Chapter 5: The Hamburger Speech
Daniel stepped out of his Ford and gazed up at the fake red-and-white lighthouse in front of the restaurant.
“The Beacon, huh,” Daniel said. “I like the sign. It certainly is big enough. Are you sure they have good burgers?”
Nicole sighed. “Yes, they have good burgers. I can personally vouch for the burger quality. You can stop asking about the burgers.”
“I’m just making sure. It’s an important visual aid.”
“A visual aid for what?”
“The universe.”
“When are you going to start making sense?”
“Hopefully by the time I have my burger. Come on, I’m hungry.”
Nicole rubbed the back of her neck and rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say.”
She followed Daniel in, and they seated themselves at a booth by the window. When their waitress stopped by, Nicole ordered a Caesar salad with a glass of water. Unsurprisingly, Daniel ordered the largest, greasiest burger the restaurant offered along with coffee and Coca-Cola.
“So, are you going to tell me what this is about?” Nicole asked.
Daniel took four sugar packets, tore the tops off, and poured their contents into his coffee. He stirred until all the sugar dissolved.
“I’m going to hold off on the difficult bits until my visual aid arrives, but yeah, I think we can start.” He gulped down half his coffee cup and leaned forward. “The thing is ... the really really super important thing is you need to be properly trained. I’m not sure how someone as talented as you got missed or why the reavers never found you before. Point is, none of that matters. They’ve found you once, so they’ll find you again.”
“You said that before, but what would this training involve?”
“At your age I imagine you’d get an accelerated curriculum on the practical stuff. Say, maybe four years studying in Chronopolis.”
“Four years!”
“Maybe longer. I’m not sure.”
“I can’t do that!”
Daniel shrugged. “Believe me when I say this is a life or death decision you have. Viktor isn’t going to let me hang around forever. I’m a temporary measure so you can have time to accept what’s happening. Most prospective guards don’t even get that.”
“You say it like I don’t have a choice.”
“With life and death decisions, there tend to be clear right answers. You either avoid the big nasty coming at you or you die. Life sucks sometimes and there’s nothing we can do about it. At the very least, you need to have that telekinetic ability of yours trained properly. If you encountered a reaver right now, do you think you could kill it?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t even remember how I did it.”
“And that’s precisely the problem.”
Nicole slumped in the booth.
“Are you concerned about leaving home?” Daniel asked. He took another slurp of coffee.
Nicole looked away. “I guess.”
“You’re almost old enough to be in college. I would have guessed you’d be itching to get out.”
“I’d be lying if I said leaving had never crossed my mind.”
“Yeah, not to be nosy, but what’s going on with you and your ‘sort of’ sister? You don’t look anything alike.”
Nicole glared at him. “Daniel?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re being nosy.”
“Well, yeah, I guess so.”
Nicole sighed. “It’s fine. I’m used to people asking by now. Amy’s parents adopted me when I was seven.”
“Well, that was nice of them.”
“Her mother had medical complications after giving birth, but Amy wanted a little sister. Being the doting parents that they are, they got her one for her eighth birthday, a little girl named Nicole that became part of the Taylor family. Supposedly.”
“You say that like it’s such a bad thing.”
“I was Amy’s birthday present,” Nicole said. “Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to know you’re a present for some other kid?”
“I can’t say that I do.”
“They tied a big pink ribbon around my waist.”
“Ouch.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m smart enough to know it could be worse, but they dote on Amy so much, and she doesn’t deserve it. It’s like I’m always competing with her in a game I can’t win. I’ll always be second best.”
“Did you know your real parents?”
“No, and to be honest, I hope I never do.”
“Why’s that?”
“I was a dumpster baby.”
“A what?”
“My mother threw me in a dumpster after I was born. It was behind a Wal-Mart in the dead of winter. Fortunately, someone saw her. I don’t know who. The police got an anonymous tip and were able to rescue me before I froze to death.”
“That’s horrible.”
“So how about you?” Nicole asked snidely. “Do you have two loving parents to go home to?”
“No, both my parents are dead,” Daniel said.
“Oh,” Nicole said, feeling small and petty. “I’m sorry.”
“Nah, it’s okay. It’s funny, though, how much we have in common. I bet I know exactly what you’re going through with your parents.”
“You do?”
Daniel nodded. “Dad died when I was eight. Stabbed through the heart while clearing an infestation in JFK International. So for a while it was just me and Mom. I remember thinking the same things as you, like how Mom just did not understand me at all. She didn’t appreciate me and probably didn’t even love me.”
“Yeah, that’s it exactly.”
“But the thing is, I was wrong,” Daniel said. “And the worst part is I figured it out too late. Mom and I were supporting some tau guards in the New York subways when we came across one of the big sentinel reavers. The thing was about to gore me when Mom shoved me out of the way. She saved my life at the cost of her own. I had to watch the sentinel rip her apart like a ragdoll.” Daniel took a deep breath and looked away. “Worst experience of my life.”
“That had to be horrible.”
