They say patience is a virtue, but they’re wrong.
If you were patient, you’d have taken an airplane for the second time in a week, to travel to Hawaii, to visit The Library once again.
Thankfully, you are anything but patient.
You have no idea what happened at The Library, and no idea how you left. You took a flight to Hawaii, and there’s no record of any flight back.
You need to be there now. Not in twelve hours. Not after several flights. NOW.
Your impatience takes over; it blinds you.
You don’t think; you can’t think; you’re in a panic, desperate, and then–
Here you are.
For a split-second, the craziest thoughts fleet through your brain. Why didn’t the air pressure difference kill you? The distance is gigantic; different timezones, even; for that matter, what time is it? Is it noon? The sun’s directly overhead, and–
SLAM!
Your punch sends the guard right through The Library’s mahogany door just before he can withdraw his weapon.
For a moment, you wish to mourn for the beautiful wood, but you shake yourself out of it. Your mind must still not be working right.
Instead, you search the guard’s pocket. There’s no weapon. Just some candy. Come to think of it, he’s still smiling goofy, and he’s not wearing a uniform or anything.
Oh well.
You pop the candy in your mouth. It is, indeed, tasty. If you had time, you’d leave a thank-you note.
Instead, you step into The Library.
“You know what I did,” he whispers in your ear.
You spin around. Nothing.
“Or, at least, you’ll think you know, soon enough.” Your other left–
“All he needed was internet. And he could get it. Phone a handy Watson, she’ll come running, emergency laptop in tow.
“Then, thinks I, what if it were to rain? And of course it does, and the laptop is ruined. I had the impulse. It’s what I do.
“If I didn’t, he wouldn’t have died, but it’s how it goes. That’s why I’m here. He had an impulse, and so did I. He tried to stop it, but he couldn’t ever stop me.
“But you could.”
You finally see him, the Phoenix of Impulse. He’s standing right in front of you.
Impulse looks at his watch, smiling sadly.
“You’ve got twenty seconds.
“In twenty seconds, you will hate me. You will hate us all–all Phoenixes. It’s what Truth Believes, and what She Believes, so Truth Becomes. Ten seconds.”
He takes a breath.
“I’m finished. You’ll do the deed. You’ll know where to find me…”
With a flash, he’s a bright yellow Phoenix.
His final words echo across your mind.
“Don’t try to fight the hate. It’s not that different, anyway… You’ve always hated Phoenixes. Even if you didn’t know it.”