Chapter 18

Jason looked up from the partially assembled bed frame and leaned his head against the wall. After a few moments lost in thought, he spoke. "He actually said that?"

"Yeah, man," Tommy was sitting sideways on the small, tufted bench next to a stack of boxes. "I'm not really sure what they were talking about, but something set him off."

Jason twirled the wrench in his hands as he seemed to be tossing possible explanations around his mind. He stopped and looked up to meet Tommy's eyes. "Bro, you think he still has feelings for her?"

Tommy raised an eyebrow at this possibility. He hadn't considered the thought, but allowed it to resonate as he considered the last twenty-four hours. "I don't think so. His feelings have been pretty focused elsewhere."

Jason rubbed his chin, still unconvinced. "Come on, man. You know as well as I do it's possible to have your attention divided."

Tommy smiled, ready to counter this observation with his own philosophy, "Yeah, but it doesn't mean you can function like that."

Jason shook his head at Tommy's bad timing and bluff. He stood to lift the bed frame on its side, continuing to finish the assembly. "Listen, Tommy, I'm just worried about stepping on another guys toes. Right now, I'm cool with how things are going. But if it's gonna cause a big blow up between all of us, then forget it."

Tommy stood, reaching to hold up the other end of the bed frame as Jason balanced the unassembled pieces. "Hey man, I talked to him yesterday about where and who his feelings are focused on. I really don't think you have anything to worry about. I also had a talk with Tanya this morning on the way back."

Jason tightened his expression, "I told you no worries on that."

"But I think you'll thank me fore this one," Tommy grinned.

Jason held the frame and wrench, watching Tommy's eye's dance with the excitement of a secret he was dying to tell someone. "Alright, bro," he sighed, "let's hear it."

"She still likes you," Tommy said.

"Still?" Jason said, an air of unbelief stretching across the word.

Tommy raised his eyebrow again, "Jase, you had to know she had a crush on you. She gave you the key to her heart."

"Auric, Tommy. It was the key to Auric. Not her heart, bro," Jason said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Hey, it was the key to finding her parents and her life. Same thing as her heart," Tommy said.

Jason blinked a few times at his roommate's logic. "Yeah, okay. By that logic, you should have the heart of nearly all the girls by now."

Tommy let the words sink in, "Who says I don't."

Jason opened his mouth in opposition. However, before he could speak, they heard the front door close with a soft thud.

"It's just me, guys," Billy's voice called from the other room.

"Wow, that was quick," Jason said to Tommy as the two gently lowered the bed frame back to the floor. "Billy, we're back in Tanya's room."

Within a few moments, Billy appeared in the doorway to the bright and sunny bedroom. His face was slightly drawn with a look of worry.

Tommy immediately noticed his countenance, but waited for Billy to divulge. He knew from over the years of their friendship that if Billy wanted to open up, he would and on his own terms.

Billy leaned against the doorway, stopping just at the threshold of the carpeted bedroom and tiled floor of the hallway. "Thanks for letting me run this program on your computer, Tommy."

"Hey man, glad I can help," Tommy said. "But what exactly do you expect to get out of it anyway?"

Billy ran his hand through his hair, and then returned it to his pocket. "Did I, um, mention that this was an interesting morning?"

Tommy glanced at Jason quickly before turning back to Billy, "You said something about a repeating loop earlier."
"Yeah, bro, I still don't get what you're referring to," Jason said.

Billy gripped the hem of his pockets with his hands, as he tried to find something for them to do while he let the explanation rehearse in his mind. "I guess I should explain this better. You see…a loop is essentially computer code that repeats automatically through conditions set in the program. As long as those conditions are true—in other words they are met—the loop will run until the conditions are no longer being met, or the loop is broken. It allows us to repeat an action over the course of the program or continue asking a question to the user until the answer is satisfied," he paused, "I hope that makes sense."

Tommy nodded in agreement, his face fixed in thought as he pondered the details.

"Actually, Billy, that makes sense in terms of computer programs—or what little I understand from being around you. But I'm still not understanding how this all fits into what happened today and how this random number program solves the problem," Jason said.

"This morning when I went over to Adam and Rocky's place, there was a time disturbance that forced us—well, Kim and me—into a sort of loop of this structure. I was initially attempting to reach Aisha to discuss some of the other disturbances we have been monitoring in our lab and elsewhere when this occurred." Billy said.

Tommy looked up, "Wait, Billy, why were you going over to their place to reach Aisha?"

Jason raised an eyebrow at Tommy as Billy's face seemed to twist into an unreadable emotion.

"We, um, decided to all have breakfast at their place before heading out," Billy said, pausing to give himself a chance to regain his mental footing. "So, apparently after I ate, I left the apartment only to re-enter without memory as I repeated the same actions and words until Aisha and Adam broke the loop…sort of."

Tommy tilted his head and shot a skeptical glance towards Billy. He decided, however, to probe in a different direction. "Hey, do you think this could be the work of something—or someone—we've already encountered?"

"Well, to be honest, I don't see any evidence that this could be the work of one of our known adversaries," Billy said. He then hesitated before adding, "But, there is always the possibility we are dealing with a phenomenon not caused by evil…but the world we are in."

"You mean, like, a natural phenomenon?" Jason asked.

"I hope so," Billy said. "Either way, running a program that generates number sets randomly across several different computers will give me a better idea of the nature of the phenomena. Since each computer is different from the other—has a different processor, differing operating systems, and clock speed—the number sets generated should vary across each computer. Even though the program runs the same set of instructions, we should generate different outcomes…if our world is as it appears."

Tommy's eyes widened at Billy's last statement. He considered the one question he never thought to ask and held it with the many thoughts playing in his mind. He was quite confident that Billy could and would answer this question. He also knew that Jason had considered the possibility over the last few years, more so since they moved in together. However, it was Tommy who could not bring the words to form from his own tongue. The thought expressed would seem reckless to speak as he still considered himself the leader of their team—the one they looked to as the firm and steady hand in battle. They didn't need his wavering in a time of confusion, and this certainly was not the time to voice doubt about their own world until further evidence presented itself. He thought carefully, realizing the silence the room had taken on as all three of the occupants were visibly pondering Billy's explanations.

"Billy," Tommy finally spoke, "what would be your conclusion if all of our computers generated the same set of numbers?"

Billy looked up to the freshly painted ceiling as a long exhale escaped him, "Let's just say…that is what we do not want to see."