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[mothmansplaining]

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"Stanford Pines. Leave a message."

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[tetractys]

OHH.

[The four hands Bill has now divert themselves to more platonic areas, but aren't leaving. He just transitions it to a tangly cuddle.]

YEAH, YEAH. TALK TO ME.

[mothmansplaining]

[He can't help a brief, contented sigh, though. It's not much more than a breath, but he has missed Bill enough, and trusts Bill to read any tension in his muscles enough, that being cuddled outside of clear romantic activities doesn't bother him the way it otherwise might. The trust levels are high, and so is the oxytocin.]

I'm making progress on the ship, and on Misty Day's pet-owner entanglement project. Besides that, I've kept an eye on the watches, and I've got some rather frustrating data on floods and breaches.

[He wiggles a hand so it is in Bill's, and he winds his other arm so Bill's is wrapped around it. Just gonna get comfy here, don't mind him.]

I'll probably compile a report after the next time we make port. There haven't been any involuntary disappearances so far, which is good for the passengers, but...it does mean research is at a standstill.

[tetractys]

PET ENTANGLEMENT? ARE WE MAKING HUMAN-ANIMALS AGAIN?

[Bill squeezes Ford's hand and pecks him on the cheek. Yessss, a good cuddle. Bill has no cuddle discomfort. Bill will be parked on Ford any time any day for any reason.]

[mothmansplaining]

[kiss: accepted. gosh.]

Oh, goodness no.

[Yikeseydaisy, that was a bad time for a lot of folks. Ford got off relatively easy, but it messed a lot of people up.]

It's meant to quantum-entangle Barge pets with their owners. That way, if someone goes back home unexpectedly, we aren't stuck with a bunch of animals running around the ship.

[tetractys]

OH. ... I MEAN, SURE, I GUESS. I'D LIKE LESS DOGS AROUND HERE.

[It's a quality of life thing, for some people, or something.]

WHAT'D YOU GET ABOUT FLOODS?

[mothmansplaining]

[Ford sighs.]

The data I got was...strange. There appears to be a greater connection between floods and breaches than I initially suspected. Two phenomena take place during both events: an alteration of the person who is already here, and a sort of quantum-double possession.

During a flood, sometimes, a person just has their appearance and memory altered, leading them to behave differently than they otherwise might. Other times, they have a parallel version of themselves in the dimension that's flooding the Barge, and for a week, that version takes them over.

And breaches work the same way. Some of us possess parallel versions of ourselves that were already there. Others don't have an in-universe counterpart, and some effect of the Barge makes reality shift around them to make room, leaving them with altered appearances and memories.

[tetractys]

[The whole tangle shifts thoughtfully.]

SO BREACH WORLDS ARE REAL? BUT WE'RE NOT ALL REAL IN THEM.

[mothmansplaining]

Mhmm.

[Man, talking about this is so much less frustrating and easier to accept when he's got all these neurotransmitters lowering his cortisol levels.]

Same goes for flood-Barges. Like that time we became people from the same universe as our wardens, or became the opposite gender. It explains why some of our gender-changed selves knew one another already, even when they didn't come from the same original world.

[tetractys]

THAT'S A LOT OF IMPLICATIONS, I.Q.

[Bill is going to pull them to the nearest comfy place to sit.]

YOU STILL HAVE YOUR DOUBLE, RIGHT? BUT IF THERE'S NO WAY TO KNOW IF SHE'S REAL...

[mothmansplaining]

...she isn't.

[Ford sinks into a chair at the kitchen table, his voice heavy.]

I have the readings to prove it. She had shared memories with Guy-ris, but I have no idea how real he was.

[Real pushy, he would have noted, if this had been a journal. Ford thanks whatever is determining his history right now that he never used pet names with any of his female colleagues.]

It's possible that they were implanted into each other's memories, or that she was only in his for the week. Either way, this is the only version of her in existence.

[He extracts a hand to press it over his chest, where a waterproof pocket hidden in the lining contains the memories of Buford Caryn Pines.]

[tetractys]

[Bill's eye goes to Ford's gesture. Ah man.]

