Chapter 12: Prima Facie
Anonymous, Wakan Roei Shu 293:
How uncertain:
Even through a rift in the morning mists,
I cannot see who it might be—
Flower of morning faces.
Olivia entered the lab, followed closely by Broyles and Agent Lincoln Lee. Olivia looked terrible: hair uncombed, clothes wrinkled, face pale.
"Olivia, what happened?" Astrid asked. Then she noticed Broyles had a gun pointed steadily at her. "What's going on?"
Broyles explained. "This is not Olivia Dunham, at least not our Olivia Dunham. She claims to be from the same universe as Peter Bishop."
Walter stood up. "How exciting! It's just like a spy movie. Would you like me to examine her?"
"That is precisely what we'd like you to do, Dr. Bishop. We want to make sure she isn't a shapeshifter. Until we determine that much, she is to be considered extremely dangerous and kept restrained."
He and Lincoln strapped her in to a surgical chair. Olivia didn't protest. She knew trying to resist at this point would be a risky and suspicious move on her part.
Astrid was staring at her like she expected them all to say this was some kind of joke at any moment. Olivia smiled at her. "Hi Astrid. Nice to meet you. I'm sure we'll be properly introduced later."
"And Dr. Bishop," Broyles handed Walter a small device they'd found along with her gun and Peter's silver coin when they searched her. It looked like an LED light sealed in a watertight plastic sleeve. "Do you have any idea what this could be?"
"You could ask me," Olivia suggested. "I'll cooperate. It's one of two quantum entangled lights that my Dr. Bishop made so we could send messages to each other in Morse code."
"We've seen technology like that before. The shapeshifters from the other side used quantum entangled typewriters to communicate."
"They did in my universe, too. That's where we got the idea. This light isn't as sophisticated as their typewriter, but it's the best Walter could come up with on short notice."
"Delightful! I could use this to send messages to myself. That reminds me of a time when I sent a colleague a message encoded as Morse code in the lengths of repetitions of junk DNA in the genome of a c. elegans. I believe the message pertained to the size of his research assistant's bust line."
"Can you determine if she is who she says she is?" Broyles inquired sternly.
"I don't believe so. But I may be able to tell if she is a shapeshifter. I find that when one goes about studying a specimen with an open mind, you find answers to questions you didn't even know you had asked."
Broyles nodded, satisfied. He turned to Lincoln and Astrid. "Remember, if she is a shapeshifter, she is incredibly dangerous. Do not let your guard down."
Walter began connecting monitoring devices to Olivia. She watched him, wondering about the differences she saw in him. She hadn't really had a chance to talk to Peter, and didn't know how much was different here.
Peter had said he died here. What did he mean by that?
"They have Peter locked up. Apparently he had to run away to find me," Olivia said to Walter. "If you're anything like the Walter Bishop I know, you must be upset by that."
Walter paused and stared at her. "That man is not my son, and you are not Agent Dunham."
"When did Peter die?" she asked.
Walter continued his work before answering. "He died as a child, of a rare genetic condition."
"My Walter's son died the same way. He made a gate to another universe to save the Peter from over there, and after he saved his life, he raised him as his own son."
Walter trembled, and tightened an electrode over her arm so hard that she winced.
Broyles stepped toward her. "How did you come to our universe?" he asked.
"I have a natural ability to cross universes, which was enhanced by the Cortexiphan treatments I underwent as a child." She glanced at Walter, wondering if the same trials had occurred here. "My Walter put me in an enhanced dream state, which allowed my mind to locate Peter, and then he took me to Reiden Lake, where the line between dimensions is thinnest, and I crossed over."
"And what is your intention now that you're here?"
"To bring Peter back," she answered. "To bring him back with me, to where we belong."
"How do you plan on doing that?"
She took a beat to answer. That part of the plan was a bit vague. "I can take objects with me when I cross. Clothes, my gun, that light. It takes more energy the more I take, but I believe I could pull Peter along with me when I cross back."
Broyles stared at her hard. "How long have you known Peter Bishop?"
"Over three years now."
"When did he disappear from your universe?"
"The Sixth of May, 9:56 P.M."
Broyles glanced up at Astrid. They both realized that was around the same time the Machine had made the gate between universes, which matched with Peter's account.
Which didn't mean much. A shapeshifter could have come by that knowledge some other way.
