Mars, the Bringer of War

[collector]

[Braxiatel is leaning against the information kiosk, idly drawing a logarithmic spiral in a pile of ashes beside him as he reads Nathan's brochure. He is smiling.]

Broderick would be so hurt.

[Brax neatly piles up Nathan's brochures, then vanishes. A moment later, there is a pile of the first brochures, and also: a sign.

Brax sets this sign up beside Nathan's brochures. It reads:

Nathan Explosion's Guide to Space:
Some language may not be appropriate for all audiences.
Reader discretion is advised.

What? It's not like he would remove Nathan's brochures. They rather tickle his fancy.]

Comments

[collector]

I'll get you the one with Odlaw, Woof, and the rest. There's one I quite like where it's a red-and-white flower showing. [turning the page] So the Machine does have a will?

[realitymods]

Are they other people to find? [She scans the page and shifts, feeling more comfort floating now. She lays out on the air, elbows propped above the table.] It does. There's a story about two women that fell in love but couldn't be together. They jumped into the Machine and it made them gods in another world. They're together now.

[collector]

Not in this one, no. [He observes her body language out of the corner of his eye] That's very kind of it. Surprisingly kind, giving what it got up to.

[realitymods]

[She points down again, smiling.] There he is. [Then she glances up.] I don't really understand it, either. It put me through hell. [Roe shrugs.] It's from outside these multiverses, so it probably thinks pretty differently, too.

[collector]

Oh, good. [He turns the page for her again] Then does it not have power over its own native universe?

[realitymods]

[She focuses on finding Wally, tucking her hair absently behind her ear.] I've never been there. Do you know what the Machine actually does? You must have a guess.

[collector]

[There's a slight, impulsive smile in response to her question, but he quickly masks it.] I have a working hypothesis. It . . . seemed the most logical thing. But given that it's from another universe, my logic may not be suited to it.

[realitymods]

[She notices, Brax, so you get a curious little smile from her as she points at Wally.] Go on. Try me.

[collector]

Very well. My theory is that . . . well, I know that it breaks the laws of thermodynamics. And that's really the most useful thing any machine could do.

[realitymods]

[Roe grins slightly and folds her arms on the desk, resting her head there and smiling at him.] Remember what I said I remember? I remember the universe dying. Why does a universe die?

[collector]

[a hint of a grin plays at the corner of his mouth] That depends on the universe, doesn't it? Big crunch, big rip, big bounce . . . heat death . . .

[realitymods]

[She laughs a little.] Right! The physics are always a little different. Just a enough, anyway. But it's usually thermodynamics' fault. You can't really beat it. Unless you can figure out the right equation. Then energy is yours. [She shrugs.] But I'm just the engineer. You know, maintenance.

[collector]

You're an engineer I'd like to have. It seems an awfully powerful machine to make and then abandon.