Gravity Rises (S3)

TTF: Part Eleven

Stanford Pines was very confused.

Ever since waking up that day in the bunker, there had been a feeling of urgency that he couldn't shake. He couldn't remember much from that time; it was all a blur. Something about Bill Cipher? Something about the danger he posed? Ford couldn't remember. Why couldn't he remember?

Surely he wrote something down in his Journal. But when he went through it, he found torn pages. This sent him into a panic — he would never rip pages out of his Journals! He asked Stanley and Fiddleford about it, and Fidds winced. "Shifty was ripping out pages when I got down to the bunker and found you unconscious," he said. "I'm sorry, Ford."

At first, Ford was annoyed that Fidds didn't inform him of this right away. But then, as he flipped through to assess the damage, he found an errant page, half-torn and spattered with blood, depicting a large image of Bill. Words above, written in Ford's handwriting, read, "My dreams aren't safe"; and below, "It is possible to follow the demon into a person's mind and prevent his chaos. One must simply recite this incantation." Beneath that were random Latin phrases.

Ford didn't remember writing this page. And he certainly didn't remember bleeding on it.

Was he going crazy? Was his dedication to his work addling his brain? For he was plagued by an unknowable apprehension, one that centered on the portal. It was suddenly all he could think about. He had to finish the portal. He didn't know why, but he had to finish it. If he didn't, something terrible might happen. Something. . . something to do with Bill Cipher. His muse turned demon.

He didn't dare tell anyone about the Journal page that he couldn't remember writing. Stanley would think he was going crazy, and he might try to stop the work on the portal. That couldn't happen — they had to finish the portal. The more Ford thought about it, the more frustrated he became with his inability to remember why he was frustrated, and the more sure he became that finishing the portal would jog his memory. Did they need to banish Bill to the other side of the portal? Did they need to find someone inside that could stop him? Stop him from what? Ford knew Bill was bad news, but try as he might, he couldn't remember why!

In his unease, Ford wrote vague Journal entries warning future readers to stay awake and trust no one. Or maybe he was warning himself. But why did he need to warn anyone about anything? They were going to finish the portal. Whatever Bill was up to, they would stop it.

Right?

Lee quickly picked up on his brother's anxious mood. He asked what was wrong, but Ford couldn't explain. He didn't know how. "I'm fine, Stanley," he would insist. He knew Stanley was unsatisfied with this answer, but he had no idea how to express his real feelings.

He didn't know what his real feelings were.

Months passed. The portal was finally ready come August, and Ford's impatience to open it only increased. One night, Lee was trying to convince him to stop for the night, to go to sleep, to look at the project with fresh eyes in the morning. Ford refused. Impulsively, he threw the fuel engagement lever, and pushed the button to open the portal.

That night, he inadvertently started the gravitational anomalies.

Fidds went to sleep immediately after the first anomaly, which annoyed Ford plenty. Wasn't anyone going to watch over the machinery and make sure the anomalies didn't destroy it? Eventually, Lee abandoned him for sleep as well. Ford stayed in the basement, too keyed up to sleep, and watched over the machinery.

Lee and Fidds discovered him the next morning, writing in one of his Journals about his experiences with the anomalies. "Ford?" said Lee, sounding worried. "Did you sleep?"