The DTH bleeped.
DTH Jon answered Sage Jon. "It manually diverges the timeline. There could be multiple versions of us having a variation of this conversation."
"How interesting. How often does it create divergences automatically?"
"Usually when I hop or if there is some sort of time travel or sometimes... it just kind of... ...does it. It's difficult to explain."
"Perhaps, some sort of artificial intelligence." Sage Jon pondered.
"Possibly, " suddenly DTH Jon had a realisation "wait a minute! You shouldn't be able to do that. The wish specified only the creator of the DTH could operate it."
"Hmmm.... Technically I am you." Sage Jon removed the cable and closed the back of the DTH. He turned it over in his hands.
"To be honest that's a bit worrying, that any version of me could operate it."
Sage Jon tried pushing some of the controls on the front of the DTH and it made an angry bleeping noise. "It won't let me operate the main controls."
DTH Jon responded. "Well that's something at least but you still shouldn't be able to use it at all. I wonder why you can."
"I can think of a number of reasons. It could be down to how the stone interpreted the wish or it could be the anti-magic generator messing up the security protocols."
"Anti-magic generator?"
Sage Jon pointed to the large machine that he had been behind when DTH Jon appeared. "It negates the direct effects of the stone within this room. It's not very efficient unfortunately. I'm having to power it from a fusion reactor in the basement."
"You have a fusion reactor in the basement?" an amazed DTH Jon asked.
"Yes. I built it when I was twelve. Annoys the hell out of mom." He paused briefly as he continued examining the DTH. "Let me run some more tests."
"Tests?"
"Don't panic. Non-destructive." Sage Jon took the DTH to another workbench and began analysing it with various devices.
DTH Jon looked around the room while he waited for Sage Jon to complete his tests. He spotted a tablet with a complex array of schematics on it. "What's this?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
Sage Jon spoke as he worked. "It's a design for a faster than light propulsion system, I'm hoping to test the prototype next year."
"You've invented an FTL drive? That could change the whole destiny of the human race!"
"Well, everyone needs a hobby."
Sage Jon came back over to DTH Jon and handed him the DTH. "What did you find out?"
"Not a lot. As amazing as it is, there is little in it's construction, that adds much to what I know."
"What do you know?"
"Ah the big question. Where should I start?"
"Anywhere you wish."
"Alright lets talk about the stone. It is my opinion based on the evidence available, that the multiverse is in a type of flux. It is not stable. I'm not sure why, although I think it maybe some form of corruption or something more akin to a disease."
"You think the multiverse is diseased?"
"Yes. The stones act as a symptom that assist in the spreading of the disease. A good example would be sneezing when you have a cold. The cold causes you to sneeze which in turn makes you more likely to infect other people. Using the powerful magic of the wish damages reality. It even damages the parallel realities near it causing more stones to be created. The cycle goes on."
"Surely it can't be that bad. I've had my intelligence improved and I haven't noticed it."
Sage Jon sighed. "It is already very noticeable, if you know what to look for. Even time itself is infected by the corruption."
"Time?"
"How long ago did you get the stone?"
"A few days ago."
"No that's where you're wrong. You first got the stone on the 23rd of July in the year 2000."
DTH Jon knew his counterpart was wrong. "I don't believe that. I wasn't even born till after the Millenium."
"The time divergences your machine creates. They aren't instant. Sometimes there can be days, months or years between them. You had the idea to create a device with the stone in 2006 and you didn't create the DTH until May 2018. That was over a year ago. Your fifteen hops have taken you over a year."
"No, I have memories that contradict that. Before you say it I know memories aren't perfect but I would have noticed, if nearly twenty years had passed."
"Alright I accept that the concept of time passing at two different rates is a difficult one to get your head around. Let's try something simple. What is your name?"
"Jon Madison"
"Final answer?"
DTH Jon nodded. He said nothing although he was aware it was yet another television reference.
Sage Jon paused for a few seconds. "So who is Jon Gibson?"
"That's my name." DTH Jon answered and then immediately began to doubt himself.
"I thought you were Jon Madison."
"Well I am... Yep I'm Jon Madison. You are trying to trick me."
"No your subconscious is trying to fight me by not allowing your conscious mind to absorb what I'm telling it. In other words - you are in denial."
"Madison... Gibson... I'm both... Madison... Gibson..." DTH Jon spoke the names as they swirled around in his mind.
"And please forgive me for this. Or even John... Merlin?"
At this point DTH Jon stopped talking. It was too much for his mind to take. How could he have three names? He stood motionless for a few seconds just staring off into space. His eyes closed and he collapsed into a heap on the floor.
The DTH bleeped.
