Divergence

would tell the same story.

And eventually there was a dawn.

Edward never quite grasped the subsequent events. To begin with, Maurice kept trying to explain things to him, but there was too much to look at. The storm had passed, but now they viewed a world in transition: a bright shifting dawn.

Great, rainbow-striped teardrop ships—just like the original Eva Rye —were spontaneously forming amongst the ever-shifting landscape, and they watched time and time again as disparate groups of people climbed on board through the rear exit hatch, all of them wearing the familiar slippery shapes of n-string bracelets on their wrists.

“Everyone on Earth has an equal quantity of material allocated to them to begin with,” Maurice explained. “Some people are pooling their share to make ships like the Eva Rye . They are heading off now to begin trading.”

Edward smiled at the thought. “We need to get back to our ship.”

“How do we do that, Edward?” Maurice asked, looking at his console. “All of the Lite train tracks will be gone. There is no property held in common anymore. Everyone is taking their fair share of what’s available.”

“But the Lite train tracks don’t belong to them!” Edward protested. “We need them to get back to our ship.”

Maurice wasn’t really listening, still too busy staring at his console. Staring but smiling. Saskia explained instead.

“But who did the Lite train tracks belong to, Edward?”

“Everyone!”

“I suppose you’re right,” Saskia said thoughtfully. “But I don’t think that’s how we used to think. This is going to take a bit of getting used to.” An idea occurred to her. “Maybe we can get a lift from one of these FE ships,” she said brightly, pointing to three nearby rainbow teardrop ships that bobbed above the silver ground like tethered balloons.

“Maybe you can,” Maurice said with quiet satisfaction. He was now scanning the cold blue sky. Edward looked up, too, wondering what he was searching for. There was music on the cold wind, the smell of spices and newness. Then Edward saw it in the distance: a dark speck, coming closer.

“Are you leaving us, Maurice?” Judy asked. She limped along behind them, one arm over Constantine’s shoulder.

“Yes,” Maurice said simply.

Edward felt a pain deep in his stomach. He was surprised to find tears pricking at his eyes.

“But why, Maurice?” he asked.

At first, Edward didn’t think that Maurice was going to answer. When he did, his voice had lost its usual impatience.

“I’ve done my work on the Eva Rye, Edward. We all have. Now I’ve bought myself a place on another ship.” He gave a sly smile. “The Fourier Transform. ”

“You work fast,” said Saskia, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

“Don’t be like that, Saskia. You didn’t expect us to stay together forever, did you?”

“Well, no, but…”

“But what about Saskia?” Edward asked. “I thought you and she were friends!”

He looked from the man to the woman, honestly confused. Maurice smiled back, almost sympathetically.

“No, Edward, it’s not like that. Well, we are friends, but…” He hesitated, lost for words. In the end he settled for giving the big man a simple hug.

Awkwardly, they disengaged. Edward looked at Judy for an explanation.

“Are you sure about this, Maurice?” she asked. “Who are you entering this ship as? You, or someone else?”