OOM: X meets Autor in the aftermath of Noriko's backhand

[herr_bookman]

Autor had to come back for his ink eventually, and was pleased to find that the bottles weren't disturbed. He fills them carefully, corking them shut, and starts in on the process of washing the dishes he used.

Comments

[cutting_edgex23]

"We knew someone's time machine had broken. So they could only go forward. And they were being chased."

X does not shrug this time.

"So we followed them. To intercept."

A pause.

"It worked."

[herr_bookman]

"That's good," Autor says. He wishes he had some tea; temporal discussions always benefit from tea. "By whom were they being chased?"

[cutting_edgex23]

"Someone who thought they would destroy the future."

[herr_bookman]

"That never makes sense to me," Autor says, resisting the urge to scratch his head. "If they destroyed the future that they, too, were a part of, there would be nothing left for them. People who do that must be really angry at the world."

[cutting_edgex23]

"He thought he could save it. But he was wrong."

A pause.

"Killing children is not -- good."

For one.

"He hated his own timeline, too. That did not help."

[herr_bookman]

Autor pulls a disgusted face. His response is swift, immediate. "No, killing children is awful," he says. "I'm glad you stopped him. I wonder why he didn't simply go live in another timeline rather than trying to destroy his own."

He frowns again, shaking his head. "Have you ever traveled to the past?"

[cutting_edgex23]

X shakes her head, just once.

"Not yet."

[herr_bookman]

"Your life is full of impossibilities, X," Autor says, and the corner of his mouth quirks into a smile. "Thank you for telling me of some of them."

[cutting_edgex23]

"I am used to it," X allows.

It is not a demurral.

"You do not just have to find me if someone is trying to hit you."

She is just saying.

"Talking will be okay, too."

[herr_bookman]

Autor smiles truly at that. "I appreciate that. I'll track you down sometime."

[cutting_edgex23]

"I will do the same."

X is really good at tracking.

"Do not get killed."

And then she turns to go.