001 [Forever voice for the illiterate cowboy]

[aintnothingfair]

[There's some of the usual scrambling when someone from, well, ass-end of nowhere meets technology. It doesn't take long for him to figure out how to use the damn thing.]

So that button turns it on and this one turns it o--[There's a click before a couple moments later, John's back

Comments

[mrs_persson]

"New Austin"?

[aintnothingfair]

North of Nuevo Pariso, Mexico and West of Elizabeth, Texas.

[mrs_persson]

Interesting. I've only encountered one Austin in my travels.

I'm Una Persson, by the way. Warden and chrononaut. Welcome aboard, Mr Marston.

[aintnothingfair]

I've only encountered New Austin, so I guess that makes us fair.

Nice to meet you, Miss Presson. If you don't mind my askin', I don't rightly get that chrononaut title there.

[mrs_persson]

Time traveller. One of a few here, actually.

[aintnothingfair]

Time traveller? Well I reckon I never met one'a them before.

So... what time're you from, Miss Presson?

[mrs_persson]

It's a rare enough talent, even where I come from.

I mostly operate in England and Europe, late twentieth century.

[aintnothingfair]

Even rarer where I hail.

You ever been to 1911?

[mrs_persson]

Several of them, in fact.

[aintnothingfair]

Several?

[mrs_persson]

Parallel universes. I do those as well as points in time.

[aintnothingfair]

'scuse me miss, but could you explain that?

[mrs_persson]

I'm sorry-I sometimes forget that not everyone is used to these concepts.

Time and the universe-they're not really straight lines: A happens, then B, then C. It's more like the branches of a tree, or the forkings of a river. So there might be, for example, one version of 1914 where an enormous war breaks out all over Europe, and another where the war doesn't happen for another five years.

I can travel not simply in time, then, but also between those different-well, we call them time-streams, or timelines, or parallels.

This is him just... not understanding that at all.

[aintnothingfair]

Huh, well that's a neat trick, I guess.

Una's really not _trying_ to confuse him...

[mrs_persson]

Yes, it is rather.

What do you do when you're at home, Mr Marston?

Hahahahaha

[aintnothingfair]

Well lately I been lookin' for two guys Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella.