10
"Imagine a photocopier spitting out page after page of a book, just that one page, or maybe single chapter of the story and each copy is then passed to someone in a group." Ianto said softly "Each person then adds to the story like…like a writing workshop. Right? Some things would remain the same, some things considered canon but every now and then one of the group would think fuck it and change a key piece of the story. The others might howl, laugh and scoff. But it is now his story and he can write it however he damn well pleases, right?"
"So, alternate realities. Like… AU? You are talking like Fan Fiction right?" Tosh said as she listened to Ianto's unusually focused conversation.
"Yes love. Imagine gods sitting there with their writing tablets arguing the colour of the sky in a story, each lap containing a tablet with their own version of the same thing. Similar like the table cloth is red in one but yellow in another even if the characters sit down to eat in all of the versions."
Tosh nodded, interested and in-tune, "So, we speak of possibility. Endless and twisting fate. The Butterfly effect?"
"Yes" Ianto smiled, knowing he had made the right choice in telling her first, Jack watching silently from behind his desk as the two team members sat on the sofa in his office talking, "So. Picture this. One of the stories…lets call it…I don't know… 'Unworthy'. Yeah, so in 'Unworthy' the main character is a young man who made a mistake that changed the world, he opened Pandora's Box and the world is now in turmoil."
"But another, better story might be called 'Worthy' Yan." Jack interrupted as he saw how this was about to end, "In this story the young man fails to open it or at the last second realises and slams the lid back down saving the world."
Ianto swung to look at him, his annoyance thrumming as he silently chastised him and told him he didn't need stroking, a mistake is a mistake for fucksake.
"Potty mouth" Jack said softly and Ianto blinked, then snorted.
"Ignore him" Ianto waved a hand at Jack and Tosh giggled as she had never seen the two men act as more than workmates and she was now just starting to realise that the story Ianto was telling her was not fiction. Not to him.
"So" she sniggered, "Each story is a version of the other, none the same and all connected through…fixed points? Is that right? Canon moments that have to happen because they were part of the story's main backbone?"
"Ah!" Ianto leaned back with delight, "You get it!"
"Yes" she smiled, "But now, if these stories are all playing out in real time, all overlapping and like watching rooms full of people all acting out the same play with their own interpretations you would hear the same words but spoken with different tone or dialog. No two plays are the same, nor stores no matter how similar."
Ianto looked over at Jack who knew this was where he was to speak and he rose, walking around the desk to lean against it and smile at his little blossom, "Imagine one of the stories had the heroes able to telepathically link to one another."
Ianto frowned as he heard the words and Jack knew it was the 'heroes' that made it so but he continued, "If there was one writer who…for whatever reason…had peeked at the other stories and decided he didn't like the outcomes and after considering if he wanted to be a sheep or a wolf went with cutthroat, leaving the content list on the table and going off the reservation?"
"Er, too many metaphors I think sir" Ianto frowned, "He means, one story diverted."
"OK" she nodded, able to keep up still.
"Right. The hero, say…me. Can telepathically commune with my partner…say…Ianto. We can talk to one another, share thoughts, memoires, images, even feelings?" Jack watched her consider, then he pushed on, "Imagine that power letting one of us peek at the other stories floating around up as the gods discuss their works, their stories and character development? We have seen the other stories and their divergent strains. We can see the fixed points, know what is coming at certain times and also think we can cheat?"
"Cheating is a dangerous thing to do" Tosh warned, "If you go too far off the worksheet you could fail the entire class."
"But if you go off the worksheet and your story trumps the others when it comes time for the final read, what then?" Ianto asked, his eyes glowing with glee.
"Well if you can get an A+ for originality I would say go for it" Tosh agreed, "The path less travelled might be harder and but full of the prettiest weeds."
"And we weeds thrive in the cracks" Ianto relaxed as the conversation came to fruition, "Tosh. I see the cracks. I see the stories. I know the worksheet."
Tosh blinked and then asked the one question he hadn't expected of all the ones he had gone over in his mind.
"Then … what does Owen truly feel for me?"