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  “Bertha?”

  “What? Don’t act like you don’t name your trucks! She’s been good to me…You ready?” he asked, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t understand what I was supposed to be ready for, and before I could tell him so, he pressed a button on the screen.

  There was a slight pressure, then Nothing. It was a place beyond existence, and it cleansed all the fear I’d been feeling just minutes before. Despite the lack of existence, it somehow made existence make sense. It washed away all the things that tethered me to reality and allowed me to see with fresh eyes the course of my own heart. It reminded me of a blank page on a computer and how it’s bright white until movement puts words on the screen and gravity pulls pigment onto the page. Except not even white existed in the Nothing because nothing existed in the Nothing, not even me.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Iago thrummed his fingers on the porcelain tub. The boy was patient, but he was probably tired of repeating himself. It was just that it was a lot to take in, let alone believe. He said we were in a different universe, and whether he was speaking metaphorically or literally, it felt true in every sense. He sat on the edge of the tub next to me so he could help me wash the cuts on my bare feet and clean them with alcohol swabs. As he dabbed away, I sucked in the smell of the stinging astringent burn.

  “I’d offer you whiskey, but it’s best not to drink after what your body’s been through… and still has to go through,” he explained. The way he said that part cut new threads of fear through me. Did that mean the worst still hadn’t passed? “Saltadors heal fast. Your feet’ll be in tip-top shape by tomorrow,” he added.

  “Saltadors.” I said the word and rolled it around my teeth. I knew I was still in parrot mode, but I was learning that it helped.

  “They have to call us something.” He pointed to a pile of clothes on the edge of the sink, and left the bathroom so I could change. The jeans had that scratchy, new, never-been-washed feeling, and the shirt smelled musty, but it was better than spending my life in a sports bra and tattered shorts.

  I limped into the kitchen where Iago waited for me at the table with a pad of paper in front of him. I sat down and rested my elbows on the table so I could cradle my head because it was starting to feel too heavy to hold up by my neck alone.

  “I’m gonna try and explain this to you again, but in tiny chunks, okay?”

  I nodded, and he drew a triangle on the paper. The wet ink glistened in the light before it dried. Then he added three words at the tips.

  Splicers.

  Movers.

  Saltadors.

  His handwriting was always superb. Mrs. Ortiz used to chastise me for my messy loops and haphazard cursive, but every letter Iago put on the paper was calm and clean. He wrote “Multiverse” in the middle of the triangle before he looked at me and said, “The first thing I need you to believe is that a Multiverse exists. There is no such thing as just one universe or one Earth, and there are infinite possibilities that exist. Can you just consider this as a truth?”

  “I can try,” I said honestly.

  “Trying works for now.” He smiled. “In each universe, within the human race, there are three types of Energy, each with their own function and their own limitations, and every human being holds within them one type.”

  He paused so I could consider what this meant. I looked at the triangle, and said, “I assume these are the three types of Energy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?” Iago laughed. “You’re really trying here, huh?”

  “To be honest, this sounds a lot like one of your Mom’s stories.”

  He nodded. “Where do you think all those stories came from?”

  Suddenly, Mrs. Ortiz’s tales took on a new life. A possible existence. A possible reality. Iago added, “She’s been training us our entire lives, you know. She’s a Level 3 Watcher, which means she was able to take on children and train them to be Saltadors.”

  “So Mina?”

  “Is one of us. She’ll be an Explorer. Explorers are trained in highly populated planets, while Watchers are trained more in isolation.”

  “Okay,” I said again, because I didn’t know what else to say. I wanted my next questions to be about Explorers and Watchers, and those two words weren’t written on his handy-dandy triangle. I had a feeling I was getting Iago far from the point he was trying to make, and the more questions I asked, the farther away I’d take him from his neat, orderly, three-pointed picture. Right now, I needed neat and orderly, so I decided to stop asking questions and let him explain.

  I pointed back to the triangle to redirect him.

