Page 5 of Delirium

The man’s eyes widened. James stared at me like I’d grown a second head.

“Jump!” I repeated. “It’s not that far! Throw your backpack first!” If he waited any longer, it would be too late.

The man gave one last glance over his shoulder, before tossing me his backpack, and stepping back. Behind him, the chaos in the marketplace grew louder. With a running start, he leaped, easily crossing the distance between the boat and the dock.

He landed on the deck with a solid thunk, rolling until he could sit up. His chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath, but he coughed out a, “Thanks.”

Nash killed the engine, the noisesCarpe Diemmade grinding to a halt, but he was right about the current. It kept pulling us further and faster away from the dock. The captain came to stand with us. I waited for his praise, or a ‘well done’ for not letting his passenger miss the boat, by any means necessary. Instead, he was silent.

“Well,” Nash began. “I’m not going to say I’m not impressed with the thought process, but you missed one minor detail, darling.”

I cocked my head, waiting for him to continue.

“You see, our last passenger was supposed to be a man named Daniel.”

“Okay, and?”

Nash pointed to the large airplane tag strapped to the newest arrival’s backpack. “What does that say?”

I waited for my eyes to focus.Camp Hart.My jaw dropped, and I looked from the man I had just helped onto the boat, to the shouting cops who had just pushed through the crowd in the marketplace, to the nametag, and finally to Nash.

Nash chewed on his cheek. “So either way, you just helped our new friend here escape the police, and because of the current, I can’t turn this boat around until I get to the next fork.”

The words sank in. I had literally invited a criminal on board. Perhaps someone even scarier than Humphrey.

An adventure of a lifetime was one way to put it.

Chapter

Two

CAMP

Have you ever heard of the quantum immortality theory? It’ll fuck you up. It fucked me up for a long time, but I was only sixteen when I found out about it.

I guess that’s what I got for surfing those blogs my mom constantly told me to stay away from.

Anyway. Back to my original point. Quantum immortality.

It’s basically the theory that every time we have a near-death experience, our lives split off into two alternative universes. One is the path we’re currently on, obviously still alive, as I’m here, telling you about quantum immortality in the first place. The other is the universe where you die. Very sad.

Not that you care. You don’t know, because you’re, you know, dead.

But if we extrapolate this idea, it turns into immortality. If there’s always a universe where you survive, and a universe where you die, realistically that means somewhere along the line, we’ll discover the cure for aging. And then one day, when the earth implodes, because we’ve treated our only home like complete shit, there will still be a universe where you can’t die, and you’re just floating around in space like a conscious blob of immortal jelly.

Yeah, the theory fucks a lot of people up. They can’t handle the idea they might one day be that conscious blob of jelly floating closer and closer to the sun.

I, on the other hand, liked to apply it to every aspect of my life.

It motivates me. I’d say this was the moment I realized how strange I was, but that would be a lie. I’ve been strange my entire life.

All along there have been two paths, and I could see the choices as I made them. Go to school for astrophysics, and be a part of the solution to finding a new world for us after Earth. Or go to school for nuclear chemistry, and be a part of the solution to fix the energy problem right now.

Go on a tour of the energy plant that would change my life forever, or stay home and learn nothing.

Drop out of school, or feed into the money-hungry corporate machine.

Join the eco-warriors, or wait at home for some other opportunity.

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