Comment by Shorel

> However, they do know that the stasis bubble containing Alice will eventually open up and pop Alice back into the current time.

In the first book, IIRC, they did not know that, and in fact believed the spheres would last forever.

The spheres were used like nukes, in a very indiscriminate way. Whole armies were sphered in a short time.

Many years after, when the first sphere popped, they realized a new way of time travel just opened.