| So why is she here, now? Where is this place? What time is it, really?
These and other questions, in one form or another, are flashing through
various minds right now in the train and back near where Probe is right
now.
Not all of them will be immediately answered right away. Some might
not ever be fully answered satisfactorily. Why? Because right now, Probe
realizes that he is in the middle of a possible "situation." A situation
caused in part by his own well meaning actions. Yes, a young woman's life
was spared (as well as that of an yet unborn son of Roland), but in the
doing he may have caused a similar time paradox that nearly drove Jake
and Roland insane awhile ago (their point of view) when Roland prevented
one Jack Mort from pushing Jake to his death.
See, as stated earlier, Susan Delgrado died, burned alive while
Roland watched on via a magical glass balled (called Merlin's Grapefruit
due to it's color). The Grapefruit, sentient and evil, took great pleasure
in showing him this crime AND letting Roland know that Susan died along
with his unborn child.
But now, with her alive and well......
Probe's eyes then fall upon a hissing cat that has an extra set of legs.
"Musty I presume...." the AI/golem smiles grimly, suddenly remembering
the trick that his daughter and her friends played on some rogue NSA agents
long ago in another universe.
A quick swipe captures the malignant mutant cat and familiar to the
evil witch Rhea, and Probe has the thing he needs in what he hopes will
solve the problem he suddenly was thrust into here.
".....you mean to tell me that what I saw in the....It was the transformed
cat that burned?!" Roland asks Probe via the "communicator."
"Basically, yes it is.....was.....Musty the cat....and a bit of magic
string pulling for that unwilling puppet," Probe sighs as he and a quiet
Susan (both in magical disguise) head quietly back door he'd come through,
"I.....didn't want a time paradox to tear apart your mind like it last
time. If I had left things stand and your younger self viewed anything
else. I wish there had been another way to spare your younger self the
shock and pain, but....."
"Right," Roland says, dazed. "But....is she?....."
"Well, Susan?" Probe asks, turning and looking back at the young woman.
"No, no sense of....duality," she says, remembering this strange man's
explanation of what was at stake here (which she was still having trouble
grasping), "No sense of having died....but not."
"So....that's how it actually happened," the Gunslinger says, suddenly
seeing the possibilities here, "And...she's alive!"
"Here," Probe says, smiling, handing Susan his communicator as they
step through the doorway back into his study on Terra Prime, "I believe
Roland would like to catch up on old times."
A quick spell of invisibility hid the doorway to Roland's world
Oh, admittedly this whole business is exceedingly strange. But Roland
and Susan live in a world that is exceedingly strange! Not everything that
happens there is understandable to the inhabitants. Those who live there
have learned to cope with it by....well.....just "going with it." Tears
in eyes, Roland goes to a quiet corner of the train and softly speaks with
Susan.
However, the same cannot be said for Eddie, Susannah, and Oy (the billy-bungler)!
"Please, could someone tell me....tell us all what is going on
here?" Jake asks plaintively.
"‘Ere?" Oy echoes, also sounding plaintive.
"Do you mind if we listen in," Roland asks, after softly talking with
his first love that he'd thought was dead and dust.
-
 "We
shall try," Astra says, nodding, "Though I doubt that it will be easy to
swallow."
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