Netra was still staring at the photograph.

The photograph that shouldn't exist.

The photograph that showed him.

Standing beside a spaceship.

Eighty-seven years ago.

He looked at Quark-7.

Quark looked at him.

Netra pointed at the photograph.

“Explain.”

Quark said nothing.

“Quark.”

Nothing.

“QUARK.”

The robot finally looked up.

“I am currently processing an extremely large amount of information.”

“You're a robot!”

“Yes.”

“You're supposed to be good at information!”

“I am.”

“Then process faster!”

“I am attempting to.”

Netra crossed his arms.

“How long will that take?”

“Approximately—”

Quark paused.

“—seven seconds.”

“Fine.”

One second.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Quark looked at him.

“I have finished.”

“Great. Explain.”

“I cannot.”

Netra stared.

“You just spent seven seconds doing absolutely nothing!”

“I spent those seven seconds thinking.”

“And?”

“I discovered that the situation is extremely complicated.”

Netra sighed.

“That's robot language for ‘I have no idea,’ isn't it?”

Quark's eyes blinked.

“Essentially.”

The giant clock behind them suddenly began ticking.

TICK.

Netra turned.

The enormous clock was still floating in the darkness.

Its hands were moving backward.

TICK.

TICK.

Then—

CLANG!

A section of the clock face opened.

Something flew toward them.

Netra ducked.

WHOOSH!

The object passed over his head.

“HEY!”

It disappeared into the darkness.

Quark scanned the area.

“That was a navigation key.”

“A what?”

“A key.”

“For what?”

Quark turned toward the darkness.

“For the ship.”

Netra frowned.

“What ship?”

Quark pointed.

“There.”

Netra looked.

Nothing.

Just stars.

“I don't see anything.”

“Exactly.”

Quark rolled forward.

“The ship isn't there.”

Netra stared at him.

“You just said it was.”

“Yes.”

“But it isn't.”

“Yes.”

“That's confusing.”

“Yes.”

“Can you explain?”

Quark paused.

“I can try.”

Netra nodded.

“Please do.”

“The ship is there.”

Netra waited.

“But not here.”

Netra blinked.

“That is somehow even more confusing.”

---

🚀 THE SHIP THAT WASN'T THERE

Quark-7 extended one tiny arm.

A blue beam shot from his fingertip.

It spread through the darkness.

Slowly, something appeared.

First, a tiny blue outline.

Then a curved nose.

Then two enormous engines.

Then wings.

Then the entire spacecraft appeared.

Netra's mouth dropped open.

It was enormous.

Silver.

Smooth.

Covered with glowing lines that ran along its body like veins.

At the centre was a huge circular window.

Netra stared.

“Where did that come from?”

“It was here.”

“No, it wasn't.”

“Yes.”

“I was looking.”

“Yes.”

“I would have seen it.”

“Probably.”

Netra pointed angrily.

“Then why couldn't I?”

Quark looked pleased.

“Excellent question.”

“Don't look so happy.”

“Why?”

“Because every time you say ‘excellent question,’ something terrible happens.”

Quark considered that.

“That is statistically accurate.”

The ship slowly became brighter.

Netra could now see a strange symbol on its side.

It looked like two circles overlapping.

Quark moved closer.

“The ship exists in a different position in spacetime.”

Netra frowned.

“So it's invisible?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what?”

“Imagine you're standing on a road.”

“Okay.”

“And a car is driving toward you.”

“Okay.”

“But the car suddenly takes a turn onto another road.”

“Right.”

“You can't see the car anymore.”

“Because it turned?”

“Correct.”

“So the ship turned?”

“Not through space.”

Netra scratched his head.

“Then what did it turn through?”

Quark smiled.

“Time.”

Netra stared at the ship.

“You're telling me this spaceship can hide by moving through time?”

“Yes.”

“That seems unfair.”

“It is very useful.”

“Can my school bus do that?”

“No.”

“Shame.”

The ship drifted toward them.

A door opened.

A ramp extended.

Quark rolled up the ramp.

Netra followed.

The moment he stepped inside—

CLICK.

The door shut.

The lights came on.

Netra looked around.

The inside was nothing like a normal spaceship.

There were no rows of seats.

No steering wheel.

No giant screen showing a map.

Instead, the entire room was circular.

In the middle was a large transparent platform.

Above it floated a three-dimensional model of the universe.

Netra walked around it.

He saw Earth.

The Moon.

