by J. T. Bock
“Is this the only alternate universe you’ve visited?”
Kali stood and walked over to the glass board. She drew a rough sketch of universal planes. “So far, we’re still studying this universe—the non-transhuman version. Based on how I can travel along it, the alternate universe runs parallel to and at times intersects with ours. Universes aren’t perfectly flat; they undulate. The waves sometimes touch like this non-transhuman one does with ours. There are other alternate universes out there. We have equations that prove it. But my ability stretches only to the universe intersecting ours. It’s finite. Like a rubber band that can only go so far before it bounces back or breaks.”
“Or like a Stretch Armstrong doll?” he offered with a grin.
“I don’t want to find out. I’ve seen what can happen to those dolls, and it’s not pretty.”
“I destroyed a few in my day.”
“That’s why I’m assuming Stockwell is from the universe touching ours. Otherwise, I have no clue how to find him.”
Kali stood back from the board, reviewing her notes and trying to think of their next move.
“Data’s been processed. I’m collating gamma occurrences.” Max turned back to the monitor and tapped on the virtual keyboard.
“Two bursts within an hour of each other in New Hampshire, 1992, stronger than normal levels occurring in the atmosphere. That could be Inferno’s doctor who went missing after the Dartmouth lecture,” Max said.
“I doubt it’s a coincidence. Can we focus on this past week including today?”
Dots dropped off the map, leaving a small cluster between Baltimore and D.C. Kali took out her time journal. Max zoomed in on Maryland.
Based on the times referenced in her notebook, Kali confirmed she had caused half those bursts. The rest she surmised was from Stockwell, unless there were more alt-jumpers. Kali noticed four fluctuations that weren’t hers.
“Looks like he was busy, especially today. Those others are mine.” Perhaps Stockwell alt-jumping through the dimensional plane at the same time Kali did was the reason she overshot to 1930 this afternoon.
“Keep track of your alt-jumps?” Max pointed at her journal.
“Have to, need to make sure I don’t double jump to the same time and place.”
Kali scanned the room for a clue strewn about Max’s research. “Stockwell came here for you. Why? What are you working on?”
“Nothing worth kidnapping me over. On my worktable are prototypes for the audio cybernetics that failed me earlier. I need to go back to the electronic drawing board on those.”
“When did you lose your hearing?” Kali asked.
“A few years ago in an accident.”
Kali waited for him to elaborate on it. When Max didn’t, she opted not to pursue it any further. “Must be something you do in the future that got his attention.”
“That’s not any pressure.” Max shoved his hand through his hair.
“In our universe, this alt-jumper can come and go along our timeline. In their universe, he is coming and going from a single point in time. It’s his anchor, his slingshot. I’ll need to go there.” Kali stared up at the neon blue outline of the world with its glowing dots, searching for an answer.
“Where? We’ve narrowed it down to the late sixties or early seventies, if our theory is correct. Unless ...” Max tapped a finger on his bottom lip.
“Unless what?”
“If I can go with you back in time to either of those eras, then I could hack into their rudimentary computer systems. You mentioned that their computer technology appeared to mirror our own so their early systems should be similar to our origins. Or better yet,” he said, his features lighting up, “I could track down my grandfather for help. He might’ve been working with the Army or even the Allied Special Forces during those years. He created the plans for the dark energy reader we’re using to track these alt-jumps.”
“He may not be who you think he is.”
“How so?” Max jerked back.
“Your grandfather may never have founded DERST. Might’ve gone down a different path. Ended up a dentist or a circus clown. Who knows? But you’ll change his life and the future by telling him who you are, what you know and where you came from.”
“You travel there.” Max crossed his arms.
“I do it infrequently, track it carefully, go to the same places, and don’t reveal my identity.”
“You were never curious? Tracked down yourself or your family in this alternate universe?”
