We use the linking code to make it look on the grid like the others haven’t learnt to skip. Once I become a citizen we can act as if I taught them how. Mason gets legal advice about my status and the risks for us both, and adds a scientific explanation before we finally submit the form. No mention of how to time skip, or evidence of an alternate universe. The hearing date comes back only two weeks away. On Saturday morning, Mason meets me outside the climbing centre so we can walk in together. He’s about to swipe the entrypad when he stops and squeezes my hand. ‘Ready?’ My mouth is dry. ‘I guess.’ It’s not just the idea of dealing with Boc that makes me edgy. I still haven’t seen the others since Mason told them everything. Echo and Amon haven’t even met me here. After all that happened in the other timestream, seeing them again is going to be strange in so many ways. As we step through the door, I’m immediately hit with calm concentration. All focus is on Amon part way up the climbing wall, about three storeys high.
