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[mothmansplaining]

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"Stanford Pines. Leave a message."

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[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.]

[mothmansplaining]

Hm. I'd like to see the progress on the machine, if I can. I trust you, and I trust that when you say it's a radar for detecting the Authority that that's what it's meant to be, but I don't know Entrapta as well as I know you. And Jasper...well, I don't know what to make of her at all. She seems very....blunt.

[Laptop boots up. Password is entered. Retina is scanned. Blood sample is taken. Ha ha it's meant to detect hydrogen, who would predict that? The home screen finally comes up.]

I want to be sure any parts I get you are ending up where they ought to go, that's all.

[tetractys]

I THINK THE KID'S A FLAKE, AND I DON'T TRUST HER NOT TO TAKE ANYTHING AND JUST STICK IT INTO A ROBOT.

[mothmansplaining]

Mm. I see.

[Those are the terms: materials in exchange for oversight.]

Well, it might complicate matters further, but I believe Rose Quartz is behind the cause. She'd be willing to help, if we asked her.

[A bunch of keystrokes, and Ford pulls up two sets of readings. One is his own, through the genderswap flood, and one is someone else's. (Not Tris's.) The readings detect the same type of energy, but one of them shows much greater dimensional distortion, another entity entangling with the person as the dimensions overlap. Ford's readings, on the other hand, just show the energy altering his physical and mental make-up; there is no second presence.]

[tetractys]

GONNA HAVE TO VETO ROSE QUARTZ! I GOT THE BIG ORANGE ONE INVOLVED IN THIS SO SHE'D HAVE SOMEWHERE CONSTRUCTIVE TO PUT HER ENERGY BESIDES BREAKING THE ESCAPE PODS. IF SHE FEELS LIKE SHE DOESN'T HAVE OR WANT CONTROL, I GOT NOTHING.

[Bill goes quiet when the statistics pop up, thinking of the clip in Ford's pocket.]

AWFULLY ROUGH. WONDER WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FROM THEIR END? SHE JUST APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE?

[mothmansplaining]

Eh. Fair enough.

[He doesn't know the politics of Bill's team. But Rose is an ally, and that's important.]

I can't say for sure. My best guess is that the wave of transdimensional energy shifted my physiology and memories into whatever would be the least unnatural, and in the process, implanted her into others' memories as well.

[tetractys]

SO HOW DO WE KNOW WE'RE NOT THE FLOOD FOR SOMEONE ELSE? HOW DO WE EVEN KNOW OUR PASSENGERS ARE ALL REAL NOW, HUH?

[mothmansplaining]

The only way to determine that would be the same way I noticed the last thing the Director published: to look for behavior that doesn't add up when what we should have known at the time is taken into consideration.

We also have the network. That thing's been around forever, and it doesn't seem to be affected by floods. Put something up there, and it's there forever! We might be able to cross-reference network activity with a passenger list.

[tetractys]

OH YEAH.

WHAT ABOUT BREACHES, HOW DO THEY WORK?