll head back in a minute. She just needs a little more help right now. »
« Talitha… » Hannah warned.
Tali ignored her sister’s entreaty. Tali thought Simkha had a little more light in her eyes now. Tali gave her best encouraging smile, placed an arm around Simkha, and slowly helped her stand. She kept one hand on Simkha’s back to stop the towel from falling. She held out the long end of the towel for Simkha to wrap herself with. She looked away and tried not to blush. Tali looked back when Simkha was firmly on her feet and covered up.
Getting a better look, Tali realized just how tall and muscular Simkha really was. Tali could just as easily imagine her scaring off a mugger as fetching Tali’s mixer blades from the top cupboard. She let Simkha take her arm.
« Let’s go now… nice and slow, » said Tali in Saxonnaise.
« Ty noch net pegryp, » responded Simkha.
« Come on, Talitha, » said Hannah. « I know you want to help the Anomaly, but remember what we talked about before. You agreed that she would probably get hurt if you interacted with her. She has struggled a lot in the last eight years. Don’t make it worse now. »
Talitha couldn’t precisely disagree, but she didn’t stop helping Simkha limp into the hallway.
« Tali… » said Hannah, « Please don’t do anything to hurt your career. I know you care about the Anomaly but—. »
« Don’t call her that! » Tali interrupted. « She’s a person! Not a malfunction. She has a name. »
Hannah groaned.
« I know she has a name. It’s Simkha, right? Well, Simkha is a person. And that’s exactly why you need to go now. She is already struggling with very real issues, and she shouldn’t have her whole understanding of the universe ripped out from under her while she’s dealing with them. You’ve caused her too many problems already. »
Too many problems. Tali always caused too many problems.
« A goat to you! What the goat is wrong with you, Hanners? »
Hannah whined.
« Sorry! Sorry. You’re right, that was too far. But it was also your own stupid words from when we talked about this last time. Remember? You had a full night’s sleep, and you talked to Elkano. And you fully agreed you should minimize contact with her. So who do you trust more, yourself right now—the woman in a stressful situation after a long, long day of dive prep? Or yourself last week, with a clear head after calm consideration? »
« … »
Tali was upset and frustrated, and she realized that was not the best frame of mind for decision making. But she still hated whenever her sister did this. Hannah always won, one way or the other. She would talk Tali around to her way of thinking every time. And Tali would end up doing what Hannah wanted, even though Tali knew she was being manipulated, that she would regret giving in.
Simkha smiled at Tali and turned to face her. Simkha was standing awfully close. She pulled off one of her borrowed SIGN frame bracelets, and then the other. She handed them to Tali.
Tali looked away as Simkha lifted her feet and pulled off her SIGN frame anklets. Tali accepted them and put them in her dive pouch. Then she accepted the SIGN frame necklace. She put that away too and sealed off the pouch.
Tali was almost mad. She was so sure Simkha needed more support. But here was Simkha, just handing over the frame like Hannah wanted. Tali didn’t even need to ask Simkha. Tali didn’t like to be wrong. Next thing, she’d probably just go off to bed and say good night.
Simkha leaned down and hugged Tali tightly. Simkha sure knew how to be surprising. She spoke in soft tones into Tali’s ear.
« Teng. Myn preın ty megge het. Mer ıg ıt sızze moat. Py my plıuw. Ig klean oan sıl. Hyır es ıg klear pın bwes. Esyebleaft. »
Tali shivered. She felt something like too welcome listening to Simkha’s voice. Tali watched Simkha give a slightly-exhausted little smile, turn, and limp into her bedroom. She supposed it was for the best that she had no idea what Simkha just said.
A goat.
« Sis? I’m sorry I overheard… whatever that was. But I think you might be ready to admit that you want to stay for a reason other than altruism, right? »
« Yeah, » agreed Tali.
« You should go now, while you’re able to. You should go before she finds out about what happened eight years ago. »
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
« I… yeah. I shouldn’t lie to her. And she won’t want me here if she finds out what I did to her. She deserves to be happy. »
« We can talk about that later. You need to get moving now. I can hear Elkano talking to someone just outside Dive Control. »
Tali made herself move one foot. Then the other. She made herself walk out of Simkha’s front door. She made herself walk down the stairs. When she reached the street, she made herself start to jog back to the splashdown site.
After a minute, more audio came through.
