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Eske stood in the HQ control room with his heart heavy with desperation. The room was filled with an eerie darkness, pierced only by the harsh glow of countless monitors, each displaying a different person's profile. Eske's eyes darted between the screens, his hope diminishing with each passing second. The faces of billions of people from countless timelines flickered before him. Still, the one face he sought, Nona, remained elusive. He had searched every timeline for her, and she still eluded them all. It seemed impossible that such a woman could be lost for so long amongst millions upon millions of other people. Yet, somehow, it happened again and again but never so long. Four hours had passed, and still no sign of her.

The chamber seemed to stretch on forever, a nightmarish labyrinth of information and despair. As Eske delved deeper into the room, the monitors began to display maps from different timelines, each one more convoluted and incomprehensible than the last. The sheer volume of information threatened to overwhelm him. Still, he refused to give in to the crushing weight of hopelessness. There must have been something here! Somewhere out there lay the key to finding Nona. His mind raced as he tried desperately to find any scrap of useful data amidst the chaos of conflicting reports and unreliable sources.

His footsteps echoed through the grim, silent space, the only sound amidst the cacophony of images and data. Sweat dripped from his brow as he searched relentlessly, his determination unwavering. Eske's heart ached with a desperate yearning for Nona, his love for her driving him forward, even as the odds seemed insurmountable. Every moment without her felt like an eternity, dragging slowly by until at last.

Tears of frustration and anguish blurred his vision, the faces and maps on the screens becoming an indecipherable sea of light and darkness. Eske gritted his teeth, his resolve hardening. He would search for eternity if it meant finding Nona, and no amount of despair or overwhelming odds would stand in his way.

Someone turned the light in the control room. 'Mr Schrodinger, would you like some tea?' asked Marie Sue.

'What time is it?' he replied.

Marie Sue looked confused. She checked the clock above the door. 'It's almost three in the morning.'

'Shouldn't you be at home resting?' said Eske, struggling to keep up with the conversation.

She smiled apologetically. 'I couldn't sleep. With what happened to poor Penny, Robert in jail, and Nona missing. I couldn't be just at home doing anything.'

He nodded.

'How can I help Mr Schrodinger?'

Eske sighed. 'I don't know. I'm going through all the maps we have. I'm switching the radio frequency every five minutes, and still nothing. Vihann is checking the rack server to see if she is downloading. So far, we are good.'

Marie Sue walked over to the screen showing several maps: 'Maybe I can start to call police stations and hospitals.'

'That is a very long list of calls.'

'A good reason to start.' she said while sitting at her desk. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as they opened dozens of files with numbers.

'Thank you, Marie Sue.'

'Well, each one of us has to do our part.'

Eske's appreciation for Marie Sue's dedication was evident as he watched her work tirelessly, just as he had been doing for hours. The control room felt heavy with the urgency and determination that filled the air, a collective effort to find Nona against all odds. Together, they navigated the seemingly endless sea of information, their spirits bound by a shared mission. As the hours passed, the control room would be filled with personnel starting their shift.

With each call Marie Sue made, the tension in the room grew. Eske continued combing the maps and monitoring the radio frequencies while Vihann worked diligently on the rack server. Time seemed to lose its meaning as the hours blended together, each passing moment intensifying the desperation they all felt.

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Despite the overwhelming odds, they continued to push forward, refusing to accept defeat. Eske's love for Nona and the support from his friends and colleagues fueled his determination to find her, no matter how long it took or how many obstacles they faced.

The control room buzzed with activity, the steady hum of machines punctuating the occasional phone conversation and keyboard clicks. It was a testament to the human spirit, as they all worked together in a race against time to find their lost friend and loved one.

They were joined by others throughout the day. Everyone did their best to contribute however they could. The task ahead was daunting, and the stakes too high to leave anything undone.

Even as the night wore on and exhaustion began to set in, Eske and his team remained steadfast in their search. They refused to give up hope, bolstered by their unwavering commitment to one another and the knowledge that they would stop at nothing to bring Nona home. The grim atmosphere in the control room did little to dampen their spirits as they continued to press on, fueled by the power of friendship, love, and an unbreakable bond.

'Maybe we are doing this wrong.' said Marie Sue after making the fifty-one hundredth call.

Eske shook his head. 'No. We need to stay focused.'

Vihann put down his tablet and leaned back in his chair. 'She is right. We are looking for a needle in the haze.'

Eske frowned. 'We will not give up!'

'No, we are not. We just need to think outside the box.'

Eske sat up straight. 'Outside the box? I'm listening.'

Vihann grinned. 'Let me explain... what is our worst-case scenario. What is the worse possible outcome.'

'She doesn't remember. She has no way to come back.' answered Marie Sue.

'I say it would if she was downloading, Boss.' said Vhiann. ‘But she isn’t so that we can scratch that one out.’

'She is trapped. She can't get out. She doesn't remember. And there are no means for us to jump to her. Downloading wouldn't be a problem. That is a way out for sure. Now...' Eske stopped his thought and went to the panel control and typed.

Millions of profiles of the same person showed on the screen. Delbert Day Whiterabbit, T-DNA 99.8%.

'This is my worse nightmare.' said Eske.

'He wouldn't dare, would he, Boss?' said Vihann.

Eske looked at the screen. 'This creep would do anything.'

'But he is everywhere. How do we know which version is the right one?' asked Marie Sue.

'Well, 2% of the timelines where he is not are subtracted. Then we can eliminate the ones under 19. He mostly dies at that age. The versions above 59 can be eliminated too. He doesn't like to be old. So we are reduced around his 20s and 30s. And let's check.' Eske said and clicked on the button.

Most profiles disappeared, and screens turned off and on.

'How is it possible for someone to have such a high temporal footprint?

Vihann turned to Marie Sue and, in a stern tone, explained: 'One of his versions ate Nona when she was a child. She had a device that would cut her flesh constantly to be consumed. And we believe that once he dies, he just jumps into a version of himself, and that is how he was able to keep a full T-DNA.'

Marie Sue shuddered.

'So he might be somewhere close,' said Eske.

'Not necessarily.' said Vihann.

'Why?'

'Because he might be alive in a world where he didn't die.'

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