Chapter 12: Schrödinger’s Sister
Alice stepped closer to the workbench, her eyes narrowing as she studied the hyperactive mechanic before her.
Blue was bright, scientific, and hopelessly eccentric.
But...
Something felt fundamentally wrong.
Blue didn't feel like Tony.
Alice frowned. The body standing in front of her was undeniably his, yet the presence behind those eyes felt... different. It reminded her of Pink.
Not Tony.
Not quite Pink, either.
It was as if she were looking at someone who belonged to Pink more than Tony.
A cold knot formed in Alice's stomach.
She walked forward until she was standing directly in front of Blue.
Blue immediately beamed.
"Alice!"
Alice managed a small smile.
"...You're different from Tony's other forms."
Blue blinked thoughtfully, adjusting the brim of her leather mechanic's hat before looking up at the ceiling.
"Hm... that is an excellent observation."
She tapped her chin with the wrench.
"At this precise moment..."
"...I cannot detect Tony at all."
The entire breakroom froze.
Maya stopped breathing.
Suki's eyes narrowed.
Miss Marcy tightened her grip on the confiscated paper bag.
Even Riley looked up from her thoughts.
Blue winced.
"...Pink cannot find him either."
Silence.
Blue scratched the back of her neck.
"She's currently running around the headspace screaming his name."
"...White is missing as well."
Alice blinked once.
Twice.
"...Blue?"
Her voice came out barely above a whisper.
"...What do you mean you can't find Tony?"
Blue sighed.
"I possess several hypotheses."
Maya immediately pointed at her.
"How many end with Tony being okay?"
Blue paused.
"...One."
"...How many don't?" Maya asked nervously.
Blue looked away.
"...Several."
"...That's not comforting."
"No," Blue admitted. "It is not."
She took a slow breath before her excitement returned, if only slightly.
"Imagine Schrödinger's cat."
Riley nodded immediately.
"The cat exists in a superposition until observation."
"Precisely!"
Blue exclaimed.
"But..."
She hesitated.
"...what if there were two boxes?"
The room fell silent.
Blue slowly looked around at everyone.
"One belonged to Tony."
She swallowed.
"...The other belonged to Pink."
Nobody spoke.
Riley felt her heart begin to race.
"...Wait."
She stepped forward, almost afraid to ask.
"...Pink has her own... internal system?"
Blue nodded slowly.
"That is currently my leading hypothesis."
"...I cannot prove it."
"...But it explains every observation we have."
Riley's mind immediately started racing.
"If that's true..."
"...then the emotional forms we've seen..."
"...aren't Tony's..."
Blue smiled apologetically.
"...They may belong to Pink."
Alice's heart sank.
"...Then where's Tony?"
Blue looked down at her boots.
"I do not believe Tony has ceased to exist."
Hope flickered across Alice's face.
Blue continued.
"...Unfortunately..."
"...I also cannot currently prove that statement."
The hope wavered.
Blue sighed.
"I think we're asking the wrong question."
Everyone looked at her.
"The question isn't..."
"'Did Tony disappear?'"
She tapped the side of her head.
"It's..."
"'Why does Pink have a headspace at all?'"
Silence settled over the breakroom like a heavy blanket.
From a nearby table, the magical girl who had quietly corrected Blue's quantum physics earlier slowly lowered her book.
"...That's..."
She adjusted her glasses.
"...actually a much scarier question."
No one disagreed.
Alice quietly clasped her hands together.
She closed her eyes.
No.
Tony wasn't gone.
He couldn't be.
Somewhere...
Somehow...
He was still there.
She just had to find him.