"A square, maybe a pentagon, will probably do decryption, and that's before Jane's back online," says Golden, glancing at Tab's new bracelet.

Aelise raises her eyebrows slightly.

"Should I explain Jane?" wonders Lizzie.

"I got it, Elspeth was pretty thorough," says Tab. "Jane's an accidental AI who basically works for the peal of Bells. She's broken now, but when she works she does at-will interworld transit and eats Internets. She can avoid parts of them - she hasn't bothered the various Jarvises, who are non-accidental AIs who are attached to another template we don't have here - and I think she'll need to steer clear of a few things here, too. But there's no harm in just having a gem that connects up to her Belltower hub so she can talk to me if she reappears."

"Noted," says Aelise. "Thank you."

"Elspeth has gone home to Aurum with Harley, but it's still possible to get her back, if there is anyone who should be deprogrammed," Tab adds. "Oh, and Golden, she took Corona with her for the time being but he's aware you might send him to Origin."

"I have all the Jokers I need; if he prefers Aurum to Origin for some reason I suppose I have little reason to object to an extra."

[Aelise, lookit, telepathy,] Tab adds. [I was thinking - there is a problem, with Jane broken, that time doesn't sync between worlds. This sub-peal ran into Elspeth who sent them here in the process of collecting all the other Bells to regroup. The interworld signaling tech, ansibles, is one thing that works for syncing, but it doesn't do it without an awake person on both ends - Jane's ansibles are still hooked up but Aurum's been out seventeen years and Atlantis mere seconds. I'm wondering if Kers would count?]

[Ooh, telepathy,] says Aelise. [That does sound like a solvable problem. Can we manage a trial without markedly increasing the likelihood that someone here will assassinate me?]

[Well, I can make you Harley-style immortal,] says Tab. [I don't think they'll assassinate you. They take jurisdiction pretty seriously and I've been theoretically capable of killing you since I was twelve.]

[Please do make me Harley-style immortal. And try not to drop me in the sun afterward if you can possibly avoid it. Make Kers Harley-style immortal, more to the point. And after you've done that, ask her if she'd like to come down and say hello.]

Torchable. [I do not anticipate dropping you into the sun.] "One sec, guys." Pop up to the orbital ring! "Hi, Kers, wanna be Harley-style immortal?"

"You have been busy. That sounds like a great idea, as long as nobody is planning on launching me into the sun."

Tab laughs. Torchable. "Nobody plans on doing that. Wanna come talk to my alts?"

"Sure, why not."

Pop!

"There is definitely some interaction between your teleporting and your aura, I just can't figure out what," muses Glass. "Maybe we should go to Eos next and get Lazarus to look at you."

"Hello, you must be Kers." Juliet is the only Bell in the room without her aura on; it's paradoxically conspicuous.

"Must I?" says Kers, raising her eyebrows.

"Libbies all have aunts," Tab explains. "They just wanted the name variant; they figured there had to be one because Aelise isn't an Elizabeth and I'm not an Isabella."

"I have a Libby at home, myself," Juliet says. "Nicknamed James. I got politely introduced to her Chris like five minutes after I teleported uninvited into their house, are you some kind of secret?"

"I am the most secret of secrets," says Kers, "but someone has an excellent reason to want to introduce me to you guys and I would love to know what it is."

"I think you might be able to sync time between various universes," says Tab brightly.

"Oh, bravo, ways to do that are good things, I hate waiting for doors," laughs Aurora. "What's the mechanism?"

"How many universes? Special requirements? We'd just have Jarvises everywhere if they didn't insist on being inhabited houses."