Diagrams Are Necessary (Superhero Black Hole, part 102)

I pushed myself off the sofa, went to the desk and pulled a slip of paper (available at all good stationary shops in the year 2002!) from the drawer. I picked a blue ballpoint pen from our Pen Cup, and quickly drew a very rough diagram to show to Zoe.

What I said thus is essentially the proper description of said diagram:

"Imagine that _this_ line is Time--"

"Oh, _god_. He's going all Doc Brown on me, now," Zoe muttered loudly.

"Look, do you want to understand this bullshit, or not?"

"_Yes_, but--"

"Then sit quietly, stop fidgeting and take notes."

I imagine that in her head she screamed at me something fierce.

"This line across here is _Time_. The points at either end - and in the middle - are the Past, Present, and Future. Now, "gliding" back or forwards is simple, I suppose. But the "In-Between" is exactly that: _in between_ these points. Imagine it as potholes in a road, and Time papering over those holes. If you're not careful, you may slip into one of these holes, and enter this other universe."