4.49 Time Dilation

Dysen greets Acheron with a big smile shortly after sunrise. "It's our last day in China, and yesterday was terrible, so let's make sure we do something fun."

"Alright," Acheron says, not reacting to the arm clamped around his shoulders. He allows himself to be led to the kitchen, where Carlos is making omelettes for breakfast again.

Dysen wants to pretend Acheron's thousand yard stare is about the vampires—even Orazia agreed informing authorities about the way they escaped the underground tunnels could end poorly—but he knows it's never anything so simple with Acheron.

'Something fun' turns out to be swimming in the river.

Swimmin' with the fishes.

Orazia has better things to do. Like watch butterflies.

Just a nice sunset picture. Ceth never goes anywhere without her guitar.

The day flies by quickly enough. The family's last stop is a souvenir shop.

Acheron lifts his gaze from the floor for a moment. "I don't want any of this overpriced junk, Mom."

"You've barely looked around yet."

Then it's back to Starlight Shores, where work, school and chores have been waiting for them.

"I missed you, Nicholas! ♪"

Emmy shows no interest in her master's return.

The cats are happy to see their family, though.

Maggie and Moby have a pet house under the stairs.

The contractor finished building it while the family was in Shang Simla.

"The cat gets a new room before us!" Dysen observes, keeping up the pretense that he's still annoyed he has to share a room with Acheron.

"I think Maggie is pregnant," Acheron says.

"Aw, babykitties!" Lela is excited about this development.

Acheron is more like squicked out. "Why would you even want to do that?"

"The cat is only following her natural instinct," Kay replies.

"That is disgusting."

"As you say."

"Do cats have predestined cat reproduction too?"

"Oh, no. The feline subroutine is separate from the process you humanoid-types are governed by."

"Subroutine?! Define that."

Kay pauses, realizing a mistake has been made. "...The part of Kir's spell that traps your spirits does not do the same for other animals."

Acheron's glare intensifies. "I don't get you. Any of you."

He's felt messed up since a vision in China planted a seed of doubt in his mind about... about... he isn't sure what the implications are, exactly. He's just certain there are implications.

Sure, the nature of reality and consciousness has been called into question, but Acheron has far more pressing concerns. More immediately pressing concerns. The season is about to change. "This happens, and then... this happens... why didn't I notice before?"

Acheron hasn't had this particular vision in a while.

Foxglove's fingers are cold. They trace curiously along the edge of his left ear as Acheron stares, wide-eyed, at a fixed empty point in space.

"Cute little round human ears," she says. "You don't fool me."

Behind her a lamp crashes to the floor as her assignment partner struggles to subdue Dysen, who growls and snaps his teeth loudly. The noise of threads tearing masks the softer sound from flesh splitting when the werewolf's claws shred through several clothing layers and find skin.

Foxglove grows annoyed with Acheron's silence. "Don't be upset. Be happy. You're an error in an otherwise perfect system, but we're going to correct you."

He knows this place. The plush carpet, the old ornate tiling, the familiar rugs and tapestries. It's the big house his mother grew up in.

Magic binds prevent Acheron from moving, from jumping up to shout how this isn't right, he shouldn't be here, he already chose not to be here...

"What is this even about!" Dysen yells.

Foxglove stands up straight and snaps around. "Would you stop... playing... with your food?!"

Both men stop moving. The werewolf because magic forces him to, the vampire out of a brief flash of fear. Fear of Foxglove. Hunger overrides logic, though. After the pause he pokes his teeth into Dysen's shoulder, shooting Foxglove a rather contrary look. It's been too long since a proper feeding.

He's one of the handful of vampiric agents denied access to collected blood, or the far more sanitary plasma fruit. For better or worse, getting it fresh gives their natural powers a considerable boost.

"I don't know why we keep you stupid inefficient things around!" Foxglove complains. "Doesn't he have enough holes in his clothes without you making more?!" She doesn't approve of the pre-torn clothes fashions. "Go for the throat!"

The vampire regains some composure as he forces Dysen to the ground. "So impatient," he chides Foxglove. "I like to make them a bit angry, first. It gets their adrenaline flowing. Enhances the taste."

Foxglove frowns with obvious confusion, but the vampire has no shame, grasping its squirming 'food' by the thighs and obviously pissing it off with the bizarre fondling that follows. Foxglove has never had to try to upset anyone; it just happens naturally. So what's happening now truly mystifies her.

The sound of a zipper unzipping makes Acheron feel nauseous.

The fangs sink in deeply, causing a gush of blood that spreads down Dysen's shirts and onto the carpet. The vampire drinks contentedly from the source, needing less pressure to hold down its arms as the moments tick by. Soon, there's no resistance at all.

Foxglove becomes uncomfortable enough to turn away, flitting back to hover above Acheron. "We'll get you a new dog," she promises.

"Everybody wants to recruit me," Acheron mumbles, voice shaky.

Foxglove's smile is almost gentle. "You're too valuable to destroy. Don't cry."

"I'm not supposed to be here!" Acheron screams.

"It's okay, Acheron." Claire holds his wrist this time, not the other way around. "I'll help you, if you just find me."

"This isn't right..." Acheron blinks, causing tears to roll down his cheeks. He looks around at the green leaves, takes a deep breath of warm air. "Where am I..."

"This is where you wanted to be. To focus on the problem at hand."

"You're not here to help me... so you can't be you."

She pulls him into a kiss, somehow. "I'm a future me... a construct you have kept with you."

"That's weird," he protests, jerking out of her grasp.

"I'm part of you. I always have been. Let me help."

The summery breeze is too hot. Acheron spins around, feeling for the first time in one of these visions that he is himself, that he has some measure of control over the movements his body makes. Could he run away if he felt like it? No... I didn't snap myself here just to run away.

"I understand some of these things can happen based on my choices... but I don't understand this one. Vampires and concentrated sunlight, fine, that makes sense... but I would have never thought to change the weather if I hadn't had a vision showing me I could. This is a predestination paradox."

"It's not a paradox. It's no different from the code on Cayenne's cell. You try everything."

"The cell lock has an obvious input device finite number of possible combinations," Acheron argues. "Reality's possibilities are closer to infinite."

"You have infinite time," Claire tells him. "If you want it."

"Time dilation is a thing, but time travel isn't," Carlos gives his professional opinion.

"I can only go forward." Chet offers a small shrug of her shoulders. "Time is not a dimension one can travel through. Even Kir doesn't really reset time. He just rearranges all the matter in our universe."

"Oh, you say that like it ain't no thing," Acheron mocks. "And you really want to cross this person?"

"Kir isn't a person."

"I'm sure he thinks the same about you."

 "Literally a ghost in a machine," Acheron hears himself say.

"I'm sorry, Admin," Kay's voice cries, "I'm so sorry."

"Acheron!" Dysen cries out, "Snap out of it!"

Acheron blinks back tears. He didn't need a reminder about why he can't stay with his family... but he may have needed the extra resolve for what he's going to do next.







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Etc.: That moment when you find yourself writing about a teenager shaming a cat for its life choices.

I wasn't sure for a while whether or not I would include the scene with Foxglove, but in the end I felt it was important to show an example of why Acheron wants to keep the more vulnerable members of his family at arms' length.

On a gameplay note, travel fixed Orazia's motives glitch. Now she can get positive moodlets from filling her fun meter. She can finally be happy! Just in time for me to have to move her out.