The planets.

The Sun.

Then hundreds of stars.

Then thousands.

Then millions.

The model zoomed out.

The Milky Way appeared.

Then other galaxies.

Then more.

Netra's eyes widened.

“That's…”

“The observable universe,” said Quark.

Netra stared.

“That's enormous.”

“Yes.”

“How far does it go?”

“We don't know exactly how large the entire universe is.”

Netra looked surprised.

“You don't?”

“No.”

“So scientists don't know everything?”

“Definitely not.”

Netra smiled.

“Good.”

“Why?”

“Because that means I still have a chance.”

“A chance to do what?”

“Discover something.”

Quark nodded.

“That is a very scientific attitude.”

Netra smiled.

Then the entire ship shook.

BOOOOM!

Netra fell backward.

“What was THAT?”

Quark's eyes flashed red.

“Something has detected the ship.”

“The Void?”

“No.”

“Something worse?”

“Yes.”

Netra jumped up.

“What?”

Quark pointed at the universe display.

A red dot had appeared.

It was moving toward them.

Fast.

Very fast.

“What is that?”

Quark's voice became serious.

“A gravitational disturbance.”

Netra frowned.

“A what?”

“Something very massive is nearby.”

The red dot grew.

And grew.

And grew.

Then the ship's windows darkened.

Quark said:

“Hold on.”

“To what?”

“Anything.”

Netra grabbed a railing.

The ship suddenly lurched forward.

---

💨 ACCELERATION

WHOOOOOOOOSH!

Netra felt himself pushed backward.

Hard.

His hair flew straight up.

His cheeks wobbled.

His stomach felt like it had forgotten where it belonged.

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Quark was rolling backward across the floor.

“I recommend holding on!”

“I AM HOLDING ON!”

“Hold on more!”

“How?!”

Netra grabbed another railing.

The ship accelerated again.

WHOOM!

Netra's body was pressed against the wall.

Then—

Suddenly—

Everything stopped.

Netra fell to the floor.

THUD.

“Ow.”

Quark rolled past him.

CLANG.

The robot hit the wall.

There was silence.

Netra looked up.

“You okay?”

Quark's head spun around.

“Yes.”

“You sure?”

“My left wheel has experienced emotional damage.”

Netra laughed.

Then he noticed something.

He was still floating slightly above the floor.

His feet weren't touching anything.

He pushed himself downward.

Instead of falling—

he drifted.

“Quark.”

“Yes?”

“Why am I floating?”

Quark rotated his head.

“Because the ship is in free fall.”

Netra looked confused.

“But we're inside a spaceship.”

“Yes.”

“And we're not falling.”

“We are.”

Netra looked down.

“Into what?”

“Space.”

“That doesn't help.”

Quark rolled toward him.

“Think about an elevator.”

“Okay.”

“Imagine the cable breaks.”

Netra's eyes widened.

“That's a terrible example.”

“Imagine a very safe elevator.”

“Much better.”

“If the elevator and everything inside it are falling together, you would feel weightless.”

Netra thought.

“So astronauts aren't floating because there's no gravity?”

“Correct.”

Netra's eyes widened.

“There IS gravity in space?”

“Of course.”

“Then why do astronauts float?”

“Because they and their spacecraft are constantly falling around Earth together.”

Netra looked at the window.

“But if they're falling, why don't they crash into Earth?”

Quark smiled.

“Now you're asking the right question.”

---

🌍 THE STRANGEST KIND OF FALLING

A glowing Earth appeared above them.

Quark created a tiny ball beside it.

“This is Earth.”

Netra nodded.

“This tiny ball is our spaceship.”

Quark pushed the tiny ball directly toward Earth.

It fell.

“That's what would happen if we simply dropped a spaceship.”

The ball moved downward.

“But now…”

Quark gave it a sideways push.

The ball moved forward.

Then downward.

It curved.

Quark pushed it harder.

The ball curved farther around Earth.

Then harder still.

The ball went around Earth.

Netra stared.

“Oh!”

“Exactly.”

“So it's falling…”

“Yes.”

“But it's moving sideways so fast that it keeps missing Earth.”

“Correct.”

Netra grinned.

“That's an orbit!”

Quark nodded.

“An orbit is essentially continuous free fall.”

Netra thought for a moment.

“So the Moon is falling?”

“Yes.”

“Earth is falling?”

“Yes.”

“The International Space Station is falling?”

“Yes.”

“Am I falling?”

