WEBVTT
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The future was supposed to be predictable.
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In the year 2185, humanity had learned to cross the centuries.
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But some journeys don't end where they begin.
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These are the Salcass Sarkas.
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A morning gentleman.
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Hey there, Ryan.
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Uh you two look very serious.
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Well, we're just wondering when we're getting out of here.
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It has been four weeks or I know, I know.
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Do you, really?
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Genuinely, I'm as bored as the rest of you are.
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Oh, it's it's not the boredom.
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Nobody's telling us anything.
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We're orbiting Mars with the engine's cold.
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Nobody's allowed to go near half the Chronicle systems.
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And every time somebody asks why, they're told it's an investigation.
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Well, that sounds like an investigation.
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Okay, and what have you heard?
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There were jumps, unscheduled and unannounced.
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How many jumps were there, crewman?
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Well, we know about two.
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And that's what you're hearing.
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And where did that come from?
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Engineering told us.
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Oh, engineering say that.
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So it's a rumor.
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Well, it's a rumor that happened to fit an awful lot of things.
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Such as why we're still here.
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And that's not all.
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After the second jump, why cadet Solomon hasn't been seen since?
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People are asking about Solomon, is that right?
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Oh, of course they are.
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Four people left the ship, three came back.
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You're counting heads now.
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Well, for the record, I knew his father.
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Is that alright with you?
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Point taken, what else?
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Well, that's about him.
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Okay, so for now, Crewman, forget what you've heard.
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That's easy for you to say.
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No, no, no, it's not.
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Consider it an order, Crewman.
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Yes, sir.
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Ryan continued down the corridor.
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He had asked a simple question.
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How much did the crew know?
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Now he had his answer.
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Enough.
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He stopped outside the command access, and for a moment he just stood there, considering.
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Then he pressed the com.
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Uh, Captain, do you have a moment?
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Go ahead.
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We need to talk about the crew.
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You'd better come in, officer.
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Ryan had barely finished explaining what he'd heard when a series of encrypted calls followed.
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Names were added to a list.
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Within the hour, a meeting had been convened to establish what the crew knew, to decide what they could be allowed to know, and above all, to prevent an uncomfortable situation from becoming an impossible one.
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Director Kofel is joining us on the viewing screen, Captain.
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Okay, seal the doors.
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No recording, no shipwide archive.
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Understood.
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And nobody who isn't in this room gets to know this meeting took place.
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You have my attention, Captain.
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Welcome, Director.
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Officer Ryan has just briefed me about some rumors.
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Rumors?
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Well, they're no longer rumors.
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They're questions.
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The crew know we haven't left Mars orbit.
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They know something's happened during the jumps.
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They're counting personnel.
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They know four people left the ship after one of the jumps, and well, three came back.
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And Cadet Solomon.
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They've noticed he hasn't been seen.
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Which means we're now dealing with two problems.
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The crew can be managed?
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Not indefinitely, sir, no.
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No.
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Which is why we're having this meeting, sir.
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Who knows?
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Everyone in this room knows the full situation.
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And Officer Asteman.
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A very small number of people outside it know pieces.
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Names?
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You'll have them, sir.
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And Cadet Kasper, how is he?
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Not here.
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Why?
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Because he's a child.
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He has also been involved from the beginning.
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Which is precisely why he doesn't need to be involved in this conversation.
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He knows Solomon is missing, and whilst technically he should be grieving, he seems uncommonly resilient for now.
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We have to be thankful for that.
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And the investigation.
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Continuing.
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Director, you ordered us to remain in Mars orbit.
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I did, and you will remain there until I say otherwise.
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Then we need to be clear about what we're doing.
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We continue the search for Solomon, we don't return to Earth.
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Correct.
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We don't disclose the full capability of the Chronocoil to the crew?
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Let me be clear.
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At this moment, absolutely not.
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And we keep the investigation as far from Earth as possible.
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Mars is preferable.
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And the crew?
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You contain the rumors.
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Give them something else to talk about.
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Give them answers they are permitted to have.
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And Helena?
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No.
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She needs to know, sir.
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Not yet, no.
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She is still part of the research team looking for the meridian I take.
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And she is at the critical stage of that research.
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Disturbing her now gains us nothing.
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Okay.
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Or perhaps we're simply buying ourselves time.
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Captain, at the moment, time is precisely what we need.
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Contain this, Captain, please.
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Understood.
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Good.
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Then we are agreed.
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This meeting never happened.
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Understood.
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Caspar sat alone at the console.
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A wall display showed a constantly shifting field of numbers and dates and faint graphical traces.
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He hadn't been sitting there continuously.
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He had slept and eaten.
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He had been dragged away when someone decided he needed to leave.
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But he always came back.
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Four weeks of searching, four weeks of nothing that he could call a signal.
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Oh, for pity's sake, what more do I need to do?
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Come on! Another filter, a different layer of residual data appeared.
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Small spikes, tiny disturbances.
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Nothing significant.
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Casper leaned closer.
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Now I'm interested.
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What's that?
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An historical record appeared.
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A discrepancy.
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One entry didn't agree with the surrounding data.
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Then another appeared.
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A different location.
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A different record.
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Different date.
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He brought them together.
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The computer overlaid the results, and three points became seven.
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Seven became nineteen.
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Caspar stared at them.
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That is not random.
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The door opened and Cicily entered.
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Casper did not answer.
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Come on, Casper.
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Give yourself a break.
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Hello.
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Casper.
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Come and look at this, Cicily.
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Right, what am I looking at?
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You are looking at corrections.
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Corrections you mean by temporal interference.
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No, no, no, not exactly.
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This is a date.
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This one is a time.
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This is an attendance entry.
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Cicely looked at him inquisitally.
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Attendance entry?
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It was very specific.
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They're all just tiny changes, you see.
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He brought up another cluster.
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A ledger, a name, a time, a delivery entry, and a school record.
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You see, my theory is nobody has changed anything important.
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So then come on, why am I saying this, Casper?
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Casper didn't answer immediately.
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He started arranging the records chronologically.
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Well, because they're wrong, Cicely.
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Somebody's corrected them.
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That's my theory, anyway.
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Cicely watched the pattern build.
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It could be local interference, it could be natural temporal settling.
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Perhaps.
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But look here.
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Look at the way they're being corrected.
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She looked again.
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The changes were almost imperceptible.
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The time moved forward.
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A name appeared where there had been a blank.
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An entry disappeared.
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And a date shifted by a day.
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Nothing dramatic.
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Nothing that would ever have made the history books.
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Yeah, okay.
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But from what I can see, they're all different, Casper.
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But my question is what connects them?
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The decision.
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Sorry, what decision?
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Well, the decision.
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The fact that somebody saw that something was wrong and decided to fix it.
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Cicely looked at him.
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Caspar's hands began to shake.
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Look, Solomon used to do that.
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Fix things.
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He is very good like that, you know.
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A faint smile.
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It disappears almost immediately.
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He returned quickly to the data.
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The computer began correlating the records.
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The historical anomalies are concentrated within a defined temporal interval.
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Caspar looked up.
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How long?
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Approximately 35 days.
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Five weeks.
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Almost five weeks.
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He expanded the geographical data and a map appeared.
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The points were scattered and disparate.
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Then the computer began waiting.
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And the wider map faded, and the concentration narrowed.
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Geographical location updating, standby.
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Northern England, West Yorkshire.
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Ah, and what have we got?
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Highest probability, Holmferth.
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Casper said nothing, and Cicely looked at him.
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Caspar.
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Caspar, you did hear that, didn't you?
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He zoomed in further, and the map resolved into a valley.
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Houses, a river, roads, and industrial buildings.
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A bridge.
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And a small cluster of historical records.
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There, look.
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Right, what am I looking at?
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The school, the school.
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The computer overlaid the surviving historical references.
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School records.
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Local records, mill records, dates, times, names.
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Caspar stared at the repeating sequence.
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They're all around the same place, so.
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He moved through the records.
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A mill entry.
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A delivery.
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Another school entry.
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So I think we can say he's moving around, not just the school.
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Sorry.
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Solomon's school.
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Casper nodded.
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Yes, him.
