‹ Prequel: Stopping the World
Status: Begins Sunday, April 8th, 2012. Updated every-other week.
Pangaea
MTMA
“...What?” I ask. “Why?”
“I already told you, so that when it actually happens, there isn’t any protest to it,” Galilei explains. “The last thing we need is the Earth’s higher powers in a war, much less without anyone figuring it out. It’s never happened before, and forgoing everything else, I at least want that fact to stay that way.”
“I understand,” I said. “But how am I supposed to get three other people to agree with me? Much less people I’ve never met, who will probably think this idea is insane?”
“Marley, when the earth was stopped before, they were some of the first people to clue us in,” she said. “But you want to know the funny thing about that? They waited a day to do so, and after we realized the fact that the world’s global networks hadn’t seen any action for twenty-four hours. Tell me: why would they do that? If they don’t know you, why would they let you get away with it for as long as possible?”
“They did that? Really?” I asked her, not believing it. She nodded.
“And I honestly still don’t know why. I brought each of them in for questioning and none of them gave me a direct answer. So are you sure you’ve never met them? Because they were keeping quiet, for you. Which leaves me to believe that they won’t be totally opposed with this idea, seeing as they let that happen until we found out about it from other sources. So it shouldn’t be that hard to convince them.”
“But... why would they do that?” I asked her. “Why would they do that for me?”
“You’ve got me,” she said. “Especially considering in today’s society, it’s usually every man or woman for himself or herself.”
“I still don’t get it,” I continued, puzzled. She looked at me.
“So why don’t you ask them about it?” she asked. “You’ll never know until you do. And they’ll probably be easier to convince when you bring up your new idea compared to Darwin.”
“Everyone’s easier to convince compared to Darwin,” I pointed out. She laughed, the first time I ever witnessed her to do so. “But where do I begin with finding them?”
“I can help you with that part,” she answered. “But the asking part is totally you. If you want this to happen, you have to take control, Marley. Especially if you want it to happen the way you want it to.”
“You mean, it can really bring back Nick’s memory?” I asked, sounding hopeful. She looked straight at me.
“Yes, but it’s not just the process, Marley,” she said. “I think Amberly told you that because she didn’t want you to also know that it took me to do so. Give his memory back, I mean.”
“Oh,” I said.
“I can only guess she assumed that if this turned out positive, I would reward you,” she explained. “The process itself isn’t what took away his memory. I did.”
“Why?” I asked.
“You had to receive some sort of punishment for what you did,” she said. “And he was the only thing I could think of to take away. Call it cruel, but it had to be done. The world itself is too mighty of an object to be tossed around from person to person, so I wasn’t going to take that from you and go ahead and give it to someone else. Plus I believed you at least deserved a second chance with it, which is why I didn’t take away the world itself. You’re only human. Though if it happens again, you now know that it will indeed be taken away from you this time, if the plan goes wrong. I only give one more chance to people who make mistakes, not multiple ones.”
“Yeah, well, I would’ve rather you have taken that away before,” I said honestly. “I believe this situation is a lot worse.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, but finally, she spoke. “I’m glad you believe in love, Marley. It could really make things better in this world. But sadly, there are too many people that think on a more logical scale and have chosen to no longer believe in it, which is why things are the way they are now.”
“You say that like love’s a myth,” I said to her. She shrugged.
“It kind of is. But only those who use both sides of their brain still believe in it. While also believing the logical side of things as well. Though, I guess we wouldn’t be in this situation with you having an earth in the first place if we didn’t know you used more of your brain than others, now would we?”
-------------------------------------------------------------------
“So... the first person you have to talk to is Tulia Irvine,” Amberly stated, sounding like she was contemplating something. She actually stayed and waited for me instead of leaving like I thought she would. But then again, I guess she was curious about what all Galilei said since she wasn’t there to hear it herself. Either that, or she still wanted to be a part of the plan anyway for some reason. “I figure we’ll start with her since she’s probably the closest, being in South America. Remember, each of you are located on each of the four corners of the earth.”
“The world is circular, remember?” I said, making a circle motion. “I know you’re not basing this thought off of a flat world map.”
