Work Text:
On April 27, 2007, Larry surprises Charlie at CalSci. He calls the knotted cords "Aztec" rather than "Quipu," but he explains their meaning beautifully. Charlie smiles, realizing how much he missed being around Larry, and accepts the invitation to the Santa Monica beach, where Larry stays post-return. Larry details his space transcendence—a sublime feeling he fights to keep. Charlie finds Larry's speaking beautiful, not for the first time. Six months in space, no contact; it feels insane. Time went fast, and Charlie was at work, neglecting his girlfriend. Other times, it slowed, wishing he could envision a solution with Larry. Charlie sighs, lying back on the warm sand, eyes closing as Larry drones. The words fade. He hears knocking, then footsteps, followed by Larry’s voice, disjointed.
"Oh… Some assistance in my brazen attack on the Lorenz invariance?"
"No," Amita’s voice replies, "drag coefficient models."
Charlie snaps his eyes open. He looks over.
"Drag co... drag on what?"
"Bullets."
"Bullets as in ballistic trajectories defined by the Einstein Equivalence Principle, related to the Lorenz frame?"
"As in, bullets that kill people."
"Oh."
Charlie feels lost, watching the familiar, rapid exchange. He glances at the LED watch on Amita's wrist: 04/15/05. April 15, 2005.
"There seems to be some disagreements over the sniper's expertise," Amita is saying.
"I'd say the public's decided on the question," Larry says, "I have an aunt who lives two blocks from the first shooting. She's afraid to go out on her front lawn now."
Charlie offers, "She has a better chance of being mauled by a bear."
"Actually, statistics would favor the bear being mauled by my aunt, but..."
Charlie laughs. He's missed this. He'll worry about breaking the space-time continuum later. Larry is talking about arbitrary, inescapable death and paths not taken.
"Thinking about wormholes, huh?" Charlie asks.
Larry smiles: "Exactly."
Amita asks, "Wormholes?"
"Children," Charlie says.
Amita replies, "I'm not following."
"Well, they exist only in the theoretical realm, but—"
Charlie continues, "They're portals into the unreachable future and unattainable past."
Amita adds, "Well, I can see where you might have some trouble selling a woman on the idea of 'carrying your wormhole.'"
Charlie, looking fondly at Larry, replies, "I wonder if science will change in the future so men can carry wormholes."