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But he keeps coming back here, okay?
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That's my point.
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The display changed again.
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Several times appeared in sequence.
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9 o'clock, 10 30 a.m., midday, 1 p.m.
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and 3 30 p.m.
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Caspar stared at them.
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Well, what are they?
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He didn't answer.
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The times repeated.
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Not once, not twice, but again and again.
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Caspar slowly leaned towards the screen.
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They're not dates, they're times.
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I don't understand.
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Come on.
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His eyes moved across the sequence.
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Then something clicked.
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Not in the computer, but in him.
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It's a timetable.
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The briefing room was sealed.
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No minutes and nothing that would later require an explanation.
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Captain Eliza stood at the head of the table.
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Around it sat the small group of people who already knew the truth.
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Director Kofi appeared on the teleview from UESS headquarters.
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For several seconds, the room was silent.
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Then Caspar spoke.
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I'm satisfied that Solomon is alive.
00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:00.000
Eliza looked at him.
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I take it you have some evidence, Casper.
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Casper didn't hesitate.
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It was the residuals.
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You see, we kept looking for a signal.
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He brought the first set onto the display.
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Dates, times, names, small alterations to historical records.
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Sicily stepped forward.
00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:21.200
Firstly, there isn't one.
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A signal, that is.
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But not in the way that we expected.
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The residuals aren't carrying a message.
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They're the result of something that happened in the past.
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This is great work, Sicily, but what do you mean, something?
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Caspar answered.
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We were looking for corrections, sir.
00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:40.080
He enlarged one of the records.
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Here, sir.
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Look at the date.
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Now watch the dates change.
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Here another.
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An attendance entry.
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A time.
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Now watch them both change, sir.
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Eliza studied the display carefully.
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And you believe Solomon caused these, am I right?
00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:00.480
I'm certain he did, Captain.
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Ryan shifted slightly in his chair.
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Well, that's a very large conclusion from some very small changes, Casper.
00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:10.000
Well, that's the point, officer.
00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:12.720
They're small because that's what he'd do.
00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:16.960
They aren't spread randomly, they're concentrated around one area.
00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:18.639
The map appeared.
00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:23.679
Yorkshire, then West Yorkshire, then Homefirth.
00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:26.639
Here, look, he keeps coming back to the same places.
00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:33.600
School records, mill records, local records, anything that survived as a written routine.
00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:36.960
From what we can work out, he has found somewhere safe.
00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:38.960
Eliza looked at the map.
00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:40.720
It looks like a school.
00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:41.759
I think so.
00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:44.720
You should also see these, Captain.
00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:46.240
The captain read them.
00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:47.519
What are they all?
00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:49.279
As far as we know, a day.
00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:50.639
Now I'm confused.
00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:52.159
What you what do you mean day?
00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:53.919
But a school day.
00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:56.480
He isn't hiding in the records.
00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.039
He's living inside the routine.
00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:01.440
It's the sort of thing Solomon would do.
00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:03.759
He moved through the sequence.
00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:07.679
Morning, break, lunch, afternoon.
00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:09.440
The pattern repeated.
00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:12.240
The captain looked at him for a long moment.
00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:14.399
Then at the map.
00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:16.879
Then at the historical records.
00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:19.360
Okay, given this, can we locate him?
00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.840
Cicely looked towards the computer.
00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:24.480
We're in the process of narrowing it now, Captain.
00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:24.960
Good.
00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:26.399
Then narrow it faster.
00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:28.720
Casper stared at the display.
00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:33.519
And for the first time in four weeks, there was somewhere to look.
00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:39.440
Aya, Brian.
00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:41.600
I heard you were baking today, is that right?
00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:42.240
Yes.
00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:44.240
We managed to get one of the ovens working.
00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:45.600
We've made as much as we can.
00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:47.440
So you've got a bit of bread for us.
00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:49.600
If you quit, there's bound to be somewhat left.
00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:50.879
Oh, that's good news.
00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:52.799
I'll best go and get some money, then.
00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:55.360
We'll just have to get some more flour for Mr.
00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:56.000
Taylor.
00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:57.200
Thank you, Brian.
00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:58.559
Right, I'll be seeing you, Mrs.
00:15:58.639 --> 00:15:59.360
Boudroy.
00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:00.480
Home first.
00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:02.480
1852.
00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:08.399
Solomon crouched in the shadow of a stone wall that smelled of damp and coal smoke.
00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.679
The town beyond it was quieter than it had been.
00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:15.200
Mud still clung to the edges of the road.
00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:19.440
Broken furniture had been piled where carts could collect them.
00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:22.559
Men were still clearing debris from the lanes.
00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:24.799
Women carried buckets.
00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:27.600
Everybody seemed to have a job.
00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:30.720
Solomon had learned that that was useful.
00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:36.879
If you looked as though you had somewhere to be, people were less likely to ask you where you came from.
00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:41.840
His suit had long since powered down, stripped for parts.
00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:44.639
The battery and the interface was gone.
00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:50.080
What remained was a pencil stub, a scrap of paper, and rules.
00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:53.360
The writing had become faint from handling.
00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:55.440
He wrote the rules again.
00:16:55.679 --> 00:17:00.720
One, don't be seen unless it's absolutely necessary.
00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:05.840
Two, don't change anything big.
00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:09.759
Leave markers where they'll survive.
00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:20.960
He stopped, looked at the fourth rule, and then added another.
00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:22.079
Five.
00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:26.559
Correct mistakes when you see them.
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:35.360
He folded the paper and tucked it into a crack behind a loose brick, leaving a trail that only someone looking for him would understand.
00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:41.599
He had discovered that the best place to hide was somewhere nobody thought to look.
00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:45.200
The school had been first, Dob Lane.
00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:49.519
The schoolhouse behind it gave him another place to disappear.
00:17:49.840 --> 00:17:52.079
At first he'd simply watched.
00:17:52.320 --> 00:17:54.320
Then he'd found a way in.
00:17:54.639 --> 00:17:57.519
And nobody had asked too many questions.
00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:06.640
After all, there were children who had lost homes, those whose families were living with relatives, children who had stopped turning up altogether.
00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:11.839
After the flood, an extra boy was hardly the strangest thing anyone had seen.
00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:18.960
And so he learnt the timetable, the names, when the teachers arrived and when they left.
00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:22.319
He learned which doors were usually unlocked.
00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:25.119
He learned when nobody was looking.
00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:29.200
One morning, however, a teacher stopped beside him.
00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:30.160
You lad.
00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:33.119
Yes, you stand all.
00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:35.359
I haven't seen you before.
00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:36.559
What's your name?
00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:38.480
The teacher waited.
00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:40.400
Just Solomon, sir.
00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:41.920
Solomon or what?
00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:44.480
Solomon looked down at his desk.
00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:49.119
He had learned enough by then to know that too much information was dangerous.
00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:51.039
Just just Solomon, sir.
00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:52.720
The teacher studied him.
00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:56.720
For a moment Solomon thought he'd made a grave mistake.
00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:00.000
Then the teacher looked towards the empty desks.
00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:01.839
There were several.
00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:03.599
And where do you live, Solomon?
00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:06.319
Solomon glanced towards the window.
00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:09.920
Outside, men were still clearing the mud from the road.
00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:12.160
I live nearby, sir.
00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:16.160
The teacher sighed, not suspicious, but tired.
00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:18.799
He put a slate in front of Solomon.
00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:20.559
I take it you can read.
00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:21.359
He nodded.
00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:22.400
And numbers?
00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:24.000
Mathematics, yeah.
00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:27.039
The teacher looked at him for a moment longer than.
00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:28.640
Right then, seat there.
00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:30.720
He pointed to a desk near the back.
00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:33.279
Try not to disturb the others, okay?
00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:34.640
Thank you, sir.
00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:36.480
Solomon sat.
00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:42.160
No interrogation, no discovery, just a place at a desk.
00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:46.640
For the first time since the jump, he felt something approaching safety.
00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:48.880
At night he disappeared.
00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:53.200
He would leave the schoolhouse grounds, returning before morning.
00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:57.200
Nobody saw it, and so nobody questioned it.
00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:00.319
There were too many other things to worry about.
