by D. S. Smith
“Can I see it please?” Stuart rolled up his trouser leg. To his astonishment the four-inch scar he’d had since he was twenty-two years old was gone.
“Ok, I admit that might appear strange.” Catherine interjected. “But what does all of this prove? Forgive me for saying so Stuart but we’ve already established a lot of what you remember isn’t always consistent with reality.”
“That’s true.” Stuart agreed with a nod to the professor.
The professor explained they had interviewed all twenty-nine of the people involved in the incidents he had described previously. Virtually all of them reported scars or tattoos had disappeared, missing teeth had spontaneously regenerated, hair colour had changed back to its original. The professor laughed revealing that one of the stewardesses from the crashed jet had complained because the breast implants she had paid a fortune for had suddenly disappeared from her body along with the scars where they had been inserted.
Catherine’s head was reeling. She could not believe what she was hearing. If all the incidents the professor had described could be substantiated it would be hard to convince Stuart otherwise, or herself for that matter. She thought over what the professor had been telling them, trying to find a fault in his story. Anything that may help them unravel this fantastic tale he was weaving.
“Professor, you stated earlier most of the subjects you have interviewed no longer recognised each other after experiencing these crossovers. How it is the two brothers on the plane still recognised each other? Also, Stuart and his brother still recognise each other but not the Arabian boy and his father, or the crew from the vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. How can that be explained?”
“A very good question Dr Carson,” he replied, trying without success to not sound patronising.
“Firstly, the two brothers from the crashed plane travelled through the wormhole together so they already knew each other. The interesting factor with them is, despite knowing each other, neither of them knew the other people or recognised the lives they were meant to be leading here. Regarding your other observations, as I mentioned earlier our research suggests there are an infinite number of parallel universes, some very similar to ours, others vastly different. We believe those closest to us will be very similar but as we get further away from our own the differences will increase. The chances of the same two people meeting and procreating on any one of the universes closest to us are very good but not definite. So it really comes as no surprise that Stuart here has the same family unit as the original Stuart from this universe, but the boy and his father don’t.”
Stuart looked at her and shrugged. “Makes sense.” She couldn’t deny it made sense, but it was hardly enough to convince her Stuart was from a parallel universe. “So how does all this work, Professor? Why doesn’t all matter get sucked into these holes? Why didn’t the ship and the aeroplane get sucked in?” The professor smiled. He had been waiting for this question. “This is the part that amazes me the most, Dr Carson. As a physicist, it is all too easy to become acquisitive and pragmatic. To forget just how wondrous life is. Dr Cooper here has humbled us all with what he has discovered so I’ll leave it to him to explain.”
Dr Cooper thanked the professor for his kind words before standing up to address his guests. Whilst his English was impeccable, an underlying accent convinced Stuart of what he had already suspected, in that despite his western sounding name Dr Cooper was almost certainly of Chinese origin. “Dr Carson, from your medical training I’m sure you’ll have a thorough understanding of DNA and the genetic code.” A cursory nod from the psychiatrist gave Dr Cooper the cue to continue. “It’s long been understood that all the information contained in our DNA, in addition to a little external influence from our environment, determines what and who we are from the moment the egg divides until the day we perish. It is commonly believed that most of this DNA is redundant, having no apparent function, a relic from our evolutionary origins if you like. All our understanding of the genetic code was based around what proteins and subsequent tissues they are coded to produce, but this redundant DNA did not code for anything. However, recent advances in physics have led to a whole new understanding of the function of these genes. Professor Humphries and his team, along with many modern theoretical physicists, now accept that subatomic particles, such as the fundamental unit of all atoms, the electron, are not particles at all but are, in fact, strings. These strings vibrate at a frequency that determine their form. For instance, at one frequency it’s an electron at another frequency it’s a proton or a neutron. However, even if you have two frequencies that both produce an electron they are still minutely different. Every electron, proton or neutron in our universe is unique due to the minute difference in the way they vibrate.” He paused for a moment and looked towards the professor with a smile. “This is where our sciences converge. This is the point where biology can explain physics and physics can explain everything.” The professor smiled back and nodded to his colleague, encouraging him to continue.
For the first time Catherine began to feel the gravity of the revelations they were party to. The information was starting to seem credible. So far, it had been delivered to them like they were a pair of students in a lecture. Now she felt like they were the only people in the world being allowed this privileged information. She was, of course, almost right. Dr Cooper continued with his presentation. “It has often been stated that when the trillions of sperm released during sex race toward the egg, and only one manages to penetrate it, that something magical happens. We’ve discovered the magic is harmony. The sum frequency of all the subatomic particles making up the atoms, which in turn make up the egg, attract the sperm having the sum frequency nearest to its own, the one closest to harmony with it. This is where our DNA plays a big part, not only in our physical development but also in our harmonic development. For every single nucleotide string that code for protein synthesis, a billion more code to keep our bodies in harmony. All of the atoms making up our bodies are brought in from an external source. Our DNA is coded to harmonise the frequency of every single one of the atoms we use to build ourselves. The frequencies of the subatomic particles making up the atoms are changed subtly enough to do this but not enough to change their structure. You could say throughout our development, from birth to death, our genes are composing a harmonic symphony that makes us what we are. It’s what makes us individual; it’s our life force, our soul.”
