Doppelganger

To read more short stories and articles by author Ken Kreps, visit http://www.kenkreps.com.
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"Constellation, this is mission control You’re looking good. Stand by for planned course correction in thirty seconds."

"Tom, this is Sam. We just got a phone call from the White House. The President asked us to send his regards and said he looks forward to having both of you and your families at the white house when you return."

"Ah, Tom, we recommend an immediate thirty second burn of all forward thrusters to put some distance between it and you."

The sound of the thrusters could be heard faintly in the background as Sam’s computer screen told him the burn had began.

"At least a mile….maybe more. Any ideas down there, Sam? This thing is…uh oh…Houston we have a problem.. We’re being pulled toward it….thrusters aren’t holding….my God, we’re going in. We’re………"

Sam stared disbelieving at his radar straining to hear anything in his earphones. "Come in Constellation…….come in……Colonel, we’ve lost you …..Tom, come in."

The song being played on the evening radio show was cut off abruptly as an announcer broke in with a news update.

"We interrupt this program for a special news bulletin. The United States newest two man space craft has disappeared only several hours after blasting off on the first historic mission to the planet Mars. Piloted by Colonel Tom Fisher and Major Terry Borland, the space craft Constellation suddenly vanished from all tracking devices including the new alpha particle radar which was to have tracked it all the way to Mars. Colonel Sam McCord was in communication with the Constellation, from the Houston Space Center, when it disappeared and… Just a moment, I understand Colonel McCord is on the line with us from Houston, now. Colonel, what can you tell us about this?"

"We’re looking into all possibilities and I really can’t say any more at this time."

"We’re analyzing the available data now and we’ll release a statement when we have something more conclusive."

"Well, unfortunately, that seems to be all Colonel McCord has to say. Stay tuned to this station for the latest developments. We now return you to our regularly scheduled program."

When Sam McCord walked into General Wiley’s office, he could see the General was visibly upset. He’d been the head of the Mars mission from the very beginning and Sam knew that his calm exterior was not a true reflection of what the General was feeling.

"At 8:45 PM Houston time, the Constellation encountered a….well, it was sort of a……"

"Well, sir, it’s not easy to explain. It looked like…this is going to sound crazy, but it looked like a tornado."

"Yes sir, that’s the best way I can describe it. When you see the tapes from the Constellation’s video recorders, you’ll see what I mean."

"General, it’s more like they were sucked into it. They were pulled right into it in spite of their front thrusters being on when it happened."

"The tornado disappeared and the Constellation vanished with it. We’ve had no contact with them since"

"Well, General, that’s strange, too. Radar showed no evidence of anything near the space craft. Whatever it was can’t be detected by radar."

"Very little. We’re going over all the data from the on-board flight recorder tapes, but so far they’ve been no help at all."

"Maybe, that’s more news," the General said, motioning Sam to answer the call.

Picking up the phone, Sam listened for a few moments before saying, "Yes …….When? …………That’s great ………What………..That’s impossible…………I see……….All right, Captain. Keep me posted."

Returning the phone to it’s cradle, Sam looked shaken as he looked at the General once again.

"General, ten minutes ago, the Constellation suddenly appeared five hundred feet above the runway at Edwards Air Force Base and they’ve just made a successful landing."

"They seem to be fine, sir, They’ll be flying them back here to the Space center soon, but ah…….."

"General, the first people to reach the Constellation reported that Colonel Fisher and Major Borland appear to be twenty years older than they were when they left several hours ago."

Tom Fisher and Terry Borland sat in General Wiley’s office slumped in their chairs. They looked depressed, frustrated and close to exhaustion. Tom looked at Sam McCord with the eyes of a totally confused man as he said, "Sam, we’ve answered everyone’s questions. We’ve told you all we know. Now how long before we can get out of here? I’d like to see my wife."

"In the last two days we’ve been prodded, poked and stuck with every size needle known to man. Tom’s right. We need to see our families," Terry added.

"That’s why I’m here," Sam said. "You’re right. You’ve answered all our questions and taken all the tests. Now I need to discuss a few things with you which we haven’t talked about."

"Oh, come on, Sam. You know how old I am. Check my service record if you’ve forgotten."

"We were sucked into some sort of whirlwind in space and blacked out," Terry replied "Then we came to just a few minutes from touchdown at Edwards and barely managed to gain control of the ship in time to land and you want to know if anything seems strange?"