“It was. Afterwards was worse in some ways. I had a lot of trouble accepting Mom’s death, mostly because I was so upset with myself. In that moment, Mom hadn’t paused to think about what was most important to her. She’d simply acted to save my life. I hadn’t realized what I had until I lost it.”
“God, I’m sorry, Daniel.”
“So, if I can offer you any advice, it’d be to give your parents the benefit of the doubt. They probably do love you, they’re just really bad at expressing it. I know Mom was, but she had it where it counts.”
“Somehow,” Nicole said with a smirk, “I don’t think they’re going to throw themselves at a reaver for me.”
Daniel shrugged. “You never know. They could surprise you.” He spotted the waitress coming with their meals and smiled. “Ah, here we go. Now this is more like it.”
The waitress set the plates down. Daniel rubbed his hands together and breathed in the burger’s aroma. He grabbed the Heinz ketchup and waited for the waitress to leave.
“Now, in this analogy the burger represents the entire universe.”
“It what?”
“It represents the entire universe.”
“Okay?”
Daniel pointed. “Now the top bun here. That’s where we are. It’s what most people would call the real world. The bottom bun is where the reavers are. That’s reaverspace. The patty in the middle is a tau freeze. It’s sandwiched between the two.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Don’t worry. This never fails. Now you and me, we’re in the real world.”
“Which is the top bun,” Nicole said.
“Right. See, you’re getting it. And the reavers are in reaverspace.”
“Which is the bottom bun.”
“Exactly. And the two don’t touch each other. You can’t go from the real world to reaverspace. But both can enter into a tau freeze.”
“And that’s the patty.”
“See how simple it is?”
“Okay, I think I might get the analogy. Now the top bun and the lower bun, they’re what? Different dimensions? What exactly is reaverspace?”
“That is an excellent question, and I wish I could answer it.”
“Meaning you don’t know.”
“Well, it means I don’t have a full answer,” Daniel said. “To the best of our knowledge, reaverspace is what the name implies: a space totally separate from the real world inhabited by reavers. What it is exactly, I can’t say. To be honest, we’re not entirely sure what the reavers are.”
“That doesn’t fill me with confidence.”
“Don’t dwell on the details. The hamburger is all about the big picture.” Daniel took off the top bun. “See the pickle?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s Chronopolis.”
Nicole sighed. “The pickle is Chronopolis.”
“Right. You see, it’s close to the real world, kind of smooshed against it. Chronopolis is a city in a slightly different time and a slightly different place than everything else. That’s why most people don’t know it exists. It’s just a bit off to the side, between the real world and a tau freeze. Closer to the real world, though. Otherwise it couldn’t function as a city. Our safe houses work the same way.”
“Okay, I think I’m getting this,” Nicole said. She leaned on her elbows and stared at the hamburger. “So if the pickle is Chronopolis, what’s the tomato?”
“Now you’re taking the analogy too far.”
“Well, it’s your analogy. Okay, let me see if I’ve got this straight. We have the real world, which is normal time and normal space. Then there’s Chronopolis. That’s almost but not quite normal time and space.”
“Right, you’re getting it.”
“And a tau freeze is stopped time and ...”
“Whatever space you were previously occupying,” Daniel said.
“Thanks. I was a little fuzzy on that. And reaverspace is a big question mark.”
“Basically. There are a lot of theories, but they’re not much use to someone starting out. Anyway, I think that’s enough for now. We can go over the sesame seeds another day.”
“Why? You don’t think I can handle more?”
“No, I’m hungry,” Daniel said. He slathered the patty with ketchup and put the bun on top. Ketchup oozed out of the sides. “Crap,” Daniel said. He scraped the excess ketchup off with his finger and wiped it on his coat.
“What are you doing?” Nicole said.
“Hmm?”
“That’s disgusting. Don’t you know what a napkin is for?”
“Huh?”
“You just smeared ketchup all over your coat!”
“No I didn’t.”
Nicole felt a slight twinge in the back of her head, like a muscle tightening. Daniel’s outline fuzzed for the briefest of moments. The napkin under his silverware had “mysteriously” vanished. He smiled and lifted the front of his coat.
“See? Spotless.”
Nicole tilted her head to one side and glared at him. “Daniel, I may be starting out, but I’m not stupid. You froze time and cleaned up the mess.”
“Umm, no?”
“Come on. I saw your napkin disappear. You’d better not have it stuffed in a pocket.”
“No, because the napkin doesn’t exist anymore.”
“Aha! I knew you did something! Wait, what do you mean it doesn’t exist?”
“Burger first. Lesson two later.” Daniel picked up the burger and took a large bite. Ketchup oozed out the back and dribbled onto his plate.
“Oh, fine. I give up.” Nicole stabbed a fork into her salad.
They finished their meals without saying much more. Daniel paid for the meal, which he seemed to think was a big deal given how theatrically he whipped out his wallet for a measly Caesar salad.
On the way back to the car, Nicole said, “So when do I get lesson two?”
“Right now if you like,” Daniel said. He checked his surroundings. No one else was in the parking lot. “You ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever—”
* * *
Time stopped.
