10.4 Vhy
"Hey, wait a minute," I said. "What are you doing?"
The question was on the screen. The very sight of it made me sick to the belly with fear.
Do you wish to enter the Vortal?
"Hey, man, you can't be serious. This thing--"
Mahesh clicked the mouse. And the next question appeared.
Are you willing to pay the Price?
"Mahesh, listen to me. Put that thing off. For God's sake!" I was really freaking out now. Can you blame me? After all, the last two times this thing had been 'opened', it had swapped my brother for his duplicate from another world, and the second time it had brought a duplicate of my older sister Viveka who was savage enough to attack our mom and put her in the ICU in a serious condition. And god alone knew where it had flipped my real sis Viveka, into which unknown alternate world?
Ignoring my protests, Mahesh clicked something again and the screen changed once more.
"This is the only way, Vaibhav. Trust me."
"The only way to do what?" I said. "To buy a one-way ticket to hell? No thank you, man!"
For the duration of your visit, your soul will be forfeit to the Webmaster of the Vortal. If you agree, proceed.
Mahesh turned to look at me, holding out his hand. "Give me your hand."
I shook my head.
"Vaibhav, listen to me. This is the only way to set things right. We have to use the Vortal."
"Okay," I said, speaking slowly but thinking fast. "You go through then. And send Mikey back here. Because, you said earlier, that this Balance thingie has to be maintained, right? So for every person who goes through, one has to come back here. Correct?"
"Yeah, yeah, but--"
"So you go back and send Mikey here. What's the problem with that?"
He shook his head. "Then how will we fix things? How will we switch Viveka back with her her duplicate?"
I didn't know what to say to that. He saw my face and went on. "Look, bhaiya, trust me. The only way is for you to go through the Vortal with me. We go to where Mikey is, to my world. And then, with Mikey and me working together, we can figure out a way to fix this problem."
I frowned. "So, like, you mean two heads are better than one?"
He nodded. "My two heads. I mean--"
"Yeah, I get it." He was the whiz who'd started this whole thing in the first place--aided by that mysterious creep 'The Webmaster' whoever the hell that was. What he said made sense. If one Mahesh/Mikey could start this whole mess, surely two Mahesh/Mikeys could fix it? Except for one thing...
"But what about the Balance?" I asked. "If both of us go over there, won't that bring Mikey and my duplicate back here?"
He looked away for a moment. "You have no duplicate in my world, bhai," he said quietly.
I almost hit myself. How idiotic could I be? "Of course," I said, just as quietly. My counterpart in Mahesh's world was dead, in the same car accident that had killed the rest of us years ago, everyone except for him, Mahesh. "But even then, won't the Balance rule still apply?"
He nodded. "Yes. Two people will get flipped into our world."
"Which two people?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. It's random. Usually it's your counterpart, if you have one. If not, then I guess it just picks up anyone and throws them through."
I looked around, trying to imagine two people coming through from Mahesh's advanced high-tech world into our world, into our house. What if they were like the duplicate Viveka who had attacked Mom? "But--"
He touched my arm pleadingly. "Please, bhai. You have to believe me. It's the only way."
I thought about it for a few more moments. Frustrated, I had to agree with him in the end. I had no other plan. At least he had some idea about how to fix this whole mess. My best bet was to go along with his plan and hope for the best.
Even so, I felt like I was taking the last conscious decision of my life. I sent up a silent prayer, praying that my family would be safe and together and happy again soon.
Then I took his hand. "Okay. Then let's do it."
He clicked the mouse.
And we went through the Vortal.
The question was on the screen. The very sight of it made me sick to the belly with fear.
Do you wish to enter the Vortal?
"Hey, man, you can't be serious. This thing--"
Mahesh clicked the mouse. And the next question appeared.
Are you willing to pay the Price?
"Mahesh, listen to me. Put that thing off. For God's sake!" I was really freaking out now. Can you blame me? After all, the last two times this thing had been 'opened', it had swapped my brother for his duplicate from another world, and the second time it had brought a duplicate of my older sister Viveka who was savage enough to attack our mom and put her in the ICU in a serious condition. And god alone knew where it had flipped my real sis Viveka, into which unknown alternate world?
Ignoring my protests, Mahesh clicked something again and the screen changed once more.
"This is the only way, Vaibhav. Trust me."
"The only way to do what?" I said. "To buy a one-way ticket to hell? No thank you, man!"
For the duration of your visit, your soul will be forfeit to the Webmaster of the Vortal. If you agree, proceed.
Mahesh turned to look at me, holding out his hand. "Give me your hand."
I shook my head.
"Vaibhav, listen to me. This is the only way to set things right. We have to use the Vortal."
"Okay," I said, speaking slowly but thinking fast. "You go through then. And send Mikey back here. Because, you said earlier, that this Balance thingie has to be maintained, right? So for every person who goes through, one has to come back here. Correct?"
"Yeah, yeah, but--"
"So you go back and send Mikey here. What's the problem with that?"
He shook his head. "Then how will we fix things? How will we switch Viveka back with her her duplicate?"
I didn't know what to say to that. He saw my face and went on. "Look, bhaiya, trust me. The only way is for you to go through the Vortal with me. We go to where Mikey is, to my world. And then, with Mikey and me working together, we can figure out a way to fix this problem."
I frowned. "So, like, you mean two heads are better than one?"
He nodded. "My two heads. I mean--"
"Yeah, I get it." He was the whiz who'd started this whole thing in the first place--aided by that mysterious creep 'The Webmaster' whoever the hell that was. What he said made sense. If one Mahesh/Mikey could start this whole mess, surely two Mahesh/Mikeys could fix it? Except for one thing...
"But what about the Balance?" I asked. "If both of us go over there, won't that bring Mikey and my duplicate back here?"
He looked away for a moment. "You have no duplicate in my world, bhai," he said quietly.
I almost hit myself. How idiotic could I be? "Of course," I said, just as quietly. My counterpart in Mahesh's world was dead, in the same car accident that had killed the rest of us years ago, everyone except for him, Mahesh. "But even then, won't the Balance rule still apply?"
He nodded. "Yes. Two people will get flipped into our world."
"Which two people?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. It's random. Usually it's your counterpart, if you have one. If not, then I guess it just picks up anyone and throws them through."
I looked around, trying to imagine two people coming through from Mahesh's advanced high-tech world into our world, into our house. What if they were like the duplicate Viveka who had attacked Mom? "But--"
He touched my arm pleadingly. "Please, bhai. You have to believe me. It's the only way."
I thought about it for a few more moments. Frustrated, I had to agree with him in the end. I had no other plan. At least he had some idea about how to fix this whole mess. My best bet was to go along with his plan and hope for the best.
Even so, I felt like I was taking the last conscious decision of my life. I sent up a silent prayer, praying that my family would be safe and together and happy again soon.
Then I took his hand. "Okay. Then let's do it."
He clicked the mouse.
And we went through the Vortal.
posted by Ashok K. Banker at 12.10.05
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