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"How exactly do we do that?"

"He’s going to San Francisco tomorrow to set up the lab for a test of the Firebird coe the new lab Right?"

"Maybe" Theo still looks doubtful, though "But ould Paul give us access?"

I take a deep breath "Because I’ll ask him to"

For a few moments, neither of us speaks Then he says, "You’d betray one Paul to save another"

"If I have to" But when I hear Theo say it, ives etcloser to him So in the end I can rescue this splinter of Paul’s soul"

"Makes sense," Theo says flatly

"I hate this, okay? I hate every ive a damn about my family in any other dimension, but this version of Dad is still Dad This version of Mom is still Moht take away their last chance to win the war But I have to Getting close to Paul isn’t the worst thing I’ether we stare into the distance, at the place where light strearass Even electricity is rationed here, so the night has become quiet and still Instead of traffic noise, I hear only the wind through the trees

Theo speaks first "I eavesdropped on as much war talk as I could today at the base Apparently the situation doesn’t look good We lost Mexico Which I guess means this country had Mexico at some point, but, whatever Supply lines from the Midwest have broken down"

"Is this like, if we lose the e have to rebuild? Like the Civil War?" Reconstruction and Jim Crow sucked hard, but even that sounds better than the alternative "Or is this like, if we lose the war, Adolf Hitler rules the world?

"The way the guys at the barracks talk, it soundsEverybody hates the eneht?"

We have to hope

"Listen, we don’t have the power to permanently end your parents’ research, no matter what Conley says" Theo takes my hand--for emphasis, probably, or simply for coe to infect their project with the virus, screw up the coether, by the way, that taking the whole thing doould be a cinch How long do you think it would take your parents to rebuild? A year, maybe? A little less?"

"Do they have a year left?"

Fro, like she does at Dad’s awful jokes If I do this, I’ around hter until I hardly remember how to breathe

I whisper, "If my Paul were here, II think he’d tell me to leave him and save them"

"If he were here, you’d tell hi, I laugh "Probably"

"Listen This ‘cure’ for Nightthief exposure Conley’s talking about--even he ad yourself through this for et Paul back That ht?"