The Parallel Shift

☯ Chapter 2: Save the date!

A sense of anticipation filled the air as the spotlight hit the grand piano.

As if on cue, all eyes turned to the baton that sliced through the still air, signaling the first note. And another.

Soon, a symphony of notes wafted through the air as the pianist picked up pace. Her dainty little fingers moved furiously, yet gracefully across the black and white ivory keys.

The pianist then launched into a virtuosic cadenza after which she was joined by the orchestra, giving the enthralled audience an exciting finish.

Everybody gave a standing ovation, and the pianist gave out a hearty smile. She stood up, her height slightly taller than the piano’s stretcher bar.

- Click -

The projector screen turned black.

“As you saw from that video, nobody has ever seen someone play the piano like that before. Well, at least not from someone who is just 6 years old”, continued Chris, referring to the child prodigy from the video clip that was just shown.

“What if the child in the video, unlocked a portal and crossed over to an alternate reality where she is a world renowned pianist. And say, downloaded those skills from her alternate self?”

He walked back to the corner of the conference room, reaching to his laptop. He glanced quickly towards the projector screen. It now read:

PARALLEL REALITIES.

“Our technology would enable soldiers to test out strategic plans on different planes of alternate realities. But the holy grail of them all, soldiers could travel to parallel realities to download a skillset. Thus, creating a super soldier mastering all known martial arts and methods of combat,” he continued.

In front of him were men donning service uniforms adorned with multiple star insignias. Acting as chairman of this panel was no less than Sec. Brett Helms of the Department of Defense.

After three years of hard work and sleepless nights, Chris and his team had already created the working prototype. Their excitement were off the roof as the predicted date of the portal’s opening drew near. It was only a week left before the earmarked date, Procyon had arranged for a conference with the top brass of the nation’s defense department to lobby for project funding.

“We, at Procyon, had developed an algorithm to predict when these gateways or portals would open. And we have been anticipating one to open seven days from now. We will route a live online broadcast for a demo.”

“Make it work,” Sec. Helms said as he stood up and prepared to leave. Known as a man of few words, Chris knew what those words meant. Failure was not an option.

- Beep - Beep - Beep -

The sound of his mobile phone sounded off across the conference room.

PORTAL OPEN. CLOSES IN T-30 MINS, it read.

His mind raced - What? You’ve got to be kidding me! It should not open for a week! 

He flicked a glance at his watch: 6:45pm. Quickly, his mind calculated the amount of time it will take for him to get back to the lab. Twenty minutes, he thought. He could only hope that he'd make it in time.

*      *      * 

Chris pushed his way through the revolving doors of the research facility. Behind the receptionist station, the name Procyon Technologies was embossed on the wall behind it. In front, he saw Kerrigan as she paced the floor.

Kerrigan called out as soon as she saw him. “Chief! We have a prob-”

“How much time do we have?” He interrupted as they walked across the hallway.

Kerrigan checked her tablet. The diagnostics she ran she ran a while ago displayed the portal’s active time window. “Three minutes left!” she said.

“What?” Chris said in disbelief, his stride much faster now. “But the portal shouldn’t open until next week, right?”

 Kerrigan ran alongside him. “I know, Chief. I can’t believe it myself. It just opened on its own.”

“If we sit this one, when is the next portal opening up?” As much as he disliked the idea, rescheduling to another target date might be better. They were able to wait for three years, another three years won’t hurt.

After running a quick simulation of the algorithm on her tablet, Kerrigan answered him in a dejected tone, “December, 2136.”

Chris broke out in a cold sweat. Nobody had seen this coming. At this point, they were ill-prepared to cope with this one. But he was not about to throw in the towel just yet. Three years of hard work was too much to throw down the drain. Make it work- the words of the Sec. Helms flashed in front of him.

Damn! It’s now or never.

He swiped his badge quickly as they reached the door.

The door swung open as Chris and Kerrigan charged in, but they skidded to an abrupt halt, taken aback with what they saw.

The whole staging area was a total disarray. Papers and office supplies swirled around the vortex of energy that emanated from the portal. Thick blue static electric sparks shot out from the four metallic arcs which rose from its corners.

“What the-” They exclaimed in unison.

 “I’m going in!” shouted Chris.

“No! Don’t go!” Kerrigan snatched his arm.

“Stay right here,” he said, holding her shoulders.

Like a battering ram, he charged his way past the brewing maelstrom. After several seconds, he could now see the portal at its full height. Like one gigantic mirror, the portal reflected all the chaos around it.

Chris stopped in front of it, staring at his reflection. His reflection contained smaller images of itself within itself and spiraling into infinity. Each image, progressed forward in time like each frame from a movie. A tunnel of time created by layers upon layers of every moment.

He looked at his watch. 7:14PM, 59 seconds. He continued to stare at it for a second longer, expecting the display to change. It didn’t.

Only when he turned his back on the portal and looked around did he noticed. Scattered fragments that were swirling a few seconds ago were now floating midair. He reached for a floating shard of glass. He turned it around and released it. As if pinned to the air, it didn’t drop. He looked farther towards Kerrigan. She stood still as a snapshot.

Impossible! Did time stop? He gasped in disbelief. He stood there mesmerized by the captured moment, frozen in time. Everything around him was motionless.

Without warning, everything turned into a whirlwind of chaos again. The hands of time could not be constrained any longer.

The portal! Chris spun around to face the portal. What he saw sent shock waves through him.

There he stood, face to face with someone who appeared out of nowhere. Not having enough strength to stand on his feet, he fell to his knees.

Slowly, the shadowy figure lifted its head and their eyes met.

“Find Dana Clarke,” the dark silhouette in front of him said.

It can’t be! Chris wobbled slightly, feeling faint as though all blood drained from his head. Then, he felt the cold damp floor hit his face as his body slumped to the floor.