The Space Between Worlds

After awakening in Dell’s apartment, Cara resolves to stop Adam Bosch from committing murder in order to make commercial traversing possible. Dell confronts Cara with the earring that Cara took from another world as a memento of a romantic interlude with a different Dell. This world’s Dell confronts Cara about her multidimensional collection and chastises her for collecting a sample of the dangerous parasite, Lot’s Wife, and in response, Cara explains that the collection is her way of “sav[ing] things that don’t exist in [her] world” or “things [she] can’t touch here, but was allowed to touch somewhere else” (231).

Confused by Cara’s oblique confession of her romantic feelings, Dell reacts angrily, reminding “Caramenta” that the two of them kissed before Caramenta’s traverse to Earth 22 (where Caralee then replaced Caramenta). Dell also reveals that Caramenta was conflicted about the relationship, given the limitations imposed by her religion, and subsequently shunned Dell and lodged a complaint against her. Dell delivers this information accusingly, believing that the Cara in front of her was the one to betray her. Cara realizes, “I thought she was ignoring her attraction to me, but I was torturing her with it” (233). Cara then lets slip that she is not the Caramenta from Earth Zero.