29 August 1991 A

"Look, Paul, I'm a shark!" Shropshire crouched below the surface of the hotel pool's shallow end. Her hand stuck out just behind the back of her head, imitating a shark fin. Bubbles followed her as she walked underwater towards Paul, humming a poor rendition of the Jaws theme song.

Paul tried to evade her by jumping onto the edge of the pool. He was too slow.

Shropshire popped out of the water and grabbed his thigh. "Gotcha!". She dragged Paul backward into the water with a large splash that forced water onto the concrete around the pool.

London was sitting on a lounge chair on the other side of the pool. She closed her book and watched with concern as the two disappeared under the water. When they resurfaced, she raised her voice. "Shropshire! I told you to stop surprising Paul. You know he doesn't have the same lung capacity we do!" Her words echoed through the large room containing the indoor pool.

"But it's too much fun!"

"I don't care". London turned her attention towards Paul. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just have water stuck in my ear now".

"If you need me to get my sister to stop, please let me know".

"As I've said three times already, will do. You don't need to be so overprotective".

"I've lost too many friends to the water over the years to be underprotective around it".

The door to the pool opened. Achilles stepped through, taking a deep breath of the humid, chlorinated air. "Got the whole pool to yourselves I see. Did you have to pull some strings?"

"No," Shropshire responded. "No one else was here".

"It seems like a good evening for swimming though. I wonder why no one else is here".

"Might have to do with the fact it's nine thirty PM on a Thursday night in the middle of winter," London snarked.

"But nine thirty PM on a Thursday night is the best time to go swimming". Achilles walked around the pool to a lounge chair next to London. Once she got to her chair, she stipped off the T-shirt and shorts she was wearing, revealing a swimsuit underneath. She then kicked off her flip-flops and walked toward the edge of the room, winding up for a running start.

"Hey!" London badgered. "No-"

SPLASH

"...Jumping".

Achilles surfaced in the deep end of the pool. "Hey, Paul, Shropshire, look! I'm a U-boat". Achilles dove back below the water and started swimming toward the two.

London sighed, defeated.

31 August 1991 B

"No, your therapist said you need to take some time off of painting". Shropshire stood between Paul and the door to the hotel room.

"But you said the me in the other universe is done with the mural!"

"The you in the other timeline wasn't held hostage for over a month! You're going to get back into bed, turn on the TV, and have a relaxing day off. That's an order".

"What time is it even? I must've slept through the alarm".

"One thirty. I turned it off".

"Why would you do that?"

"You need to catch up on sleep".

Paul surrendered, returning to the bed he had emerged from only moments before.

Shropshire followed. "Now, do you want cuddles with your tele time or not?"

"I-"

The phone rang.

Confused, Shropshire answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Shropshire. I've been trying to get a hold of you".

"Sussex‽ Are you okay? You sound like you've been crying".

"I have been".

"Is everything alright‽"

"It feels like the world is ending".

"What makes you say that?"

"I saw an American fleet of Kansen in the Øresund strait. I think they're planning something".

"It might just be precautionary".

"I know their president said they're recognizing the independence of the Baltic countries. The Baltics have been asking NATO for aid. Don't think it's precautionary, I think they're going to attempt the same game of chicken they did in Libya".

Shropshire sat silent. "It can't be that bad. Every time we thought the world was going to end before, it didn't".

"I don't think that's how logic works".

"I don't know what to say. You survived a kamikaze attack, you can survive this".

"I think there's a difference between surviving a plane and surviving an atomic bomb".

"It's not going to go nuclear, is it? I'm sure both the Americans and Russians know that there's no point taking it that far. There's no reason to rule a nuclear wasteland".

"But what about the Ukrainians?"

"What do the Ukrainians have to do with this?"

"They declared independence earlier today. Their president claimed that their engineers seized control of the missile stockpile there and is threatening to nuke Moscow if they attempt to invade".

"Oh". Shropshire collected her thoughts. "Things might look bad, but things looked bad before. We made it through the war, we can make it through this".

"That was a half-century ago. I'm not the same person I was back then. None of us are. We fought to bring about a world where we didn't need to have that warrior mentality".