“Yes.”

Netra looked horrified.

“EVERYTHING IS FALLING!”

Quark nodded.

“Welcome to physics.”

Netra laughed.

Then he noticed something.

“If gravity is pulling everything down…”

“Yes?”

“What keeps the planets from falling into the Sun?”

Quark smiled.

“Same idea.”

He showed the Sun.

Then Earth.

“Earth is being pulled toward the Sun by gravity.”

“Right.”

“But Earth also has sideways motion.”

“So it keeps missing the Sun?”

“Exactly.”

Netra thought.

“Space is basically a giant game of catch.”

Quark paused.

“That is… surprisingly useful.”

---

🛰️ THE THREE LAWS

A light appeared on the floor.

Then another.

Then another.

Three words appeared:

INERTIA

FORCE

MOTION

Netra looked at Quark.

“What are those?”

“Three important ideas from Newton's laws of motion.”

Netra groaned.

“Is this going to be homework?”

“No.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

“Then explain.”

Quark moved a small metal ball onto the floor.

“This ball doesn't move.”

Netra pushed it.

It rolled.

“That is force changing its motion.”

“Okay.”

Quark stopped the ball.

“If nothing pushes or pulls on an object, it keeps doing what it is already doing.”

Netra nodded.

“If it's still, it stays still.”

“Yes.”

“If it's moving, it keeps moving.”

“Yes.”

“That's inertia?”

“Correct.”

Netra thought.

“So when the bus suddenly stops…”

“Your body keeps moving forward.”

“Because of inertia.”

“Yes.”

Netra smiled.

“I knew there was a scientific reason for flying into the person sitting in front of me.”

Quark nodded.

“Indeed.”

Netra looked at him.

“Does that mean if I were floating in space and pushed a ball…”

“It would keep moving.”

“Forever?”

“Not necessarily forever. In empty space, if no force acts to change its motion, it would continue moving at constant velocity.”

Netra's eyes widened.

“So space has no brakes?”

“Not like a car.”

“That's terrifying.”

“It is also extremely useful.”

---

The ship suddenly moved.

Netra grabbed the railing.

“Was that acceleration?”

“Yes.”

“What caused it?”

“Engines.”

“What happens when the engines stop?”

“We keep moving.”

Netra smiled.

“Because of inertia.”

“Correct.”

Netra pointed at the controls.

“So if the ship is already moving, we don't need the engines all the time?”

“Exactly.”

Netra looked impressed.

“Space travel is easier than I thought.”

Quark's eyes widened.

“No.”

“No?”

“Space travel is much harder than you think.”

“Why?”

“Because changing your motion requires force.”

Quark projected another diagram.

A large object appeared.

Then a small object.

“Newton's second law tells us that acceleration depends on force and mass.”

Netra frowned.

“What does that mean?”

Quark pointed at the small object.

“Imagine pushing an empty shopping trolley.”

“Easy.”

“Now push one filled with twenty bags of rice.”

Netra laughed.

“That's harder.”

“The same push produces less acceleration when the object has more mass.”

“So heavier things are harder to accelerate.”

“Correct.”

“And if we want the spaceship to accelerate faster…”

“We need more force.”

Netra looked at the enormous spacecraft.

“How much force?”

Quark smiled.

“A lot.”

---

🚀 THE ENGINES

A panel opened.

Netra stared at the engines.

They were enormous.

“What makes a rocket move?”

Quark showed a tiny rocket.

“Imagine you're standing on a skateboard.”

“Okay.”

“You throw a heavy ball backward.”

Netra nodded.

“You move forward.”

“Exactly.”

“Because I pushed the ball backward?”

“More precisely, you and the ball exert forces on each other. The ball gains backward momentum and you gain forward momentum.”

Netra thought.

“So rockets throw stuff backward.”

“Yes.”

“Really fast?”

“Extremely fast.”

“And that pushes the rocket forward?”

“Correct.”

Netra grinned.

“So a rocket is basically a very complicated machine for throwing things really, really fast.”

Quark considered this.

“That is one of the better descriptions I have heard.”

Netra smiled proudly.

“I'll put it on my school project.”

“Please don't.”

“Why?”

“Your teacher may have questions.”

---

Suddenly—

BEEP.

A warning flashed.

ORBITAL PATH UNSTABLE

Netra looked at Quark.

“What does that mean?”

Quark's eyes widened.

“We are falling.”

Netra looked down.