Kali rocked back in her chair and studied him. Could she trust him with a secret she’d only told her closest friends? “I’ve met my family. Spent time with my grandparents and father when he was a child. I made sure to not reveal anything about me and checked that their future lives have stayed the same, and I didn’t impact them. As far as I can tell, I haven’t stepped on any butterflies and caused a baby not to be born. That’s why I stick to places and times I believe are safe to avoid any changes.”
Kali swallowed down a guilt-heavy lump. To be honest, she shouldn’t go at all. She never should have spent time with them, but traveling there provided a much-needed escape from her world where Kali could never see or talk with them again.
“I get your point.” Max nodded, eyes downcast.
“I can look him up after this is over and let you know.”
“I’d like that.” He nodded again, face brightening.
“There are other subtle differences.” Kali wanted Max to understand why she was reticent about his plan to see his Pop-Pop. “Like the names of corporations and countries and even a slight variation in their money. I can get away with using some of our money, but I need to be careful not to get caught and arrested as a—”
Her stomach took that moment to growl.
“Hungry?” Max’s brows lifted in amusement.
“Either that or an alien is about to burst from my tummy.”
Max chuckled. “Stress joking again?”
Kali smiled. “You got it. But in all seriousness, I need to fuel up before we travel. If you can hack into their systems, then it’s worth a try. Fingers crossed, we don’t cause greater damage than what they’ve caused in our world.”
“What about pizza? There’s a good—”
“You had me at pizza.”
“No onions or anchovies,” they said in unison.
His lips slid into a grin, mirroring her bemusement. After Max ordered the pizza, he asked about drinks.
“Water is best even though I’m dying for a good Manhattan.”
“Those are tricky. But there’s a secret to making it.” Max sauntered over to a dark corner of the lab. As he drew closer, an ambient light turned on and illuminated a kitchenette in the same modern style as the full-sized one upstairs. Top-shelf bottles lined the back counter.
Curious, Kali followed him. “What’s the secret?”
He grabbed two bottled waters from a small fridge. “I’ll need to you to sign a nondisclosure agreement on that as well.”
“How do you know this? Most people I’ve met don’t make old school drinks.”
Max handed her one of the waters. His fingers lingered on hers before he pulled away. “How do you think I put myself through college?”
“Your family didn’t pay your way?” Kali took a drink.
“I did everything myself. I had to prove that I had what it took to succeed without their support. They weren’t going to hand over the company to someone who couldn’t handle it.”
“I had you pegged all wrong.” Kali shook her head.
“Most people do. But I pegged you wrong as well.”
“Most people do.”
“But it could’ve been that blond Orphan Annie wig you were wearing.”
Kali laughed. “You thought it was hot, don’t deny it.”
Max chuckled. “I sure did.”
They stared at each other across the counter, and Kali really saw Max for the first time. White locks coming unglued from hair g
el fell over his forehead and gave him a relaxed vibe so different from the spotless CEO dressed in a tailored suit. Max’s eyes were open, trusting, not guarded as at dinner. His lips looked softer than the cold, judgmental line when they first met. He exuded a calm, self-assuredness that put Kali at ease in a situation where she shouldn’t be. As if it everything would work out because Max had her back, he wouldn’t let her down. And why she felt this way with such a certainty as knowing the movie Bambi would make her bawl after every single viewing, she hadn’t a clue.
It just hit her. Suddenly and with no logical sense. He was a stranger. But she knew him as well as Surefire or Inferno or even her mother.
“I should ...” When Max motioned to the stairs, Kali noticed a tattoo peaking out from under his sleeve’s edge
“Get plates and utensils and wait for the delivery guy,” Max finished.
“Yeah, yeah, plates good.” Kali cringed at the sudden loss of her wit and words.
With a backward glance, Max started toward the stairs outside the lab.
“What do I owe you for the pizza?” Kali called to him.
“It’s my treat.”
“Oooh, big spender, are ya?” Good. She could form a sentence again.