00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:08.079
The mills were still trying to recover, machinery had been damaged, many records had been lost.
00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:12.319
And everywhere Solomon went, he found the same thing.
00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:14.960
Things that were slightly wrong.
00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:22.640
A delivery recorded on the wrong day, a worker's name entered incorrectly, and so he would correct them.
00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:26.160
At the mill he found a ledger left open on a desk.
00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:31.200
He waited, he listened, and then changed one figure.
00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:35.359
At school he found an attendance entry that didn't make sense.
00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:37.839
A child had been marked absent.
00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:41.920
Solomon knew he'd been there, and so he changed the mark.
00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:47.119
Tiny things, things that would have been forgotten, except they weren't.
00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:53.279
If he saw something wrong and could put it right without hurting anyone, why shouldn't he?
00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:58.640
He sat beneath the stone wall and listened to the distant hammering from the mills.
00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:01.519
For a moment he closed his eyes.
00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:06.240
He thought about home, about his family, the ship.
00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:10.960
He couldn't be sure if they knew where he was, but he knew one thing.
00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:12.960
Caspar would look.
00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:15.519
Solomon opened his eyes.
00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:21.279
Another day was beginning, another collection of small things that needed putting right.
00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:24.960
He stood and walked back towards the school.
00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:27.599
And that was how the signal escaped.
00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:31.039
Not as a cry, not as a beacon.
00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:34.960
It escaped as a consequence of Solomon being Solomon.
00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:45.599
A boy who had no idea that more than 300 years later, somewhere in 2185, his brother was beginning to understand.
00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:55.680
The chronocoil hummed, not awake, not dormant, perhaps listening.
00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:58.400
Caspar watched the lattice tighten.
00:21:58.559 --> 00:22:01.599
The residuals shifted across the display.
00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:03.200
And then, there.
00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:04.240
Look.
00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:05.839
Computer freeze.
00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:07.599
The numbers resolved.
00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:09.680
Not a precise coordinate.
00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:10.559
A band.
00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:15.039
Fuzzy, resistant, but definitely present.
00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:17.839
Sicily stared closely at the display.
00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:19.119
Oh my goodness.
00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:20.640
He's not lost.
00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:21.680
He's hiding.
00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:23.279
Do we have a time frame?
00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:27.599
Sigma studied the figures and enlarged the projection.
00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:29.279
Multiple overlaps.
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:32.559
The signal originates from a zone of historical convergence.
00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:34.960
Retrieval will require precision.
00:22:35.279 --> 00:22:36.720
He is so clever.
00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:39.039
He sent us instructions.
00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:40.960
A small silence.
00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:45.359
Eliza allowed herself the faintest of smiles.
00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:48.079
Then she turned towards the command well.
00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:50.160
Okay, that's enough.
00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:51.839
Let's go get him.
00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:08.880
And somewhere in time, a boy paused mid-sentence.
00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:11.119
The air changed.
00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:13.200
And Solomon looked up.
00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:14.480
He smiled.
00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:16.160
They had heard him.
00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:19.359
And now there was only one thing left to do.
00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:21.839
Bring Solomon home.
00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:24.799
The insertion was clean.
00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:27.599
No thunder, no spectacle.
00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:34.240
Three figures simply appeared beneath the cover of a stone outbuilding, well away from the school.
00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:38.160
The recent rain had left everything dark and glistening.
00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:40.559
Eliza looked towards the school.
00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:45.599
It was further along the lane, partly obscured by the surrounding buildings.
00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:48.000
She looked at the rest of the landing team.
00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:50.079
They were dressed for the period.
00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:52.160
Nothing modern visible.
00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:54.799
No equipment that would attract attention.
00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:56.559
It's a breezy day.
00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:59.200
We are just taking a walk, folks.
00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:06.640
They moved out, keeping to the edge of the road, letting carts and pedestrians pass between them in the school.
00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:11.519
Casper had recognized the place from historical imagery they'd studied.
00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:18.160
The narrow lane, the stone buildings, and the bridge further down towards the mill.
00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:25.519
They had passed a man clearing silk from a doorway, a child carrying a bucket almost as large as himself.
00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:29.519
Nobody paid the three strangers any particular attention.
00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:32.559
That was exactly what Eliza had wanted.
00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:36.480
At the end of the lane, Cicely touched Eliza's arm.
00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:41.200
The school came into view.
00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:44.240
Some children were beginning to emerge.
00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:48.720
Voices, movement, and finally a bell.
00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:50.400
Caspar stopped.
00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:51.759
His breathing changed.
00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:53.359
Oh my goodness, that's it.
00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:54.160
That's the school.
00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:56.400
Casper, hang back, hang back.
00:24:57.680 --> 00:24:59.359
You're sure about this, right?
00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:01.119
Casper nodded.
00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:07.200
Eliza studied the school, then the road, then the people moving around them.
00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:14.799
Okay, everybody, we don't rush, we don't ask questions, and nobody sees anything they don't need to see, so help me God.
00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:18.400
They moved towards the school as the bell rang.
00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:23.200
The door opened, children spilling out onto the lane.
00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:28.319
And then Solomon appeared.
00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:30.480
Caspar saw him first.
00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:31.920
He didn't run.
00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:37.359
He walked slowly, like someone approaching something fragile.
00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:41.759
Solomon looked up, meeting his brother's gaze.
00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:45.839
They stared at each other for half a second, and Solomon smiled.
00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:47.279
You made it then.
00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:49.440
You took your time, didn't you?
00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:55.119
Caspar grinned, pulling his brother into him so hard that Solomon yelped.
00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:58.480
Cicely turned away, giving them a moment.
00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:04.880
Eliza watched, jaw tight, eyes bright, internally relieved.
00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:08.240
Solomon! The teacher stood in the doorway.
00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:09.680
Solomon turned.
00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:17.279
And for the first time, the extraordinary moment looked dangerously ordinary.
00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:18.880
He lowered his head.
00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:20.720
Well, sorry, sir.
00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:23.839
The teacher came a few steps down the path.
00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:28.000
He looked at Solomon closely, then at the three strangers.
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:32.319
His expression changed, something closer to relief.
00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:35.440
Well, you have a fair turn of speed on you, haven't you, lad?
00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:38.480
Solomon gave the smallest of smiles.
00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:40.559
The teacher shook his head.
00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:45.359
Then, almost as an afterthought, by the way, who are these people?
00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:47.599
Eliza glanced at Caspar.
00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:51.119
Caspar stared at Solomon, and Sicily stepped in.
00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:52.480
Um, good afternoon.
00:26:52.640 --> 00:26:54.559
We're we're his family.
00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:55.759
We're his parents.
00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:56.480
Hey.
00:26:56.799 --> 00:26:57.279
Hey.
00:26:57.599 --> 00:26:59.519
Well, your son did very well today.
00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:00.960
You can be rightly proud.
00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:03.920
Oh, well, that's good to hear.
00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:06.559
The teacher's eyes settled on Solomon.
00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:10.319
Whatever questions he might have had seemed to disappear.
00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:12.400
I'll say good day to you then.
00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:16.799
The teacher nodded and turned back towards the school.
00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:18.799
Okay, let's get you home.
00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:33.680
Solomon stood between Caspar and Sicily, still trying to take in the fact that the walls around him belonged to the Sulcas.
00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:35.039
Home.
00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:38.720
They made their way towards the bridge.
00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:41.519
The familiar hum of the sulcas surrounded them.
00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:43.599
Crew turned.
00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:49.759
Several stared at Solomon, certain that something extraordinary had happened.
00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:53.039
Captain Eliza walked towards the command well.
00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:54.000
Sigma?
00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:54.960
Captain.
00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:56.640
Chrono Coil Status.
00:27:56.960 --> 00:27:57.359
Stable.
00:27:57.680 --> 00:27:59.599
120 crew currently aboard, ma'am.
00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:02.880
The captain allowed herself the faintest of smiles.
00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:05.440
Then, the lights flickered.
00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:07.920
Not enough to trigger an alarm.
00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:10.480
Just enough for everyone to notice.
00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:12.640
Sigma's display changed.
00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:13.279
Captain.
