After Chase de-boarded and claimed his luggage—it was, remarkably, all there—he decided to take one of the waiting lounges up on its name.

Since Tokyo was his final destination, he had some time to kill.

Deciding against a cold, overpriced airport coffee, he flopped down into a hard plastic chair, shoved his backpack underneath, and propped his feet up on his duffel. A woman was speaking earnestly on a nearby TV. He caught snatches of phrases and saw her motion behind her, where four huge faces of past U.S. presidents stuck out of the Great Wall of China.

With a sigh, he started digging through his backpack to find his iPod, which he thumbed to full volume to drown out the confused passengers around him, the monologuing newscasters fighting to find the most heart-rending stories in this geographic mess. Chase sighed again.

Still, he had to admit, the matter reorganization array wasn’t causing as many headaches as the time continuum disruptor that Betleguesean cruiser fired off early sometime next week.