Johnson said, “That seems like a fundamental waste of our resources. We’re chasing ghosts of a universe that can’t be stopped and ignoring real mental health issues.”
Henley said, “See it however you like, but we’re sworn to stop it.”
Henley and Johnson sent a telepathic message to every psychiatrist in the Gylvanian sector of the universe. While he knew that there was an emergency, he didn’t know which planet, or even which galaxy, contained the emergency. Once the message was sent, they forgot about their meeting.
***
Sylvia said, “I don’t understand why you’re so set against me knowing the truth.”
Jenni said, “Because I’m not a traveler. I can’t go with you, and I love you.”
Sylvia said, “I love you, too, but I have to know the truth.”
Sylvia was crying because she didn’t want to hurt Jenni. She had to know the nature of the universe, but she didn’t want to leave Jenni alone.
***
A psychiatrist, who was on duty at a hospital two miles away, received a telepathic message from the Gylvanian Guild of Psychiatry. He was dispatched to Jenni’s house on emergency orders to stop Sylvia from discovering the grand nature of the universe.
He had no choice but to try and stop Sylvia. The universe didn’t want too many people understanding the full nature of the universe. It is a very dangerous thing for too many minds to try and control the universe at once.
He thought, “Why can’t I remember any of this when it’s not happening? I know exactly what I need to do and why I need to do it right now. What is so cloak and dagger about this?”
He got in his car and started driving toward Sylvia’s house. He knew there was a time element to this mission, so he had to hurry.
He remembered, “Oh, that’s right. The secret part of this is that I know right now that humans are not the only intelligent life in the universe. I’m taking my orders from the Gylvanian Guild of Psychiatry. If I don’t keep that a secret, a lot of chaos could come as a result. People are evil when they get information before they’re ready for it.”
***
Sylvia said, “I’m sorry, but this is something I have to do.”
Jenni said, “I love you,” and hugged Sylvia.
Sylvia asked Jenni, “Will you bring me your revolver?”
Jenni said, “I don’t want to.”
Sylvia gave her an evil look. Jenni got up and fetched the gun for her friend. As she handed it to Sylvia, she was begging her not to use it.
Sylvia said, “I’m going to put two bullets in the cylinder. I’m going to play Russian roulette until I die. That way, it’s going to create lots of parallel universes.”
Jenni said, “I really wish you would reconsider. If you die here tonight, I’m going to get charged with murder. They’ll never believe such an awful story.”
Sylvia said, “If you’d like, I can wait until you’re far away. Then you’ll have an alibi.”
Jenni said, “No, I want to be here with you until the end. I love you, and I don’t want to miss a moment with you.”
Sylvia loaded the cylinder and spun it. She put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Click.
***
The psychiatrist arrived on Jenni’s block. He was no longer in control of his body. The GGP assumed full control over his body and mind in order to try and stop a traveler from becoming too powerful. He got out of his car and walked toward the house.
He thought, “Too bad I can’t tell anyone about this. It’s a way better story than my normal work.”
***
Jenni said, “There. You’ve created a parallel universe where the gun fired. Please stop now.”
Sylvia said, “I can’t do that. I have to keep going until I die in this universe.”
She spun the cylinder again. She put the gun against her temple and pulled the trigger. The gun fired and her brains were scattered around the room.
Jenni cried, “No, Sylvia! I loved you!”
***
The psychiatrist felt a disturbance in the fabric of space and time. He knew that the patient he was being sent to see had already crossed over into the forbidden knowledge of the universe. He didn’t understand why he was still aware of the situation.
He thought, “I should’ve forgotten what the hell’s going on if she already crossed into another dimension. Why am I still going toward the house?”
He kept walking, even though he didn’t know what to expect when he reached the door.
He thought, “Maybe the universe made a mistake this time.”
***
Jenni was crying over Sylvia’s body. The scene was too much for her to take. She fully loaded the revolver and closed the chamber. She put the gun against her head and took a deep breath.
She thought, “I’m not even afraid to die. I can’t go on living without Sylvia in my life.”
Jenni put the gun against her temple. She took another deep breath and cried. She pulled the trigger and she died. Her body slumped on the bed and blood flowed out of her until blood soaked the mattress and the carpet.
***
Just before Jenni died, the psychiatrist felt another rip in the fabric of space and time. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew it couldn’t be good. He reached the door just before she pulled the trigger.
Once Jenni died, the psychiatrist came out of his trance. He had no idea why he was at this house, but he decided to leave before any police arrived. He heard gunshots, and didn’t want to answer any uncomfortable questions about why he was at this house when a gun was fired. He got back into his car and went home as quickly as he could.
***
Sylvia was in a limbo for a few seconds. She saw options, and she considered each one. Then, Jenni was standing next to her.
Sylvia, astonished, asked, “How did you get here?”
Jenni said, “I think I just discovered that I’m a traveler, too.”
Sylvia said, “But you never had a realization.”
Jenni said, “I never had a reason to doubt the universe until you died in front of me. My life seemed pretty normal until you shared your secret with me. Then the universe prevented me from telling you anything that would lead you here.”
