Contents
I. Existentialism — Tristan
Overview
Tristan receives a bureaucratic shock: HR announces a new, likely uninitiated archivist hire. He and Libby navigate guilt over the blast and nearly confess deeper feelings as Tristan subtly manipulates time.
Memories of Atlas’s doubts about Dalton and Parisa frame a fraying alliance. Nico’s sudden return interrupts Tristan and Libby at the brink of revelation.
Summary
In Atlas’s office, Tristan answers a ringing landline: Human Resources informs him of a new archivist hire with limited access, implying the recruit is uninitiated. After the call, Libby appears; they skirt telling HR about Atlas and briefly discuss the others’ whereabouts and Nico’s secure comms network.
Tristan receives taunting selfies from Callum outside Tristan’s father’s pub, weighing whether to respond. He then recalls a conversation with Atlas: Dalton has left, taking his books, and Atlas, weary and regretful, believes Dalton may return and that Parisa might leverage Dalton’s research. Atlas admits making grave mistakes but vows to fix them, then departs, leaving Tristan uneasy.
Upstairs, Libby confesses crushing guilt over the blast that opened the wormhole and its fallout. Tristan asks if she blames him; she says she would have done it eventually. Drawn together, Tristan slows time around them as they edge toward intimacy; Libby begins to articulate why she returned—because Tristan sees her—and nears a deeper admission.
Just as Tristan presses for the full truth, Nico arrives downstairs with a loud announcement, breaking the moment. Libby shuts down, and Tristan, cursing the interruption, recognizes their fragile, unresolved state amid Atlas’s absence and new institutional complications.
Who Appears
- Tristan CaineHolds Atlas’s office, fields HR about a new archivist, recalls Atlas’s doubts, receives Callum’s taunts, and nearly confesses feelings to Libby while bending time.
- Libby RhodesHaunted by guilt over the blast; seeks Tristan’s safety and understanding; approaches a vulnerable confession before Nico interrupts.
- Atlas BlakelyAbsent Caretaker; recalled expressing regret, reliance on Dalton’s research, and resignation about Parisa; leaves Tristan unsettled.
- Nico de VaronaReturns noisily, interrupting Tristan and Libby’s near-confession; previously set up the group’s secure communications.
- Callum NovaTaunts Tristan via selfies at Tristan’s father’s pub, needling their strained history from afar.
- Ford (Human Resources)HR representative who informs Tristan of a new archivist hire and insists on confidentiality.
- Parisa KamaliOff-page; discussed as potentially leveraging Dalton’s research and likely pursuing her own agenda.
- Dalton ElleryOff-page; has left with his books; central to Atlas’s plans and Parisa’s possible aims.
- ReinaMentioned as unpredictable and reachable; part of the group’s cautious communications network.