Shropshire took a deep breath in.

"Can I speak to London? I need to know if she's still mad at me".

"London's not in the room right now".

"Should I call back later?"

"She should be back in a moment or so. You can stay on the line".

The two sat in an uneasy silence.

"Hey, Sussex?"

"What is it?"

"I have a really big favor to ask of you".

"What is it?"

"Could you not mention what's going on to London?"

"Why not? I called specifically because I needed to talk to someone about what's going on".

"She's been stressed lately, so we've been keeping her away from the news".

"But it's not like she doesn't know there's an active civil war in the Soviet Union".

"Well…"

"Shropshire! Have you been deliberately hiding this from her?"

"Perhaps…"

Sussex sighed. "We have to tell her. Why would you even hide this from her?"

"See seemed too stressed from everything else going on".

"I don't think this is healthy. We both know that she's better at coping with stress than the rest of us".

"But her main strategy is getting up and walking away from what's stressing her. You can't just get up and walk away from a major historical event!"

"You can't, but at least you can let your mind adjust to the new normal. Look, when this is all over I think the three of us need to really talk things out. We've gotten too afraid to communicate with each other over the last couple of months. I've seen what that did to my girlfriend's family, I don't want us to end up the same way".

"I can talk this out when it's over, can you please just promise me to not bring this up now?"

"But then what do I tal-"

Shropshire heard the door behind her open. "Oh, hey, London is here. How about I hand the phone over to her now".

"Wait! Shro-"

"I love you too". Shropshire held the phone out to her sister.

London cocked her head. "Who is it?"

"Sussex".

"Oh. I've been meaning to talk to her…" London's tone was somber. She robotically sat down the ice bucket and accepted the phone. "Hello, Sussex?"

Shropshire looked at Paul and tilted her head towards the door. "Let's step out while they talk".

Paul and Shropshire sat on a sofa in the far corner of the hotel lounge. Lots of business people were checking out to go home from a major conference, and many convention goers were checking in for the weekend. The constant opening of and closing of the door created a draft, leading Paul to lean against Shropshire for warmth.

London approached from the hallway. She sat on a sofa orthogonal to the other two. She briefly examined a potted plant in the corner between the two couches, running a large leaf between her two fingers. "It's fake," she remarked, dully.

"Did you patch things over with Sussex?"

"I'm not sure. I could tell it really hurt her when I told her we found Paul a few weeks ago. I feel really bad for forgetting to tell her. I think she's right that the three of us really need to talk things out".

The three paused briefly. The tense air was filled with chatter from the conventiongoers.

London sighed. "So. There's a Soviet civil war going on".

Shropshire felt her heart ache. "London, I'm-".

"I'm sorry".

"...Why are you apologizing?"

"I thought I was being protective of you for the last two months. All I did was erode our trust and create an environment where you felt uncomfortable expressing the truth. I know I apologized for not believing you before, but I didn't realize the full extent of the damage until now".

"London, I wasn't withholding that information because you didn't believe me earlier".

"Then why were you hiding it?"

"The other London told me to".

London sighed. "I guess that's karma for not telling you the case went cold. I thought I was protecting you, but now, on the receiving end, I understand that I wasn't". She paused, idly fidgeting with the ends of her coat's sleeves. "I honestly don't think I'm that much better at coping with stress than you or Sussex are".

"What makes you say that?"

"I was talking with Sussex about all the stuff going on in her life just before she flew in for her vacation. In retrospect, it made sense that she snapped before me. She was going through the same stress of her sister's husband being missing, but she also had a more negative view of Paul, she was on the opposite side of the world from her home, she wasn't getting the best sleep on that futon, she just had to help her girlfriend with her own family issues, and she has more residual stress in her life from having a traditional nine to five job. When I look at it that way, I think I would've snapped too". London paused. "Between Achilles' elephant analogy and realizing how much of our emotions are driven by factors outside of our control, I'm starting to question how much free will we actually have".

A pair of convention goers sat down at a coffee table near the three. They were loudly and passionately arguing about something that sounded completely alien to those outside their fandom.

