Vortex Read Free Page B

chick from hotel rooftop)
    Jacob (just learned his name. Helped crash that wedding in Martha’s Vineyard)
    Edward (also just learned his name. The dude that showed up when the storm hit on
     the boat with Holly, Dad, and Adam)
    Harold (dead. Dad shot him in the 2007 timeline. Apparently he’s a clone made by Dr.
     Ludwig)
    Based on bloodwork drawn from the EOTs Tempest has been able to capture at one point
     or another, some show strong evidence of the Tempus gene and some have it hidden in
     their blood, harder or almost impossible to locate. Mine is hidden. Dr. Melvin suspects
     they each have different years of origin and therefore are either further or not as
     far along in the evolution process. Not the monkeys-turning-to-humans evolution, the
     kind where normal people turn to time travelers. So, does it eventually become harder
     to detect the Tempus gene in blood or did it start that way?
    And do the EOTs, like, have a meeting place … or a meeting year? What would that invitation
     look like?

    Dear EOTs,
    Let’s all gather in 1984 … sometime in July. Maybe at the Empire State Building. Bring
     a future snack to share because McDonald’s is frying their food in animal fat in this
     year and we wouldn’t want that type of lard to invade the future. Please check your
     calendars and make sure you don’t have any planned attacks in July 1984. If you do,
     let me know which day might work best for you.
    Love,
    Thomas

    APRIL 3, 2009
    Found a report in the CIA database from October 2005—the last time Thomas was sighted
     in this timeline. It was Dad that he sought out. Dad recorded a three-minute conversation
     muffled slightly by the sound of wind and New York City traffic in the background.
     It went like this:
    Thomas: We’re sorry to hear about Axelle Product A. Dr. Ludwig thinks he may have
     a solution to prevent the tumors … with the other subject, anyway.
    Agent Meyer: I’m not interested in any of Dr. Ludwig’s solutions, Thomas. But I think
     you already know that.
    Thomas: His scans show no signs of cancer?
    Agent Meyer: His brain function is that of a normal fifteen-year-old boy in the year
     2005. Axelle appears to be nothing but several million dollars not worth spending.
    Thomas: I see. And your continued interest in the boy is motivated by what, exactly…?
    Agent Meyer: Human compassion. Something you know nothing about.
    Thomas: I know everything there is to know about human compassion. I just choose not
     to be trapped by it. But you have nothing to worry about, Agent Meyer. We have no
     interest in Product B. Not unless things change, and it doesn’t look like that will
     happen.
    Agent Meyer: And if it does?
    Thomas: Then I suppose we’ll be seeing each other again.
    The conversation ended there and the report states that Dad fired three shots, but
     Thomas vanished, leaving him no outcome to record. Obviously Thomas survived, since
     he found me when things did start changing. I wonder, how soon after my first jump,
     in November 2008, did they figure out what I could do?

    APRIL 9, 2009
    The art of time travel. That’s what we’re studying now. I’m on the edge of my seat
     memorizing every word that Dad, Marshall, or Dr. Melvin says. Then I have to go back
     to my journal later and apply the facts to my own experience. Basically, what I learned
     so far is that half-jumps don’t count as anything related to timelines. Actually,
     I had to ask Dad this in private because I couldn’t exactly raise my hand and say,
     “Hey Dr. Melvin … when I’m time-traveling using my gene from a cloned person…” All
     12 of my teammates would simultaneously draw their guns and point them at me. Or maybe
     the idea is so out there that they’d just begin treating me for heat exhaustion.
    For some reason, learning that those jumps almost don’t count makes me feel a little
     more grounded to one place. Less lost. From the time I was born—June 20, 1990—to the
     date I left when I