00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:13.920
What is it?
00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:16.319
I'm detecting an anomalous energy signature.
00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:17.039
Where?
00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:18.720
Ship's bridge, Captain.
00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:21.920
A low vibration passed through the deck.
00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:26.720
Not mechanical, not electrical, but something deeper.
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:29.920
Some of the crew recognized it immediately.
00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:31.279
Others didn't.
00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:33.920
They simply looked around, uncertain.
00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:37.599
The air ahead of the command well began to gather light.
00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:41.359
Caspar instinctively moved closer to Solomon.
00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:43.519
Eliza raised a hand.
00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:45.599
Stand fast, everybody.
00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:47.839
Whatever it is, this is our ship.
00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:49.759
The light condensed.
00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:51.519
A form emerged.
00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:54.640
You have been the boy.
00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:57.279
Eliza stepped forward.
00:28:57.599 --> 00:28:58.480
The boy.
00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:00.400
Yes, Solomon.
00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:03.599
You have to have motived him from resolved history.
00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:05.599
We are aware, we know.
00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:07.599
This retrieval violence.
00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:11.759
So does abandoning a child.
00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:14.960
The boy was aware where he was meant meant to be.
00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:17.839
Eliza's expression hardened.
00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:20.160
Well, that doesn't work for us.
00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:23.279
Right now, the ship is where he's meant to be.
00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:28.720
The integrity of this timeline demanded his continued presence.
00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:31.119
And I have decided otherwise.
00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:34.319
You understand the consequences.
00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:36.000
I understand.
00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:40.720
This paradise is ours, our responsibility.
00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:41.839
I ordered it.
00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:43.759
This boy's destiny is with us.
00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:44.480
Captain.
00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:44.960
Yes.
00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:46.960
Chrono Coil remains stable.
00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:49.440
Prove consensus, unanimous.
00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:52.480
They wish to congratulate you on a successful outcome.
00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:55.519
The shimmering light turned towards the crew.
00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:56.880
Then they have chosen.
00:29:58.079 --> 00:30:00.640
Attach attach over optimization.
00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:02.079
Every time.
00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:07.039
For a moment there was stillness and silence on the bridge.
00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:10.799
Then the entity's form began to dissolve.
00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:13.440
You will move forward.
00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:15.039
The light collapsed.
00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:17.039
The vibration disappeared.
00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:19.279
The bridge returned to normal.
00:30:19.519 --> 00:30:20.000
Captain.
00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:21.039
Go ahead.
00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:24.160
Captain, the anomalous energy signature remains.
00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:25.759
I recommend we record it.
00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:26.799
Go ahead.
00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:28.400
But do not speculate.
00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:29.279
That's an order.
00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:30.799
Aye, Captain.
00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:37.279
On the bridge, the crew slowly returned to their stations.
00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:47.039
Most of them would remember the strange light, the brief failure of several instruments, but only a handful would ever know what actually stood before them.
00:30:47.519 --> 00:30:51.839
That, for now, was exactly how the captain wanted it.
00:30:53.440 --> 00:31:01.440
The ship struggled on the jump home, not because of resistance, but because Solomon mattered the timeline now.
00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:04.160
Almost five weeks had passed.
00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:12.559
He had lived there, learned its rhythms, left traces, become, however, briefly part of its history.
00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:16.000
And now the Solcass was asking time to give him back.
00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:18.079
Transition field drifting.
00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:20.079
Harmonic instability increasing.
00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:21.519
Then hold it.
00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:23.440
Harmonic stabilizing.
00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:24.559
Good.
00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:26.960
Sigma began to sing.
00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:33.920
Not a melody, a sequence of controlled harmonics tuned to the limits of human hearing.
00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:35.599
The vibration deepened.
00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:38.400
The sulcast groaned again.
00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:39.920
And then silence.
00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:42.319
The stars returned.
00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:45.359
Earth orbit and home.
00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:57.359
Later, much later, Solomon sat in the mess.
00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:01.359
A member of the mess staff placed a tray in front of him.
00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:02.640
Warm food.
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:05.039
Nothing remarkable.
00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:09.680
He was wrapped in a borrowed jumper, sleeves too long for him.
00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:17.519
Gaspar sat opposite, elbows on the table, watching him as though looking away might make him disappear again.
00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:20.400
Cicely nudged another plate towards Solomon.
00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:21.440
Dessert?
00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:23.519
He frowned.
00:32:23.839 --> 00:32:24.319
Dessert?
00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:25.599
Are you having a laugh?
00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:26.480
That's not pudding.
00:32:26.799 --> 00:32:28.799
Well, it is if you eat it quickly in the architect.
00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:32.240
He considered this for a moment, then shrugged and dug in.
00:32:32.400 --> 00:32:34.799
Across the mess, people were talking.
00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:36.559
A tray clattered.
00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:39.680
The Solcass continued its journey.
00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:42.799
Life to some degree had resumed.
00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:45.519
Eliza stood in the doorway.
00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:49.519
Officer Ryan joined her momentarily.
00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:53.440
Sigma reports the timeline is stable.
00:32:53.839 --> 00:33:00.559
These past few days, officer, you have performed at the captain.
00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:06.400
She looked again towards the brothers.
00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:08.559
Then at the mess around them.
00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:10.079
She smiled.
00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:14.880
Small, tired, but very real.
00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:15.920
Sure.
00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:16.880
Yeah.
00:33:17.119 --> 00:33:20.319
Go ahead, we brought everybody home.
00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:23.119
Solomon looked up, mouth full.
00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:24.640
So what happens now then?
00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:27.200
Caspar answered without thinking.
00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:29.920
Now we carry on.
00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:36.319
The mess continued around them.
00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:42.000
The sulcast continued towards Earth through the darkness of space.
00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:46.640
For the first time in a long while, the ship was quiet.
00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:54.240
Not because it was holding its breath, but because it could finally exhale.
00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:28.559
The full cast soccer will return.
00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:06.480
The future was supposed to be predictable.
00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:16.960
In the year 2185, humanity had learned to cross the centuries.
00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:23.679
But some journeys don't end where they begin.
00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:27.519
These are the Salcass Sarkas.
00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:36.880
A morning gentleman.
00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:38.799
Hey there, Ryan.
00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:42.799
Uh you two look very serious.
00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:45.280
Well, we're just wondering when we're getting out of here.
00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:48.240
It has been four weeks or I know, I know.
00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:49.520
Do you, really?
00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:52.399
Genuinely, I'm as bored as the rest of you are.
00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:54.560
Oh, it's it's not the boredom.
00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:56.560
Nobody's telling us anything.
00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:58.799
We're orbiting Mars with the engine's cold.
00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:02.000
Nobody's allowed to go near half the Chronicle systems.
00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:06.000
And every time somebody asks why, they're told it's an investigation.
00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:09.040
Well, that sounds like an investigation.
00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:11.599
Okay, and what have you heard?
00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:15.280
There were jumps, unscheduled and unannounced.
00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:18.239
How many jumps were there, crewman?
00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:20.400
Well, we know about two.
00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:22.079
And that's what you're hearing.
00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:23.680
And where did that come from?
00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:25.040
Engineering told us.
00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:26.959
Oh, engineering say that.
00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:28.159
So it's a rumor.
00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:31.359
Well, it's a rumor that happened to fit an awful lot of things.
00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:33.920
Such as why we're still here.
00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:35.200
And that's not all.
00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:39.439
After the second jump, why cadet Solomon hasn't been seen since?
00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:42.480
People are asking about Solomon, is that right?
00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:43.760
Oh, of course they are.
00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:46.879
Four people left the ship, three came back.
00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:48.799
You're counting heads now.
00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:50.879
Well, for the record, I knew his father.
00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:52.079
Is that alright with you?
00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:54.000
Point taken, what else?
00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:55.519
Well, that's about him.
00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:59.280
Okay, so for now, Crewman, forget what you've heard.
00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:00.959
That's easy for you to say.
00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:02.799
No, no, no, it's not.
00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:05.680
Consider it an order, Crewman.
00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:06.879
Yes, sir.
00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:10.240
Ryan continued down the corridor.
00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:12.639
He had asked a simple question.