She hesitated, and I knew I got her exact thought. “Well, we’ll start with her anyway. South America is still technically attached to North America, if you consider Central America. There’s not as much ocean in between these two continents as there is compared to Asia and Australia.”
“Aw, indeed,” I agreed, surprised she even knew that. “How do you pronounce her name again? And... how do you know where she is?”
“Tulia,” Amberly repeated. “Like Julia, without the J. And because Galilei sent me the coordinates to each person.”
“She trusted you with the locations?” I asked. “Why didn’t she just give them to me before we left?”
“Because... I don’t know, so that I had them?” she suggested, holding up her phone. “Sending is much easier than writing them down. Plus, we probably left too quickly for her to program them into the earth for you.”
“Oh,” I said.
“You’re probably the least interesting name out of the bunch,” Amberly stated, getting back to the other world owners. “The other girls are McKenna Keegan and Anila Yuri.”
“McKenna’s a normal name,” I stated.
“Well, sure. But not as common as yours,” she said. “And all of your first initials abbreviate MTMA: Magnetic Transparent Media Adapter.”
“What?” I asked, not even knowing where to begin with translating that term.
“A.K.A., what each of you have,” Amberly said, grabbing my bag and holding it up for emphasis. That’s where the earth still was. “Though it’s technically not transparent. Or well, I guess it is to most peoples’ eyes.”
“Oh,” I said. “I’m not good with high tech terms, sorry. I’m surprised you even know what it means.”
“Some of this stuff has been engraved into my head since birth. Of course I know what it means.”
“By the way, why are you even still here helping me, Amberly? Galilei made it pretty clear that she didn’t really like your intentions of being involved. Even with that aside, you’re not really getting anything notable out of it, are you?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t asked this yet. Amberly paused before answering.
“Well, it’s still my duty to guard you, so I might as well make use of that, no? But now I’m primarily determined to prove to Galilei that this idea will work out, especially she’s had so little faith in me lately.”
“Really? You’re sure there’s nothing else really in it for you?”
“I have to gain my good title back if I’m ever going to take Daddy’s place. I won’t let anyone make me look permanently shameful, even if it’s just Galilei’s opinion. But she has a lot more power over my dad, and that alone could get my dad on her side depending on the bait she offers. Which, in turn, wouldn’t leave me with much if I don’t help you out with this seeing as there’s a chance of it working out and leaving a positive outcome.”
“Okaaaaay,” I drew out, not really sure if I believed her but also because that was probably the most intelligent explanation she’s ever given. I decided to move on, “Anyway, getting back to Tulia...” She sighed, and took her phone back out.
“They’re roughly in the same time zone,” she stated. “But it’s kind of late so we should probably head out tomorrow.”
“We have to get this done as soon as possible,” I pointed out to her. She rolled her eyes before looking at me.
“Yeah, but that also means in the most orderly fashion. We don’t want to scare the girl by showing up at seven o’clock on a random evening. Especially considering it may be even later than that when we actually find her.”
“How is it seven o’clock already?” I asked, confused. When we left it was only four o’clock, if that.
“Time speeds up when you visit either one of the world’s stations. They’re kind of stuck in this permanent slow-mo ever since you first stopped the world, to stay on top of things,” Amberly explained, as if I was the naive one now. Though I guess I kind of was because that explanation made little sense to me. “Look, quit protesting and let’s just go home for now. Tulia isn’t going anywhere.”
“I already told you, so that when it actually happens, there isn’t any protest to it,” Galilei explains. “The last thing we need is the Earth’s higher powers in a war, much less without anyone figuring it out. It’s never happened before, and forgoing everything else, I at least want that fact to stay that way.”
“I understand,” I said. “But how am I supposed to get three other people to agree with me? Much less people I’ve never met, who will probably think this idea is insane?”
“Marley, when the earth was stopped before, they were some of the first people to clue us in,” she said. “But you want to know the funny thing about that? They waited a day to do so, and after we realized the fact that the world’s global networks hadn’t seen any action for twenty-four hours. Tell me: why would they do that? If they don’t know you, why would they let you get away with it for as long as possible?”
“They did that? Really?” I asked her, not believing it. She nodded.
