Chapter 6

In which they journey to Kingman, Arizona - and, on the way, discuss Dr. Sigma Klim, try to decipher Delta's actions, and place a decision in Sean's hands.

Even though the three of them are standing a floor above where the woman stands, Phi can recognize that quirky, but beautiful, caged bluebird pendant anywhere. The chain of her necklace is definitely shorter than the one she recalls, but the pendant is definitely the same.

As the kind, familiar-looking redhead gently laughs at one of Carlos's jokes, Phi realizes that beside her, Sigma's body has gone completely rigid. Her face immediately whips to his. "Is that . . . the human Luna? What the hell is she doing here?" she hisses.

Sigma doesn't respond to her, but simply murmurs to himself a word so softly that Phi cannot completely catch it — she thinks he has said whispered something about dying.

"Luna? No, that is Diana," Akane whispers back from the other side of Sigma. "She's a participant who works as a nurse in a hospital in Portland. If Carlos is the group leader, then she is his assistant leader, of sorts; really, though, she is in charge of overseeing our heath conditions and is to tell Carlos to have the conjunction stopped if a participant is seriously ill or injured."

Phi stays silent, unsurprised that Akane knows all of the information, but Sigma is aghast. "A-Akane . . . how do you know this?" he asks shakily, grasping onto the railing of the balcony they are on and gripping tightly, causing his knuckles to turn white.

But Phi is bewildered by the actions of the supposed calm and collected Dr. Sigma Klim; why is he so shaken up by this all?

If Akane notices his strange behavior, as well, she doesn't give any indication of it. "When our computer expert, Nona, hacked the Desert Research Institute's records to add our names onto the participant list, Carlos's and Diana's profiles were up at the top."

Akane doesn't mention how suspiciously quick Nona was at breaking into their database — yes, Nona is a very talented hacker, but even she was surprised at how easy it was to do this. Since then, Akane has had a feeling that they are falling into a trap of sorts, but has asked Nona to keep mum about it all. It is unfair for her to keep this a secret from Sigma, Phi, and Aoi, but it is a small price to pay for saving the world from Radical-6.

She suddenly turns to where Sigma holds on to the railing and stares at Diana, realizing he seems distressed by Diana. "Sigma, are you alright?" she asks concernedly, placing a hand on his shoulder. She racks her brain for anything related to Diana from the morphic transmissions she received from her older self on Thanksgiving of this year. She can't remember anything, but realizes that Diana must be someone of significance. "She's not related to the release of Radical-6, is she?"

"N-No, no," he grunts back, as if he is in physical pain. "She's just someone I know from my past. I'm just taken aback that's she is here and am worried for her."

Akane nods in understanding. She knows exactly how he feels. She still can't even shake off the feelings of anxiety and worry since Junpei is here, where Radical-6 is supposed to be released, too . . . .

.

"Wait, so you're saying that the tenth check was actually for Sean?" Junpei asks groggily, voice thick with sleep, as he shifts around in the wooden chair of the table. Next to him, Akane rubs his arm soothingly.

"Yes," Phi replies, across from him, as she lightly scratches the back of Gab's ear, as he rests in her lap. She sits next to Diana, who has leaned her head on Phi's shoulder.

It's a miracle they have sneaked out of the Nevada Test Site undetected . . . or maybe it's just all part of an elaborate scheme that there were no officers at any checkpoints or barricade points. Whatever it may be, Phi has decided to stop driving for the day. Sigma, who is now behind the wheel and explaining to Carlos what transpired with the check (which resulted the shouting that had startled Carlos awake), and Carlos, who helps navigate his route on the highway with the GPS, can figure out how to get them to safety. Sean sits on the passenger seat behind Carlos, enraptured by them — or perhaps, just by Sigma. Phi suspects that after Sigma's promise to help Sean, he feels indebt to him, and, therefore, is following him around.

All the while, Eric and Mira argue in hushed whispers on one of the couches — Mira's voice is angry, and slightly confused, but Eric's voice is soothing, coaxing, and calm, which seems rather strange to Phi. Shouldn't it be the other way around? No matter the case, it is none of Phi's business.

"So, why was it in Sigma's name?"

"Well, it had to be for two reasons. The first is a little broader and only answers why the check could not be in Sean's name: he can't go and cash a check by himself, can he?"

"Right."

"And also, the check was for Dr. Klim — Sigma's official title from the future we came from, where Radical-6 was released."

"But Sigma's a human doctor, right? How can he help Sean?"

"Actually, Sigma was — is — a doctor of engineering. In our timeline, he went on to create Luna, a GAULEM, er, a term he coined for his robots — "

"General-purpose AUtonomous-Control Labor Electronic Machine!" Sigma's voice shouts loudly from the driver's seat.

Phi rolls her eyes. "Yeah, that. Anyway, Luna is a GAULEM he created by constructing a cybernetic frame for her structure, and he made use of Artificial Biological Tissue, which is an artificial skin, to essentially give her an appearance less like a robot and more human. Now that I think about it, though, he must have based Luna off of Diana."

"Me? Is that because he said I spent three years on the moon with him in that future?"

Phi is surprised to hear that, but she doesn't let it show. "I didn't know that, but if you were with him for three years after he failed to contain Radical-6, then it makes the most sense."

"Luna . . . she is the one you thought Diana was when you first saw her at the Desert Research Institute," Akane states.

Phi nods. "Yes."

"Oh, so, Sigma can make Sean a head and everything!"

"Yes," she repeats again, nodding once more. Then her reddish eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Tenmyouji, what made you think Sigma's a doctor that treats people, instead of someone with a doctorate degree?" she asks curiously.

