even remember what day it was. I wish I did. This is going to be horrible. I don’t know that I want to be here when it happens.”
“Isn’t it better to be here, than to be gone for it?” Francesca asks. “Maybe we can help him.”
“Then we’re going to be changing the future, aren’t we?” Carson asks.
“Unless it always happened this way,” I say.
“What do you mean?” Francesca asks.
I’m still trying to work out the possibilities in my mind, and am not sure I want to build Robbie’s hopes up, but I try to explain my thoughts. “Tell me this, Robbie. Do you have any memory of meeting all of us as a kid? Do you have a memory of what just happened this morning?”
“I don’t think so,” Robbie replies. He runs his hands over his head and then back down his face. “I’m not really sure. It was a long time ago and I was really little. I don’t remember much from then.”
“What would that mean if he did remember it?” Francesca asks, sitting up straighter on the bed.
“I think there are a couple of possibilities. If he did remember it, it could mean that we haven’t actually changed anything. It could be that we were always here, and that this always happened in the past. Did any of you ever read that book The Time Traveler’s Wife?”
The three guys shake their heads. “I saw the movie,” Francesca says.
“I was in a book club with a girlfriend one time where we read it. The guy in that story has that problem. In that scenario, time is linear, and no matter what you do, you can’t change the past. It just always happened. They did it in Lost that way too, I think.”
“What’s the other scenario?” Blake asks.
“Well there’s the Back to the Future II scenario where you change something and now you’ve created a whole alternate time line.”
“The evil Biff takes over the world timeline,” Carson says.
“Exactly.”
“So if Robbie remembers this morning happening, it could mean that it always happened this way, and we haven’t actually changed anything?” Francesca says.
“Theoretically,” I reply.
“What if he remembers it now because it happened this morning, but it never happened that way the first time?” Carson asks. “What was that movie where the guy keeps changing things and then ends up with like forty years of memories in his brain even though he’s like twenty-five?”
“Are you talking about The Butterfly Effect ?” I ask.
“Yeah. That movie had all kinds of craziness going on.”
“Didn’t that guy get a brain aneurism or something?” Francesca says. “I don’t want that happening to me.”
“I don’t know. Do any of you feel like you’ve acquired any new memories that you can’t explain since we’ve been here?” I ask.
“No. Not really,” Carson says. The others also shake their heads.
“Would we notice?” Robbie asks.
“I don’t know. Let’s work on the assumption that if we’re changing things, we’re probably not going to automatically get all the memories. That idea always seemed a little far-fetched to me anyway.” I pull my legs in below me and hold my knees.
“How do we figure out if we are actually changing things, or if nothing we do matters?” Carson asks.
“Well . . .” I look at Robbie, wondering if he has figured out where I’m going with this, since he knows what I want to suggest. He isn’t looking at me however, and the next thing out of his mouth reminds me that he has more on his mind than my plans to try to save the Space Shuttle.
“We see if Grandpa dies this week.”
I forget about mentioning my plan for the moment. “Do you know where he died?” I ask. “Was it in the house?”
“Yeah, what if we take a trip with him?” Francesca suggests. “We can change our location and see if that changes the way things turn out.”
“I don’t mean to be insensitive here, but why are we talking about deliberately changing the future now?” Blake asks. “Isn’t that exactly what
“Isn’t it better to be here, than to be gone for it?” Francesca asks. “Maybe we can help him.”
“Then we’re going to be changing the future, aren’t we?” Carson asks.
“Unless it always happened this way,” I say.
“What do you mean?” Francesca asks.
I’m still trying to work out the possibilities in my mind, and am not sure I want to build Robbie’s hopes up, but I try to explain my thoughts. “Tell me this, Robbie. Do you have any memory of meeting all of us as a kid? Do you have a memory of what just happened this morning?”
“I don’t think so,” Robbie replies. He runs his hands over his head and then back down his face. “I’m not really sure. It was a long time ago and I was really little. I don’t remember much from then.”
“What would that mean if he did remember it?” Francesca asks, sitting up straighter on the bed.
“I think there are a couple of possibilities. If he did remember it, it could mean that we haven’t actually changed anything. It could be that we were always here, and that this always happened in the past. Did any of you ever read that book The Time Traveler’s Wife?”
The three guys shake their heads. “I saw the movie,” Francesca says.
“I was in a book club with a girlfriend one time where we read it. The guy in that story has that problem. In that scenario, time is linear, and no matter what you do, you can’t change the past. It just always happened. They did it in Lost that way too, I think.”
“What’s the other scenario?” Blake asks.
“Well there’s the Back to the Future II scenario where you change something and now you’ve created a whole alternate time line.”
“The evil Biff takes over the world timeline,” Carson says.
“Exactly.”
“So if Robbie remembers this morning happening, it could mean that it always happened this way, and we haven’t actually changed anything?” Francesca says.
“Theoretically,” I reply.
“What if he remembers it now because it happened this morning, but it never happened that way the first time?” Carson asks. “What was that movie where the guy keeps changing things and then ends up with like forty years of memories in his brain even though he’s like twenty-five?”
“Are you talking about The Butterfly Effect ?” I ask.
“Yeah. That movie had all kinds of craziness going on.”
“Didn’t that guy get a brain aneurism or something?” Francesca says. “I don’t want that happening to me.”
“I don’t know. Do any of you feel like you’ve acquired any new memories that you can’t explain since we’ve been here?” I ask.
“No. Not really,” Carson says. The others also shake their heads.
“Would we notice?” Robbie asks.
“I don’t know. Let’s work on the assumption that if we’re changing things, we’re probably not going to automatically get all the memories. That idea always seemed a little far-fetched to me anyway.” I pull my legs in below me and hold my knees.
“How do we figure out if we are actually changing things, or if nothing we do matters?” Carson asks.
“Well . . .” I look at Robbie, wondering if he has figured out where I’m going with this, since he knows what I want to suggest. He isn’t looking at me however, and the next thing out of his mouth reminds me that he has more on his mind than my plans to try to save the Space Shuttle.
“We see if Grandpa dies this week.”
I forget about mentioning my plan for the moment. “Do you know where he died?” I ask. “Was it in the house?”
“Yeah, what if we take a trip with him?” Francesca suggests. “We can change our location and see if that changes the way things turn out.”
“I don’t mean to be insensitive here, but why are we talking about deliberately changing the future now?” Blake asks. “Isn’t that exactly what
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