Zoe was much more curious than I was to know the answer to her next question for Al.

“What happened originally? Before Future him threw all these spanners in the works and altered everything?”

Al answered as astutely as ever, continuing to look only at me.
“In the original timeline, you escaped from Letrodacta’s universe in much the same way as you did in your current timeline. However, no parallel universes were involved at that point, so you continued living in your original universe, along your original timeline.
“Letrodacta sought vengeance, so she killed everyone who had ever known you personally – parents, teachers, school friends – through homemade pipe bombs she planted in those person’s residences. It didn’t matter to her if she killed anyone else in the process. Collateral damage was – and is – simply a means to an end for her.
“In total, Letrodacta murdered 83 people, and injured 17.”

Zoe looked as sickened as I looked and felt.

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered in horror.