00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:14.960
How much did the crew know?
00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:17.360
Now he had his answer.
00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:18.960
Enough.
00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:25.120
He stopped outside the command access, and for a moment he just stood there, considering.
00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:26.879
Then he pressed the com.
00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:30.080
Uh, Captain, do you have a moment?
00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:31.680
Go ahead.
00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:34.479
We need to talk about the crew.
00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:36.719
You'd better come in, officer.
00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:43.439
Ryan had barely finished explaining what he'd heard when a series of encrypted calls followed.
00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:45.599
Names were added to a list.
00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:59.599
Within the hour, a meeting had been convened to establish what the crew knew, to decide what they could be allowed to know, and above all, to prevent an uncomfortable situation from becoming an impossible one.
00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:03.120
Director Kofel is joining us on the viewing screen, Captain.
00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:04.960
Okay, seal the doors.
00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:08.400
No recording, no shipwide archive.
00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:09.199
Understood.
00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:12.719
And nobody who isn't in this room gets to know this meeting took place.
00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:14.400
You have my attention, Captain.
00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:15.439
Welcome, Director.
00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:18.400
Officer Ryan has just briefed me about some rumors.
00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:19.280
Rumors?
00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:21.680
Well, they're no longer rumors.
00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:23.120
They're questions.
00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:26.000
The crew know we haven't left Mars orbit.
00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:28.719
They know something's happened during the jumps.
00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:30.879
They're counting personnel.
00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:37.039
They know four people left the ship after one of the jumps, and well, three came back.
00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:38.800
And Cadet Solomon.
00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:41.039
They've noticed he hasn't been seen.
00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:43.520
Which means we're now dealing with two problems.
00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:45.280
The crew can be managed?
00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:47.680
Not indefinitely, sir, no.
00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:48.400
No.
00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:51.199
Which is why we're having this meeting, sir.
00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:52.400
Who knows?
00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:55.680
Everyone in this room knows the full situation.
00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:57.840
And Officer Asteman.
00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:01.520
A very small number of people outside it know pieces.
00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:02.240
Names?
00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:03.840
You'll have them, sir.
00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:06.479
And Cadet Kasper, how is he?
00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:07.599
Not here.
00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:08.319
Why?
00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:10.000
Because he's a child.
00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:12.960
He has also been involved from the beginning.
00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:16.879
Which is precisely why he doesn't need to be involved in this conversation.
00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:23.600
He knows Solomon is missing, and whilst technically he should be grieving, he seems uncommonly resilient for now.
00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:25.920
We have to be thankful for that.
00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:27.839
And the investigation.
00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:29.279
Continuing.
00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:33.199
Director, you ordered us to remain in Mars orbit.
00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:36.560
I did, and you will remain there until I say otherwise.
00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:39.439
Then we need to be clear about what we're doing.
00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:43.040
We continue the search for Solomon, we don't return to Earth.
00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:44.000
Correct.
00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:48.000
We don't disclose the full capability of the Chronocoil to the crew?
00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:49.360
Let me be clear.
00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:52.160
At this moment, absolutely not.
00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:56.800
And we keep the investigation as far from Earth as possible.
00:04:57.120 --> 00:04:58.720
Mars is preferable.
00:04:58.959 --> 00:04:59.759
And the crew?
00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.759
You contain the rumors.
00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:04.240
Give them something else to talk about.
00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:07.040
Give them answers they are permitted to have.
00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:08.240
And Helena?
00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:09.040
No.
00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:11.199
She needs to know, sir.
00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:12.560
Not yet, no.
00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:16.079
She is still part of the research team looking for the meridian I take.
00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:19.279
And she is at the critical stage of that research.
00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:22.000
Disturbing her now gains us nothing.
00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:22.560
Okay.
00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:25.199
Or perhaps we're simply buying ourselves time.
00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:29.120
Captain, at the moment, time is precisely what we need.
00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:31.199
Contain this, Captain, please.
00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:32.240
Understood.
00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:33.040
Good.
00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:34.639
Then we are agreed.
00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:36.560
This meeting never happened.
00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:38.240
Understood.
00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:42.959
Caspar sat alone at the console.
00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:49.839
A wall display showed a constantly shifting field of numbers and dates and faint graphical traces.
00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.399
He hadn't been sitting there continuously.
00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:54.480
He had slept and eaten.
00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:58.560
He had been dragged away when someone decided he needed to leave.
00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:00.720
But he always came back.
00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:06.079
Four weeks of searching, four weeks of nothing that he could call a signal.
00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:08.959
Oh, for pity's sake, what more do I need to do?
00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:15.439
Come on! Another filter, a different layer of residual data appeared.
00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:18.800
Small spikes, tiny disturbances.
00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:20.560
Nothing significant.
00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:22.560
Casper leaned closer.
00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:24.079
Now I'm interested.
00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:25.040
What's that?
00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:27.600
An historical record appeared.
00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:29.120
A discrepancy.
00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:32.480
One entry didn't agree with the surrounding data.
00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:34.399
Then another appeared.
00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:36.079
A different location.
00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:37.519
A different record.
00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:39.279
Different date.
00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:41.279
He brought them together.
00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:46.160
The computer overlaid the results, and three points became seven.
00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:48.319
Seven became nineteen.
00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:50.399
Caspar stared at them.
00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:52.399
That is not random.
00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:55.120
The door opened and Cicily entered.
00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:01.680
Casper did not answer.
00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:03.279
Come on, Casper.
00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:05.120
Give yourself a break.
00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:06.000
Hello.
00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:07.920
Casper.
00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:09.680
Come and look at this, Cicily.
00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:12.240
Right, what am I looking at?
00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:14.480
You are looking at corrections.
00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:17.600
Corrections you mean by temporal interference.
00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:20.399
No, no, no, not exactly.
00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:23.199
This is a date.
00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:24.959
This one is a time.
00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:28.399
This is an attendance entry.
00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:30.480
Cicely looked at him inquisitally.
00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:32.079
Attendance entry?
00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:33.519
It was very specific.
00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:36.240
They're all just tiny changes, you see.
00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:38.319
He brought up another cluster.
00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:45.199
A ledger, a name, a time, a delivery entry, and a school record.
00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:50.079
You see, my theory is nobody has changed anything important.
00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:53.360
So then come on, why am I saying this, Casper?
00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:56.000
Casper didn't answer immediately.
00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:58.800
He started arranging the records chronologically.
00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:01.199
Well, because they're wrong, Cicely.
00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:03.040
Somebody's corrected them.
00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:05.680
That's my theory, anyway.
00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:08.319
Cicely watched the pattern build.
00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:13.200
It could be local interference, it could be natural temporal settling.
00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:14.160
Perhaps.
00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:15.279
But look here.
00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:17.360
Look at the way they're being corrected.
00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:18.720
She looked again.
00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:21.440
The changes were almost imperceptible.
00:09:21.680 --> 00:09:23.600
The time moved forward.
00:09:23.839 --> 00:09:26.399
A name appeared where there had been a blank.
00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:28.319
An entry disappeared.
00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:30.879
And a date shifted by a day.
00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:32.399
Nothing dramatic.
00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:35.120
Nothing that would ever have made the history books.
00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:36.480
Yeah, okay.
00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:39.440
But from what I can see, they're all different, Casper.
00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:41.360
But my question is what connects them?
00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:42.399
The decision.
00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:44.000
Sorry, what decision?
00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:45.600
Well, the decision.
00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:49.519
The fact that somebody saw that something was wrong and decided to fix it.
00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:51.039
Cicely looked at him.
00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:53.679
Caspar's hands began to shake.
00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:55.919
Look, Solomon used to do that.
00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:57.440
Fix things.
00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:00.240
He is very good like that, you know.
00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:02.000
A faint smile.
00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:04.799
It disappears almost immediately.
00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:07.200
He returned quickly to the data.
00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:10.159
The computer began correlating the records.
00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:13.759
The historical anomalies are concentrated within a defined temporal interval.
00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:15.360
Caspar looked up.
00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:16.080
How long?
00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:18.080
Approximately 35 days.
00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:19.279
Five weeks.
00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:21.360
Almost five weeks.