“I’ll treat you to something special later,” Max shouted down the stairs.
Kali took a swig of water to keep her mouth occupied before she embarrassed herself again.
Flushed, Kali unzipped her U-Sec jacket and walked over to the monitor to study the map. When no revelations came, she searched her journal to see if she’d encountered anyone like Stockwell when she alt-jumped in years past. Besides dates and locations, Kali noted names and descriptions of people she met, but no one stood out as a potential Stockwell.
Then there was also the device Stockwell had connected to his body. If he was from the 1960s or 1970s in this other universe, where did he get the technology? Because there was no evidence of that knowledge when she visited the alternate universe in the early 2000s.
Unless their past had changed.
But the only way that’s possible is if there’s another alt-jumper in my universe. Or if I—
The doorbell dinged as a new blinking red dot appeared on the map. Kali touched the virtual keyboard and enlarged the image to zoom in on the location.
Max’s house.
The blinking dot appeared along the perimeter of his gated yard.
The doorbell sounded again.
Kali sprinted across the room.
“Max, stop!” Up the steps, her long legs took two at a time.
“Max!” Kali’s boot hit the landing.
“Get away from there,” she yelled at Max’s back. He stood in front of the open doorway.
“What?” Max peered over his shoulder while he held the pizza box. “It’s just the delivery guy.”
Kali paused for a breath in the living room. “I think Stockwell is out there.”
Max tried to close the door but a black boot jammed into the space and stopped it. The door slammed backward into Max, catching him off guard and knocking the pizza from his hands. He staggered. Arms embedded with wires enclosed around Max. A flash of light blinded Kali for a split second. When she could see again, Stockwell and Max had disappeared. The swirling, pulsating portal shrunk down to the size of her fist.
“You mother-trucking-alt-universe bastard.” Kali ran full force and threw her energy into the portal. She felt a yank at her core, like a rope lassoed around her waist pulling her forward into the now-growing hole.
Please let me make it was her final plea before it sucked her in.
Chapter 5
This alt-jump was different, choppy. Kali jerked forward then slowed then jerked forward again, like a roller coaster churning up the first hill. The currents bounced and stretched her through the dark, cold membrane separating the two universes. A pinprick of dull yellow light appeared in front of her. It widened, and she floated toward it, first on a gentle flowing river then through the rapids.
Kali prayed she wouldn’t be forced to shift locations when she materialized.
Her thick soles flattened against a concrete floor with a red circle around where she stood. A pungent metallic odor assaulted Kali’s nose. A spotlight showered yellow light upon her. Kali looked around the room. Servers and computers covered the walls from floor to ceiling. Old technology. 1970s, maybe? She never studied techno-history.
Kali took a step from the circle and heard a crunch. Lifting her shoe, she found a transparent object the size of child’s palm. One of Max’s hearing aids. She’d arrived after them. Minutes, seconds, hours, Kali didn’t know. Held up by the dimensional membrane, so she didn’t shift on entry. A happy coincidence. Now she needed to find Max and the others. The metal door to her right appeared to be the only way out.
A knocking sound stopped Kali midway to the exit. It sounded again from somewhere behind her in a dark corner of the room, the only corner not covered by bulky computers. Kali looked around for a light since the one above the circle didn’t reach into the corners. A louder knock resounded from the blackness. Kali crept toward the noise. Her knees banged into a large, heavy object and lost her balance. Her hands splayed out to catch her fall and landed on a cool glass surface at thigh level. Underneath her hands she felt vibrations from another knock.
“What the what?” Kali jumped back. Eyes adjusting to the darkness, she noticed the glass and metal coffin shaped container. She couldn’t see what was inside, but Kali saw tubes running out of it, along the floor and into two packs hanging on the wall. Electronic packs like the one Stockwell wore.
