"That's a hell of a thing to walk into," Hughes says with a sympathetic frown. "No wonder they have rules against changing things. Seems like even the smallest change could have a massive effect on future events. Think of how saving one life could potentially cause so many issues..." Oh, Hughes, you don't even know how right you are.

"Did it at least work?" he asks after a brief lull in conversation. "Is the person he went back for okay?"