“—be. I have to say the time freezes are easier to deal with than time restarts.”
“Yeah, most tau guards think so. Anyway, you want to know what happened to the napkin.”
“You said it didn’t exist anymore.”
“True statement.” Daniel looked around the parking lot. “Ah, here we are.” He walked next to his red Ford and picked up a crumpled Budweiser can.
“Here we are what?” Nicole asked.
“Visual aid,” Daniel said, holding up the can.
“Right. So what’s the beer can represent?”
“Nothing. It’s just a beer can,” Daniel said. Somehow his dumb grin really pissed her off. “Now, before I explain the absolute laws, I want you to understand I’m cramming about one year at the Pandemonium College into ten minutes. I’m going to fly right past the finer details and give you the big picture.”
“That’s fine with me.”
“So don’t come back to me and say, ‘Hey! You didn’t tell me that could happen!’ That’s what college is for.”
“Fair enough. So what’s with the can?”
“Absolute Law Number One.” Daniel tossed the can high into the air. “Any object frozen in a tau freeze wants to keep its original state.” The can wobbled oddly through the air, stopped for an instant, then flew in a straight line back to where Daniel had picked it up.
“Seems simple enough,” Nicole said.
Daniel picked up a chunk of asphalt and flung it at his car window. Nicole winced when the glass shattered. The rock and glittering shower of glass slowed inside the car, stopped entirely, and bounced back to their original positions.
“I remember that happening when the reaver crashed through those people ...”
Nicole couldn’t help shuddering at the sudden memory. She felt sick just thinking about the gory spray the girl in pink had turned into. Bile rose in her throat. She swallowed it down.
“You okay?” Daniel put an arm over her shoulders. “That does take a while to get used to. Fortunately, they don’t feel a thing. It just looks messy.”
“I’m fine.” Nicole took a few deep, shuddering breaths. “I’m fine.”
“We can continue later if you like.”
“No. No. It’s all right. This is important. Keep going.”
“Okay then,” Daniel said. He patted her on the back and stepped away. “Absolute Law Number Two: Anything moving in a tau freeze will stay moving. This one is a little trickier because it involves temporal influence. You and I have temporal influence. So do the reavers and so does every living thing on the planet. Think of it as your personal bubble of time. We’re special because we can enter a tau freeze and use our temporal influence to bring inanimate objects with us like clothing and weapons.”
Daniel pulled a notebook out of his coat, tore out a page, crumpled it, and tossed it to the ground. It stayed there.
“Okay, I think I see,” Nicole said. “Is that why when you threw your knives at the reaver they didn’t try to fly back into your coat?”
“Exactly! You are exactly right! The knives were under my influence. They shared my time.”
“So what happened to them? I didn’t see you pick them up after the fight.”
“Yeah, that was a bit sloppy of me,” Daniel said. “To be honest, I was just happy to be alive. Here, I’ll show you what happens. See that page from my notebook? Okay, stand over here. It helps if you’re close to where the freeze started. You ready?”
“It’s not like you wait for my—”
The world went black.
* * *
Color flashed into existence. Wind rustled through trees and cars rumbled by on the road.
“—answer,” Nicole said. She stumbled half a step forward. “God, that’s disorienting, even when I know it’s coming.”
“Did you notice what happened to the paper?” Daniel asked.
Nicole looked at the ground. The wad of paper was gone.
“Where’d it go?”
“Current theory holds all its atoms got converted to energy and smeared across the universe as radiation.”
“What?”
“The tau freeze ate it.”
“How did it do that?”
“The paper wasn’t under temporal influence when the freeze collapsed. It couldn’t return to normal time.”
“So is that why no one’s ever seen a reaver corpse?”
“Oh, you are a quick study,” Daniel said. “Yes, that’s precisely why, though there are exceptions to that.”
“And I take it the same happens to ...” Nicole looked into Daniel’s eyes and wondered if she should even ask. “You know, to dead tau guards.”
Daniel smiled as if it were such a normal question. “Let me put it this way. My mom and dad have tombstones but there’s nothing beneath them.”
“Oh, I see. Sorry.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. It’s important that you know these things, and since we have some time, it’s important that I teach them to you.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Daniel said. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the car remotely. “Come on. Let’s go home. I still have to unpack and buy some furniture. I hate sleeping on the floor.”
Nicole walked around the car and opened the door.
“Tomorrow we’ll cover light and sound,” Daniel said.
Nicole settled into her seat. “Why? Do they act differently?”
“Not at all. They work fine in a freeze. Things might sound a little off, but you can still hear them. I just thought you would like to know why they still work.”
“How about we skip that lesson for something more useful?”
“Fine with me. The theory always made my head spin anyway.” Daniel started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
On the way back, Nicole stared out the window, letting her mind wander over what she had learned. To her, it felt like she’d gotten a glimpse of a war. A secret war with no blood in the streets or corpses on the news.
Just people who disappear without a trace.
People she might soon join if she wasn’t careful.