lower lip for a moment, lost in thought. “Whatever this is all about, the only thing I’m sure of is that it’s connected to your mom.”
“Wha—my mom’s been dead for almost eight years.” Tesla’s voice shook.
“I know, sorry, that was too blunt, wasn’t it?” Bizzy said. “But I’ve seen some notebooks he keeps locked in his desk. They were your mom’s. He’s still working on the stuff she was doing before she died.” Bizzy spoke quickly, not at all surprised that she was messing this up. She wasn’t very good with people—some of the things she’d seen and done in foster care, and the things that had been done to her—she was just much better in a lab, and far more comfortable.
“I don’t know anything about my mom’s work,” Tesla said, her eyes on the cast in her lap. “She was so young—Max was a baby—I mean I know she was a physicist, and she and my dad met in college, but I never thought about her work, really.”
“I think it’s a bad move to bring her in like this,” Beckett said suddenly. She had been watching Tesla carefully since she’d woken up. “We’ve had a while to become a team, and we work well together—and, importantly, for us this isn’t personal. She’s too involved, too emotional. I think this will put her at risk, as well as us. We’re not even sure what we’re up against, other than that there are some dangerous people involved.”
Undeniably practical, and yet still bitchy , Tesla thought as she turned to consider Beckett. “I’m actually right here,” Tesla said. Her eyes flashed and a deep, antagonistic crease appeared between her dark red eyebrows, but Lydia put up her hand, and even Tesla obeyed the implicit order.
“Your point is well-taken, Beckett, but we can’t undo what’s been done. And now that Tesla is aware, we’ll just have to make it work. For all our sakes.” Lydia paused then turned back to Bizzy. “Elizabeth, why don’t you fill Tesla in on what you know from the lab and Dr. Abbott, and what you’ve surmised based on the notebooks.”
Bizzy nodded, and paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. “Well, basically your dad has built a time machine.”
“That sounds…crazy,” Tesla said rather weakly.
“Not really,” Bizzy assured her as she twisted one of her hair spikes that poked straight out from her temple. It’s about light—lasers—and speed and gravitational fields and—black holes, of course.”
“Elizabeth, please,” said Lydia, her tone that of a TV mom, sick and tired of the mud her kid tracks across the kitchen floor. “We’ve talked about this. You must try to remember what you didn’t know before you were a physicist. Explain it to that person. Layman’s terms.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Embarrassed, Bizzy rolled the stud that pierced her tongue across her front teeth as she wondered how to explain time travel to people who knew virtually nothing about science, especially when she already struggled to imagine how other people’s minds worked on the most mundane, everyday matters.
“Okay,” she said, finally. She looked up and met Tesla’s gaze with determination. “Imagine that time is not a straight line, with the past behind us and the future in front of us. Instead, it’s a series of closed loops, the past and future connected, like this.” She made a closed circle of her thumb and forefinger.
Bizzy was about to move on but Tesla looked back at her blankly.
“Sorry, but ‘huh’?” Tesla said.
“Eloquent,” quipped Joley, who shushed immediately when Lydia gave him the look.
“Try to picture it,” Bizzy continued. “Time is a closed loop. Black holes create a tunnel through which we can move from one point in time to another. From one point on the closed loop to another point. That makes traveling backward or forward in time possible.”
Bizzy paused, hopeful despite herself. “Are you with me so far?”
“I think so,” said Tesla. She rolled the shoulder of her
“Wha—my mom’s been dead for almost eight years.” Tesla’s voice shook.
“I know, sorry, that was too blunt, wasn’t it?” Bizzy said. “But I’ve seen some notebooks he keeps locked in his desk. They were your mom’s. He’s still working on the stuff she was doing before she died.” Bizzy spoke quickly, not at all surprised that she was messing this up. She wasn’t very good with people—some of the things she’d seen and done in foster care, and the things that had been done to her—she was just much better in a lab, and far more comfortable.
“I don’t know anything about my mom’s work,” Tesla said, her eyes on the cast in her lap. “She was so young—Max was a baby—I mean I know she was a physicist, and she and my dad met in college, but I never thought about her work, really.”
“I think it’s a bad move to bring her in like this,” Beckett said suddenly. She had been watching Tesla carefully since she’d woken up. “We’ve had a while to become a team, and we work well together—and, importantly, for us this isn’t personal. She’s too involved, too emotional. I think this will put her at risk, as well as us. We’re not even sure what we’re up against, other than that there are some dangerous people involved.”
Undeniably practical, and yet still bitchy , Tesla thought as she turned to consider Beckett. “I’m actually right here,” Tesla said. Her eyes flashed and a deep, antagonistic crease appeared between her dark red eyebrows, but Lydia put up her hand, and even Tesla obeyed the implicit order.
“Your point is well-taken, Beckett, but we can’t undo what’s been done. And now that Tesla is aware, we’ll just have to make it work. For all our sakes.” Lydia paused then turned back to Bizzy. “Elizabeth, why don’t you fill Tesla in on what you know from the lab and Dr. Abbott, and what you’ve surmised based on the notebooks.”
Bizzy nodded, and paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. “Well, basically your dad has built a time machine.”
“That sounds…crazy,” Tesla said rather weakly.
“Not really,” Bizzy assured her as she twisted one of her hair spikes that poked straight out from her temple. It’s about light—lasers—and speed and gravitational fields and—black holes, of course.”
“Elizabeth, please,” said Lydia, her tone that of a TV mom, sick and tired of the mud her kid tracks across the kitchen floor. “We’ve talked about this. You must try to remember what you didn’t know before you were a physicist. Explain it to that person. Layman’s terms.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Embarrassed, Bizzy rolled the stud that pierced her tongue across her front teeth as she wondered how to explain time travel to people who knew virtually nothing about science, especially when she already struggled to imagine how other people’s minds worked on the most mundane, everyday matters.
“Okay,” she said, finally. She looked up and met Tesla’s gaze with determination. “Imagine that time is not a straight line, with the past behind us and the future in front of us. Instead, it’s a series of closed loops, the past and future connected, like this.” She made a closed circle of her thumb and forefinger.
Bizzy was about to move on but Tesla looked back at her blankly.
“Sorry, but ‘huh’?” Tesla said.
“Eloquent,” quipped Joley, who shushed immediately when Lydia gave him the look.
“Try to picture it,” Bizzy continued. “Time is a closed loop. Black holes create a tunnel through which we can move from one point in time to another. From one point on the closed loop to another point. That makes traveling backward or forward in time possible.”
Bizzy paused, hopeful despite herself. “Are you with me so far?”
“I think so,” said Tesla. She rolled the shoulder of her
Similar Books