Sylvia asked, “So how are you telling me now?”
Jenni answered, “I have no idea. Maybe the rules are different here in the death zone.”
Sylvia asked, “How do you know this is called a death zone?”
Jenni said, “I don’t. The name just popped in my head.”
Jenni said, “So, I guess this is my realization.”
Sylvia said, “I don’t think so. You have to get a bunch of information about the universe. I’ll probably be the one to give it to you when we land in our new home.”
Jenni said, “That’s going to be awesome.”
Sylvia said, “So, you can come with me. This is awesome. I discovered the true nature of the universe and brought my best friend along for the ride.”
Jenni said, “It would be more awesome if we hadn’t hurt everyone else we know.”
Sylvia said, “I regret that, but it had to be done for the greater good.”
They decided to go into a parallel universe where they were both rich and didn’t have many enemies. When they arrived, Sylvia had a revolver in her hand and Jenni was blindfolded on the bed.
Jenni said, “I guess this is a parallel universe where you killed me first.”
Sylvia said, “I wonder where the other versions of us went.”
Jenni said, “Perhaps that’s the universe’s next secret for us to crack.”
Jenni said, “I wonder why you were going to kill me. Do you think we had a disagreement?”
Sylvia said, “It certainly looks that way. I wonder if we had a fight here. It looks like this was some serious drama.”
Jenni said, “It doesn’t matter. Those versions of us are gone now. We’ve replaced them.”
Sylvia said, “It’ll matter if
the police show up. We should try to find out what happened, and we should do it quickly.”
There was a suitcase on the dresser. Sylvia went to investigate. She unloaded the gun and put it next to the suitcase. She opened the suitcase and gasped,
Jenni asked, “What’s wrong?”
Sylvia said, “This is full of cocaine. I think I killed you over a drug deal in this reality.”
Jenni said, “We’d better get out of here.”
As they started to run toward the door, they heard police sirens. They ran to the back door. Jenni threw open the back door and jumped into the arms of a police officer.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jail
Sylvia and Jenni were arrested and taken to jail. David Keller, Sylvia’s lawyer in this reality, came to the jail to consult with them.
David asked, “What the hell were you thinking?”
Sylvia replied, “I have no idea. I’m not really sure what happened.”
David said, “Drugs can do that to you.”
Sylvia said, “What are we looking at?”
David said, “It’s a good thing you didn’t kill Jenni for burning you. That would’ve been very bad.”
Jenni, acting outraged, yelled, “What do you mean she was going to kill me?”
David replied, “Well, you did steal three million from her. You would’ve deserved it.”
Jenni said, “I don’t remember taking anything.”
David said, “Right now, you’re both charged with cocaine possession with intent to distribute, and aggravated battery. You’re looking at five years minimum and as much as 20 years.”
Sylvia asked, “Do they have a strong case against us?”
David said, “It’s almost rock solid. They have undercover drug buys, videotapes and all the seized property.”
Jenni said, “So what can you do for us?”
David said, “I can use the insanity defense. It’s rare that it’ll work in a case like this, but it might be worth a shot.”
Sylvia was keenly aware of what that meant. She would have to submit to the care of a team of psychiatrists. Jenni was terrified of this prospect.
She thought, “I just found out I’m a traveler, and now I’m going to see the archenemy of all travelers. If I’d known about this before we got here, I would’ve jumped somewhere else.”
Sylvia said, “I don’t want to do that. What are the chances of getting off on a technicality?”
David said, “I can try to work on that angle, but it’s 1000 times riskier.”
David left the room. Sylvia and Jenni were escorted back to their cells. They were adjacent to each other, so Sylvia and Jenni could easily communicate through the vents.
Jenni stood on her bed and said, “Sylvia, I have an idea.”
Sylvia asked, “What’s your idea?”
Jenni said, “I just realized that we discovered a great secret. We can’t let the shrinks get to us, so we have to jump again.”
Sylvia asked, “How do you propose we die together here?”
Jenni said, “There’s lots of ways. We just can’t let them know it’s suicide ahead of time. Then the shrinks have a free pass.”
Sylvia said, “You work on a plan, and I’ll try to figure out how to implement it.”
Jenni asked, “Where should we go next time?”
Sylvia answered, “Someplace where we’re not criminals.”
Jenni racked her brain thinking of easy ways to die in the prison. She thought about starting a fight, but she didn’t want a painful death. She also needed to make sure the deaths were certain and nearly simultaneous. She considered poison, but access to poisons was restricted. Falling was an option, but death wasn’t guaranteed from a second tier fall.
Jenni asked Sylvia, “Do you have anything sharp in your cell?”
Sylvia said, “No, everything’s designed to be resistant to weapon making.”
Jenni asked, “What about a plug?”
Sylvia said, “Yeah, I have a plug.”
Jenni said, “Do you have something you can get very wet and then insert it in the plug?”
Sylvia said, “That doesn’t sound like a guaranteed death, nor does it sound easy. Keep thinking.”
