In the lab, Hiro programmed the Absolom Two prototype for the day Nora died.
“I need to arrive in the early afternoon,” Adeline said. “In the toilet compartment of the master bathroom. And by the way, your targeting is still off by a few feet—vertically. I almost broke my ankle when I arrived at Nora’s.”
“My parents always told me to aim high.”
“Hiro, was that an Absolom dad joke?”
He shrugged. “I’m at that age.”
Adeline laughed and stepped into the machine.
When she arrived inside Nora’s home, her feet were indeed closer to the floor this time. She landed with barely a sound.
She set the note on the floor, knowing Nora would find it and go searching for the cameras. She marveled at the revelation that she was actually the person who had sabotaged her own grand plan to see what had happened inside Nora’s home that night.
She activated her recall ring, musing to herself at how strange time and causality was.
*
The next morning, Adeline stood in the kitchen of her home, staring down at a tablet, where a livestream of a news reporter was playing.
In a surprise move today, Absolom Sciences announced it would no longer operate its namesake technology and that it would cease all future development of related quantum technology at its Nevada headquarters. Its government clients have entered into a perpetual license and will now operate the Nevada facilities through an international consortium.
In what looks like related news, the UN and nations around the world have formally recognized the newly created Pacific Island republic of Absolom…
The doorbell rang, and Adeline turned the tablet off and walked to the front door, where Hana Kim was waiting. Once again, they met in the study, and this time there was no hidden listening device. Adeline had instructed her security team to sweep the entire house. She didn’t want anyone to hear what was about to be said.
“Thank you for providing the replica of Dr. Thomas.”
“Of course,” Hana said. “Out of curiosity, what was it for? A second memorial service?”
“No,” Adeline said slowly, “it was for the first service, a few months ago.”
Hana squinted at her, clearly confused.
Adeline walked to the window and gazed out at the street. “I’m going to tell you something that only five people in the entire world know: what really happened to Nora Thomas.”
When Adeline had finished the story, Hana was silent for almost a minute. “Can I ask why you told me?”
“Do you know why I invested in Syntran all those years ago?”
“Because of the potential of what we’re doing.”
“Half right,” Adeline said. “The other half is that I saw myself in you—someone who had lost their father tragically, someone who was working to make sure that never happened to anyone else like you. There’s something very special about people who truly want to leave the world better than they found it. A lot of people talk about it. Far fewer actually do it. What I didn’t know then is that what you were building was the key to saving someone I cared deeply about: Nora. And that what I was creating was the key to giving you what you’ve always wanted: a way to save your father. A second chance to actually get to know him.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I want to tell you about a place called Absolom Island. It’s a place where we’re going to rescue people who are lost in time. People who died tragic deaths, who deserve a chance at a full life. There’s just one thing we need: bodies to replace the people we take from the past. We need a Syntran lab we can operate. When it’s operational, I promise you that your father will be the second person we rescue from the island. And once we have him back, thanks to Syntran, you can give him that life-saving transplant.”