11.4 Vhy (contd.)
"Mikey," I said. "Are you okay? When you disappeared through the comp, I was so freaked out, I didn't know what to do! Even Ruchi was majorly panicked."
Mikey came over, his eyes twinkling mischeviously, chewing on his burger. "Ruchi?" he said. "She's the hot babe with whom you were watching Eyes Wide Shut in your bedroom, right?"
I knew now that this was the real Mikey. Nobody else could have known that little detail. I smiled with relief. It was only after I lost my brother that I realized how much I loved him.
"It's great to have you back," I said, hugging him tight, my throat suddenly thick.
"Hey," he said. "Don't get all mushy on me, okay? Besides, I'm not back. Neither of us are back. We're still stuck here. In his world."
He pointed at his duplicate. Mahesh was watching our brotherly reunion with a clear look of jealousy on his face. He tried to clear his face when we looked at him, but wasn't quick enough. Something was definitely wrong with that boy, no matter how decently he spoke or behaved. I could feel sympathy for him, but I also knew that somehow, our death in his world had affected him at some deep emotional-psychological level. This kid seriously needed some Good Will Hunting style therapy a la Robin Williams-Matt Damon.
I looked back at my brother, my real brother. "Mikey," I said. "What did you mean just now? When you said he tricked me into coming through the Vortal?"
"That's what he did, bro! That's what this is all about. He created the whole Vortal just to bring all of us from our world into his world. He goofed up with Viveka, and she landed up in some other alternate world. And he hasn't been able to get Dad and Mum here yet. But he got me. And now he's got you too."
I looked at Mahesh. He wasn't denying any of this.
"Is that true?" I asked him. "You said you brought me here to fix this mess."
"Fix it?" Mikey said through a mouthful of burger and cheese. "He created this mess in the first place. Ask him, Vhy!"
Mahesh looked at me sullenly and shrugged. "I told Vhy all about this. I missed my family, I couldn't go on without them. I wanted them back, I wanted you all back. It was the only way. I told you the truth."
I looked at him then turned back to Mikey. "He did actually tell me all that already. That's the only reason why I decided to trust him. Come on, Mikey, imagine how you would feel if you lost all of us. Besides, the guy's trying to set things right now."
Mikey snorted. "Yeah, like hell he is. He couldn't tell his ass from a Vortal if someone gave him printed instructions!"
Mahesh started to rise from his chair, his face turning red. "I created the Vortal!"
Mikey shook his head, pointing with the remains of the burger in his fist. "No, bro-wannabe. You wrote a software code that opened an online interface that enabled access to the Vortal. Major difference. Besides, you were even given most of the code by some unknown dude named 'Webmaster'. Like, you were spoon-fed every step of the way!"
Mahesh shook his head angrily. "It still took you to complete the link! You're as much a part of this as I am!"
I held up my hands, warding off both my identical brothers. "Hold on a second here, guys. I'm still trying to play catch-up and my field of specialty is movies, not IT, so give me a break, okay? Now, both of you, back off a little. Yelling and fighting won't help us out of this situation. The first thing both you hotheads need to do is calm down."
I looked at both of them, giving them a moment. Finally, they nodded reluctantly, glaring at each other. Mikey tore the last piece of burger from the paper wrapping--I think he managed to tear off a bit of paper too, but didn't seem to notice--and tossed the remains in the waste paper basket by the door.
I took a deep breath, calming myself as well.
"Now," I said slowly, "what did Mahesh mean when he said that you, Mikey, were a part of this too?"
Mikey shrugged, avoiding my eyes. "I provided the final link."
"What?"
He explained. Apparently, when Mahesh completed the interface that would open the Vortal, he needed one last thing--a connection with someone or something from another parallel world. Our's, to be precise, since he wanted to tap into our versions of his family and bring them over to his world. So he used the Vortal to communicate with Mikey, our Mikey, in our world.
I stared at both of them in turn. "This is possible? You can send emails over the Net to alternate worlds?"
Mikey grinned wryly. "You can send people too, in case you hadn't noticed, bro. But yeah, basically, the theory is sound. There's even been a few books written about it. Shelved under Quantum Theory. It all follows from Einstein's basic work on the Theory of General Relativity. And if you read Hawking and throw in String Theory as well--"
I put my finger to the underside of my other hand's palm. "Time out. I don't want to stand around here discussing tech all day. What I want to know is, were you a part of this too?"
Mikey sighed. "Yeah."
I looked at Mahesh. He sat with arms folded across his chest, looking vindicated. "I told you," he said smugly.
"Okay," I said, "So now what are you two going to do about it?"
Mahesh shrugged. "I told you that too, I'm willing to do what I have to to set things right."
Mikey snorted.
Mahesh bristled. "What?"
Mikey said, "Like you could find your way to your own toilet without a GPRS system."
"Hold on," I warned. "No more bickering." I thought for a second. "If you're both brilliant tech guys, then two of you should be twice as brainy as one. What if you put your talents together instead of arguing, and found a way to get us out of this mess?"
They looked at one another for a long moment. Neither of them said it aloud, but it was obvious: I had just hit upon the perfect solution.
"Okay, then," I said, enjoying playing big brother again. "Get to work, you bondhus. Use your energies to save Mom and get Viveka back to our world, and the two of us back there as well. Come on, move your butts! Start typing on the comp...or something!"