« Diver Prime, this is Doctor Maitena Elkano, just arrived at Dive Control. The sync was a full success. We are operating on parallel timelines. We even turned off the time buffer to talk to you. You’re listening to audio raw and unshifted. Please confirm receipt. »
« Confirmed, Professor Elkano. »
« Glad to hear it Diver Prime. You should feel proud of what you did today. We repaired the timelines even more fully than we hoped. We’re going to completely revolutionize Hologram Studies. All that’s left is to get you back home. How far are you from the splashdown site? »
« Just arrived here, Professor. »
« … »
« … »
« Diver Prime, please confirm your location. »
Tali looked around. She was here. The splashdown site. Some middle-class family’s front garden. Hmm. She shivered for a moment. Only because it was chilly out.
« Uh, yeah. Okay. I’m at the splashdown site. Dive Control should be able to ping my SIGN frame. »
« Diver Prime, this is Dive Control. You can’t be at the splashdown site. The Bagel’s pinging your frame and getting nothing. It would be able to ping you if you were anywhere within three kilometers of the splashdown site. »
« … »
« … »
« I’m at splashdown, Hannah. »
« No, you goat. You’re not. You must have gotten lost. »
« I am not lost. »
« Diver Prime, this is Elkano. How do you know you are at the splashdown site? »
« Uh. Well, professor. I’ve got at least three ways I know. First, my SIGN sensors mapped out eleven kilometers in every direction from splashdown and the map says I’m at splashdown. »
« Understood. »
« Second, it looks like splashdown. I confirmed it is identical with the site images I recorded upon initial splashdown. »
« Continue. »
« And third, I landed in thick mud during initial splashdown. I left deep footprints with a tread pattern that is literally unique in this universe. And I’m standing in those footprints again. »
« Understood, Diver Prime. I think we can agree that you are at splashdown. There must be another reason we can’t ping you. Stay where you are while I go see if there’s a problem with the Bagel. »
Tali stood and waited. She started to shiver. She worried about Hannah. Tali knew her sister wasn’t exactly panicky, but Hannah worried more than was healthy. After about five more minutes, Professor Elkano returned and instructed Tali to stand back from the splashdown site.
« Did you sort out the problem, professor? »
« We likely have. We think we changed the spatial arrangement of the Hologram within our cosmos when we synchronized the timelines. That stopped the Bagel from creating a physical link into three dimensional space. It was unexpected, but we think we’ve compensated for it. We’re just going to test it now. »
« Oh. How are you testing it? »
« We’re going to throw you something through the Bagel. Kaiti is wrapping up an actual bagel for you. We’re going to double bag it and huck it your way. Let me know when you see it. »
Tali waited.
« … »
« Talitha, Elkano here. You haven’t seen anything strange, have you? »
« Just a strange lack of a bagel, prof. »
« … »
« Professor. »
« Talitha? »
« The Bagel’s broken, isn’t it. »
« … »
« … »
« No. And that’s the problem. If the Bagel was broken, I would have fixed it by now. »
« Professor. »
« Tali, the Bagel is working just like it always has. I believe we… I think we broke… physics. »
« … »
« … »
« You can’t Bagel me home… because you broke physics. »
« Well. I suppose. Yes, Tali. »
« … »
« Tali, I want to remind you to be proud of what you did today. It’s all of our jobs together to discover new mysteries about the universe. To discover impossible problems. Breaking physics is one of the most exciting things a scientist could do. You were instrumental in that accomplishment. So, if you can, I want you to focus on feeling proud, right now. »
« … »
« … »
« Professor, am I gonna die here? »
« What? No! A goat! No, Tali. »
« Oh good. You sounded a little too inspirational for a second there. »
« No no no. I was trying to distract you so you didn’t panic while we sort this out. I see your point. I can only apolog— »
« A GOAT, TAL! » interjected Hannah. « YOU CAN’T JUST SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT! Tal! Sis! You!… you’re not allowed to die in there. Okay? »
« Aah! Sorry! Sorry, Hanners. »
Hannah began to audibly hold back tears. Professor Elkano centered herself, then resumed her explanation.
« Talitha, you ought to be fine. We’ve done extensive studies, and human beings can live in just three spatial dimensions without any negative health impacts. And if you get homesick, you can still find somewhere to stretch your arms out to their full hleimth. Just find a place with a lot of damage from timeline-entropy. You’ll find plenty of pockets of four-dimensional space there. »
« That’s… a relief, » said Tali. « How long do you estimate you will take to get me home? »
« That’s… a harder question, Tali. I don’t know. We need to figure out where our physics is broken before we can attempt it. I’ll try to get you an estimate by tomorrow. »
Tali rubbed her hands together. At least she wasn’t sweating or shaking any more. Still too chilly, though. And Tali felt… almost excited?