"Perhaps the two of you should finish this heart-to-heart in our room," Paul suggested.

"That'd be wise," London agreed.

02 September 1991 A

"Here's where one of you will be staying". A man wearing jeans and a hoodie opened the door to a university dorm room. He gestured at the interior, directing the gazes of London, Shropshire, and Achilles toward the plain white brick walls. The room had no furnishing aside from a bunk bed and a desk. "The other one of you will be staying in a room that looks just like this, only mirrored and one floor up. Otherwise, it's the same room. If one of you has strong opinions about the chirality of your room I'd recommend working that out before you get settled in".

"Doctor Davis?" London ventured.

"Please, just call me Nate".

"Nate, how long do you think this experiment will last?"

"Uhh… I'm not entirely sure. I currently have an arrangement with public safety where I'm guaranteed to be able to use these rooms for two weeks and then we'll talk again if the experiment needs to go on for longer".

"Do you think it's going to go beyond those two weeks?"

"It's difficult to tell. We have a tradeoff where I want to get this paper published as soon as possible, but the more data we collect, the more likely it is to be accepted. I'm thinking we'd go for a month, that should be enough time to get to a very high certainty that the results aren't random chance even after taking into account any potential recollection errors. I promise you'll be able to go home before Christmas though".

London winced.

"Is there an issue?"

"No, I've just heard that one before".

Shropshire spoke up. "Will we be able to have guests over?"

Nate thought for a moment. "I didn't think about that. I think it should be fine if you have someone over so long as they leave before we give you your numbers for the night. It's probably also fine if they stay after as long as they stay in your room until we talk with you in the morning. We'll be careful and not have overnight stays before I talk with a couple other colleagues and see if there's any way that could cause an unforeseen information leak".

"How about food?" Achilles blurted.

"We're working with the university to get the two of you set up with a meal plan".

"I'll be sure to make the most of it".

Nate looked around. "Are there any other questions?"

"Have you thought about the mechanism that caused them to alternate between timelines?" London asked.

"I have not".

"Do you think this is related to the many worlds interpretation?"

"Nope".

"Really?"

"Yes".

"What makes you dismiss it so fast?"

"Well, we don't know if the many worlds interpretation is correct. If it were, it depends on the branching timelines being unable to interact with each other. Also with all the quantum events that happen, the odds that whatever event that put your sisters in this predicament happening to both of them specifically at the exact same time seem too low to even consider".

"I'm not their sister," Achilles clarified.

"My bad".

"What do you think is going on then?" London asked.

"I honestly have no idea. There are so many people who are smarter than me in the field, so my plan is to just write down what we observe and hope that we catch the interest of those people. It'd be nice if we also catch the interest of some cognitive scientists. I honestly think they'd be at least as useful as physicists here".

"What if they don't believe you?"

"That's almost better. If we can get one high-profile skeptic, then we can make a bet with each other and guarantee at least one replication experiment. And then if we can convince them, then it will be easier to get the rest of the field to look into this".

Shropshire stared through the room out the window.

Achilles noticed. "Do you think you're going to want this room?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen the other one".

"That's wise. You have to make sure it's kayrality or whatever is good first. Is something on your mind?"

"So what time do you ladies want to set curfew?" Nate asked, not noticing the other conversation going on.

"Uhh… What time works for you?" Shropshire returned.

"Any time works for us, I just want to make sure it's the same time every night to put less stress on the people running the experiment with me".

"How about midnight?" Achilles suggested.

"Midnight works. Report to your rooms by midnight and we'll slide you each a six-digit code under your doors. Trade those codes in the other timeline and tell us what you got, and then you'll be free until it's midnight again. Understood?"

"Yes", Shropshire and Achilles said in unison.

02 September 1991 B

"One five two six eight oh. One five two six eight oh". Shropshire kept repeating to herself.

"I think I have the number memorized at this point". London walked next to her sister in the park next to the university campus. "I don't think it matters how the information travels through this timeline, it just has to get to Achilles somehow".

"I need to practice memorizing these numbers if I'm going to be doing this for the next few weeks".

"If you insist".