"Terry, I know you’ve been through a lot, but please bear with me. Have either of you noticed anything unusual since you’ve landed?"

Looking even more puzzled than before, Tom asked, "Where’s all of this going, Sam?"

"I’ll give it to you just as straight as I can. When the Constellation took off two days ago, you were 35, Tom and you, Terry, were 28. We have no idea as to why you both aged years in such a short time. Your exams show both of you to be normal healthy men…one 53 and the other 48."

"There’s only one slight detail in your story that’s wrong, Sam. I was 53 when the mission started and Terry was 48. I think you’re way off base."

"OK, you’ve had your little joke. Now, we’re getting out of here," Terry said , rising from his chair.

"Look, Tom, I know you want to see your wife and kids, but we’ll have to ask you and Terry to remain here at the space center until we figure this thing out."

Several hours later, Sam McCord sat in his office pouring over a report he’d just received from the Space Center’s security office. He was just reaching for the phone when it rang.

"Remember, you said if we thought of anything else that seemed unusual since we’ve been back, you wanted to hear about it?"

"It’s not since we’ve been back, but something strange did occur just before Terry and I blacked out when we entered the tornado."

"When we entered the tornado, I remember it was absolutely calm inside and for a brief instant before I lost consciousness I….well, Sam, I thought I saw another Constellation inside the tornado with us. At first, I thought it must be a reflection of our ship of some kind except….."

"Thanks, Tom. Everything you can tell us helps. By the way…how long since you’ve seen Terry?"

"He slipped out of the space center and was gone for over two hours. We had patrols out looking for him, but about fifteen minutes ago, he walked up to the main entrance of the Center I’m going over to the operations building to talk to him, now. In fact, I was just about to call you when you called. Meet me there will you."

Terry was sitting in the Security Chief’s office when Sam walked through the door with Tom right behind him. Terry looked up at them as they entered the room. Even though the room was not warm, he was sweating . He shook slightly as he said, "Oh God, Tom, it’s all different. It’s not the same."

Sam placed his hand on Terry’s shoulder. "Try to calm down, Terry. The shot the doctor gave you should begin to help soon. why did you leave the space center?"

"I had to. My wife is seven months pregnant….at least I thought….I hadn’t talked with her or seen her since we’ve been back. I was worried sick."

"I went to our house, only it wasn’t our house. The people there said the Borlands lived three houses down. When I went there, a lady came to the door and said she was Terry Borland’s wife. except she wasn’t my wife, Linda…she said her name was Carol….She was younger than Linda…she was in her twenties. She was shocked because she said I looked like her husband except I was much older. I panicked and got out of there as fast as I could."

"Yes, she called right after you left. She was pretty hysterical. What did you do then?"

"Everything is different…well, I mean not completely different, but….different."

"The streets, the businesses…some are the same and some aren’t. Remember the restaurant, Little Italy, we used to go to with our wives, Tom?"

"Well, a restaurant’s still there all right, but it’s Chinese and the front of the building is totally different. Everything is just a little different, Tom. The shopping centers are there, but they’re not quite the same. Even parts of the space center are different than before we left. It’s like everything has changed and yet it’s almost the same. I….I don’t understand. What’s happened to us?"

"We don’t know, Major," Sam replied. "That’s why we didn’t let you talk to your wife. In one of the debriefing sessions, you called her Linda, yet we knew her name was Carol. We can’t explain why you remember things as being different. Tom, stay with him, I’m going to see the General. Maybe……"

As Sam entered the Generals office, General Wiley looked pleased to see him. He liked Colonel McCord and knew he was doing everything in his power to solve the mystery behind what had happened to the two astronauts.

"Sam, come in. I’m afraid the doctors and the lab boys still haven’t come up with anything. How’s Major Borland?"

"We can’t keep the press away from this forever. They know something’s wrong, and people from the White House have been calling every couple of hours. I don’t know how much longer we can sit on this thing."

"Yes, I know. General, you said if I had anything, you wanted to hear about it."

"Well, don’t have me carted off to a padded cell, General, but what if…. ah …..what if….."

"Well it would explain a lot. What if Colonel Fisher and Major Borland are not the same two men we sent into space. What if they’re a different Tom Fisher and Terry Borland?"