There was silence for a few minutes while Stuart and Catherine tried to take in what they were being told. They were sat in the lecture room of a historical university college. No national security there to guard the secrets being revealed, no fanfare to announce the amazing discoveries made by Professor Humphries and his team. The far-reaching implications of what was being announced to them warranted more pomp and circumstance than this. The whole thing was surreal.
Catherine was the first to break the silence. The scepticism was gone from her voice, replaced by a tone of perplexity. “Ok, I should probably apologise for my initial reaction to what you have been trying to tell us. This is incredibly interesting and I mean that sincerely, but I still don’t fully understand or accept how this explains my patient’s condition. You are suggesting Stuart here is from another universe and has swapped places with his double from this universe. That he fell through a wormhole? You’ve presented compelling evidence to support this theory but there are also a number of inconsistencies. For me to even begin to entertain such a… well, mind-blowing theory, I would need to have these explained to me.”
“That is what we are here for doctor. To answer any questions that will help you understand what we are trying to achieve here.”
Her first question was directed at Stuart. She looked at him with affection and smiled. “Stuart, I cannot begin to imagine what you are thinking right now. But if we are going to try understand this I will need to share aspects of your case with these people. Do you mind?”
“Absolutely Catherine, whatever helps.” He rep
lied returning the smile. She stood up, rubbing the back of her neck, trying to think how to address this. It was her turn to pace up and down, acting like a defence lawyer cross examining a witness. “I’m sure you all already know most of what I am about to tell you but bear with me as I need to summarise in order to formulate my questions. Stuart’s case was assigned to me as it was believed he was suffering from an acute dissociative disorder. The core of his claim is that he is happily married to a woman called Lauren Bell who is expecting his child. He also claims to be a zookeeper. There is an irrefutable amount of evidence that proves beyond a doubt that both these claims are false; primarily, the fact that Lauren Bell died ten years ago. Sorry.” She mouthed to him before continuing. “From the first interview I held with Stuart it was obvious he believed everything he was claiming to be true. He was able to describe with detail and clarity the separate career paths he and Lauren took but ultimately brought them back together. Interestingly his description of Lauren’s career path is extremely accurate up until the point when in reality she died but in his world, they came back together. I say came back together because he also claims they had met many years earlier at a party.” She looked around the room to see if she was confusing anyone but nothing suggested she was so she continued.
“How he describes his own career development however, is totally inaccurate. Stuart is convinced his role at the zoo is that of keeper of tigers and he has worked as a keeper since graduating from university. In actual fact Stuart never graduated from university but instead opted for travelling. He has had numerous jobs since he returned from his travels but has never been employed has a zookeeper. He is currently employed at the zoo but as an education officer.” She walked over to Stuart and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Delusional recollections such as these are a classic symptom of someone who is suffering from a disassociation disorder. His delusions are so deep set that conventional methods would never have worked so I opted for hypnosis. In the last hypnosis session we had, Stuart recalled with great clarity how he had found a body in the tiger enclosure during his keeping duties at the zoo before tumbling into darkness and waking up to a life he didn’t recognise.” She walked away from Stuart and stood behind the lectern. The professor had taken her seat beside Stuart. She froze for a moment taking in her surroundings. The paintings on the walls of the scientific icons, the wooden panelling, the terraced seats and the waiting faces sat on them. Stuart’s face looking back at her, believing more with every word she spoke that the professor’s theory offered all the answers he had been searching for. She pressed on knowing she no longer had an argument to offer. “As I have already said, while your theories, as fantastic as they may be, appear to be able to explain these events there are inconsistencies. Dr Cooper’s description of a harmonic function for DNA was very eloquently put and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It didn’t, however, explain why those passing through the wormhole no longer have scars, tattoos, breast implants and so on. In fact, how does this whole exchange work? I could almost accept it if the two people appeared at the same place but Stuart here was in the zoo while the other Stuart seems to have been in his home.”
“I think I get it.” They all turned to look at Stuart who was holding his hand up in the air. “It’s something to do with the harmonics, isn’t it? Even though my life is different to this other Stuart’s life we still have the same harmonics. The wormholes form between two points that are in harmony?” He raised the intonation at the end of his sentence, turning his statement into a question. The others nodded but it was the professor that answered. “That is not far off the mark Stuart.” He walked back toward the lectern. Catherine stood aside letting him pass. He brushed his hair back and faced the group again. “Harmony is the determining factor here. As Dr Cooper explained all matter is made up of atoms and all atoms are made up of subatomic strings that vibrate. There is a balance throughout the universe, or, if you like, the whole universe is in harmony.” He paused letting his words sink in. Stuart glanced at Catherine. She looked crestfallen. Had she begun to realise she had misdiagnosed him? he thought. The professor continued. “Newton touched on this balance with his laws of thermodynamics but in reference to energy rather than harmony. He stated that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only converted from one form to another. The harmony of the universe is balanced in such a way it never changes. As one note fades another one begins. The laws of physics governing this apply to all universes. They have to or those universes wouldn’t exist.” He said this like it would be obvious to those listening.