"One five two six eight oh…"

The two spotted Achilles ahead. She was talking with Nate when she noticed the pair. She waved them over. "Good morning!"

"Good morning! How's everything?"

"I already spotted a flaw in the experiment to revise". Achilles smiled. "I might not be the brightest star shell in the magazine, but I'm better than shooting in the dark".

"So what's the issue?"

Nate spoke up. "If we're going to have both of you swap codes in both directions every day in both timelines, then every morning you'll have to remember two codes. One is the answer you need to give to me in that timeline and the other one is the one you need to exchange with each other. We figured it would be too easy to mix the two codes up, so we're going to tell the other timeline me that we're changing the experiment so that only one of you has to give a code to the other".

Shropshire blinked. "Sorry, I think you need to walk me through how we're actually changing the experiment a bit slower".

"From your perspective, you'll only be given a code in timeline A. Or B. One or the other. I guess we'll call it timeline X. In X you'll be given a code. That code you then give to Achilles in timeline Y. Wait, does this work…" Nate put a palm on his forehead. "I might've gotten myself mixed up. Because if Achilles is given her code in Y, then Shropshire has to learn it in X, and then that mean the next day she'll still have the same problem of bringing two codes into Y, the one she needs to report to confirm she got Achilles' in timeline X and the one she has to trade with Achilles…" Nate gazed up into the sky to collect his thoughts.

The three former cruisers exchanged confused looks.

"Ok, I think I got it!" Nate spoke quickly as if he needed to get the thoughts into the air lest they disappear. "In both timelines, only one of you gets the code. This person is the same person in both timelines. And then we can just alternate after a week. Oh wait, I forgot!" Nate extended his hand out towards London and Shropshire. "Hi, I'm Nate. Nice to meet you two, though one of you has already met me. Which one of you is the one who hasn't?"

London shook his hand. "That would be me. Nice to meet you, I'm London".

"And the other thing I wanted to say, I think Nate in the other timeline hasn't looked at the binomial distribution of this experiment if he thinks we need to be going for a month. I did the math over the weekend. We're doing six digits of information a day, and they're ordered, so it's a ten percent chance you get any of them correct by guessing. If we just do five days of trials, that will be thirty trials. Even if you get half of them correct, the odds of that happening by chance are on the order of ten to the negative eight!"

"What does that mean?" Shropshire asked.

"It's very unlikely," London answered.

"It also means we probably can just fit this experiment into two weeks," Nate explained. "And then the two of you can go home and enjoy your free time until either you're recalled for the replication experiments or die in World War Three".

"That's a relief. Then we can get back to Sydney and let Aussie go home".

"Achilles, you just live locally, right?"

"Yes," Achilles confirmed.

"Well, in that case, I think we should isolate Shropshire for the first week. Then she can do the rest of the experiment from home".

"Wait, how?" Shropshire asked. "I thought we both needed to be in a room".

"Well, we only need to keep the two of you from interacting. To keep that from happening, we just need to keep one of you isolated from the rest of the world. The other one of you can just continue your life as usual".

"And then we can be home in time for London's launch day". Shropshire grinned.

Achilles spoke up. "So then where is whoever is being isolated going to stay?"

"That might be a bit more tricky. There's a dorm room that I know isn't being used, but I can't get permission to use it because this isn't an 'official' experiment. My girlfriend is adamant that she can pick the lock on it and act as a supervisor to make sure neither of you leaves overnight, so we can attempt that if you feel comfortable".

"I'm fine with that".

"And then I think whoever is going to be the one given the code first should be the one in the dorm. This is just a hunch, but my gut feeling is that it's easier to keep information from escaping the room than making sure it doesn't get into the room".

Shropshire grinned. "I think this might be the first time something went smoother than expected in this timeline".

"What about rescuing Paul?" London inquired.

"Ok, but to be fair we were expecting the absolute worst, so I'm not sure that counts".

"You still need to tell me that story," Achilles reminded.

"Maybe when the statute of limitations is up".

"I don't gossip with Ajax anymore, your secrets are safe with me now".

