Nothing but Lies, XII
Summary: xii. Catalyst. Each day is the same in the schedule of Astrid Farnsworth. And yet there are things that mark the passing of time.
Warning: I apologize for the Science talk halfway through. I somewhat enjoyed it because that way my studies aren't entirely in vain.
Disclaimer: No copyright inFringement intended.
These days, time passes like molten lava.
Steadily and painfully, oddly too fast and yet so slowly she has the feeling it stretches over days. Every day is different from the one before no matter if she has work or not. Every day Astrid Farnsworth gets up early, has a quick breakfast and a cup of coffee and starts her day by walking towards her car.
Every day is similar. Every day has the same schedule.
Every morning the highway is full and her car is hot and the people on the street try their best not to look at each other. Every morning, the same man sits behind the glass window of the parking-lot guardroom and the thin and blonde woman in her white jacket prepares the reception desk. Astrid gets off the elevator at the same floor every morning and makes her way through the slowly filling yet bland corridors to the lab she now works in. She passes the day focused on interesting and trivial cases, drinks coffee and tries to calm Walter whenever he gets carried away. In the evening, she drives Walter back home and returns to her own apartment. She has a quick dinner while watching the news. She calls her mother and watches some pointless TV shows and then falls into her bed, exhausted and elevated at the same time.
Each day is the same and yet there are things that mark the passing of a week, a month, a year.
Every day requires certain energy of activation to get started and can be divided into a number of elemental reactions with different transition states. Though the thermodynamic product is more stable, kinetics win because it requires less energy and she doesn't bother changing the reaction conditions. Laws of science apply to everything, even to the flow of time and the passing of a day. Time only flows faster when there is a reason to it. A day only passes faster when the energy of activation is lowered by circumstances.
Or by catalysts.
-v-
And again, three weeks have passed since she has helped Walter analyze the strange energy emissions at the train crash site. She still sees the victims, burnt, bruised, injured. And she wishes she could hate the other side for what they are doing to them. Unfortunately, she possesses a strong sense of righteousness. And she knows it's them who have started, her universe, her side. The man she is working with, the man she drops off at home every evening, whom she buys candy bars and mints and pastries – he has first crossed the line and now the world is falling apart at its vestiges.
-v-
The TV which has been running since Astrid has arrived that morning is still alive. Blubbering quietly, it tries to sell her a new mixer. She's not interested. The background noise is welcome, though. It blends out the emptiness of a lab without its scientist.
Olivia strides through the door with great steps but in the slump of her shoulders Astrid sees she hasn't found anything else. It's hard to save a world if the world decides it doesn't want to be saved. If Astrid had needed any indication that something was wrong, she would just have to open her eyes. First the train crash, three weeks ago. Since then, catastrophes had started to pile up.
Small ones, first.
Then greater ones.
And she hated them, hated every single little occurrence. The collapsing building. The burning school. The broken dome of the stadium.
She hated them because every single incident carried the same finger print – the strange energy signature – she had learned to associate with the other side. Was it that they just got what they deserved? The other side has suffered so much. Was it their turn, now?
The TV droned on.
Agent Dunham looked tired. There were dark rings under her eyes and her short, blond hair (Astrid still had to get used to her new hair cut) was dull and colorless. She walked over to where Astrid stood, leaning against a spotless, white lab table, and sighed.
"Anything new?"
"Well, Walter thinks he has an idea how he can find out where the incidents will take place next…"
"Since I can't see them," Olivia added darkly.
"Don't blame yourself," Astrid answered, knowing full well it was exactly what the blonde woman did. "It's not like that time with the hotel. They're not replacing anything. They're tearing at the edges of our realm, as Walter calls it. You wouldn't be able to see it."
She watched the woman from the corners of her eyes. Wasn't she able to use her seventh sense anymore? Had she lost her abilities again or was it just that she was unable to see anything that she felt useless? Olivia alone would have been able to answer Astrid's question. The FBI agent raked a hand through her hair. "We're an experiment to him, nothing more. He is figuring out how to best destroy us. He's playing with us."