“Therefore, when these wormholes open between parallel universes and something passes through them, the only way the balance can be addressed is if an object of the same harmony passes through the other way. So regardless of where you were when your counterpart went through the wormhole, you will replace him at his location. Try not to think of this in four dimensions. In the dimension where this occurs the space and time are the same at each end of the wormhole, even if they appear different in our dimension.” He paused again, giving them time to process this before continuing. “Don’t think of yourself physically passing through the wormhole. At the point where this exchange occurs you are literally stripped down to your subatomic particles and reassembled at the other side. However, you are reassembled according your genetic code so any artificial influence on your body such as scarring or tattoos is disregarded and you are reassembled as a perfect expression of your genes.”
Stuart looked at the professor thoughtfully, “Like Dr Carson asked earlier, why don’t clothes, aeroplanes or boats pass through? Are they not part of the universal balance?”
“Another good question Stuart and one with the most wonderful answer. It is life that is the key to all of this, life determined by our DNA. Mathematics predict that any object entering these wormholes will be obliterated resulting in all their constituent particles being scattered into space. This is because there are no instructions at the other end of the wormhole to reassemble them. So, the laws of physics simply prohibited the entry of anything into the wormhole that doesn’t have instructions on how to reassemble. It’s a kind of universal border control preventing imbalance. I must add at this point, the laws governing this phenomenon go out of the window when we consider collapsed stars and the black holes that they create. Those hungry devils will consume all matter but that’s another story altogether.” Dr Marks and Dr Cooper nodded in agreement to this statement. Catherine looked at Stuart and shrugged. “Anyway, in order to explain the special aspect of the transfer it would be better if we went to our lab. I am sure you are all ready for a break now. With their minds reeling the professor lead them out of the lecture room and into a large dining hall. He told them to help themselves to whatever they wanted and wait for his return.
Chapter 24
Stuart and Catherine sat in the college refectory sipping their coffees. They had not said a word to each other since the professor had left them while he and his team went to set up their equipment. There were three other customers scattered around the dining hall. They all looked too old to be students. Catherine felt they were watching her and Stuart, but she dismissed this as paranoia. She was sure she noticed them glancing in their direction every so often though. She felt shattered. Like she hadn’t slept for days. She was still slightly hungover from the previous night. Not to mention feeling awkward about what had happened between them. Despite everything she had just learned she couldn’t ignore the feelings she’d developed toward Stuart. But she sensed for him the moment was now gone. Suddenly, the wife he thought he had lost was back in the frame. She focused her thoughts on the information the professor had bombarded them with. She tried to rationalise the intensity of the implications but whenever she tried to concentrate on one particular point, her mind would take her off at a tangent. The hardest thing to accept was it all made sense. Yet none of it was believable. She glanced at Stuart who sat staring blankly into his coffee. It was probably far easier for him
to accept the professor’s claims. In her version of reality, he had lost everything held dear to him. In the professor’s version, there was hope.
Silence ensued for a further ten minutes before Stuart spoke to break it. “Don’t you find it strange Catherine?” He did not take his eyes off his coffee. “I find it all very strange Stuart. In all honesty, I don’t know what to make of any of it.”
“It’s now almost five o’clock and there are no students coming in here to eat!” Catherine looked at her watch. She had to agree it was odd but before she had chance to comment Stuart stood up and walked toward the exit. Before he reached the door, a large man stood up from a table just to the side of it and stepped in front of him. She noticed the other two people occupying the room with them suddenly seemed alert and one of them appeared to be talking to himself. “Please sit down, Mr Milton, the professor will be back shortly,” the man offered. Stuart smiled at him and returned to his seat. “That’s reassuring, Catherine.”
“I’m not sure I follow Stuart. And I’m not sure I like being held here against my will.” She raised her voice.
“No this is good,” Stuart said. “After everything the professor has told us they’re not going to let us walk away freely before they know they can trust us. This just makes it all the more real.”
She considered this for a moment. He had a point, but how long were they going to keep them here and what did they need to do to prove they could be trusted? Moreover, who were they anyway? Before she had chance to consider this further the professor returned and joined them at the table. He helped himself to a coffee and asked them if they would like another. Stuart accepted but Catherine opted for water. As soon as they had their drinks the professor apologised for keeping them confined. He explained that the college had been closed to the students and handed over to them to carry out their research without fear of being compromised. Anyone who entered the site had to be fully vetted before being given access. There were a limited number of people who knew the true purpose of their research. They all knew anything seen or heard within the premises was not to leave its confines. They had been working on the project there for almost a year and until recently security had been excellent. Unfortunately, as is human nature people get complacent and they had recently experienced a serious breach which resulted in one of their team losing his life. “So by sharing this information with us professor, are you endangering our lives?” Catherine asked.