Jenni continued thinking of ways to die. She’d seen plenty of episodes of prison shows, but all the deaths she’d seen were violent. She was trying to avoid a painful death.
Sylvia asked, “Have you thought of anything yet?”
Jenni said, “The easiest way to die in here is poison, but it’s locked up.”
Sylvia said, “You’re a genius.”
Jenni said, “No I’m not. That was just an observation. There’s no way to get our hands on a poison.”
Sylvia said, “Oh, but there is. We can get botulism.”
Jenni asked, “Isn’t that slow and painful?”
Sylvia said, “Only if you eat it. I intend to inject it.”
Jenni asked, “How? They lock up the needles, too.”
Sylvia said, “It’s not hard to get a needle in here. You just have to know who to ask.”
For the next week, Sylvia cultivated an environment conducive to botulism production. She had old food that she was deliberately spoiling. She did some research in the jail’s library and knew exactly how much botulism she needed to kill Jenni and herself. She hid the project from jail staff by moving it around every day, and making sure it wasn’t in her cell during a shakedown.
Jenni asked, “How much longer?”
Sylvia said, “It’ll be ready tomorrow. It might be ready now, but I want make sure we’re going to die in this reality.”
Jenni said, “Good. I don’t like this version of us.”
Sylvia said, “Neither do I.”
The next day, they were very careful not to arouse the suspicions of the jail staff. Once everyone was in bed, Sylvia passed Jenni a portion of botulism and a needle through the vent.
Jenni asked, “Where did you get the needles?”
Sylvia snapped, “Keep your voice down. They can hear you. I have a friend in the infirmary. I told him I’d let him do things to me if he gave me some needles.”
Jenni said, “You’re not that kind of girl.”
Sylvia said, “I know that, and you know that; but he doesn’t know that. By the time he figures it out, we’ll be safely in another dimension.”
Jenni said, “Tell me when you’re ready.”
Sylvia said, “Give me a minute to load it up.”
She loaded her needle with botulism and carefully put the tray on the bed. She didn’t want to make any noise and alert the jail staff.
Jenni asked, “Is anyone around?”
Sylvia said, “They did their rounds a few minutes ago. We’ll have time to die safely before they come back.”
Jenni said, “I’m injecting now.”
Sylvia said, “So am I.”
They waited a few moments to allow the poison to do its work. They felt incredibly sick, but they didn’t vomit or make any noise. Jenni lost control of her body and fell to the floor with a loud thud.
Sylvia thought, “I hope that didn’t let the staff know what’s going on.”
Sylvia was in a stable position and passed out on her bed. Jail staff rushed to Jenni’s cell to investigate the noise. They found Jenni on the floor. They went to Sylvia’s cell and saw her fast asleep. They ignored her and rushed to Jenni’s cell.
A guard asked, “Is she dead?”
Another guard checked her pulse. She was barely alive.
He said, “She’s still here.”
The first guard ordered, “Get her to the infirmary.”
They rushed Jenni to the infirmary, but she died before they arrived. The next morning, they discovered Sylvia’s dead body in her bed. There was an investigation into how they got the needles and botulism. The infirmary nurse was fired, and new kitchen searches were put in place.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Conclusion
Sylvia and Jenni landed
in a universe very similar to the one where they started. They decided that riches and luxuries came at too high a cost, so they decided to live normal lives.
Sylvia said, “Are we normal here?”
Jenni said, “Everything looked pretty normal from the outside. We’re not drug dealers, and you have the same job you had before.”
Sylvia said, “I wonder what’s different here?”
Jenni said, “There’s only one way to find out. We’ll have to go investigate.”
Over the course of the next two weeks, they discovered that this was very close to the world they left when they shot themselves. The only difference seemed to be that they didn’t die that night. After their investigations, the friends decided to compare notes.
Jenni said, “I wonder if this is one of the parallel universes we created by spinning the chamber.”
Sylvia said, “It really looks that way. I have the same car, with the same number of miles on it. Brian is still my boyfriend, and I still work at the convenience store.”
Jenni said, “We both live in the same houses, and have the same things in them.”
Sylvia said, “Yeah, this universe is eerily similar to the one we left that night.”
Jenni asked, “But if we didn’t die in this universe, we shouldn’t have the answer to the question.”
Sylvia said, “That sounds like it could create a paradox.”
Jenni said, “Oh, wonderful. We’re going to cause the universe to implode because we did something impossible.”
Sylvia said, “Maybe we’re just here so I can do your realization in peace. No one suspects anything here, not even the psychiatrists.”
Jenni said, “I don’t see how that’s possible. They’re a fixed point in time and space.”
Sylvia asked, “How do you know that?”
Jenni said, “Because I have all knowledge of the universe. When I discovered that I’m a traveler the way I did, the universe granted me all knowledge. I know all about the Gylvanian Guild of Psychiatry that’s controlling all psychiatrists. I know why we’re here. I know why everything happens.”
Sylvia asked, “Can you please share this knowledge with me, because I’m confused as hell?”
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