Dealing with Gabriel was a specialized sort of operation and Jack had had practice. Mohinder didn't notice anything odd going on between the two and instead leaned gingerly on the table as he looked up at Jack with bright, if bruised eyes.

"The rift causes them," Jack launched into explanation immediately. "It's a phenomena that happens extremely rarely in the universe but these rifts, even with regulators built on top of them, just so happen to cause time and dimension distortions. They start small but the sensors don't always catch them. That's where we come in."

"We? How many agents are there?" Mohinder asked.

Jack grinned. "Difficult to say. Presently? Fifteen. I'm hoping for sixteen in a day or two. But to answer your question, Gabriel-- It's not like what I was telling you before...with the facets of time and every conceivable direction of a future being part of the same jewel. Rift pocket dimensions can change things radically. They could snuff you out of existence. Add ten more of you... Do you see what I'm saying? These will change the world in ways they should never have been and only those of us affected by rift energy will know it's changed."