Broyles frowned. If she was telling the truth, and she and Peter were from a world almost identical to theirs, she would know classified details about the Fringe Division.
This Other Olivia was staring at him challengingly, waiting for him to ask her anything.
She didn't even flinch when Walter took a blood sample.
"I know you're not going to just trust me," she said, looking Broyles in the eye. "You didn't when we first started working together, either. You're someone whose trust has to be earned. I know that. But I earned your trust before and I intend to again."
The door to the lab opened and Agent Dunham entered. She stared at the woman in restraints. It was always disconcerting seeing someone who looked just like her. She wondered how identical twins got used to it.
Broyles went to her. "What did Peter Bishop tell you?"
"He says she contacted him in a dream to tell him where to meet her," she said.
"And you believe him?"
Agent Dunham considered that question. "I believe that he believes it. But to be honest..."
"This whole situation is difficult to believe."
She nodded. "But we've seen weirder stuff."
Walter was still running tests on the other Olivia, with Astrid's help. Astrid was talking with the subject, mostly asking her questions about Peter. It sounded like a friendly chat, but Agent Dunham noticed Astrid was steering the conversation to include things Peter had told them about, subtly testing her.
It was well over an hour before Walter smiled at them and clapped. "That's it!" he declared.
Broyles turned toward him, intensely interested. "That's what, Dr. Bishop?"
"That's all the tests I can think to run on her. Physiologically, this woman is the same as Agent Dunham, right down to the fingerprints, though it does appear she's healed from fewer broken bones in her lifetime than our Agent Dunham has."
Broyles nodded and looked at Astrid. "Do you concur, Agent Farnsworth?"
"As far as I can tell, she is who she says she is," Astrid replied with a shrug.
Dunham and Broyles exchanged glances. It would have been one thing if they found something out of the ordinary, but since they didn't know how to distinguish the newest generation of shapeshifters from the humans they impersonated, so far they'd proven nothing.
"She could still be a shapeshifter," Agent Dunham stated.
"But the likelihood is she isn't."
"Should we let her go?"
"We can't take the chance."
"What other choice do we have?"
They discussed the question in murmured tones for several minutes. Olivia watched from where she was still restrained in the chair.
"I would love to study you further, my dear," Walter said to her. "You and our Agent Dunham would provide fantastic subjects for various nature versus nurture debates."
"I'd like that too," she said absently. She was trying to hear what this universe's version of her and Broyles were saying.
Broyles glanced back at her for a moment, then they left the room.
They returned a few minutes later and spoke to Agent Lee.
Olivia didn't hear what they said to him, but he didn't like it.
"What? No! That's...I'm not having anything to do with it."
"Lincoln..." Agent Dunham started.
"How can you even be considering that?"
"It's the only way. If you don't like it, you may leave," Broyles said.
Lincoln looked up at Olivia, shook his head, and then stalked out of the room.
Broyles and Dunham came back toward Walter, Astrid, and Olivia.
"Oh Agent Dunham," Walter said, "I would like to study you and this new Olivia side by side."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible," said Broyles. "Dr. Bishop, Agent Farnsworth, could you step out of the room please?"
Astrid looked confused, but complied.
"I will not leave my lab and my test subject unattended," Walter said. "At least without knowing what you plan to do with them."
Agent Dunham explained. "There's no way to tell if this woman is me or a shapeshifter."
"And that makes her too dangerous, even if restrained," said Broyles. "If a shapeshifter took Agent Dunham's place, she could bring down Fringe Division."
"Which leaves us with one option," Dunham said, frowning. She looked at Olivia. "I'm sorry."
Broyles took out his gun and aimed it directly at her head.
Olivia's eyes widened. She shook her head. She had trouble believing what was happening. "Don't kill me, please. Run more tests, keep me confined, but don't kill me. I'm as human as you are."
His hand trembled, but his eyes were steel.
"The Phillip Broyles I know would never do this. We're friends. I trust you with my life. If you kill me, you'll regret it."
"Dunham, Dr. Bishop, you should leave too," Broyles recommended.
Walter looked stunned, and didn't move.
"I'm staying here," Dunham said.
Broyles nodded. He didn't take his eyes or gun off Olivia.
"Please," Olivia breathed. "I just wanted to see Peter."
Agent Dunham moved next to Walter, watching him in case he made a move.
"It's the only option," Broyles said. "I'm sorry, Miss Dunham."