They spent the morning laughing through stories stitched from two different timelines—his frozen in 2008, theirs racing seventeen years ahead. For the first time, conversation flowed without fear of what he might forget. The world had caught up to him, and somehow, with effort, he’d caught up to it.
Rachel told Helen she’d petitioned to reinstate every one of her brother’s papers. “He’ll get proper credit now,” she said proudly. The new geothermal protocol, The Ward Guidelines, would bear his name. Caleb listened, smiling softly. “Good,” he murmured. “This time they might read past the footnotes.”