"Let's get back on task," Nate interrupted. "So as for the rest of the experiment, what we'll do is we'll have an arbitrary curfew, afterwhich whoever is getting the code first is kept in the dorm room. I'll slide the code under the door. You will not be released until I hear the code from the other one of you, after that point you're free until the next curfew. Is that roughly what's happening in the other timeline?"

"Roughly".

"Does midnight work as a curfew?"

"It does".

"Good. Then I'll see you later tonight".

"So, Shropshire," Achilles pulled a notepad out of her coat pocket. "Since you're going to be the code master first, what was your code from the other timeline?"

"It was…" Shropshire paused for a second to think of the code. "It was one… five…"

"One five two eight six zero" London interrupted.

"Thank you!" Achilles scribbled down the numbers.

08 September 1991 B

"I'm just saying, I'm not sure how I finished that mural is the best". Paul complained from the back seat as London pulled into their driveway.

"What do you mean? Letting all the children help you finish is like something out of a movie," Shropshire countered. "And it's incredibly cute".

"But what kind of artist am I if I can't finish my work?"

"You put a lot more effort into it than that urinal guy," London argued as she turned off the engine.

"The point of art is to convey ideas and spark discussion! All Dunchamp had to do was buy a urinal and now he's still living rent-free in the head of art elitists and philosophers worldwide. If any piece of art won the twentieth century, it's Fountain".

"If the point of art is to spark discussion, then I think the fact that we've been arguing about your mural for the last three days indicates that it's your best work yet".

Paul humphed, realizing that he lost the argument.

The three got out of their car and approached their front door. Shropshire inserted the keys into the knob and slowly pushed the door open. Inside, she saw Australia asleep on the futon, bathed in the blue glow of the twenty-four-hour news. A stack of pizza boxes laid at her feet. Shropshire turned on the light, revealing a gas mask next to Australia. "Aussie?"

Australia jolted awake. She quickly reached to her side and locked eyes with Shropshire. When she recognized her cousin, her posture slackened. "Fuckin strewth mate, you startled me. Sorry, I meant to be out of here earlier today, but it looks like I fell asleep".

"Did you almost pull your gun on me?"

"No…"

"Aussie".

"Ok, maybe".

"Why do you have a gun holstered when you're watching the tele?"

"I didn't know when the Soviets would start World War Three, so I had to be prepared if the VDV dropped on this house".

London walked through the front door. "What the bloody hell would the Soviets want with Australia?"

"Well with all of NATO on alert in the Balkans, this would be the last place they'd expect a strike".

"You mean the Baltics?" London squinted at the TV. "Since when did we have this channel?"

"I got cable while you were gone so I could keep the twenty-four-hour news on. Don't worry, they have my payment information".

"And the gas mask?"

"Who knows when the peace talks with Ukraine and Moldova will fall apart or some Uzbek rebels will make their way into Kazakhstan and seize the missile silos and start a nuclear war. I don't want to be breathing all those alpha-emitting particles from the fallout".

"Did the news say anything about any of the central Asian republics that we missed?"

"There've only said there was a huge general strike in Tashkent, but we don't have the full picture. Fog of war!"

"Why does Waffles have a knife‽" Paul exclaimed.

Shropshire noticed Waffles carrying a hunting knife in his mouth. She immediately ran towards him. "Waffles! Drop it!"

"I couldn't be on guard twenty-four-seven, so I needed him to be on watch while I was sleeping," Australia explained. "Trained him myself".

"Well, at least we're never going to forget to feed him ever again," London mused.

"At least not more than once," Paul added.

"Wait a sec, I'm really confused". London pushed her fingers into her scalp. "How would the VDV even get here? They're not going to move that cursed carrier of theirs without the United States noticing and blowing it to bits".

"They could do a long-range airdrop with midair refueling like the bomber aircraft the yanks used in Iraq or the limeys in The Falklands"

"'Limey‽' Australia, you're aware you and your sisters were all born into an upper-class English family, right?"

"That was like a lifetime ago!"

London sighed. "How about we clean up, then you can stay the night and we can send you home tomorrow?"

"Y'know, London," Paul interjected, "When we take into account your extended family, you might still be way better than average at coping with stress".