Chapter 358: Paper Doll Chains 2
"The paper doll chains are only to give you an idea of how complex the idea of time can be, especially when we are experiencing it in a certain way, filtering it through our minds and our bodies in the line or chain that we have grown accustomed," Maggie told Sage.
"The multiple dimensions that make up our universe are similar, although even more complex. We might think of them as layers, fixed and parallel to each other without overlapping or intersecting like that paper that makes up the dolls. But it is also not so simple," she continued.
Sage’s brow furrowed as he tried to consider this, too. "It is too confusing," he shook his head.
"I know, it is confusing. But as long as you understand that these concepts are not simple, then that is enough. When your mother created this place for the vampire, she did something that is very, very complex. She created a new dimension in space, so it is not surprising that there would be strange anomalies here like with the way time behaves."
"When Nedra was here with us that one time, we asked her about it—about how plants grow so quickly here and yet we do not. She said that it has to do with the geometry of this dimension. When we move through space here, we are moving across multiple dimensions all folded up tightly together and stacked like paper. Time passes, but we pass right along with it. If, on the other hand, we do not move—if we stay rooted in one place like that ancient tree—then we stop passing with time like its companion, and it passes us instead," she explained.
Sage squinted as he tried to wrap his mind around what Maggie was saying. It was hard to think of this as truth, but there had to be some explanation as to why time was strange here. Did it really just have to do with how much they moved? Was that what she was saying?
"So, Dolores..." he turned around again toward the other room.
"Dolores is trying to age as quickly as she can," Maggie said. "It started out as an experiment to test what Nedra told us. And when Dolores realized she could age more quickly, she decided that is what she wanted to do. She has lost hope, you see," Maggie frowned.
Her friend had lost hope long ago, and now all Dolores did was remain in her bed waiting for time to finally swallow her up.
"What happens when you sleep?" he asked, turning back to Maggie.
"Well we of course age a little bit," Maggie shrugged. "It just hasn’t been enough to accumulate quickly. I am sure since I have been here that I have aged a few years at least. Nedra told us that since we are in smaller confined rooms compared to everyone else that we should make it a point to stay active. If we are rooted like that tree..."
"Then you will age quickly. Like Dolores," he finished for her. "The vampire doesn’t know about it?"
"He sees the result of it with the trees and plants just as everyone else on the island does. He just doesn’t know why it is happening, and I doubt he knows that his lycans and us alyko will age if we stay rooted in one spot. At least, that is what your mother believes. I think it pleases her when he does not understand something," she told him.
"He hasn’t noticed Dolores?" Sage asked.
"They don’t pay that much attention to us anymore unless they need something, but that is rare. Now we are more like collectible items kept behind glass," she said. "Perhaps they will notice once she is elderly that Dolores has been aging faster."
"Wow," he said simply. "I could become a teenager quickly," his eyes grew wide, causing Maggie to chuckle.
"I suppose if you wanted to, you could. But that would be quite a change for you. For us, it is not so drastic," she laughed. "This is why I can’t understand how Nedra had two children. It is so surprising, although I suppose if she understands the way time works here, she could figure it out."
"She left," he nodded. "She left the island in order to have us."
"Oh, I am sure she did. But she probably wouldn’t have had to leave for too long," she said. "Only in the later stages so she wouldn’t be caught. If she stayed unmoving long enough, she probably could have succeeded in growing you two faster."
"I don’t know," he shrugged. The way Selah explained it made it sound like Nedra had to live outside of this portal for the entirety of her pregnancies, but who knows how much she even understood about it. This place was so confusing.
"I wonder if Seth knows about you," Maggie whispered to herself, causing Sage’s ears to perk up.
"Seth?" he asked.
"Oh, um..." she bit her lip.
Seth had to be their father. Everyone on the island knew how Seth and Nedra felt about each other and that he was the reason she continued to do what the vampire wished. But perhaps this pup did not even know the identity of his father. If he hadn’t met Nedra, he definitely hadn’t met Seth.
The question was whether Seth knew of Sage and his sister’s existence. He seemed like the kind of male who would care to know them, but then being the vampire’s second put him in an incredibly difficult position. If Zagan got his hands on them, they would become lab rats even more than the rest of the alyko. They would probably be experimented on... and Sage would be considered highly valuable being Nedra’s son and a rare male alyko.
"Is Seth my father?" Sage asked, curiosity gleaming brightly in his eyes.
"I... I don’t know the answer to that," she replied, trying to be careful about it. But when she saw the way Sage’s hopeful expression wilted, she added, "But everyone knows that Nedra and Seth are very close and they always have been. I imagine that it is so. There is no one else that I can think of."
"And his name starts with an ’S’," Sage smiled, satisfied by that simple fact.