“And I honestly still don’t know why. I brought each of them in for questioning and none of them gave me a direct answer. So are you sure you’ve never met them? Because they were keeping quiet, for you. Which leaves me to believe that they won’t be totally opposed with this idea, seeing as they let that happen until we found out about it from other sources. So it shouldn’t be that hard to convince them.”
“But... why would they do that?” I asked her. “Why would they do that for me?”
“You’ve got me,” she said. “Especially considering in today’s society, it’s usually every man or woman for himself or herself.”
“I still don’t get it,” I continued, puzzled. She looked at me.
“So why don’t you ask them about it?” she asked. “You’ll never know until you do. And they’ll probably be easier to convince when you bring up your new idea compared to Darwin.”
“Everyone’s easier to convince compared to Darwin,” I pointed out. She laughed, the first time I ever witnessed her to do so. “But where do I begin with finding them?”
“I can help you with that part,” she answered. “But the asking part is totally you. If you want this to happen, you have to take control, Marley. Especially if you want it to happen the way you want it to.”
“You mean, it can really bring back Nick’s memory?” I asked, sounding hopeful. She looked straight at me.
“Yes, but it’s not just the process, Marley,” she said. “I think Amberly told you that because she didn’t want you to also know that it took me to do so. Give his memory back, I mean.”
“Oh,” I said.
“I can only guess she assumed that if this turned out positive, I would reward you,” she explained. “The process itself isn’t what took away his memory. I did.”
“Why?” I asked.
“You had to receive some sort of punishment for what you did,” she said. “And he was the only thing I could think of to take away. Call it cruel, but it had to be done. The world itself is too mighty of an object to be tossed around from person to person, so I wasn’t going to take that from you and go ahead and give it to someone else. Plus I believed you at least deserved a second chance with it, which is why I didn’t take away the world itself. You’re only human. Though if it happens again, you now know that it will indeed be taken away from you this time, if the plan goes wrong. I only give one more chance to people who make mistakes, not multiple ones.”
“Yeah, well, I would’ve rather you have taken that away before,” I said honestly. “I believe this situation is a lot worse.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, but finally, she spoke. “I’m glad you believe in love, Marley. It could really make things better in this world. But sadly, there are too many people that think on a more logical scale and have chosen to no longer believe in it, which is why things are the way they are now.”
“You say that like love’s a myth,” I said to her. She shrugged.
“It kind of is. But only those who use both sides of their brain still believe in it. While also believing the logical side of things as well. Though, I guess we wouldn’t be in this situation with you having an earth in the first place if we didn’t know you used more of your brain than others, now would we?”
-------------------------------------------------------------------
“So... the first person you have to talk to is Tulia Irvine,” Amberly stated, sounding like she was contemplating something. She actually stayed and waited for me instead of leaving like I thought she would. But then again, I guess she was curious about what all Galilei said since she wasn’t there to hear it herself. Either that, or she still wanted to be a part of the plan anyway for some reason. “I figure we’ll start with her since she’s probably the closest, being in South America. Remember, each of you are located on each of the four corners of the earth.”
“The world is circular, remember?” I said, making a circle motion. “I know you’re not basing this thought off of a flat world map.”
She hesitated, and I knew I got her exact thought. “Well, we’ll start with her anyway. South America is still technically attached to North America, if you consider Central America. There’s not as much ocean in between these two continents as there is compared to Asia and Australia.”
“Aw, indeed,” I agreed, surprised she even knew that. “How do you pronounce her name again? And... how do you know where she is?”
“Tulia,” Amberly repeated. “Like Julia, without the J. And because Galilei sent me the coordinates to each person.”
“She trusted you with the locations?” I asked. “Why didn’t she just give them to me before we left?”
“Because... I don’t know, so that I had them?” she suggested, holding up her phone. “Sending is much easier than writing them down. Plus, we probably left too quickly for her to program them into the earth for you.”
“Oh,” I said.
“You’re probably the least interesting name out of the bunch,” Amberly stated, getting back to the other world owners. “The other girls are McKenna Keegan and Anila Yuri.”
“McKenna’s a normal name,” I stated.