“Again?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

Quark pointed toward the window.

Earth appeared.

It was enormous.

And getting bigger.

Much bigger.

“We're falling toward Earth!”

Netra grabbed the controls.

“Fix it!”

“I cannot.”

“Why?”

“The engines are not strong enough.”

“Then use more engines!”

“They are already at maximum.”

Netra looked outside.

The planet filled the entire window.

“We're going to crash!”

Quark scanned the ship.

“There is one possibility.”

Netra stared.

“I hate those words.”

“We can use the planet's gravity to change our trajectory.”

Netra frowned.

“Gravity can help us?”

“Yes.”

“Gravity is pulling us toward Earth.”

“Correct.”

“Then how can that help?”

Quark smiled.

“Imagine you're running toward a moving skateboard.”

“Okay.”

“You jump onto it.”

“You're saying Earth is a skateboard?”

“No.”

“You should have just said no.”

“Gravity can bend the path of an object.”

“So if we approach Earth at the right angle…”

“We can use Earth's gravity to redirect the spacecraft.”

Netra stared at the planet.

“So instead of fighting gravity…”

“We use it.”

Netra smiled.

“That's clever.”

“Yes.”

“Can we do it?”

Quark paused.

“Probably.”

Netra groaned.

“WHY do you keep saying probably?”

---

🌍 THE GRAVITY SLINGSHOT

The ship plunged toward Earth.

Faster.

Faster.

Faster.

Netra's heart hammered.

“Quark!”

“Yes?”

“When do we turn?”

“Not yet.”

“Now?”

“No.”

“Now?”

“No.”

“NOW?”

“No.”

Netra shouted:

“WHEN?!”

Quark calmly replied:

“Now.”

Netra slammed the button.

WHOOM!

The engines fired.

The spacecraft curved around Earth.

For one terrifying second, Netra could see the planet filling the entire window.

Then—

WHOOOOOSH!

The ship shot away.

Netra screamed.

Quark screamed.

Then Quark said:

“I did not expect to scream.”

Netra laughed.

“You're a robot!”

“Yes.”

“Robots can scream?”

“Apparently.”

The ship continued moving.

Earth slowly became smaller.

Netra looked at the controls.

“We used Earth's gravity to change our path.”

“Correct.”

“That's like getting a push without actually touching anything.”

“Yes.”

“Scientists use this with spacecraft?”

“Yes. Space missions can use gravity assists from planets to change a spacecraft's speed or direction relative to the Sun, saving fuel.”

Netra stared at the planet.

“So planets can help spaceships travel farther.”

“Exactly.”

Netra smiled.

“I like gravity now.”

“Give it time.”

---

🪐 THE INVISIBLE ROAD

The ship flew deeper into space.

Netra looked at the universe map.

Something strange had appeared.

A glowing line.

It curved around planets.

Then stars.

Then disappeared into darkness.

“What is that?”

Quark looked.

His eyes flashed.

“The route.”

“What route?”

“The route this ship follows.”

Netra leaned closer.

“But there's nothing there.”

“Correct.”

“Then how can the ship follow it?”

Quark created a model.

Imagine a sheet.

A flat sheet.

Now place a heavy ball on it.

The sheet bends.

Then place another ball nearby.

The smaller ball rolls toward the larger one.

Netra nodded.

“Gravity.”

“Right.”

“Now imagine the sheet is spacetime.”

Netra looked at the glowing route.

“So the ship is following the shape of spacetime?”

“Yes.”

“Like a car following a road.”

“Exactly.”

“But the road isn't really there.”

“Not in the ordinary sense.”

Netra looked fascinated.

“So the ship doesn't have to fight its way through space.”

“It can follow a path.”

“What kind of path?”

Quark pointed.

“A path through spacetime.”

Netra looked at the glowing line.

“And that path…”

“Yes?”

“Can go through time?”

Quark's eyes went dark.

“Yes.”

Netra swallowed.

“How?”

Quark didn't answer.

Instead, he moved toward the centre of the ship.

A circular platform rose from the floor.

Blue light filled the room.

Netra stepped closer.

“What is that?”

Quark said quietly:

“The Chrono Drive.”

Netra looked at him.

“What does it do?”

“It changes our position in time.”

Netra's heart started beating faster.

“You mean…”

“Yes.”

“We can time travel?”

“Yes.”

Netra smiled.

Then frowned.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“If this ship can travel through time…”

He pointed at the photograph.

