Chương 41: Chapter 40: The Anomaly (11/12/1983)

DATE: Saturday, November 12, 1983 LOCATION: Carlsbad, California | The Tillman Residence LOCAL TIME: 04: 00 AM The timeline had officially broken. I sat in the rocking chair in the nursery, holding a bundle that weighed seven pounds, four ounces. Her name was Amy. In the original timeline, Douglas and Sue Tillman stopped at four boys. Their divorce in 1981 meant no more children. But I had fixed the finances. I had saved the marriage. And the consequence of those actions was breathing in my arms.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" My dad stood in the doorway. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"She's tiny," I whispered, keeping my voice soft and childlike. I looked down at her, and a cold spike of terror pierced my gut. I knew everything about my brothers. I had the data. But Amy? She was a ghost. A true anomaly. She didn't exist in my memories of 2025.

"You okay, Chad?" Doug asked, stepping closer.

"You look... serious."

"I don't know her," I said simply. Doug laughed quietly, crouching beside the chair.

"None of us do, pal. We just met her."

"No," I said, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"I mean... I don't know what she's gonna be. I don't have a map for her." Doug put a heavy, warm hand on my shoulder.

"That's the best part, Chad. She's a blank page. She gets to be whatever she wants." I looked down at the anomaly. She was the first thing in this universe that was truly mine. Not a repair job. Not a hack. A creation of the new world I had built. I didn't have a map for her. She wasn't a rigid concrete pillar I could reinforce; she was a completely new, unpredictable force in the network. A living, breathing test of Bucky's tensegrity. I leaned in close, my lips brushing her forehead.

"Welcome to the world, Amy," I whispered.

"I'll build you a helmet."