“Well, sure. But not as common as yours,” she said. “And all of your first initials abbreviate MTMA: Magnetic Transparent Media Adapter.”
“What?” I asked, not even knowing where to begin with translating that term.
“A.K.A., what each of you have,” Amberly said, grabbing my bag and holding it up for emphasis. That’s where the earth still was. “Though it’s technically not transparent. Or well, I guess it is to most peoples’ eyes.”
“Oh,” I said. “I’m not good with high tech terms, sorry. I’m surprised you even know what it means.”
“Some of this stuff has been engraved into my head since birth. Of course I know what it means.”
“By the way, why are you even still here helping me, Amberly? Galilei made it pretty clear that she didn’t really like your intentions of being involved. Even with that aside, you’re not really getting anything notable out of it, are you?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t asked this yet. Amberly paused before answering.
“Well, it’s still my duty to guard you, so I might as well make use of that, no? But now I’m primarily determined to prove to Galilei that this idea will work out, especially she’s had so little faith in me lately.”
“Really? You’re sure there’s nothing else really in it for you?”
“I have to gain my good title back if I’m ever going to take Daddy’s place. I won’t let anyone make me look permanently shameful, even if it’s just Galilei’s opinion. But she has a lot more power over my dad, and that alone could get my dad on her side depending on the bait she offers. Which, in turn, wouldn’t leave me with much if I don’t help you out with this seeing as there’s a chance of it working out and leaving a positive outcome.”
“Okaaaaay,” I drew out, not really sure if I believed her but also because that was probably the most intelligent explanation she’s ever given. I decided to move on, “Anyway, getting back to Tulia...” She sighed, and took her phone back out.
“They’re roughly in the same time zone,” she stated. “But it’s kind of late so we should probably head out tomorrow.”
“We have to get this done as soon as possible,” I pointed out to her. She rolled her eyes before looking at me.
“Yeah, but that also means in the most orderly fashion. We don’t want to scare the girl by showing up at seven o’clock on a random evening. Especially considering it may be even later than that when we actually find her.”
“How is it seven o’clock already?” I asked, confused. When we left it was only four o’clock, if that.
“Time speeds up when you visit either one of the world’s stations. They’re kind of stuck in this permanent slow-mo ever since you first stopped the world, to stay on top of things,” Amberly explained, as if I was the naive one now. Though I guess I kind of was because that explanation made little sense to me. “Look, quit protesting and let’s just go home for now. Tulia isn’t going anywhere.”
♠ ♠ ♠
I apologize for the delay in this. School has been keeping me busy, and... I put this off way more than I should have.But on the plus side, summer's coming soon. So I'll have more time to write and update. :)
What did you think of the chapter? Hm? Excited? New characters are going to be introduced soon. Slowly, but surely. :)
You can check out what Tulia looks like on the character's page. I can definitely verify she'll be introduced first. :) And just so you know, I can't really remember at the moment... but each of the character's names, whether it be their first or last, when I looked up their meanings... relate to the world they have. AKA water, wind, fire, and earth. You already know Marley's relates with her last name, but with the others, the same applies with their first or last name, or maybe even both. I can't remember at the moment; I looked them up a while ago. But in some way, they relate to the earth they have. I made sure to include that.
And that acronym with their names... MTMA... I have no idea if I translated that right. It's meaning. I just put into it how I thought it related with their situations. 'kay? I'm not an expert at the spelled out term.
What do you think? Do you think Amberly's being entirely truthful? What do you think will happen when she meets each of the other world owners? :o
Interesting stuff coming up, that's for sure.
Thanks to RunningFromHumanity, xoJellosxo, and RackRackCity; for commenting! I appreciate it! And extra thanks to RunningFromHumanity for recommending. If any of you other people have, or do, let me know, and you'll get extra recognition as well. I just point her out because I remember seeing that she did. lol. Sorry there's not actual links. I'm pressed for time. But they're all under the comments' link. :)
Let me know your thoughts/confusions/etc. Also let me know of any errors, if I made any. Hopefully the next one will be up soon. Sooner than this time, hopefully.
Short description, when you can finally see it, is lyrics to Without You, once again. I'm pretty sure they all will be from here on out. But I'll always say to verify anyway. :)