Timecaster by J.A. Konrath & Jack Kilborn

Author:J.A. Konrath & Jack Kilborn [Konrath, J.A.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2012-07-09T04:00:00+00:00

THIRTY

I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly.

“Sata-san, I didn’t destroy Boise. And I didn’t kill Aunt Zelda.”

“Actually, Talon, you did.”

“Even if you don’t believe me, I have people that can account for me for the last several hours. Not only that, if you timecast my location all day, you’ll see I never went anywhere near Idaho.”

“Yes, you did.”

I let out a deep breath. “No, I didn’t. And you’re starting to piss me off.”

“Talon, are you aware of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics?”

Crap. Science talk. “You mean parallel universes? Just what I remember from theoretical physics class in grammar school. We’re on a membrane in the eleventh dimension, right?”

Sata’s voice took on a condescending tone, like he was speaking to a child. “We’re not on a membrane. Our universe, and its associated laws of physics, are part of the brane. But we aren’t the only brane. There are infinite branes in the multiverse, made up of infinite other universes, with infinite other—”

“Earths,” I interrupted. “I know this. There are other earths where Columbus never discovered America, or where Texas won the second Civil War, or where I had eggs for breakfast this morning instead of oatmeal. Every possible variable that can exist, does exist.”

“Including a parallel earth where you destroyed Boise, Idaho.”

Just like in grammar school theoretical physics class, I felt a headache coming on. I rubbed my eyes, the gecko tape sticking to my cheek. I peeled it off carefully so I didn’t lose any skin.

“In the transmission of the alter-me killing Aunt Zelda, I had different hair. The color was off.”

“In that universe, on that parallel world, the spectrum of light is different because the laws of physics are slightly different.”

“So I really did kill her. And I really did kill half a million people in Idaho. But not in this universe.”

“Correct.”

It still didn’t make sense. “But Aunt Zelda is dead in this universe. And Boise is gone on our world, in our brane. Is an alternate version of me committing atrocities in a parallel universe, but the effects are being felt in this one?”

“I don’t think so. I think someone killed the old lady, and destroyed Boise, in this universe. And then this person blamed you for it by releasing transmissions of you doing it in a parallel universe.”

“But that’s impossible. We can only timecast in our universe. We don’t have the ability, or the tech, to timecast in the multiverse.”

“Apparently someone has figured out how.”

I rested my forehead against the side of the train. I could feel the vibration in my teeth as the engine hummed and we sped over tracks. It was solid. Real.

Certainly more real than being framed by some sort of multidimensional murderer.

“This reeks of bullshit,” I decided.

“Science often starts out as bullshit ideas. But the equations back this up.”

“So was it actually me that did this?”

“Think of it as a person similar to you. Same DNA. Perhaps many of the same life experiences. But you aren’t privy to this person’s thoughts, and don’t control his actions.

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