And for a wonder, they did.
Mikey came over, his eyes twinkling mischeviously, chewing on his burger. "Ruchi?" he said. "She's the hot babe with whom you were watching Eyes Wide Shut in your bedroom, right?"
I knew now that this was the real Mikey. Nobody else could have known that little detail. I smiled with relief. It was only after I lost my brother that I realized how much I loved him.
"It's great to have you back," I said, hugging him tight, my throat suddenly thick.
"Hey," he said. "Don't get all mushy on me, okay? Besides, I'm not back. Neither of us are back. We're still stuck here. In his world."
He pointed at his duplicate. Mahesh was watching our brotherly reunion with a clear look of jealousy on his face. He tried to clear his face when we looked at him, but wasn't quick enough. Something was definitely wrong with that boy, no matter how decently he spoke or behaved. I could feel sympathy for him, but I also knew that somehow, our death in his world had affected him at some deep emotional-psychological level. This kid seriously needed some Good Will Hunting style therapy a la Robin Williams-Matt Damon.
I looked back at my brother, my real brother. "Mikey," I said. "What did you mean just now? When you said he tricked me into coming through the Vortal?"
"That's what he did, bro! That's what this is all about. He created the whole Vortal just to bring all of us from our world into his world. He goofed up with Viveka, and she landed up in some other alternate world. And he hasn't been able to get Dad and Mum here yet. But he got me. And now he's got you too."
I looked at Mahesh. He wasn't denying any of this.
"Is that true?" I asked him. "You said you brought me here to fix this mess."
"Fix it?" Mikey said through a mouthful of burger and cheese. "He created this mess in the first place. Ask him, Vhy!"
Mahesh looked at me sullenly and shrugged. "I told Vhy all about this. I missed my family, I couldn't go on without them. I wanted them back, I wanted you all back. It was the only way. I told you the truth."
I looked at him then turned back to Mikey. "He did actually tell me all that already. That's the only reason why I decided to trust him. Come on, Mikey, imagine how you would feel if you lost all of us. Besides, the guy's trying to set things right now."
Mikey snorted. "Yeah, like hell he is. He couldn't tell his ass from a Vortal if someone gave him printed instructions!"
Mahesh started to rise from his chair, his face turning red. "I created the Vortal!"
Mikey shook his head, pointing with the remains of the burger in his fist. "No, bro-wannabe. You wrote a software code that opened an online interface that enabled access to the Vortal. Major difference. Besides, you were even given most of the code by some unknown dude named 'Webmaster'. Like, you were spoon-fed every step of the way!"
Mahesh shook his head angrily. "It still took you to complete the link! You're as much a part of this as I am!"
I held up my hands, warding off both my identical brothers. "Hold on a second here, guys. I'm still trying to play catch-up and my field of specialty is movies, not IT, so give me a break, okay? Now, both of you, back off a little. Yelling and fighting won't help us out of this situation. The first thing both you hotheads need to do is calm down."
I looked at both of them, giving them a moment. Finally, they nodded reluctantly, glaring at each other. Mikey tore the last piece of burger from the paper wrapping--I think he managed to tear off a bit of paper too, but didn't seem to notice--and tossed the remains in the waste paper basket by the door.
I took a deep breath, calming myself as well.
"Now," I said slowly, "what did Mahesh mean when he said that you, Mikey, were a part of this too?"
Mikey shrugged, avoiding my eyes. "I provided the final link."
"What?"
He explained. Apparently, when Mahesh completed the interface that would open the Vortal, he needed one last thing--a connection with someone or something from another parallel world. Our's, to be precise, since he wanted to tap into our versions of his family and bring them over to his world. So he used the Vortal to communicate with Mikey, our Mikey, in our world.
I stared at both of them in turn. "This is possible? You can send emails over the Net to alternate worlds?"
Mikey grinned wryly. "You can send people too, in case you hadn't noticed, bro. But yeah, basically, the theory is sound. There's even been a few books written about it. Shelved under Quantum Theory. It all follows from Einstein's basic work on the Theory of General Relativity. And if you read Hawking and throw in String Theory as well--"
I put my finger to the underside of my other hand's palm. "Time out. I don't want to stand around here discussing tech all day. What I want to know is, were you a part of this too?"
Mikey sighed. "Yeah."
I looked at Mahesh. He sat with arms folded across his chest, looking vindicated. "I told you," he said smugly.
"Okay," I said, "So now what are you two going to do about it?"
Mahesh shrugged. "I told you that too, I'm willing to do what I have to to set things right."
Mikey snorted.
Mahesh bristled. "What?"
Mikey said, "Like you could find your way to your own toilet without a GPRS system."
"Hold on," I warned. "No more bickering." I thought for a second. "If you're both brilliant tech guys, then two of you should be twice as brainy as one. What if you put your talents together instead of arguing, and found a way to get us out of this mess?"
They looked at one another for a long moment. Neither of them said it aloud, but it was obvious: I had just hit upon the perfect solution.
"Okay, then," I said, enjoying playing big brother again. "Get to work, you bondhus. Use your energies to save Mom and get Viveka back to our world, and the two of us back there as well. Come on, move your butts! Start typing on the comp...or something!"
And for a wonder, they did.
posted by Ashok K. Banker at 12.10.05
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