8.3 Vhy
"I believe you," I said to Mahesh. "God knows why, but I do. Because it's the only thing that makes sense."
He sat up slowly on the couch, wiping his tear-streaked cheeks with the corner of his Iron Maiden tee shirt sleeve. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I just wanted my family back, that's all. I was going crazy without you. I guess I never realized how much I took you all for granted until you were gone, and then--"
"Hold on," I said gently. "Slow down. Explain it all to me from the beginning. Act as if I'm the retard younger brother, not you, okay?"
He smiled a little at that. "Okay," he said.
It didn't take long. Basically, the plot was as simple as a Hollywood action B-movie: Mahesh Vatsal lived in an alternate world far more technologically advanced than our own, yet identical in many other ways. So, for example, he had exactly the same family as the Vatsals in this world, my world. And he was just as tech-nerdy as our Mikey over here. And as indifferent to everyone else, his head glued 24/7 to his comp, which, from what he described, was like a desktop version of a Cray supercomputer compared to our measly PII, which was the current standard.
But then, one day, everything changed. We all went on a trip to Shirdi. He dropped out at the last minute, making some excuse, but really only wanting to wriggle out of any journey that would take him away from his precious comp. He had a little argument with Dad before they left, but in the end, he got his way, because both Mom and Dad felt that he had to understand it for himself rather than be forced to do something against his will. That was the way they were, in my world as well as Mahesh's world.
They were all killed in a really ugly smash-up with two trucks, between Nashik and Shirdi. Dad, Mom, Viveka, and Vaibhav...my counterpart in that world.
After that, everything changed for Mahesh. He realized how much he missed his family, how much he loved them. And he always blamed himself for not going with them that day, for arguing with dad, for making them late. Like anyone in his position, who is spared while his whole family dies, he was stricken with guilt. Our uncle Anant, the surgeon, took care of him, and there was no problem of money, so Mahesh asked that they keep the house for the time being, and Anant-tau agreed easily. Mahesh stayed with Anant-tau, but spent most of his hours in his old place, working on his comp, except that this time he wasn't hacking into US congressional websites, or fooling around with defense portals.
He was programming a gateway between alternate realities.
He explained the quantum physics behind the whole concept, but most of it went way over my head. But basically, it seemed that this was a legitimate scientific possibility even in our world: it was theoretically possible that alternate worlds existed, parallel universes identical to our own in every way, but with only a few things changed. Or even completely different versions of our world.
But to turn that theory into reality, it had taken more than Mahesh Vatsal's comp genius. It had taken the help of an anonymous person he met in a high-tech chatroom one night, soon after his family's death in the Nashik car crash. A person whom he knew only by his internet handle: The Webmaster.
"Didn't you try asking his name?" I said. "I mean, didn't you wonder why this guy would share so much info with you? I mean, this isn't a crack code for some FPS game, we're talking major scientific breakthrough here, right? Didn't you ever get curious as to why he was helping you instead of working for the US government and winning the Nobel Prize for Science?"
He shrugged. "Maybe he was working for the US gov. Maybe he is a Nobel Prize Winner. All I know is, he was telling me what I needed to know. Like a helpdesk that helped you crack your code problems. And I didn't really care about anything else at the time." He looked down. "Bhai, you don't understand, I really couldn't live with you guys gone. I was thinking suicide every second minute. When I first heard from The Webmaster, it was like God himself reached out and told me there was still hope."
I was silent, trying to think of my little brother--or his counterpart in an alternate world--sitting alone at his comp, with all of his family gone suddenly. I had no idea how that felt, but even now, with Mom in the ICU, Viveka gone, I could feel the gut-wrenching shock that comes when those familiar, beloved people are just taken away from you, even temporarily. The permanence of death...for once, I couldn't even think of a movie reference that would express it eloquently enough. Nothing short of a Bergman film.
"And so you created the Vortal," I said, finishing Mahesh's story. "And went through it, coming into our world. And flipping Mikey from here back into your world."
He nodded, looking at me to see my reaction.
I sighed. "But bro, by doing that, you caused an awful mess, didn't you? I mean, I understand now what your plan must have been. You thought you would replace your counterpart in this reality, and that way you would have your family back almost the way they were before--because you said that we're almost exactly like our counterparts in your world, right? But in doing so, you threw poor Mikey into your lonely world, leaving him without his family. And somehow, that Vortal thingie of your's switched Viveka with someone else, some not very nice alternate version of her, and now Mom's in hospital in ICU and everything's all messed up again."
He looked miserable. "I know. I didn't mean for it to work out this way. That's why I came to you, to tell you the truth."
"So now what?"
"Now..." he sucked in a long deep breath. "Now, I need your help. To make it all right again."
"How do we do that?"
He hesitated. Then said, "You have to come with me through the Vortal. Back to my world."