« As I see it, » said Elkano, « you have two more immediate problems. First, your SIGN link calibration is decaying at the standard rate for any network operating between different dimensions. If your calibration gets too low, then we’ll never be able to ping you with the Bagel. Your calibration could degrade that badly in as few as six hours. If we can’t ping you, then we can’t Bagel you home. Plus we wouldn’t be able to talk either. »
« So. We need a way to preserve my SIGN link calibration?. »
« Yes, but I have a plan for that. »
« Glad to hear it Prof. But I want to know something first. What other problem do I have that’s equivalent to getting stranded in the Hologram? »
« That should be obvious, » said Elkano « You’ve been up and busy all day. You must be tired. You need sleep. You can’t sleep in your dorm room while you’re in the Hologram. »
Tali snorted. Everyone on the audio line let out a few anxiety chuckles. Hannah spoke up.
« All right then professor. You got a plan to solve Tali’s second problem as well? »
« Well… » said Elkano, « I suppose I do. It’s the same plan to solve both problems, actually. »
« The same plan? » asked Tali.
« Oh… no, » said Hannah.
« Think about it, » said Elkano. « First, you need to know that SIGN frames are incredible pieces of technology, but they have an incredibly stupid design. Specifically, they can store precisely one calibration indefinitely with zero decay. But because of dimensional constraints, they can only store that calibration by switching to a different active SIGN network, with a different calibration. If you had an alternate active SIGN network to switch over to, then you could swap to it now to store this calibration. This calibration would not decay until you switched back. So by judicious switching, we could mete out your 6 hours of use remaining before calibration-decay becomes dangerous. »
« Oh no, » said Hannah.
« There is no alternate SIGN network active in the Hologram, » said Tali.
« True, » said Elkano. « And it’s impossible to set up a SIGN network between different dimensions. So then Talitha. Do you see my solution? »
« I suppose… I could… try to set up a new SIGN network… that’s only in the Hologram. »
« Just so, » agreed Elkano. « You should set up the other SIGN frame you have with you, then network with the person wearing the other frame. You’ll automatically store the calibration that you’ll need later to get Bageled home. You should mostly stay on your 2-person network within the Hologram, but you'll periodically check in and we’ll keep you up to date on the situation here. And send you any data dumps you might need. And you can send us messages. »
« Oh no, » said Hannah.
« Then… I need to find someone here… who I can convince to wear the other SIGN frame. And then make them network with me? »
« Just so, » agreed Elkano. « I think it’s silly that the SIGN frames won’t let you just wear two of them and network with yourself. Bad design, like I said. »
« Ughhh, » moaned Hannah.
« Hannah? » said Tali.
« Your sister is glaring daggers at me, » said Professor Elkano. « And I suppose she’s right. »
« Right how? » asked Tali.
« I must take back my advice about keeping your distance from that girl. »
« Er, » said, Tali. « You… you think I should ask… Simkha… for help? »
« Frankly, I don’t know who else you could ask. I suspect language in the Hologram has evolved beyond anything you can speak. But, I think the Anomaly would let you set up your network even if you have to ask her by miming the question. I bet she’ll even let you sleep on a futon, or couch. »
Tali had to clear her throat. She was glad there was no video feed to show how red her face was.
« Erm… er… yeah. I… will go find Simkha. Okay. »
« Tali… » said Hannah. « Please… just try to keep your emotional distance? All the risks we talked about before are still valid. The only thing that’s changed is that we need her help. »
« As Dive Lead, » said Elkano, « I must agree with your sister. Keep your distance, as far as you can. It’s a matter of keeping you safe. Remember, we’ll need her to stay on your network at all times in order to preserve our stored calibration. »
« Sure thing, » agreed Tali. « Distance is easy. No problem. »
« Glad to hear it, » said Elkano. « Start heading back to her flat then. We should discuss logistics while you walk. I want us to do our first check-in, say, 24 hours after you set up your new SIGN network. We’ll need the interim time to talk to the university, then evaluate how… »
Tali could do this. She knew she could. She just couldn’t get too close to Simkha.