Part of me wants to sprint back to my room and hide under the covers. But some other part of me, a stronger, braver part, wants answers.
“I have questions,” I say, my voice barely a whisper.
Tesla folds his hands in front of him, but he says nothing. He’s so pale. I wonder if he was that pale in life. His pallor and his hovering image make him look like a ghost. Maybe that’s what he is really—just a ghost in a machine.
“Flynn told me that my life before the Tesla Institute is a Fixed Point. Is that true?”
The grainy computer voice responds, just a second out of sync with the image’s moving lips. “That is true.”
“Is it common? I was led to believe Fixed Points are rare.”
“Five Fixed Points have been discovered in the time stream, including the one you created during your Trial.” His tone is flat, but I feel accusation in the words. “That does not mean they are rare. It means they have not been discovered yet.”
“How do you find them?”
“There is no way, at this time, to locate Fixed Points other than to accidentally stumble upon them.”
“How many Fixed Points have you created?” I ask, not sure where the question came from.
“One. It was by accident that one of my first Rifters created a Fixed Point. Once we realized what she’d done, we were able to study and record the phenomenon.”
I swallow, not sure how long he will continue to tolerate my questions. “Why me? I mean, why did you choose me?” I ask, my voice cracking.
For a second, there’s no response. I’m sure he’s going to shut down. But he finally answers. “You were chosen because of your pedigree.”
I shake my head. “I mean, why me? Not my mother or my sisters. Alexei and me. Why us?”
“A Fixed Point cannot be altered. It is a universal constant.”
“I don’t understand why,” I say, throwing my hands in the air as I pace past him.
Tesla’s image rotates in the fog, following my direction as I walk by. “Imagine, if you will, a fraying rope. To prevent the rope from falling apart, one can tie a knot in it. This is what a Fixed Point does. Should a Fixed Point be untied, for lack of a proper analogy, the time stream would unravel and be destroyed.”
“But you said a Fixed Point can’t be altered. It can’t be untied.”
“True. The alteration of a Fixed Point is not in our abilities. I only use this description so you understand how fragile time is and why it creates the Fixed Points. It is protecting itself, as any living organism does.”
I lean against the nearest wall, letting that sink in. “Tesla, why are you answering my questions? Why haven’t you just mind-wiped me again and sent me on my way?” I ask, dreading the answer. “Not that I’m ungrateful,” I add quickly.
“You are valuable to us.” His voice crackles through the overhead speakers.
That sounds like a lie, I realize. Even with no emotion on his face, no inflection in his voice, I don’t believe him.
“Why am I valuable suddenly? You’ve wiped my mind before. You sent me on my Trial. I could have died at any point before now.”
“Alexei Romanov is alive, and he will come for you,” the voice responds.
The blood in my veins turns to ice as I realize what he’s saying.
My brother will come for me, and when he does, Tesla will either take him, or kill him.
I’m only of value as bait.
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