Stuart found it harder than he had expected to say goodbye to Dave. He had tried to rationalise his emotions by focusing on the fact he would hopefully be seeing him again in a short time, just in a different place. He struggled to consider them as one person though. His relationship with the brother he would be returning to had formed naturally over a period of almost forty years. The relationship he had formed with the man now stood before him was borne out of a few weeks of turmoil and conflict. When he had thought of him as his real brother he had struggled to bond with him at all. In fact, he had felt betrayed by him. Now he knew the truth he had nothing but respect for the man. He had come to think of him more as a friend than a brother and would always remember him as a distinct person, not as an alternate sibling from another world.
Saying goodbye to Catherine was even more difficult. Without her he would never have made it this far and would probably be in a psychiatric facility ranting to his fellow patients about how he needed to find a wife and child that did not exist. That was the reality of his existence in this universe. She had helped him to live with that reality because without the professor’s intervention it was the only conclusion they could have reached. Despite her protests he thanked her profusely, adding he would be eternally grateful for her support. A statement that from him had a far more literal meaning. In return, she offered him the same pragmatic advice as before; be yourself and be creative with the truth. She embraced him and her persona softened. He reciprocated pulling her close to him. As he did this she whispered softly into his ear; “If only things had been different Stuart!” He whispered back. “You are the one reason I almost stayed.” She didn’t have the chance to respond to this as a commotion at the door drew their attention. The professor was arguing with one of the agents, waving his arms around and pointing at the equipment and the people in the room. The other agent approached them and ushered them toward the exit from the laboratory. “What’s going on professor?” Stuart asked as he was pushed toward the door. “They want to evacuate us back to the refectory.” He snapped back. “They don’t understand how close we are to completing the transfer. This will set us back hours,” he barked. “Professor, a third bomb has been discovered in one of the other wings.” The agent snapped back. “If that goes off it is big enough to bring the whole building down on top of you.”
Reluctantly the professor agreed to evacuate the lab but not before aborting the initiation sequence for the Harmoniser. He told the agents to take the others back to the refectory and he would follow shortly. They protested at first but soon realised this was not up for negotiation. Dr Marks agreed to stay with the professor to assist him but told Dr Cooper he should accompany the others. So, in the same way Stuart and Catherine had arrived at the lab, they headed back through the maze of corridors with one agent leading them from the front and the other following at the rear. Both agents had their weapons drawn but this time the journey was far from quiet. Stuart was complaining he could not believe after being so close to climbing into the Harmoniser booth, yet another obstacle had been placed between him and his journey home. Catherine was letting the agents know in no uncertain terms that she could not believe despite the importance of the technology they were guarding, the security forces had failed to prevent someone accessing the building and planting bombs all over the place. The whole thing felt like a shambles and she fully intended to take this up with Terry at the first opportunity. Dave was the only one remaining quiet during the march back to the refectory. He had a gut feeling he knew exactly who was responsible for the chaos.