There was a shot pause before the craziness resumed.

Peace and quiet finally returned to the Solar System as Sophie tried to ignore the words. Down on earth, humans’ worries subsumed to a wall of tranquility. Liam and Sophie, in their room deep inside a bunker of micro-machines heard a chirping noise; there it was against, and again u til fibers deep in e dry creature in the Multiverse stopped to listen.

A digital window, on Sophie’s left seemed to open on the wall accompanied mysteriously by a push of fresh autumn air. A very small brown bird landed on the window's edge and chirped her way to get attention. Liam was shocked by the animal's simplicity. Marilyn's power of illusion was breathtaking. Sophie wasn't sure how, but the bird looked at her the way birds too often do. It’s head moved in quick bursts, and in between heavy heartbeats its eyes locked on her. Lightening hit the Attractor. The creature chipped three times then defiantly flew into the room by magic, fluttering like the real thing. It landed on Laurent's crib’s edge, then on his scarf inches from his deformed head.

The bird was really there in the room, as evidenced by Doctor Shin looking at it in amazement. Marilyn had no such power of simplicity. The computer intelligence knew how to do complex, not subtle. The bird sounded and looked like the real thing. Sophie had managed to hold her tears, this meant something.

The core of the Multiverse, the young Attractor sniffed once, then twice and said to Liam, "Look at its colors, how beautiful." Her words were whispers from deep into the soul of the young orphan. Emotion was bubbling up her throat.

"The bird I see is mostly brown, do you see more?"

"Brown is a color. There are beautiful shades of brown." Sophie’s were meant much more, Liam knew and felt this very well. Sophie had a unique way of seeing the world and saying obvious truths.

"Indeed, brown is beautiful. The bird looks real."

"Adults don't like brown; it's the color of poo." Every second in the Cold, he was thankful. He was next to the Attractor. As the oldest living creature of the Multiverse, he knew his time was short and to savor every minute. It would soon end in a matter of days, but that was fine by him. There was no greater honor or purpose than being with Sophie.

"What does the bird mean to you?" Sophie asked Liam.

She needed words, he gave some knowing very well he would stumble. "I see Electoral trying, by all means, to calm you down. She fears your brain waves, and even appears to fear you with a persistence known only by a slave with a stern master. If I was not so old, I would conclude you have the power to destroy her and she cannot, yet, reciprocate. You were emotional a second ago, and you no longer are."

"We see things very differently."

"Enlighten me."

"This bird is called a sparrow, a house sparrow," began the girl. "It's a very common bird where I grew up. It is here not because she placed it there. It's my father's favorite bird. We had five of them living with us at home. The sparrow is a symbol of power and hard work. It was a favorite of Native Americans and frequently found on their totems. It is a signal to me from my father, not sure what signal, but it is from him, not her."

Stolen novel; please report.

Liam was silent. He had spoken too quickly. "You think your father is taking over the Electoral interface?"

“No,” she extended a finger. The bird flew on it. It was no digital, it was the real thing. Then the creature returned to Laurent’s side.

Sophie slid softly off the thick bed and walked slowly to where the bird and her father were. The sparrow was nervous but stayed on the scarf. "You call me the Attractor, and it seems like the way I view the world might be liked by the Multiverse. I think we define those we encounter and whose experiences we share, and vice-versa. My father made me who I am; he lives with me, through me." Liam was surprised to hear those words; they were not coming from the Sophie of just days ago. Her encounter with the Multiverse changed her. She continued, "At a minimum, Electoral is altered by those who play in it. My father and I, President Emilio, and all of the people at home help change her. Yes, I hope he is in Electoral somewhere, and he sent this bird."

Liam felt a disturbance in Sophie and in the Multiverse.

The room shifted.

The Multiverse was here speaking to the girl, he knew it.

This was magic and way too powerful for the Oldest and wisest creature in the Multiverse to hold his tears. Energy was building, the waves were flowing. Down on earth every human watching was hypnotized.

Then, it happened.

Sophie's next yanked to the left, that opened window. Her expression changed in a heartbeat. A bright red bird, not much bigger than the sparrow flew in and landed on the edge of the opened window. It had a longer beautiful tail. Its beak was black, and it had some black highlights; the rest of its body was the color of fire. Sophie put a hand over her mouth and began to tear up. She locked her jaw, and it started to tremble as the creature acted like a simple bird.

Down on earth, flows of waves began to reverse. Normally Sophie’s power went out, but this time the energy flow up from the blue planet up as a slap to mars.

She looked away to avoid what would come next.

Liam was confused as the bird flew.

Liam knew better than ask. The red bird looked around and flew next to the sparrow still on Laurent’s scarf. Sophie took a step back and tied in vain not to watch the birds. The Attractor was now ready to lose her composure, she. Began to cry uncontrollably, her cheeks were now wet with rolling tears. Both birds began to court one other, played, and bounced. Both took flight and flapped after each other. Each time, Sophie tried to step back, giving the couple some room. Finally, her back was against a wall and wiping her tears was futile.

Every was flowing out and in of the. Young girl.

Liam felt the urge to ask, “Sweet one, what is happening?”

Text scrolled on the wall for Liam from the computer,. She knew Sophie would never be able to answer. “The bird is a cardinal, Sophie's mother's favorite. The official bird if the State of Indiana where she lived happily until the accident." The symbolism was clear. To Sophie, these were her parents. They were together one more time.

"Sophie," said Dr. Shin. She was monitoring Laurents vitals from the device on her forearm. "His activity..." Sophie made a sign to let it go. It was the perfect way for her father to die. She knew he was happy, and tears in her eyes could not stop overflowing. She truly did not care about his physical health at this point.

The red bird was beautiful. The girl's composure was shattering; she was sobbing uncontrollably. She tried not to say the next word, she held it in and as she did so, the pain increased. Breathing in was hard and tried to bury her face in the toy. She was twelve, still a girl. Twelve. The bird made another chirping sound at her, it spoke. She looked up. This was not a sight for the weak of heart.

"Mommy?" she whispered lost in the dead of space.

There was, for lack of a better word, a detonation in the Multiverse.