00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:25.279
He expanded the geographical data and a map appeared.
00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:27.919
The points were scattered and disparate.
00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:30.159
Then the computer began waiting.
00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:35.120
And the wider map faded, and the concentration narrowed.
00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:38.000
Geographical location updating, standby.
00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:40.559
Northern England, West Yorkshire.
00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:42.240
Ah, and what have we got?
00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:44.639
Highest probability, Holmferth.
00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:47.919
Casper said nothing, and Cicely looked at him.
00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:48.879
Caspar.
00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:51.679
Caspar, you did hear that, didn't you?
00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:56.639
He zoomed in further, and the map resolved into a valley.
00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:02.000
Houses, a river, roads, and industrial buildings.
00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:03.440
A bridge.
00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:06.879
And a small cluster of historical records.
00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:08.000
There, look.
00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:09.840
Right, what am I looking at?
00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:12.000
The school, the school.
00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:15.919
The computer overlaid the surviving historical references.
00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:17.440
School records.
00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:22.159
Local records, mill records, dates, times, names.
00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:25.039
Caspar stared at the repeating sequence.
00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:27.519
They're all around the same place, so.
00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:30.000
He moved through the records.
00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:31.600
A mill entry.
00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:32.960
A delivery.
00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:34.799
Another school entry.
00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:38.159
So I think we can say he's moving around, not just the school.
00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:38.799
Sorry.
00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:40.000
Solomon's school.
00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:41.279
Casper nodded.
00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:42.480
Yes, him.
00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:44.559
But he keeps coming back here, okay?
00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:45.679
That's my point.
00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:47.919
The display changed again.
00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:50.799
Several times appeared in sequence.
00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:56.960
9 o'clock, 10 30 a.m., midday, 1 p.m.
00:11:57.600 --> 00:11:59.519
and 3 30 p.m.
00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:01.519
Caspar stared at them.
00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:02.960
Well, what are they?
00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:04.480
He didn't answer.
00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:06.399
The times repeated.
00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:10.080
Not once, not twice, but again and again.
00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:13.039
Caspar slowly leaned towards the screen.
00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:15.360
They're not dates, they're times.
00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:16.480
I don't understand.
00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:17.039
Come on.
00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:19.679
His eyes moved across the sequence.
00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:22.080
Then something clicked.
00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:25.039
Not in the computer, but in him.
00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:27.519
It's a timetable.
00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:32.879
The briefing room was sealed.
00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:36.879
No minutes and nothing that would later require an explanation.
00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:39.759
Captain Eliza stood at the head of the table.
00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:44.320
Around it sat the small group of people who already knew the truth.
00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:50.080
Director Kofi appeared on the teleview from UESS headquarters.
00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:53.679
For several seconds, the room was silent.
00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:55.600
Then Caspar spoke.
00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:58.480
I'm satisfied that Solomon is alive.
00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:00.000
Eliza looked at him.
00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:02.480
I take it you have some evidence, Casper.
00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:04.159
Casper didn't hesitate.
00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:05.759
It was the residuals.
00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:08.159
You see, we kept looking for a signal.
00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:10.720
He brought the first set onto the display.
00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:17.279
Dates, times, names, small alterations to historical records.
00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:19.360
Sicily stepped forward.
00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:21.200
Firstly, there isn't one.
00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:22.960
A signal, that is.
00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.519
But not in the way that we expected.
00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:28.159
The residuals aren't carrying a message.
00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.960
They're the result of something that happened in the past.
00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:34.399
This is great work, Sicily, but what do you mean, something?
00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:36.080
Caspar answered.
00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:38.159
We were looking for corrections, sir.
00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:40.080
He enlarged one of the records.
00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:41.039
Here, sir.
00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:42.559
Look at the date.
00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:44.879
Now watch the dates change.
00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:46.159
Here another.
00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:48.080
An attendance entry.
00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:49.120
A time.
00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:52.399
Now watch them both change, sir.
00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:55.440
Eliza studied the display carefully.
00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:58.320
And you believe Solomon caused these, am I right?
00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:00.480
I'm certain he did, Captain.
00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:03.039
Ryan shifted slightly in his chair.
00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:07.840
Well, that's a very large conclusion from some very small changes, Casper.
00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:10.000
Well, that's the point, officer.
00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:12.720
They're small because that's what he'd do.
00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:16.960
They aren't spread randomly, they're concentrated around one area.
00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:18.639
The map appeared.
00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:23.679
Yorkshire, then West Yorkshire, then Homefirth.
00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:26.639
Here, look, he keeps coming back to the same places.
00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:33.600
School records, mill records, local records, anything that survived as a written routine.
00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:36.960
From what we can work out, he has found somewhere safe.
00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:38.960
Eliza looked at the map.
00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:40.720
It looks like a school.
00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:41.759
I think so.
00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:44.720
You should also see these, Captain.
00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:46.240
The captain read them.
00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:47.519
What are they all?
00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:49.279
As far as we know, a day.
00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:50.639
Now I'm confused.
00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:52.159
What you what do you mean day?
00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:53.919
But a school day.
00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:56.480
He isn't hiding in the records.
00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.039
He's living inside the routine.
00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:01.440
It's the sort of thing Solomon would do.
00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:03.759
He moved through the sequence.
00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:07.679
Morning, break, lunch, afternoon.
00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:09.440
The pattern repeated.
00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:12.240
The captain looked at him for a long moment.
00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:14.399
Then at the map.
00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:16.879
Then at the historical records.
00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:19.360
Okay, given this, can we locate him?
00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.840
Cicely looked towards the computer.
00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:24.480
We're in the process of narrowing it now, Captain.
00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:24.960
Good.
00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:26.399
Then narrow it faster.
00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:28.720
Casper stared at the display.
00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:33.519
And for the first time in four weeks, there was somewhere to look.
00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:39.440
Aya, Brian.
00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:41.600
I heard you were baking today, is that right?
00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:42.240
Yes.
00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:44.240
We managed to get one of the ovens working.
00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:45.600
We've made as much as we can.
00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:47.440
So you've got a bit of bread for us.
00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:49.600
If you quit, there's bound to be somewhat left.
00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:50.879
Oh, that's good news.
00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:52.799
I'll best go and get some money, then.
00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:55.360
We'll just have to get some more flour for Mr.
00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:56.000
Taylor.
00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:57.200
Thank you, Brian.
00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:58.559
Right, I'll be seeing you, Mrs.
00:15:58.639 --> 00:15:59.360
Boudroy.
00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:00.480
Home first.
00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:02.480
1852.
00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:08.399
Solomon crouched in the shadow of a stone wall that smelled of damp and coal smoke.
00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.679
The town beyond it was quieter than it had been.
00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:15.200
Mud still clung to the edges of the road.
00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:19.440
Broken furniture had been piled where carts could collect them.
00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:22.559
Men were still clearing debris from the lanes.
00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:24.799
Women carried buckets.
00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:27.600
Everybody seemed to have a job.
00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:30.720
Solomon had learned that that was useful.
00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:36.879
If you looked as though you had somewhere to be, people were less likely to ask you where you came from.
00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:41.840
His suit had long since powered down, stripped for parts.
00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:44.639
The battery and the interface was gone.
00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:50.080
What remained was a pencil stub, a scrap of paper, and rules.
00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:53.360
The writing had become faint from handling.
00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:55.440
He wrote the rules again.
00:16:55.679 --> 00:17:00.720
One, don't be seen unless it's absolutely necessary.
00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:05.840
Two, don't change anything big.
00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:09.759
Leave markers where they'll survive.
00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:20.960
He stopped, looked at the fourth rule, and then added another.
00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:22.079
Five.
00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:26.559
Correct mistakes when you see them.
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:35.360
He folded the paper and tucked it into a crack behind a loose brick, leaving a trail that only someone looking for him would understand.
00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:41.599
He had discovered that the best place to hide was somewhere nobody thought to look.
00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:45.200
The school had been first, Dob Lane.
00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:49.519
The schoolhouse behind it gave him another place to disappear.
00:17:49.840 --> 00:17:52.079
At first he'd simply watched.
00:17:52.320 --> 00:17:54.320
Then he'd found a way in.