"Oh, well, um . . ." He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. "He did help Diana give birth to you, since they both were the only ones left alive in the facility in that one timeline."

Phi nods, though, internally, she is slightly annoyed to recall that small detail — she would never find it in herself to forgive that bastard all that he put Sigma and Diana through. "I see."

"And, hey, Phi," Junpei starts out hesitantly, "I have to ask. Why do you and Sigma call me by my last name?"

The corners of Phi's lips turn upward into a smirk. "I was waiting to see when you'd ask. We call you Tenmyouji because that's how you introduced yourself to us in the AB Game, in the future that we are fro — "

"The AB Game? What?!" Junpei grits his teeth, recalling. "Carlos and I had to play that to escape one of the rooms."

"What?" Phi is taken aback. "But if your BP dropped to 0, you'd have nothing to lose."

Junpei's face turns grave. "That's where you are wrong, Phi. If Carlos' BP dropped to 0, he, Sigma, and Diana would die . . . and my BP dropping to 0 meant you and Akane would die with me."

"Are you fucking kidding me?! What was that old bastard trying to achieve?!" Phi growls angrily.

"I'll explain everything about our votes, but only if you explain everything that happened in your AB game and why I was there."

Phi sighs, crossing her arms over her chest, but she nods. This is going to take a while . . . .

.

After Phi recounts the events of the timeline she is from to Junpei, Akane, and Diana, Mira walks up to them, leaving a stoic Eric on the couch. "Why didn't Delta try to SHIFT before?" she asks immediately, with no greeting or prelude.

Akane raises an eyebrow. "Before?"

"In that timeline where the Force Quit box activated self-destruction of the bomb shelter and forced us to SHIFT to the timeline where we won the initial coin toss," Mira explains.

"Right." Junpei nods. "He did Mind Hack Eric to shoot the gun at him, after all."

"Hmm, I think . . ." Diana looks thoughtful as she speaks. "It was because he had to explain to us the reasons why the whole Decision Game took place — mainly, to have us motivated to stop the terrorist attack."

"Complex motives." Junpei scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest.

Phi takes on a face of concentration. "Well, isn't there a chance that Carlos was right and that the old bastard actually did SHIFT, or at least, try to, though?"

"And why would he not Mind Hack Carlos?" Mira adds.

"He could have SHIFTed for all we know," Akane says thoughtfully, as she cracks the tension out of her knuckles. "And if Delta had Mind Hacked Carlos, he would have known for certain that he was going to die, and, perhaps, it would take away from the danger and fear. But not Mind Hacking Carlos left a fear of the unfamiliar and, thereby, increased feelings of trepidation, I'd bet; it added more to the feeling of danger and gave a higher chance for him, a non-SHIFTer, to SHIFT. Do you understand what I mean?" The four of them nod.

"It's the fear of the unknown, then," Phi states in clarification.

"Exactly." Akane smiles back, pleased with the reception of her explanation.

Mira still doesn't seem satisfied, though. "But, guys, we don't even know if Carlos is right. Did Delta really SHIFT?" she points out, as she folds her arms over her chest.

"Well, think about it like this: why would he go through so much to ensure his existence, only to throw it all away in the end?" Akane points out, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "He had to have SHIFTed."

"Hey, guys!" Carlos and Sigma call out. "Look at the window! We're passing by the Hoover Dam!" which marks the end of their discussion, as they all immediately press their noses to the windows and marvel at the dam.

The remainder of their journey to Kingman is peaceful and friendly and fully of laughs, and they even stop at In-and-Out Burger to eat, since Phi and Carlos are shocked that the others have never had such glorious fast-food cuisine, and that Sigma can't remember its taste.

The adults bask in the glory of burgers, grilled cheeses (for a vegetarian Akane and a curious Mira), milkshakes, sodas, plain fries and animal fires, while Sean sits and watches them, raptured by the feeling of satiating hunger through food. They all chat quietly about the food.

It when Sean asks where he and Gab will go, however, that the arguments erupt.

Most of the fight is over Gab, really, (and in the end, it's decided that Carlos will take care of Gab), but Sigma does remind Eric and Mira that Delta given Sean money in his name, so he can technically claim a right over the boy. Mira and Eric, however, insist that Sigma should fix Sean's head onto his body, and then send him back to Nebraska, where the couple is from, but Sigma gives Sean the option to stay with him after that, and help him with his research. Together, they can learn more about Sean and develop a GAULEM — which would give way for Sigma being able to learn even more about GAULEMs, and get an idea on updates and improvements Sean can receive in the future. Eric strongly opposes the idea, insisting that since Sean was a part of Q-team, and that is where he belongs, but Mira sits silently for a moment before declaring that it should be Sean's decision.

(Junpei and Mira are surprised they haven't been asked to leave, but the place is so empty, — probably since it is New Year's Day — that maybe the employees are happy to see people in the restaurant. They're even more surprised, though, that the In-and-Out staff doesn't seem fazed by Sean's helmet.)

Phi is probably the most disappointed that she doesn't get to keep ownership of Gab, but with a devious smile, she assures that she has cooked up a solution.

She knows Sigma might never speak to her again if she tells him that she plans to adopt a cat, so she keeps mum about her plans.

When they reach Kingman at sunset, Phi then recalls that Carlos also is the proud owner of a cat. A smirk crosses her face at the thought. She has never heard cat puns out come out of the mouth of 67-year-old Sigma's conscious, and she can't wait to see everyone else's reactions to his litter tic. Oh, this will be fun.