  Iago understood and said, “So, these three Energies are basically the ingredients needed to create a universe, and like all recipes there needs to be just the right mixtures of Energy for it to turn out right.”

  His finger tapped on the top corner of his triangle. “Splicers? These people are usually more intuitive. It’s as if with every decision that needs to be made, they can anticipate several possibilities. Most of the time instinct compels them to make a choice in one direction over another. When this happens, the universe continues on its course, steady and constant. But every once in a while, Multiversal instinct is stronger than personal instinct. It wants both possibilities, and forces every Splicer in the universe to not make a choice. The decision in front of them in that very moment, whether large or small, is never actually made, and this causes the universe to split like cells in the body. These new universes have the same origins but alternate futures where two or more scenarios play out.”

  “So every Earth has people who can make new Earths?”

  “It’s a very small percentage within every population, but yes. And, the most important part is that they are not self-aware. They have no idea that their choices—or lack of choice—can generate a parallel universe. They can never know that they are the catalyst for a universal split, because they may choose in ways that harm the Multiverse. Instead, they simply feel a slight tingle in their souls, like a tiny piece of them has been torn in half. It feels like deja vu. Then they shake the feeling off and move on.”

  “Okay.” I noticed that “okay” was becoming my word. Like every time I said it, I was reminding myself I was okay while simultaneously accepting that all these weird stories were okay.

  Iago pointed to the next corner of the triangle. “If Splicers are the catalyst for the universal split, then Movers provide the Collective Energy to move a universe into existence. Without the proper mix of Collective Energy, the universe Stagnates.”

  “Stagnates?” I cringed. I had strayed away from the okays to ask another question.

  Iago humored me with an answer though. “A Stagnation means there’s not enough Energy to push more universes into existence. For example, what happens if someone stops moving? Let’s say you are strapped to your bed for the rest of your life, what would happen?”

  “It depends. If I was fed, I’d grow too fat to go anywhere. If I wasn’t fat, I’d waste away and still not be able to go anywhere. Without moving, I’d lose all my muscle mass, and I’d eventually die.”

  Iago laughed. There was nervousness in the corners of the sound, and it soothed me a little. I wasn’t the only one feeling out of my league. He continued with equally wobbly words, “Way to cover both possibilities, but both scenarios lead to a lethargic death. When a universe lacks the right balance of population, there’s not enough Collective Energy to keep it alive. This is why Movers are one of the most important Energies in the Multiverse. They provide this Collective Energy, and when the Splicers initiate a Splice, the universe taps into the Movers to propel a parallel one into existence. Without the right mix of Movers and Splicers, the universes being born end up becoming Stagnant and unable to produce new ones.”

  I still didn’t completely understand, but I got the gist. I felt like I was trying to shove too many marbles into the jar called my brain. Some things weren’t going to completely stick yet. I y
awned, not out of boredom, but out of a new feeling of exhaustion wrapping around me. Iago didn’t take offense at the emphatic, hot air and the muted lion roar that tumbled out of my stretched gap of a mouth. He simply underlined the word “Saltadors” on the triangle.

  “That’s us?” I asked, but the yawn closed around the words, making me sound like a baby seal.

  He nodded. “We are those with the ability to Hop and Jump between the universes.”

  “How?”

  “First you need to understand, there is such a thing as an universe of Origin. We call it Gaia, and this is where all Saltadors originate, whether or not they were physically born there.”

  “Okay.”

  He laughed at my parroted word, and drew circles around the Saltador on his triangle. There was no purpose to him doing this other than to give his Energy a place to go. “We don’t understand why it happened, but we know that Saltadors can exist only where we are. Splicers and Movers often have a doppelgänger or duplicate of themselves floating around somewhere in the Multiverse, but Saltadors never do. We will never, ever run into another copy of us.”

  I thought about that for a minute. Somewhere out there, there were other Rebeccas, and Lindsays, and Coach Mathensons. I shuddered at the idea of millions of Coach Mathensons screaming into a microphone at a million different pep rallies. Maybe there was a world where he was a pocket-protector-wearing lab rat. That idea made me smile—a nerdy Coach Mathenson, scrawny and pale.

