“But I don’t see how—”
“I’m getting there,” Carter said. “It is possible that you haven’t heard of Black Tom Island, because whether or not that explosion happened varies at any given time. Because there is a separate time loop—”
“—Oh, Jesus—”
“—in which people go back to stop the U.S. time-travel commandos, or whoever, from stopping American intelligence from stopping the Germans. Black Tom Island is a focal point, a nexus, in the space-time continuum. And here’s the thing. Ready?”
“I’m just gonna go ahead and say no.”
“In the world we live in—the Earth, the world we came from—Black Tom Island either happened or it didn’t, and the result, where we ended up, you and me right before we left, is the same either way.”
There was nothing for Jarrod to say.
“The world takes care of itself
