Getting back into it…

“No, Al, wait,” I said, blustering as I processed his info. “No, no, that can’t be right. That’s not the right explanation. The other Me’s explained why we were all in there. The third Me had that projector set up with all the coloured diagrams and the French words and—”

“French words?,” Zoe blurted.

“Well, I like French,” I explained, “and the third Me had an extra affinity for it, and he seemed to be showing off a bit, and—”

Al cut in.
“They lied.”

In the moments after he said those words, I could’ve sworn my heart stopped. For sure, I most certainly felt the blood drain from my face.

All I could say was:
“…what?”

“The other iterations of You were told to lie about why they were there,” Al said. “At the time, you were not ready to know the truth. Why do you think the explanation you were given was as obfuscating as it was?”

All my blood was pooled in my feet, by this point.

“Um…”
I licked my lips so I could speak.
“…who told them to lie?”

“I did,” said Al.