CAN YOU TELL FOR ALL FLOODS WHICH ARE REAL AND WHICH AREN'T? FORDSY, THAT COULD BE HUGE.

[mothmansplaining]

I think so. I can only tell whether someone wearing a watch has a double or not, but if they do, then that alternate-Barge exists.

[tetractys]

[Bill is quiet for a moment.]

DO THEY ALL DOCK AT OUR BARGEYARD, D'YOU THINK? OR ARE THERE INFINITE BARGEYARDS, INFINITE AUTHORITIES...

WHAT ARE WE UP AGAINST?

[mothmansplaining]

I have no idea.

[If there are infinite Barges, infinite Bargeyards, infinite Authorities...Ford imagines the spread of parallel universes unfolding like a fractal.]

The other Barges can affect our reality through floods. I suppose the most important question is, can our realities affect one another beyond that? Even if there are infinite Authorities, if they can't contact each other, then it doesn't matter.

I'm inclined to think there's only one Authority, and they're the ones responsible for pushing the different Barge realities together.

[tetractys]

IN THAT CASE, FLOODS AREN'T RANDOM AT ALL.

BUT HOW COULD WE TEST THAT?

[mothmansplaining]

[Ford thunks on that.]

It'd be hard to find evidence that's convincing, that couldn't be written off as a coincidence. Not without getting to the Authority.

[A weariness, on that last bit. Everything hinges on getting to the people in charge, but that's easier said than done, even when you work very very hard on it.]

[tetractys]

[Bill's got his bag with him, and he hauls it onto the table to get his watch out and examine it without actually leaving his suspended perch.]

SHOW ME HOW YOU TELL IF SOMEONE HAS A DOUBLE. THIS IS GREAT STUFF.

[mothmansplaining]

The data display is on the laptop. We'll have to move to my room.

[not that he imagines any real objections to that.]

[tetractys]

I WONDER IF I CAN PICK YOU UP!

[He cannot.]

YOU STILL SLEEPING IN THE SAME PLACE?

[mothmansplaining]

[He'll wait a polite amount of time, until Bill has tried and failed, to stand up.]

That's right. All my most important inventions and artifacts were in there already, and also, it's still the nicest bed in the place. Seemed like a shame to move out, after going to all that trouble.

[tetractys]

III HATE BEING SMALL.

[Sulkily allows himself to be transported.]

YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT BED. ...

HEY. I JUST HAD A WILD THOUGHT ABOUT MOVING IN TOGETHER, BUT I DON'T REALLY SLEEP ... AND WE JUST GOT BACK TOGETHER LIKE FIVE MINUTES AGO...

[mothmansplaining]

[Come on, don't sulk. Have a kiss to the side of your eyemouth. He's carrying you to his room, that's completely normal couple behavior.

The idea of moving in together makes him bark out a laugh.]

I missed you, too.

[tetractys]

[Bill grumbles, but gives Ford a squeeze all over various parts of his arms and torso. Hug.]

AT LEAST YOU'VE GOTTEN A LOT DONE. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO BUILD A RADAR TO SEE IF THE AUTHORITY'S CHASING US, BUT EVERYBODY'S GOT THEIR OWN DUMB AGENDA OR WANTS TO PUNCH ME.

[mothmansplaining]

That's a very good idea.

[He pulls his bedroom door open and walks in. It all looks pretty much the same as when Bill saw it last, except the drawer the Leitner was in doesn't have tape over it anymore. Ford had to childproof the place, thanks to last month's houseguest. And maybe more security than some caution tape was a good idea anyway.]

If we can determine that they are definitively on our tail, that'll open up a lot of opportunities. I'm...sorry you've been having trouble with your team, though.

[He crosses to the desk and opens the laptop.]

Is there anything I can do to help?

[tetractys]

MATERIALS ARE THE BIGGEST BOTTLENECK WE HAVE! IF YOU CAN GET US SOME OF THOSE, I CAN GIVE THEM TO ENTRAPTA. AND I CAN SAY YOU'RE HELPING US, SO JASPER DOESN'T KILL YOU! I MEAN, I ALREADY DID TELL HER THAT, BUT I WAS LYING.

[Bill worms so his main body is sitting approximately over Ford's shoulder.]