  “On Gaia, Dr. Maxina Planck was the first to discover the Multiverse and how to harness the Energy of the Big Whisper—the initial Energy that kickstarted Creation.”

  “The Planck Activation Bracelet?” I fingered the leather bracelet on my wrist and wondered where Iago’d pressed earlier to pull up the screen. The little bracelet had some explaining to do, like the fact that it wasn’t my mother’s after all. I kept shoving the question of my mother to the back of my head, because I knew it was going to be a painful answer. Now was not the time to think about her. I still needed the clean cut version of the story, and I studied Iago’s triangle to keep my brain on track.

  “Yes. Dr. Planck discovered the hard way that not everyone on Gaia had the ability to Jump. In her first experiments, she sent twenty Explorers to Hop within a universe. All twenty of them spent a year teleporting in and out of places on Gaia, and it’s actually now a viable mode of transportation for everyone in the Gaia-verse. But Jumping turned out to be more complicated. When it was time to test the limits of the Planck Activation Bracelet, only three survived the first Jump. The other seventeen were painfully thrown back into the Gaian-verse, and they died within hours. After autopsies were performed, it was discovered that there were transcription errors in their genetic codes. Dr. Planck was devastated by the loss, and formed a team to research what may have caused the deformities.

  “It took another five years for a geneticist named Judith Beasley to discover there had always been slight variations within the DNA of those who survived compared to those who didn’t. At first, she theorized that Saltadors were able to survive the Jump because they were the only versions of themselves that existed. Those who died did so because they were unable to be written into place when they Jumped because their Energy was already replicated in the Multiverse. She was mostly right. After more testing she discovered that the DNA of a Saltador had a stronger dose of Original Energy from the Big Whisper, and because of this, when the first Splice that began the second universe happened, a small portion of the population was never duplicated. Think about two glasses filled with the same amount of water. If you take one of these cups and start pouring portions of its water into other cups, there is still the same amount of water, but it’s spread out. In terms of Energy, Saltadors are like the full cup that never had to share. This population existed only on Gaia and passed on these higher doses of Energy to some, but not all, of their offspring. When it came to Jumping, anyone without this genetic abnormality lacked the proper dose of Energy within them to survive the Change.

  “Dr. Beasley then figured out how how to tag this genetic mutation and test for it. Eventually, everyone on Gaia was tested for it, and those who had it were entered into the ranks of the Saltadors.” He stopped circling the word on the triangle and grinned before he continued: “Saltadors? We have the ability to survive in nearly any condition.”

  I tried to imagine the history that existed universes away. The stories of people who died to promote discovery. The scientists with the creativity to think of the impossible. And the greatness that comes after that. It filled me with a strange sense of pride. “So. I can travel the Multiverse?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he said.

  A grin tugged at the corners of my mouth. “Cool.”

  Liam

  And indeed the soul reasons best when none of these senses troubles it, neither hearing nor sight, nor pain nor pleasure, it is most by itself, taking leave of the body and as far as possible having no contact or association with it in its search for reality.

  —Socrates on his Death Bed

  —S-3000, V-234323-L987699, Prod.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Nobu dug the tips of his toes into the sand from where he sat a few feet from me. His sandals rested near his feet in two, neat lines, and his arms buckled at the elbows to prop up his torso. We watched the foam break on the waves, and I moved sand through my fingers. I moved my hands along the hot, hot sand and noticed the way the grains were soft and scratchy all at once. I felt an immense sense of awareness. This was the reprieve between. The first Jump was just the trigger, and there was still more pain to come. I took in the palm tree-lined beach as clouds rolled in and out along the shore.

  Nobu laughed a laugh that sounded like thin glass breaking. “I’ve been wanting to bring you to the 2040s ever since I found them.”