"The General couldn’t hide his surprise. "A different Fisher and Borland. What are you…….Sam, have you lost your mind?"

"I knew before I said it you’d think I was a candidate for the funny farm, but I’m serious General. Please hear me out."

"Sam, I’ve known you a long time. You’ve always been rational and logical so, based on that, I’ll listen, but this had better be good."

"Doctor Jamison is a noted physicist who for years, has been writing and speaking about the possibility of parallel dimensions."

"Oh come on Sam. You’re not seriously suggesting this whole thing is some sort of…….."

"Sir, if you’ll let me continue. I was fortunate enough to study under Doctor Jamison while working on my masters."

"Doctor Jamison concluded that each planet had a duplicate in a parallel dimension . Scientists call that a doppelganger. He also believed the laws of probability would make the planets in each dimension quite similar, but not exact copies of each other. In other words similar but different."

"Oh yes, now I remember. Didn’t I also read that most of the scientific community was quite skeptical of his theories?"

"Yes, he received a lot of criticism from his colleagues, but he’s a strong minded man. I’ve seen his studies on this subject and I believe he just may be right."

"Sam, if I take this preposterous idea to anyone in NASA, my career is over and so is yours."

"General, Tom Fisher thinks he saw another ship….another Constellation if you will, just before he blacked out inside the tornado. He and Major Borland have different memories of their lives from what we know is true. And General, they are twenty years older than when they left and we can’t keep that from the press much longer. Look, I’m not asking you to take my word for all of this, but let me contact Doctor Jamison, talk to him and bring him here to work with us on this. We don’t have to approach the rest of NASA until we have more to go on. And you have to admit…we don’t have much else going for us in all of this."

"And you think the Colonel Fisher and Major Borland we know were transported into the other dimension and we somehow got their counterparts.

"And the Fisher and Borland we know could be going through the same thing in the other dimension."
.
"Yes, General, they could."

"Yes sir, he believes the laws of Quantum physics allow for the existence of two separate dimensions occupying the same space. In simple terms, General, we can’t see them or their planet and they can’t see us."

"I don’t know, Sam. It just sounds too crazy. Still, you’re right about having nothing else going. All right, contact your Doctor Jamison, but for God’s sake keep it quiet. I’ll do my best to keep the press and the White House at bay for a few more days."

The Sargent guarding the hall held the door open as Tom and Terry entered the room.

"Tom, Terry, " the General said. "Thanks for coming over. Have a seat please. We think we may have a solution as to what’s been going on…as to why things aren’t quite the way you remember them. And, we think maybe we can fix it."

Looking puzzled, Tom said, "Fix what, General. I’m afraid I don’t follow you."

Sam pulled his chair closer to Tom and Terry. "Tom, your wife’s name is the same as you remember, but you said you have no children when actually you have two. You, Terry, remember your wife’s name as Linda when actually it’s Carol and you thought your wife was seven months pregnant, but she’s not. And Terry, while you were in the city, you said not everything was exactly as you remembered and both of you have noticed things that are different here at the space center."

"And there’s a few other different things we’ve noticed that we haven’t mentioned," Terry interjected.

"No, Tom…no we don’t," Sam replied "We believe there’s an explanation for what’s been going on."

"The only explanation we can figure is that somehow our memories were altered when we went through the space tornado," Tom said.

"Not exactly, Terry. Suppose I told you there was nothing wrong with your memories."

"What," Terry exclaimed. "Colonel, you’ve lost me completely. I have no idea what you’re talking about."

"Gentlemen, this is a very difficult subject to talk to you about. Please bear with us," the General urged. "Go on Sam."

"Have either of you noticed a rather tall gentleman, horn rimmed glasses and a rumpled suit wandering around the last few days?" Sam continued.

"Yeah, maybe," Terry answered. "I mean there’s a lot of guys around here that fit that description."

"Well his name is Doctor Jamison and he’s been here discussing your situation."

"This is going to sound crazy. That’s why we didn’t have you talk with Doctor Jamison. We had to be sure before we mentioned it to you," the General explained.

Choosing his words carefully, Sam said, "We now believe what we were calling a space tornado was actually a rift or tear between dimensions. On each side of the rift are two almost identical worlds. Keep in mind I said almost identical as there are some minor differences. And it’s those differences that explain your memory discrepancies and why you think you’re the right ages and we don’t."

