The coil in the lab sang one note too high, and the air folded like wet paper. When it snapped flat again, Mara felt wrong. Her phone said 9:42. Her sister Ines, three feet away, looked up slowly, like a video still loading. Mara waved. Ines waved back two minutes later. Their clocks matched, but the sisters did not. Mara was ahead now, and she could feel herself sliding further forward.

Mara stayed calm and studied the coil. A small screen on its base showed a number climbing: 2:00, 2:01, 2:02. The gap was growing on its own, slow but steady. The machine was still running, quietly pushing her further ahead of Ines every minute.

Mara tried to yank the coil's power cord straight out. The machine screamed and the number spiked: 2:10, 2:30, 3:00. Pulling the plug only fed it a jolt and shoved her further ahead. She jammed the cord back in, hands shaking, and the climb slowed to normal. Brute force was off the table.