Chase Hatter's Origin of Pangaea

Chapter Seventeen

Over the next two months, Andrew sat in front of a laptop, throwing messy JavaScript into a text editor and testing the code on himself by stealing his own information. On his side, he let his Radio Cube play as he continued listening to the interview which had now conveniently been focused on the Grants and their previously proven theorem of complex conjugates.

The twins stood near the white board beside the unit circle that Elijah had taken three minutes to carefully draw out again. Before they could get into the depth of how Complex Conjugates tied into the Color Wheel Interview, they had to first rehash what their previous conclusion about them was.

"Your Complex Conjugate could be your brother," Ethan began, "your sister, your spouse, your friend, your dentist, your accountant, your president, and everyone in between. Their roles are irrelevant. Their talents and weaknesses, however, are crucial to your pairing because where you fail, they thrive and where you thrive, they fail. You complete each other. Your similarities are your real number values. Your differences are conjugate imaginary numbers, determined by your unique talent. When combined, you have no differences. They cancel each other out. But your similarities, they double. And every skill that you both possess becomes enhanced. You perfect each other."

On the day of the robbery, as Andrew listened to the regurgitation of the theorem, Alice tapped him on the shoulder.

"Do you need something?" Andrew asked. Alice sat in the chair beside him. She looked around the basement to ensure that they were alone.

"Tell me more about Complex Conjugates." She demanded. "What do they do? How do you know that's what Bob and I are?"

"There's not much to tell." Andrew explained. "A Complex Conjugate is your best friend across lifetimes." Alice seemed dissatisfied, so Andrew continued. "The Grant Twins themselves have a very good eye for this. They called it out the very moment that I met mine. I asked them a few years ago how they were able to do such a thing, and they told me that when you see Complex Conjugates together it's like seeing one, full person. When I saw you and Bob, I saw one, full person. You complete each other. Where he fails, you thrive and where he thrives, you fail."

As Alice processed this bit of information, Bob came barreling down the basement stairs. "It's time." He said. "You two need to get to the bank and wait for me to contact you."

Alice and Andrew obeyed, grabbing the pre-packed equipment and rushing out of the house.

And so began the heist of a lifetime.

Alice and Andrew sat in a parked car across the street from the bank, watching as the employees funneled out into the parking lot full of vendors and activities. The bank was twenty stories high, but it dwarfed in comparison to everything around it. The tall buildings reminded Andrew of Pangaea.

"Would you like to hear some Pangaean history while we wait for our opening?" Andrew asked. "You seemed interested before." Alice shrugged.

"Sure, just don't talk too loud."

"Will do. I would like to tell you about Grant & Grant Industries. It is a technology company focused on bio-mechanical tools and prosthetics. It was founded by Ethan and Elijah Grant, the earliest known Complex Conjugates in Pangaean history, and the two men who proved the theorem. The Grant & Grant Industries building is a set of twin towers connected by a sky bridge on the thirtieth floor. The buildings are encased in a dome in the shape of a light bulb. All of Pangaean technology comes from them, but my favorite of all of their inventions is the wristband."

"...A wristband?"

"They're grappling hooks." Andrew explained. "Able to carry up to two hundred and fifty pounds apiece. The wristbands work in conjunction with every building in Pangaea to ensure that falling off of a thirty story building isn't life threatening anymore."