Chapter Two: Four Dollars’ Worth of Causality

“I’m sorry, sir. The coffee does not belong to you.” The flight attendant’s name was Lin Xia. A silver pair of wings sat above her name tag. One hand held the cart in place while her body politely and completely blocked the aisle. Lu did not force his way past. The Exchange had said he had assumed the failure caused by NX017-C7. It had not told him which of the seven cups mattered. Knocking them all over would be simple, but attacking a service cart at cruising altitude would get him restrained. Besides, stopping the coffee might not mean stopping the failure. Causality loved technicalities. “My blood sugar is low.” Lu gripped the seatback and let some color drain from his face. “Could I have a packet of sugar?”