"Wait a minute, If I read this right, you’re saying we somehow slipped from one dimension into another. That’s pretty hard to believe."

"We know, Tom, but after working with Doctor Jamison for a few days, we believe it’s the only way to explain all that’s happened."

Looking even more unsure of himself than before, Terry said, "That’s impossible."

"Well, you do look a little younger, but I just figured you’d been working out or something," Terry replied.

"Yes, Tom, that’s right. On your world you don’t have any children, Terry’s wife is named Linda and the restaurant you go to often is an Italian restaurant. Your memories from there don’t always fit what you’re seeing here."

"That means the Fisher and Borland from here, must be going through much the same thing as we are," Tom said, his eyes growing wider with the possibilities.

"As a kid, I used to read science fiction stories about parallel dimensions, but…………."

"None of us would have believed this ten days ago, Tom. I was pretty hard to convince, myself," the General offered

"That’s right," Sam Replied. "Doctor Jamison believes there is only one way to send you back to your dimension and to get our Tom Fisher and Terry Borland back here. He also believes our window of opportunity is limited and that we have to work very quickly so listen closely gentlemen, here’s what we have to do……."

Once again, the scheduled music program was interrupted by the announcer’s authoritative voice.

"We interrupt this program for a special news bulletin. In a sudden and dramatic turn of events, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced moments ago that the space craft Constellation would again take off for Mars in two days. Unbelievably, the ship will again be piloted by Colonel Tom Fisher and Major Terry Borland. Never in the history of space flight have two astronauts flown again so quickly after a mission. Fisher and Borland have been kept from public view since mysteriously returning after their last nearly tragic flight. NASA also announced that this flight would be the first in history in which no reporters or cameras would be permitted at the launch site. NASA has also refused all requests to interview Fisher and Borland as well as any top official with the space agency. Please stay tuned for further developments."

The second flight of the Constellation had been underway for well over an hour. Once again Sam McCord sat at a console in mission control. He looked at the multitude of information screens as he checked the status of the flight.

"Looking good Constellation. Coming up on lift-off plus ninety minutes. Computer check shows you’re on course. Tom, we are re-creating the first flight exactly. You should be encountering the tornado shortly."

"Will you tell Carol Borland I’m sorry to have scared her like that. She seemed like a really nice lady."

"Well, Sam I guess….uhh, there it is. Just like the last time. Do you see it down there?"

"Yes, Tom…the picture is coming through loud and clear. Ready front thrusters. We have to make everything the same as last time."

"On my mark," Sam commanded. "Thrusters in three….two….one….fire thrusters."

"Thrusters on full," Tom answered. "We’re backing off slightly from the tornado…Holding our own…Now the pull is getting greater…we’re being pulled in… I can’t hold our position…Sam, we’re going in…Thanks for everything."

The wait seemed to take forever, although in reality it was only a little less than an hour when the radio silence was broken by Tom’s voice.

"Houston, come in…this is the Constellation. We’re about five minutes from touchdown."

"Tom, this is Sam…yes we know. You popped onto our tracking screens ten seconds ago…….ah, Tom, I have to ask you a couple of questions."

"Two, Sam. now it’s my turn. How old am I supposed to be and how many kids do I have?"

A smile broke over Sam’s face and he struggled to control his emotions as he said, "Welcome home, gentlemen….welcome home. So you were in the other dimension."

"Yes, and thanks to your counterpart there and Doctor Clarkson, we made it back."

"Yes, you know, your old….that is your counterpart’s old professor The one who figured out there were parallel dimensions."

"I’m not surprised," Tom responded. "We noticed quite a few of the names were different over there. Even the name of their planet isn’t the same as ours. Sort of a nice name though….has a really warm sound to it"

Click Here to read more short stories by Ken Kreps.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ken Kreps lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife. He has written a number of published articles, essays and short stories, as well as numerous consumer and business pieces. Ken has also written scripts for Imagination Theater, an award winning audio drama series heard on over 150 commercial radio stations across the nation, as well as in several foreign countries. He recently completed three short film screenplays. For the past ten years, Ken has concentrated on acting, studying in the Seattle, Washington and Dallas, Texas areas, and apperaring in independent short, and feature films, television commercials, and various types of voice-over work.

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