Oliva is afraid.
She accepted this assignment willingly, proud to serve her country. Her universe.
But two days ago she hadn't even known this place existed, and she still knows so little about it. Subtle differences, Peter had said, but Olivia knows that the little mistakes will add up.
When she caught Astrid giving her one too many puzzled glances over a missed reference, Olivia checked an American history book out of the library. But there isn't any book she can read on the history of her own life.
And she is so alone. Her mother and Charlie are dead, and no one seems to know Lincoln or Frank, not that she can really ask without it looking odd. Ella and Rachel are here, which helps, except that Ella can't figure out why Aunt Liv doesn't remember her favorite color, and Rachel just reminds Olivia that her sister is dead.
She doesn't know who to trust. Monsters in our skin, the Secretary had said, but the longer she spends here, the more she wonders. They're certainly strange – especially Walter, with his obsession with weird foods and the cow in his lab – but they're just people, and she's afraid she's losing sight of the reason she's here.
And then there's Peter. He's sweet, and so puzzled when she doesn't want to go out for a drink with him, but he's obviously trying not to push. And he's so clearly in love with the other Olivia that she doesn't know what to do. She can't avoid him without tipping him off, but she's terrified of spending too much time with him, too.
Sooner or later, she knows, Peter will figure it out.
And Olivia is afraid.
Olivia is afraid.
She doesn't know what they want from her. They are trying to break her, she knows, trapping her in this tiny dark room, but she isn't sure why. They haven't asked any questions, and it's not like she could tell them anything useful if they did – she doesn't understand any of this crossing-over stuff, so she couldn't help them even if they wanted her too.
But they don't ask. Sometimes the Secretary comes to gloat at her through the window, but he never asks any questions either, just laughs when she pleads with him to let her out, and taunts her with tidbits of news from the other side. Maybe all he wants is the pleasure of seeing her break.
This isn't what scares her.
Not the dark, not the cell, not the questions when they come. Not even the Secretary.
Not even the idea that she has been replaced. She knows that the other Olivia is there, living her life, playing with Ella, working with Walter, maybe even sleeping with Peter. She has them all fooled.
That bothers Olivia a little, knowing that some stranger can take her place so easily, makes her a little angry. And she knows it's a little bit her own fault, isolating herself so much, which makes her a little sad. But she knows it won't last. They are different, this other Olivia and her, in a thousand little ways that will add up.
Sooner or later, Peter will figure it out.
Olivia knows Peter will come for her.
And she is afraid.
