Pocket Universe
The view changed.
One moment the Ambassador and I had been looking at his homeworld and discussing the finalisation of the trading agreements our teams had negotiated. The next - we were looking at Earth. I hadn’t felt us jump, but we’d moved 5 Billion Light Years in a blink.
“Icarus?"
"Not me - umm we have a visitor."
“Hello Icarus, Hello Daedalus, Hello Daedaleus Friend.
I sighed and spun around to face my visitor; a small grinning 11 year old framed against the Earthlight of Icarus’ Observation lounge. "Hello Jay - to what do we owe the pleasure?"
"It’s me and I’m doing a helping and and a visiting - cos Icarus hasn’t been home in ages and ages."
"It’s been less than a month, Jay.” Icarus replied
"But I have jaysome news, @fakesurpise is letting lots of people be Jay’s for a whole month and write their own adventures. Look … He twirled … I made a new coat with enough colors for everyone and lots and lots of pockets for me to keep their adventures in."
I framed the question carefully, this particular 11 year-old boys has been known to misundertand. "Are you sure @fakesurprise wants lots of people writing #AdventuresInJay for a whole month, it sounds like a recipe for an oops."
"That’s ok, I backed up the universe in case there was an oops."
"Jay, what do ypu mean you backed up the universe?” Icarus always says I’m a natural worry-wart, and my thoughts go towards the power involved in a literal backing-up; of an 11 year-old Jay reversing time across the entire Universe and I shudder; mentally composing a message to Charlie
"I spoke to the Multiverse and they said they were already lots of copies, but couldn’t give me one because they were already for people and adventures; so I made another one, but even tho my pockets are bigger on the inside, I had to huggify the universe a lot to get it to fit. But now we have a spare universe just in case we need it, and I even made a binding so it wouldn't go BANG too soon."
Jay proudly twirled around, spinning his new coat until the colours blurred and became inky night speckled with stars that were galaxies that were made up of stars that were also galaxies made up of stars that were galaxies and …it just kept resolving deeper and deeper like those old fractal gifs. I felt like I was falling into endless spinning night.
My vision blurred, and eyes and my head both ached before I managed to pull my gaze away.
"Have you shown Charlie?" I asked.
"Not yet, I wanted Icarus and you to see it first - I better go and show her too. See ya."
“Jay" … too late … he was gone; "Icarus, please jump us back to the Ambassadors homeworld."
…
"You know the Jay?" queried the Ambassador
"Yes, we’re well acquainted." I laughed. "It’s quite the adventure whenever he takes me away from my regular duties."
"We have legends … but to actually meet him at this age in particular - it exceeds all the stories. I think we can forgo further formalities - I’m happy to sign the treaty - with our new friends.”
“To friendship then. I need a drink. You?”
“Please?”
