“We can tell anyone worried about disease outbreaks that we’re probably fine,” Pal says, knowing that isn’t very much at all. He exhales, slightly deflated. The more he thinks about his discovery, the less actionable it feels. Once upon a time, that wouldn’t have bothered him, but now, when everything seems so urgent, discovery for its own sake feels small and petty.

He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “It gives us a better grasp of the parameters of the Captain’s pocket universes. Theoretically, that could help us destabilize them…but I can’t yet tell you how. I need to work on it.”