"While we're following the world line," she promised, "I'll show you
that I can cook, too. Come on!"
Tansie led him cheerfully into the vehicle and closed the top-hatch.
"We'll be heading into space," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Space?" he gurgled.
She nodded.
"But why?"
"In our--condition--being sort of trapped between two world lines,
we are swept along in synchronism with the 'temporal advance' of the
massive earth. The earth is moving through 'space'. Since we have
little free 'temporal inertia', we are instantly drawn to whatever era
lies in the physical mass. Follow?"
"Not too well, but it sounds like saying that if the four o'clock train
arrives now, it must be four o'clock."
Tansie laughed. "We go to the 'space' where earth will be in a hundred
years. Then, having no 'temporal inertia', we are drawn through time
to that 'instant'.... You know as well as I do that our language of
words and subject-predicate sentences dissects events into artificially
blocked-off units like 'time' and 'space'. But these inadequate bits of
word-magic make you feel better.... People not trapped in 'free time'
are possessed of almost infinite 'temporal inertia' and the natural
gravitational attraction between masses is the main activating force."
Ackerman nodded. "I suppose that indicates some sort of intrinsic
motion?"
"Not necessarily."
"But all things are relative."