He sat up slowly on the couch, wiping his tear-streaked cheeks with the corner of his Iron Maiden tee shirt sleeve. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I just wanted my family back, that's all. I was going crazy without you. I guess I never realized how much I took you all for granted until you were gone, and then--"
"Hold on," I said gently. "Slow down. Explain it all to me from the beginning. Act as if I'm the retard younger brother, not you, okay?"
He smiled a little at that. "Okay," he said.
It didn't take long. Basically, the plot was as simple as a Hollywood action B-movie: Mahesh Vatsal lived in an alternate world far more technologically advanced than our own, yet identical in many other ways. So, for example, he had exactly the same family as the Vatsals in this world, my world. And he was just as tech-nerdy as our Mikey over here. And as indifferent to everyone else, his head glued 24/7 to his comp, which, from what he described, was like a desktop version of a Cray supercomputer compared to our measly PII, which was the current standard.
But then, one day, everything changed. We all went on a trip to Shirdi. He dropped out at the last minute, making some excuse, but really only wanting to wriggle out of any journey that would take him away from his precious comp. He had a little argument with Dad before they left, but in the end, he got his way, because both Mom and Dad felt that he had to understand it for himself rather than be forced to do something against his will. That was the way they were, in my world as well as Mahesh's world.
They were all killed in a really ugly smash-up with two trucks, between Nashik and Shirdi. Dad, Mom, Viveka, and Vaibhav...my counterpart in that world.
After that, everything changed for Mahesh. He realized how much he missed his family, how much he loved them. And he always blamed himself for not going with them that day, for arguing with dad, for making them late. Like anyone in his position, who is spared while his whole family dies, he was stricken with guilt. Our uncle Anant, the surgeon, took care of him, and there was no problem of money, so Mahesh asked that they keep the house for the time being, and Anant-tau agreed easily. Mahesh stayed with Anant-tau, but spent most of his hours in his old place, working on his comp, except that this time he wasn't hacking into US congressional websites, or fooling around with defense portals.
He was programming a gateway between alternate realities.
He explained the quantum physics behind the whole concept, but most of it went way over my head. But basically, it seemed that this was a legitimate scientific possibility even in our world: it was theoretically possible that alternate worlds existed, parallel universes identical to our own in every way, but with only a few things changed. Or even completely different versions of our world.
But to turn that theory into reality, it had taken more than Mahesh Vatsal's comp genius. It had taken the help of an anonymous person he met in a high-tech chatroom one night, soon after his family's death in the Nashik car crash. A person whom he knew only by his internet handle: The Webmaster.
"Didn't you try asking his name?" I said. "I mean, didn't you wonder why this guy would share so much info with you? I mean, this isn't a crack code for some FPS game, we're talking major scientific breakthrough here, right? Didn't you ever get curious as to why he was helping you instead of working for the US government and winning the Nobel Prize for Science?"
He shrugged. "Maybe he was working for the US gov. Maybe he is a Nobel Prize Winner. All I know is, he was telling me what I needed to know. Like a helpdesk that helped you crack your code problems. And I didn't really care about anything else at the time." He looked down. "Bhai, you don't understand, I really couldn't live with you guys gone. I was thinking suicide every second minute. When I first heard from The Webmaster, it was like God himself reached out and told me there was still hope."
I was silent, trying to think of my little brother--or his counterpart in an alternate world--sitting alone at his comp, with all of his family gone suddenly. I had no idea how that felt, but even now, with Mom in the ICU, Viveka gone, I could feel the gut-wrenching shock that comes when those familiar, beloved people are just taken away from you, even temporarily. The permanence of death...for once, I couldn't even think of a movie reference that would express it eloquently enough. Nothing short of a Bergman film.
"And so you created the Vortal," I said, finishing Mahesh's story. "And went through it, coming into our world. And flipping Mikey from here back into your world."
He nodded, looking at me to see my reaction.
I sighed. "But bro, by doing that, you caused an awful mess, didn't you? I mean, I understand now what your plan must have been. You thought you would replace your counterpart in this reality, and that way you would have your family back almost the way they were before--because you said that we're almost exactly like our counterparts in your world, right? But in doing so, you threw poor Mikey into your lonely world, leaving him without his family. And somehow, that Vortal thingie of your's switched Viveka with someone else, some not very nice alternate version of her, and now Mom's in hospital in ICU and everything's all messed up again."
He looked miserable. "I know. I didn't mean for it to work out this way. That's why I came to you, to tell you the truth."
"So now what?"
"Now..." he sucked in a long deep breath. "Now, I need your help. To make it all right again."
"How do we do that?"
He hesitated. Then said, "You have to come with me through the Vortal. Back to my world."
posted by Ashok K. Banker at 12.10.05
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