Kali discovered a switch on the wall next to the devices and flipped it on. A sickly green light flickered on inside the case. Pale fists beat against the glass. Inside a naked woman bucked and kicked. A contraption like a diver’s mouthpiece was fitted over her lips.
Kali squinted. She bent down for a closer look then jerked away and tripped back over her feet.
It was her. Kali. But how?
Her mind spun with questions, but she couldn’t give herself time to ponder them because she needed to get this Kali—or whoever it was—out of there.
She ran her hands along the top of the rectangular box. The naked woman pointed to two latches on the opposite side. With nervous fingers, Kali undid them and hoisted the heavy lid off with a grunt.
Her doppelgänger splashed up from the case, soaking Kali’s uniform with water mixed with an oily fluid. She tore the apparatus from her mouth and gulped at the air. The woman leaned out of the box, her small breasts pressed along the metal edge. She spurted and spit fluid onto the floor. Brown hair slicked back from her face. Long arms hung over the side. She struggled to get the tubes out of her skin then stopped pulling when they didn’t come free.
Kali crouched next to the glass and metal prison and looked up at the sallow face. Cheekbones sunken in. Brown eyes dull and bloodshot.
“Who are you?” Kali asked, even though she knew the answer.
“I’m you, silly. Duh,” the other Kali responded in a raspy tone as she flicked goo from her arms.
“How is this possible?” Kali uttered to herself. Her other self. Damn, this was confusing.
“When did you come from?” the other Kali asked.
“Me? What about you?”
“The date.” A deep cough rattled her entire body.
“December 22, 2014.”
“The night of mom’s party?”
Kali nodded. “During dinner, this guy, Stockwell, popped onto the middle of the dining room table and tried to take the CEO of DERST, Max Martin. I stopped him, but he got Sean instead. A few hours later, I was with Max at his place when Stockwell showed up and nabbed him. But I kept his portal open and followed the ions here.”
The other Kali let out a dry, wheezy laugh.
“What’s so funny?” An icy breeze blew across Kali’s cheek. She peered up at the ceiling but didn’t see a vent.
“They screwed the pooch big time. Classic al
t-jumper mistake.”
“I don’t under—”
“Shut up and listen, babe. I don’t know what’s about to happen. This is new to me too.” She lifted herself off the metal edge that had left a red mark embedded across her chest.
Kali nodded again and clamped her lips shut.
“After mom’s real-crap dinner, I alt-jumped to visit Nanny and Pop-Pop. But someone was waiting for me. They’ve been watching us—you, me, whatever—for years. When we came to this universe to visit our family, they were tracking us. And the last time I alt-jumped on December 22, 2014, from our universe to December 25, 1969, in the alternate one, they took me.”
“Wait. What?”
“So Stockwell showing up at Deandra’s dinner stopped me … you … from traveling to 1969 later that evening, which then means I never got taken five years ago in the non-trans universe.”
“You’ve been here for five years? Then it’s—”
“1974.”
“Who did this?” Another chilly wind blew across Kali’s skin. The room wavered and rippled like a reflection in a funhouse mirror.
“It’s happening,” the other Kali whispered. “It’s changing because of what we’ve … I’ve … done.”
“What did we do?”
“We changed the past of this universe, and now time is wrinkling, resifting, adjusting to the changes.”
“Where are Max and Sean?”
“It doesn’t matter, because this will never happen.” She grabbed the sleeve of Kali’s jacket. “Don’t you get it? They won’t capture me, because you didn’t travel to Pop-Pop’s place in 1969 after mom’s dinner like I did. So they won’t steal our power to travel to our universe and steal our knowledge and take our people. As long as you don’t travel here again, they can’t do this to us and change our timeline.”
A ripple passed through the room again, wavering through Kali. Her insides quivered like jelly.
“You need to leave.” Her thin fingers clamped around Kali’s forearm.
“But you didn’t tell me who—”
She dug her fingers into Kali’s arm to stress her point. “Don’t travel to this universe again. They’re watching.”
