Let’s intersect a few Universes, shall we?

This is an extract from a series of short stories which I hope to blend into a full-length novel (or at least a novella).

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She couldn’t remember how she got there.

So, I am sitting in a bubble where everything’s blurry around me, I don’t have any idea why or how, and there’s a plate of butter chicken and rice in front of me, thought Sally and then pinched herself to ensure she was awake. It made her wince and that was scary. She looked around at the blurred phenomenon again. There were muted conversations coming from all directions, in English, mostly.

Sally rubbed her eyes, blinked a few times and then peered around again. Was she in a-?

OMG! I am at an intersection. An actual, stable intersection!

The edges of the sphere were blurred, as if she were sitting inside a glass marble with a frosted surface.

So, this is how an intersection feels. I wish I could tell dad!

***

“Dad,” Sally called out to the man hunched over his desk with a lamp partially illuminating his head while the rest of the spread, and the spill, illuminating his disorderly paperwork, “Did you work through the night again?”

“Huh?” her father looked up at her and then flopped back down.

Sally walked behind him and ruffled his almost grey, curly hair. “It’s 8:44 a. m.” she announced.

“What?” exclaimed her father and stood up. “I must be in the lab by 9:30… at least!”

“Good luck with that.” Sally teased him even as he rushed to the bathroom.

***

Sally sat awestruck in the intersection, admiring the spectacle, almost tempted to peep through the hazy boundary.

Would it still be stable if I stepped back and reentered?

She stood up and walked a few calculated steps behind. She was back in a cavernous hall teeming with food stalls, familiar noises, and people. One of those people landed a few metres away, his jet-pack, hissing lightly, no bigger than a rucksack. As the man gave her a quick smile, Sally looked at the ceiling which displayed a perfectly augmented day with a few white fluffy clouds and an occasional bird flying by. She then took a deep breath and stepped back into the intersection that was, thankfully, still in front of her, though barely visible.

The other world in the intersection didn’t appear to be hostile, and that was a relief. With so many accidents during the beta phase, there was a chance one could be killed instantly; by a toxic environment, or untamed inhabitants, or simply because the intersection snapped shut without notice.

It brought back memories of her dad, and his disappearance.

***

The transporter dropped them off at the lab, save a few minutes of walking. Sally struggled to keep up with her dad who strode ahead with an old-fashioned leather bag in tow.

After the biometric scanners were satisfied, a seemingly impenetrable wall disappeared and they paced to the meeting room where an eager group of scientists were busy chattering. On seeing Dr. Kross approaching, they began an applause worthy of the highest Scientific honour. Sally beamed at the standing ovation given to her father.

“Please be seated… friends.” Dr Kross grinned, “All of you deserve the applause too, perhaps more than I do. Let’s not forget the power of a team. We are so much more together than just the sum of all!”

“So, when do we test it?” exclaimed someone from the back of the room.

Once the laughter had simmered down, Dr. Kross said: “We have confirmed the theory so far which, which is brilliant in itself. I double and triple checked it last night. However, the task of ensuring we can actually see an intersection, or feel one, or even enter one ourselves begins now.”

“So, it’s just an engineering problem now, isn't it?” someone quipped and the room filled with laughter again.

That was mine years ago. A lot had happened since: the first intersection was manifested. It lasted less than a second which was enough to win her father the Science Maestro award which he had dedicated to his team. Meanwhile, Sally completed her doctorate and now headed the lab that her father built. The nine years also included the time when her father disappeared into another Universe, through an intersection that closed sooner than predicted.

Sally hoped he was still alive in that parallel Universe and her mission was to perfect the predictability, stability, and destination of the intersections, if at all possible.

I'm coming for you dad. Hang on, stay safe, and stay alive!