“…why was that photograph taken 87 years ago?”

Quark froze.

Netra stared at him.

“You know, don't you?”

Quark said nothing.

“You know who took it.”

Silence.

“Quark.”

The robot looked away.

Netra stepped closer.

“Who was the boy in that photograph?”

Quark's eyes flickered.

“I cannot tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because you haven't met him yet.”

Netra's face went pale.

“What?”

Quark suddenly shouted:

“EVERYONE HOLD ON!”

---

⏳ THE CHRONO DRIVE

The entire spacecraft came alive.

Lights flashed.

Panels opened.

The universe map disappeared.

A giant circle appeared around the ship.

Numbers began counting down.

10

Netra grabbed a railing.

“What is happening?”

9

Quark rolled toward the control panel.

“The Chrono Drive is activating.”

8

“You said we could control it!”

“We can!”

“THEN CONTROL IT!”

7

“I am trying!”

6

Netra looked outside.

The stars were changing.

Not moving.

Changing.

Some stars appeared younger.

Others disappeared completely.

The planets shifted.

The Moon became a thin crescent.

Then a full Moon.

Then nothing.

Then Earth appeared.

But something was wrong.

The continents looked different.

5

Netra stared.

“Are we going backward?”

“Yes.”

4

“HOW FAR?”

Quark looked at the controls.

His eyes widened.

“Not far.”

3

“Then why does Earth look different?”

“Because even a short journey through time can take us to a different moment.”

2

The ship shook violently.

Netra held on.

1

ZERO.

Silence.

Everything stopped.

The stars stopped.

The ship stopped.

Even the ticking of the clock stopped.

Netra slowly opened his eyes.

“Are we there?”

Quark looked at the controls.

“Yes.”

Netra smiled.

“Where?”

Quark didn't answer.

Netra walked toward the window.

Earth was visible outside.

Blue.

Beautiful.

Familiar.

But something felt wrong.

There were fewer lights on the night side.

The continents looked almost the same.

The Moon was in a different position.

Netra looked at the date on the navigation screen.

Then he froze.

“What?”

Quark looked at him.

Netra pointed.

“That's impossible.”

Quark nodded.

“I know.”

Netra stared at the date.

He did the calculation in his head.

Then again.

Then one more time.

“No.”

Quark said nothing.

Netra whispered:

“We went back.”

“Yes.”

“How far?”

Quark's voice was very quiet.

“Exactly nine years, three months, twelve days, four hours and seventeen minutes.”

Netra's eyes widened.

“Nine years?”

“Yes.”

He looked at the date.

Then at Quark.

“That's…”

Quark nodded.

“Three hours before you were born.”

Netra stopped breathing.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Then Netra slowly turned toward the window.

Earth was still there.

His Earth.

His home.

His family.

But somewhere down there...

he hadn't been born yet.

Netra whispered:

“Can I see my parents?”

Quark didn't answer.

“Quark?”

The robot's eyes flashed red.

“Netra…”

“What?”

“There is something else.”

“What?”

Quark pointed to the navigation screen.

A red warning had appeared.

TEMPORAL ANOMALY DETECTED

Netra stared.

“What does that mean?”

Quark looked toward Earth.

“It means…”

The warning changed.

ANOTHER VERSION OF NETRA DETECTED

Netra's face went completely white.

“That's impossible.”

Quark's voice trembled.

“Yes.”

Another message appeared.

AGE: 9 YEARS

Netra stepped backward.

“Wait…”

The screen flickered.

A location appeared.

A house.

His house.

A timestamp.

THREE HOURS BEFORE HIS BIRTH.

Netra looked at Quark.

“If I'm not born yet…”

He swallowed.

“…then who is that?”

The ship suddenly received a transmission.

BZZZZZZT.

Static filled the cabin.

Then a child's voice came through.

A voice Netra knew.

A voice that sounded exactly like him.

“Quark-7…”

Netra's eyes widened.

The voice continued:

“…if you're hearing this, don't let Netra leave the ship.”

Silence.

Then one final message appeared on the screen.

HE MUST NOT MEET HIMSELF.

Netra stared at the words.

Then slowly looked at Quark.

“Quark…”

“Yes?”

“Who just sent that message?”

The robot didn't answer.

“Quark.”

Still nothing.

Netra took a step closer.

“Who?”

Quark finally looked at him.

His blue eyes flickered.

Then turned completely black.

And he whispered:

“You did.”