Daniel had already deduced that— it was not what puzzled him.

“You traced the decoding of thought so precisely that you inadvertently latched into the realm of space-time, allowing you to read space-time itself and the possible futures held within it”.

Mother’s explanation surprised him— he did not realize he could so easily decode space-time; this could produce so many fascinating possibilities.

“Do not tamper with it,” Mother said. “A counter-force within that realm seeks to destroy us. You must not engage in the decoding of space-time without my supervision. Release her now. Her death would compromise our mission.”

Daniel returned his attention to Michelle’s physical form. Droplets of sweat ran down Michelle’s face and her body was shaking. Her active health readings showed an imbalance in the stability of the delicate human machine— Mother was right, she could die if he continued.