A grease stained hand wipes a sweat slicked brow.
Beads of sweat splash against the concrete floor.
With a final grunt, a wrench twists the last bolt into place.
A man in a white tank-top steps back, and pushes up his black-rimmed glasses.
He smiles, and utters an out of breath “Finally.”
The mass of metal and wires surrounded a central rectangular opening,
giving the appearance of a mad scientist’s door frame--
which, for all intents and purposes, it was.
Professor Johnston was equally considered by his peers “a genius” and “completely deranged.”
The first assessment was usually focused on his widely respected theories on parallel universes.
The latter one was due to his dedication and intention to actually going to one.
But, after nearly a decade, his machine was finally done.
Now, he just had to see if it worked.
As he pulled levers, and turned knobs the machine slowly whirred into life.
A dim glow began to emanate from within the doorway.
The professor’s hands were shaking as he hit the final few buttons.
The glow began to fill the space, a loud crackling filled the room, and then--
Silence.
He peered into the doorway--
and saw himself on the other side.
They both ran to the opening, moving in union.
The professor waved, and the other professor waved back.
They simultaneously started laughing.
Both professors picked up their clipboards.
The professor asked the other: “Your name is Chris Johnston, yes?”
The other responded: “No, JAMES Johnston.”
They both chuckled again, and said “fascinating” in union.
Chris shook his head in disbelief.
“I’ll have to wake up Melissa, she isn’t going to believe--”
James started suddenly. “Melissa?” he asked.
“Yes, my wife,” the professor responded “aren’t you married?”
“No... No, I’m not.” the other returned.
“I see, I supposed there’s more than just our name that's different!” Chris laughed.
“Yes. I suppose so.” said James, brow furrowed.
“Do you... do you want to attempt crossing over?” asked James.
“Oh, I’m not sure...” said Chris, “we should probably find out more about--”
“Nonsense!” said James, “Here, I’ll go first.”
He slowly approached the opening.
They looked at each other and laughed nervously.
James stepped through, placing a foot on Chris’ garage floor.
They reached out and touched shaking hands.
“It worked!” shouted Chris, beaming with delight.
“Yes it did.” said James plainly. “I... I can’t believe it.”
“ I know! I’m a genius, I mean, you’re a genius-- we’re geniuses!” laughed the professor.
“Well...” said James, “Do you want to go to my side?”
“Oh! Y-yes! Yes, of course!” he stammered.
He nearly jumped through the doorway in excitement.
He raised his fists in triumph. “We did it! We’ve switched universes!”
“Truly a great day.” said James somberly.
“Say, can you check the monitor on my side, see if the readings match our projections.”
“Of course,” said Chris, approaching the set of computers attached to the device.
“It’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty, isn't it? If you could do the same we could then--”
Professor Chris Johnston turned to face Professor James Johnston.
He was holding a crowbar.
“What are you--” Chris started.
“I’m... I’m so sorry.” James returned grimly, “I have to do this.”
He swung down the crowbar into the main computer, and then--
The professor was left staring at an empty wall.
Chris ran over to the wall, running his hand against it desperately-- then back to the main computer.
No matter what he tried it simply displayed the message:
ERROR -- NO CONNECTION FOUND
James slowly opened the bedroom door.
As soon as he saw the rising and falling frame he quickly shut the door.
He took a deep breath, and entered the room.
As quietly as possible, he crept over to her side.
He slowly ran his hand down her cheek.
In all those years since the accident, all those lonely nights-- he never imagined this was possible.
He carefully climbed onto the other side of the bed.
She stirred slightly, offering a groggy “Chris? Finally done with that machine of yours?”
He placed an arm around her, tears streaming down his face.
“Yes... Yes I am.”
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