00:17:54.639 --> 00:17:57.519
And nobody had asked too many questions.
00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:06.640
After all, there were children who had lost homes, those whose families were living with relatives, children who had stopped turning up altogether.
00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:11.839
After the flood, an extra boy was hardly the strangest thing anyone had seen.
00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:18.960
And so he learnt the timetable, the names, when the teachers arrived and when they left.
00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:22.319
He learned which doors were usually unlocked.
00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:25.119
He learned when nobody was looking.
00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:29.200
One morning, however, a teacher stopped beside him.
00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:30.160
You lad.
00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:33.119
Yes, you stand all.
00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:35.359
I haven't seen you before.
00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:36.559
What's your name?
00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:38.480
The teacher waited.
00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:40.400
Just Solomon, sir.
00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:41.920
Solomon or what?
00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:44.480
Solomon looked down at his desk.
00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:49.119
He had learned enough by then to know that too much information was dangerous.
00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:51.039
Just just Solomon, sir.
00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:52.720
The teacher studied him.
00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:56.720
For a moment Solomon thought he'd made a grave mistake.
00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:00.000
Then the teacher looked towards the empty desks.
00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:01.839
There were several.
00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:03.599
And where do you live, Solomon?
00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:06.319
Solomon glanced towards the window.
00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:09.920
Outside, men were still clearing the mud from the road.
00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:12.160
I live nearby, sir.
00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:16.160
The teacher sighed, not suspicious, but tired.
00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:18.799
He put a slate in front of Solomon.
00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:20.559
I take it you can read.
00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:21.359
He nodded.
00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:22.400
And numbers?
00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:24.000
Mathematics, yeah.
00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:27.039
The teacher looked at him for a moment longer than.
00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:28.640
Right then, seat there.
00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:30.720
He pointed to a desk near the back.
00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:33.279
Try not to disturb the others, okay?
00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:34.640
Thank you, sir.
00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:36.480
Solomon sat.
00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:42.160
No interrogation, no discovery, just a place at a desk.
00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:46.640
For the first time since the jump, he felt something approaching safety.
00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:48.880
At night he disappeared.
00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:53.200
He would leave the schoolhouse grounds, returning before morning.
00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:57.200
Nobody saw it, and so nobody questioned it.
00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:00.319
There were too many other things to worry about.
00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:08.079
The mills were still trying to recover, machinery had been damaged, many records had been lost.
00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:12.319
And everywhere Solomon went, he found the same thing.
00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:14.960
Things that were slightly wrong.
00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:22.640
A delivery recorded on the wrong day, a worker's name entered incorrectly, and so he would correct them.
00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:26.160
At the mill he found a ledger left open on a desk.
00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:31.200
He waited, he listened, and then changed one figure.
00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:35.359
At school he found an attendance entry that didn't make sense.
00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:37.839
A child had been marked absent.
00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:41.920
Solomon knew he'd been there, and so he changed the mark.
00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:47.119
Tiny things, things that would have been forgotten, except they weren't.
00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:53.279
If he saw something wrong and could put it right without hurting anyone, why shouldn't he?
00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:58.640
He sat beneath the stone wall and listened to the distant hammering from the mills.
00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:01.519
For a moment he closed his eyes.
00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:06.240
He thought about home, about his family, the ship.
00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:10.960
He couldn't be sure if they knew where he was, but he knew one thing.
00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:12.960
Caspar would look.
00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:15.519
Solomon opened his eyes.
00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:21.279
Another day was beginning, another collection of small things that needed putting right.
00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:24.960
He stood and walked back towards the school.
00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:27.599
And that was how the signal escaped.
00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:31.039
Not as a cry, not as a beacon.
00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:34.960
It escaped as a consequence of Solomon being Solomon.
00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:45.599
A boy who had no idea that more than 300 years later, somewhere in 2185, his brother was beginning to understand.
00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:55.680
The chronocoil hummed, not awake, not dormant, perhaps listening.
00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:58.400
Caspar watched the lattice tighten.
00:21:58.559 --> 00:22:01.599
The residuals shifted across the display.
00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:03.200
And then, there.
00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:04.240
Look.
00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:05.839
Computer freeze.
00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:07.599
The numbers resolved.
00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:09.680
Not a precise coordinate.
00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:10.559
A band.
00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:15.039
Fuzzy, resistant, but definitely present.
00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:17.839
Sicily stared closely at the display.
00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:19.119
Oh my goodness.
00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:20.640
He's not lost.
00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:21.680
He's hiding.
00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:23.279
Do we have a time frame?
00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:27.599
Sigma studied the figures and enlarged the projection.
00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:29.279
Multiple overlaps.
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:32.559
The signal originates from a zone of historical convergence.
00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:34.960
Retrieval will require precision.
00:22:35.279 --> 00:22:36.720
He is so clever.
00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:39.039
He sent us instructions.
00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:40.960
A small silence.
00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:45.359
Eliza allowed herself the faintest of smiles.
00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:48.079
Then she turned towards the command well.
00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:50.160
Okay, that's enough.
00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:51.839
Let's go get him.
00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:08.880
And somewhere in time, a boy paused mid-sentence.
00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:11.119
The air changed.
00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:13.200
And Solomon looked up.
00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:14.480
He smiled.
00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:16.160
They had heard him.
00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:19.359
And now there was only one thing left to do.
00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:21.839
Bring Solomon home.
00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:24.799
The insertion was clean.
00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:27.599
No thunder, no spectacle.
00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:34.240
Three figures simply appeared beneath the cover of a stone outbuilding, well away from the school.
00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:38.160
The recent rain had left everything dark and glistening.
00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:40.559
Eliza looked towards the school.
00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:45.599
It was further along the lane, partly obscured by the surrounding buildings.
00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:48.000
She looked at the rest of the landing team.
00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:50.079
They were dressed for the period.
00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:52.160
Nothing modern visible.
00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:54.799
No equipment that would attract attention.
00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:56.559
It's a breezy day.
00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:59.200
We are just taking a walk, folks.
00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:06.640
They moved out, keeping to the edge of the road, letting carts and pedestrians pass between them in the school.
00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:11.519
Casper had recognized the place from historical imagery they'd studied.
00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:18.160
The narrow lane, the stone buildings, and the bridge further down towards the mill.
00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:25.519
They had passed a man clearing silk from a doorway, a child carrying a bucket almost as large as himself.
00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:29.519
Nobody paid the three strangers any particular attention.
00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:32.559
That was exactly what Eliza had wanted.
00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:36.480
At the end of the lane, Cicely touched Eliza's arm.
00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:41.200
The school came into view.
00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:44.240
Some children were beginning to emerge.
00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:48.720
Voices, movement, and finally a bell.
00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:50.400
Caspar stopped.
00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:51.759
His breathing changed.
00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:53.359
Oh my goodness, that's it.
00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:54.160
That's the school.
00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:56.400
Casper, hang back, hang back.
00:24:57.680 --> 00:24:59.359
You're sure about this, right?
00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:01.119
Casper nodded.
00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:07.200
Eliza studied the school, then the road, then the people moving around them.
00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:14.799
Okay, everybody, we don't rush, we don't ask questions, and nobody sees anything they don't need to see, so help me God.
00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:18.400
They moved towards the school as the bell rang.
00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:23.200
The door opened, children spilling out onto the lane.
00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:28.319
And then Solomon appeared.
00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:30.480
Caspar saw him first.
00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:31.920
He didn't run.
00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:37.359
He walked slowly, like someone approaching something fragile.
00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:41.759
Solomon looked up, meeting his brother's gaze.
00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:45.839
They stared at each other for half a second, and Solomon smiled.
00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:47.279
You made it then.
00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:49.440
You took your time, didn't you?
00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:55.119
Caspar grinned, pulling his brother into him so hard that Solomon yelped.
00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:58.480
Cicely turned away, giving them a moment.
00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:04.880
Eliza watched, jaw tight, eyes bright, internally relieved.
00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:08.240
Solomon! The teacher stood in the doorway.
00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:09.680
Solomon turned.
00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:17.279
And for the first time, the extraordinary moment looked dangerously ordinary.