  The 2040s. This location was not exactly the spot I envisioned for my Change. I threw sand his way, but it got caught in the breeze before it even reached him. “And this was the safest place you could think of?” I was trying to joke, but it wasn’t coming out right. My voice felt funny in my throat. I was scared, and I didn’t want to admit it.

  “Don’t worry, brother. This is a safe island. Sometimes, you can see the pterodactyls flying in the distance, but, on this universe, they have yet to figure out how to get here from the mainland. If you travel down this Vein a bit more, they’ve made a nest right here where we now sit.” He knew I worried about something much heavier than pterodactyls flying over us, but I appreciated the attempt to soothe my nerves. I imagined the paths this Vein of universes took and smiled. After today, I’d be able to visit them a little, not that I’d get to do much traveling compared to Explorers. I was a Watcher, after all. I’d only get to come to places like this on leave, or if I needed to experience a data point for myself in order to understand it.

  “I don’t know if I should be thankful or sad for you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I didn’t think the Change would—” he paused and sucked in air between his teeth.

  “Would what?”

  He leaned back on his arms so that his entire face caught every ray of sunshine available. It made his tan skin take on shades of a golden, baked pear. “Why is she dangerous?” he asked more to the sun than to me.

  “Texi?”

  “No. The wisdom-tooth fairy. Yes, Texi.” The sentence lacked the complete feeling of sarcasm it was supposed to have, but as I examined his face, I noticed how tired he was.

  I knew it then. Nobu had things he needed to say, and he wished he wasn’t the one who needed to say them. I pushed a strand of hair out of my eyes and frowned. I knew this answer better than I knew my own heartbeat, but the way Nobu asked it made me realize he knew something I didn’t. Again. Why was Texi dangerous? I thought about the question and twirled it in my teeth without actually saying the words out loud. I paused before answering because I was trying to think of an answer that wasn’t the same, old one.

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nbsp; “Liam. Pay attention.” Nobu snapped his fingers in the air to get me to look away from the empty line of sky. “Why is Texi dangerous?”

  I thought some more, but sometimes the most obvious answer is the right one, and I finally said, “She’s a hybrid.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “They placed an extra mutation in her so she carries the Saltador Marker and the Splicer Marker in her genes.” I knew this already. Nobu did too.

  “Why is she dangerous?” he asked again.

  I sighed and gave the answer that felt generic to me because it was the one we’d used over and over again. “A Splicer should never become self-aware, and they should never have access to the Knowing. Being able to choose against nature could have irrevocable consequences. If her mutation catches, she might create universes that could collapse the entire system, killing us all.”

  Nobu let my answer settle into the space between us before he said anything again. “Or she could not just find the Path, she could Create it.”

  The Optimal Path. Everything always seemed to come back to the one great mission. Every Saltador knows that the Multiverse is losing steam too quickly, preparing to contract back in on itself with every Splice it takes. There is a theory that we believe to be true—that there is an Optimal Path that can reach back into the Origin of Energy and help us discover how to Create Energy once more. This Vein of universes is theorized to keep the Balance just enough to refrain from Splicing too much nor fall into Stagnation. Although Saltadors have come to terms that the Multiverse as we know it will eventually die, we hope to prolong the life of humanity despite this by finding this one, perfect Path.

  The duty of the Saltador is to tourniquet the cuts of time in a dying Multiverse, but, as is the case with all societies, Gaian politics has its fair share of disagreements on how to find the Optimal Path. A faction called the Calvary believed Saltadors are like the anti-aging cream for an old man already riddled with wrinkles. They believe the Path is a Multiversal fountain of youth, and they’ve gone to great lengths to find it. But when they couldn’t, they set out to Create it instead. They experimented on Texi and nine other children, turning them into hybrids. They inserted extra mutations of the Splicer gene while they were in the womb, and when the Gaian Order discovered the labs, the Calvary was accused of crimes against humanity by the Humanitarian Laws. The scientists involved were put on trial and found guilty. The research was commandeered and destroyed while the scientists involved were arrested or executed.