She spat out the last words. Astrid didn't know what else to say. She had watched as this woman had tried everything – everything! – to find a way to save their world. Strange. When had their mission Get the bad guys started to take on the dimension of save this world?
"Where's Peter?"
The question came so sudden Astrid flinched involuntarily. It was the first time Olivia had even said his name. More, she had displayed interest on a basis that was more than just casual. Exhausted as she was she didn't seem able to hold up pretenses. Quickly recovering, Astrid shifted uncomfortably but Olivia already waved her question aside.
"Never mind. He's in his lab, isn't he?"
If one could call his workspace a lab. The Scientist in Astrid protested but the Linguist knew it didn't matter. She nodded.
Olivia sighed again and pressed both her hands to her forehead.
"I don't know what to do."
Her voice was soft, almost inaudible. Her tone carried absolute defeat. Astrid shuddered at the realization that the woman she had always known as strong and indestructible was giving up. Directly in front of her. Her brain refused to process the facts. She had no idea what to say.
The TV was unusually loud. The documentary that had been running had been replaced by a news broadcast. Astrid stared at it without actually seeing it until she noticed what it was about.
…An earthquake shook the very foundations of the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in Hudson Bay. The quake, which only reached strength of three point six, was…
When Astrid finally realized she was staring at the screen Olivia had already wiped out her phone and dialed.
"Peter? How likely is a naturally-caused earthquake on Liberty Island?"
She listened for a while. But she already knew what she would be hearing; Astrid saw it in her eyes. Though she wasn't quite sure what the FBI agent had in mind, she stood stock-still, waiting.
"No, Walter's not here. I'm going there."
Her gaze wandered back to the TV screen and Astrid wondered why she hadn't called Broyles first. Maybe she wanted a scientific opinion. Maybe she needed a specialist, someone who was familiar with strange phenomenon. Maybe. But then, Olivia Dunham had seen enough to be a specialist on strange phenomenon herself. And Astrid knew her well enough to recognize what Olivia Dunham was just doing: In her own, entirely unique way, she was apologizing. Trying to show she was sorry by asking for something she knew herself. Not saying sorry directly but indirectly demanding something he wouldn't be able to refuse. So she was talking to Peter again. Good. It had been painful to watch how Peter had struggled on when Olivia had outright refused to even look at him only three weeks ago.
"Okay. Do you think…"
She froze.
Astrid regarded her for a second and then whirled around to look at whatever Olivia was staring at. She was ghostly pale, her grey eyes wide in shock. Her hands were clutching the phone so hard her knuckles turned white.
The news broadcast was still running, showing pictures of Liberty Island, broken stone stairs and shaken souvenir shops. The reporter was interviewing tourists who had experienced the quake firsthand.
"And you felt it?"
"Yeah, it was like the world was crashing down all around us and I told Tony…"
Three point six. Talking about making a mouse an elephant…
Frowning, Astrid gave another look at Olivia but the woman was still pale as a ghost. Peter's worried voice resounded from her mobile.
"Olivia? Olivia, are you okay?"
He sounded like he was already running.
"Yeah," she finally managed but still was unable to tear her gaze away from the screen. Without letting go of the phone, without even looking at her, she directed her next words at Astrid. "Astrid, can you get a copy of this broadcast and analyze it?"
"Of course," she said, bewildered. "Are you looking for something special?"
"As a matter of fact, I am," Olivia said, almost to herself. "Do you think the dead return, Peter?"
His answer was lost to Astrid.
"Yeah," said Olivia. "So do I. So what do you say when I tell you I just saw Charlie Francis on that screen?"
A/N: This took me some time (I have good excuses, though) and I apologize. I haven't even read your reviews on the last chapter. Well, my exams are almost finished and a week from now I'll disappear from the face of the earth – internet-wise - for one month. Which means I probably won't be able to update for that time. Again, my apologies! I hope I'll be able to finish the rest of the story meanwhile so I can post it as soon as I'm back. I'll try to post another chapter before I leave, too.