He dried his forehead with one hand and looked for a hair tie in the pocket of his lab coat. Lifting the large mass of dreadlocks, he secured them with the hair tie. It seemed as if the room had become warmer.

  He let out a whistle and, sitting down in the only chair that still had cushioning on the back, picked up his tablet to write a report on Harper's arrival with her new boyfriend.

  Transtemporal Transfer Laboratory Report

  Subject: Quinn, Harper. From Exeter, Ailill

  Harper Quinn's return was recorded at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday, 6 March, 4500 D.G.M. on the Titan timeline. The explorer brought with her a recruit from the year 510 B.C. A man with a hostile attitude and prone to aggression.

  The reintroduction process proceeded as normal, with the subjects passing through the portal and entering the disinfection chamber. The man behaved antagonistically.

  They were received by Doctor Vantor Gell, Doctor Irinna Montoya, and Synnabar Valley. Both subjects were found to be in excellent health. There is nothing to report to MS.

  He reread his words multiple times to ensure that he did not make the mistake of betraying any of his acquaintances. Any slight allusion to someone's emotional stability would condemn them to months in MS.

  He deleted the words ‘Hostile and prone to aggression’ and replaced them with ‘appropriate attitude.’ It wasn't a lie; almost everyone who went through the disinfectant chamber came out in a terrible mood, and to top it off, a Celtic man, white as snow, who grew up surrounded by other people as white as snow, seeing skin tones radically different from his own for the first time was bound to be unsettled. It was the same with all recruits from isolated ethnic groups around the world, which was quite amusing to everyone in the office; in the end, everyone got used to the diversity of skin tones at the AEONALIZE facility.

  However, much to his disappointment, Ailill did not seem particularly surprised. Perhaps he had seen more of the world than one would expect.

  Harper would surely have a better frame of reference on the matter, as she had explored the Cornwall area on multiple occasions and was familiar with the geography and culture of the place.

  As far as Vantor knew, the Celts were a bunch of naked, nature-loving savages, but he wasn't an expert on them; his thing was 22nd-century New France. Now, that was interesting.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  In reality, all the employees lived monotonous lives. In the year 4500 A.G.M. (‘after the great migration’), AEONALIZE scientists had almost perfected perpetual youth, and new virus mutations were almost non-existent within the AEONALIZE complex. There wasn't much to worry about, and as a result, everyone was overcome by a deep, grey boredom.

  Fortunately, there was always gossip. For example, the rumours surrounding Syn Valley, the greatest psychopath known to man.

  Syn had fraternised and fornicated with three-quarters of the inhabitants of AEONALIZE LIVING, and it was even said that he had had the occasional chance encounter with the owner of the company.

  Harper Quinn had been one of those unfortunate inhabitants, and so far, she seemed to be the one who suffered the most from the romantic disappointment.

  But now she was back with a new recruit, a man even taller than Syn, even paler and with an even more disturbed look. A man who, from the way they spoke to each other, already seemed quite attached to her.

  Vantor wouldn't know exactly what had happened between them until he checked the drones' memory cards, but Harper seemed very interested in her protégé, holding his hand throughout the disinfection process. She also made an effort to apologise on behalf of the newcomer every time he offended someone.

  Or at least he had apologised to Irinna and Vantor, while she didn't even look at Syn.

  The whole interaction was delightful. Irinna covered her smiling face with her tablet and Syn was pale as death. The idiot was probably hoping that Harper would spend more time depressed about her failed relationship. That was Synnabar for you, always trying to be the centre of the universe. No matter how many lovers he turned into enemies, he made sure that all the gossip was always focused on him.

  None of the three could understand what Ailill was shouting, as their brain implants had not yet been updated with the newcomer's language. In fact, one of Harper's goals was to train the AI in the native language. Missions to new places usually began with the explorer travelling through villages, posing as a foreigner or a madman so that people would speak freely in front of them, letting the brain implant do its work.

  Harper must have been in the same timeline at least ten times before she found her recruit candidate, and then another ten to gather information about his death. Maybe she fell in love with him at first sight, or maybe it was a calculated move to irritate Syn. Either way, it would be fun for everyone.

  Vantor left his work tablet on the desk and took a small roll of clear plastic out of his pocket. Unrolling it and holding it up to his eyes, his brain chip projected the image of his neural network of contacts.

  He searched for Irinna's profile by sliding his finger across the plastic and saw that she had not yet made any public comments about the newcomer.

  A victorious smile spread across his face: he would get the scoop!

  In his mind, he dictated a short text, something intriguing but not revealing, and without mentioning any names so that Syn couldn't report him without giving himself away. When he was satisfied, he tapped the corner of the plastic with two fingers and sent the message to the neural network. Soon, everyone in the AEONALIZE complex would know that there was a newcomer, but more importantly, they would know that Vantor was the first to know that there was a newcomer.

  Perhaps Irinna would see the message and be annoyed that she wasn't the first to write about it. Maybe she would even be so annoyed that she would come and comment on it, and he would have to feign innocence. That would lead to a conversation, which he would then have to continue in the cafeteria... who knows, it might turn out to be pleasant.