00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:18.880
He lowered his head.
00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:20.720
Well, sorry, sir.
00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:23.839
The teacher came a few steps down the path.
00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:28.000
He looked at Solomon closely, then at the three strangers.
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:32.319
His expression changed, something closer to relief.
00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:35.440
Well, you have a fair turn of speed on you, haven't you, lad?
00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:38.480
Solomon gave the smallest of smiles.
00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:40.559
The teacher shook his head.
00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:45.359
Then, almost as an afterthought, by the way, who are these people?
00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:47.599
Eliza glanced at Caspar.
00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:51.119
Caspar stared at Solomon, and Sicily stepped in.
00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:52.480
Um, good afternoon.
00:26:52.640 --> 00:26:54.559
We're we're his family.
00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:55.759
We're his parents.
00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:56.480
Hey.
00:26:56.799 --> 00:26:57.279
Hey.
00:26:57.599 --> 00:26:59.519
Well, your son did very well today.
00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:00.960
You can be rightly proud.
00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:03.920
Oh, well, that's good to hear.
00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:06.559
The teacher's eyes settled on Solomon.
00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:10.319
Whatever questions he might have had seemed to disappear.
00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:12.400
I'll say good day to you then.
00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:16.799
The teacher nodded and turned back towards the school.
00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:18.799
Okay, let's get you home.
00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:33.680
Solomon stood between Caspar and Sicily, still trying to take in the fact that the walls around him belonged to the Sulcas.
00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:35.039
Home.
00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:38.720
They made their way towards the bridge.
00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:41.519
The familiar hum of the sulcas surrounded them.
00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:43.599
Crew turned.
00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:49.759
Several stared at Solomon, certain that something extraordinary had happened.
00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:53.039
Captain Eliza walked towards the command well.
00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:54.000
Sigma?
00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:54.960
Captain.
00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:56.640
Chrono Coil Status.
00:27:56.960 --> 00:27:57.359
Stable.
00:27:57.680 --> 00:27:59.599
120 crew currently aboard, ma'am.
00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:02.880
The captain allowed herself the faintest of smiles.
00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:05.440
Then, the lights flickered.
00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:07.920
Not enough to trigger an alarm.
00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:10.480
Just enough for everyone to notice.
00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:12.640
Sigma's display changed.
00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:13.279
Captain.
00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:13.920
What is it?
00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:16.319
I'm detecting an anomalous energy signature.
00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:17.039
Where?
00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:18.720
Ship's bridge, Captain.
00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:21.920
A low vibration passed through the deck.
00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:26.720
Not mechanical, not electrical, but something deeper.
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:29.920
Some of the crew recognized it immediately.
00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:31.279
Others didn't.
00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:33.920
They simply looked around, uncertain.
00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:37.599
The air ahead of the command well began to gather light.
00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:41.359
Caspar instinctively moved closer to Solomon.
00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:43.519
Eliza raised a hand.
00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:45.599
Stand fast, everybody.
00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:47.839
Whatever it is, this is our ship.
00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:49.759
The light condensed.
00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:51.519
A form emerged.
00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:54.640
You have been the boy.
00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:57.279
Eliza stepped forward.
00:28:57.599 --> 00:28:58.480
The boy.
00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:00.400
Yes, Solomon.
00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:03.599
You have to have motived him from resolved history.
00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:05.599
We are aware, we know.
00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:07.599
This retrieval violence.
00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:11.759
So does abandoning a child.
00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:14.960
The boy was aware where he was meant meant to be.
00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:17.839
Eliza's expression hardened.
00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:20.160
Well, that doesn't work for us.
00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:23.279
Right now, the ship is where he's meant to be.
00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:28.720
The integrity of this timeline demanded his continued presence.
00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:31.119
And I have decided otherwise.
00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:34.319
You understand the consequences.
00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:36.000
I understand.
00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:40.720
This paradise is ours, our responsibility.
00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:41.839
I ordered it.
00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:43.759
This boy's destiny is with us.
00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:44.480
Captain.
00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:44.960
Yes.
00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:46.960
Chrono Coil remains stable.
00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:49.440
Prove consensus, unanimous.
00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:52.480
They wish to congratulate you on a successful outcome.
00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:55.519
The shimmering light turned towards the crew.
00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:56.880
Then they have chosen.
00:29:58.079 --> 00:30:00.640
Attach attach over optimization.
00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:02.079
Every time.
00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:07.039
For a moment there was stillness and silence on the bridge.
00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:10.799
Then the entity's form began to dissolve.
00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:13.440
You will move forward.
00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:15.039
The light collapsed.
00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:17.039
The vibration disappeared.
00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:19.279
The bridge returned to normal.
00:30:19.519 --> 00:30:20.000
Captain.
00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:21.039
Go ahead.
00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:24.160
Captain, the anomalous energy signature remains.
00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:25.759
I recommend we record it.
00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:26.799
Go ahead.
00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:28.400
But do not speculate.
00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:29.279
That's an order.
00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:30.799
Aye, Captain.
00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:37.279
On the bridge, the crew slowly returned to their stations.
00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:47.039
Most of them would remember the strange light, the brief failure of several instruments, but only a handful would ever know what actually stood before them.
00:30:47.519 --> 00:30:51.839
That, for now, was exactly how the captain wanted it.
00:30:53.440 --> 00:31:01.440
The ship struggled on the jump home, not because of resistance, but because Solomon mattered the timeline now.
00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:04.160
Almost five weeks had passed.
00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:12.559
He had lived there, learned its rhythms, left traces, become, however, briefly part of its history.
00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:16.000
And now the Solcass was asking time to give him back.
00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:18.079
Transition field drifting.
00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:20.079
Harmonic instability increasing.
00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:21.519
Then hold it.
00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:23.440
Harmonic stabilizing.
00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:24.559
Good.
00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:26.960
Sigma began to sing.
00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:33.920
Not a melody, a sequence of controlled harmonics tuned to the limits of human hearing.
00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:35.599
The vibration deepened.
00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:38.400
The sulcast groaned again.
00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:39.920
And then silence.
00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:42.319
The stars returned.
00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:45.359
Earth orbit and home.
00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:57.359
Later, much later, Solomon sat in the mess.
00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:01.359
A member of the mess staff placed a tray in front of him.
00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:02.640
Warm food.
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:05.039
Nothing remarkable.
00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:09.680
He was wrapped in a borrowed jumper, sleeves too long for him.
00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:17.519
Gaspar sat opposite, elbows on the table, watching him as though looking away might make him disappear again.
00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:20.400
Cicely nudged another plate towards Solomon.
00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:21.440
Dessert?
00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:23.519
He frowned.
00:32:23.839 --> 00:32:24.319
Dessert?
00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:25.599
Are you having a laugh?
00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:26.480
That's not pudding.
00:32:26.799 --> 00:32:28.799
Well, it is if you eat it quickly in the architect.
00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:32.240
He considered this for a moment, then shrugged and dug in.
00:32:32.400 --> 00:32:34.799
Across the mess, people were talking.
00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:36.559
A tray clattered.
00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:39.680
The Solcass continued its journey.
00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:42.799
Life to some degree had resumed.
00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:45.519
Eliza stood in the doorway.
00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:49.519
Officer Ryan joined her momentarily.
00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:53.440
Sigma reports the timeline is stable.
00:32:53.839 --> 00:33:00.559
These past few days, officer, you have performed at the captain.
00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:06.400
She looked again towards the brothers.
00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:08.559
Then at the mess around them.
00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:10.079
She smiled.
00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:14.880
Small, tired, but very real.
00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:15.920
Sure.
00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:16.880
Yeah.
00:33:17.119 --> 00:33:20.319
Go ahead, we brought everybody home.
00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:23.119
Solomon looked up, mouth full.
00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:24.640
So what happens now then?
00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:27.200
Caspar answered without thinking.
00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:29.920
Now we carry on.
00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:36.319
The mess continued around them.
00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:42.000
The sulcast continued towards Earth through the darkness of space.
00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:46.640
For the first time in a long while, the ship was quiet.
00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:54.240
Not because it was holding its breath, but because it could finally exhale.
00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:28.559
The full cast soccer will return.
