“You can’t tell for sure?” Thomas asked, surprised.
“Accessing this world’s databases is no problem,” the assistant assured him, “but they are primitive and far from cohesive or sensible. Many appear to be designed, as the God Emperor has previously said, by committee. It is far more interesting that Jennifer Delaney is currently on the planet.”
There were few things that could surprise Thomas, but that was one of them. Never in all his timelines had the Irish girl returned to Earth. He had spoken with several of her iterations, and all of them had felt it was no longer a place where she fit. “What?”
“It was a direct result of the destruction of galactic civilisation,” the assistant explained. “She was brought back here to help promote efforts to help other worlds.”
That was another thing he’d never seen before, and it did not sit well with him. Most timelines were only minor deviations from his own, and this one should be no exception. Everything the local scout had reported was completely consistent with his expectations, and nothing reported by the scout from the other timeline had been any different.
Somewhere along the way another variable had been introduced, and the assistant had no idea what it was. “Maybe she can shed some light on what’s caused all this,” he mused. “I’ll leave the resource gathering to you, assistant. I will travel to see Jen—I assume she doesn’t know who I am?”
“The chances are slim,” the assistant replied. “I have no indication that your primitive time clone had any desire or ability to contact her. As far as I can tell she should not even know your name. The internet confirms she is currently attending the San Andreas memorial celebrations, which she is using as a platform to help promote human participation in galactic events in spite of the loss of a city.”
“Well,” he said with a predatory smile, “she’s just as noble as I remember. That should make the rest of this so much easier.”
++++
++++
End of Chapter