[8th March, 2027.]
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge National Subsurface Lab
Thirty stories below the Earth's surface, an enormous underground laboratory pulsed with tension. Red warning lights blinked in sync with a persistent alarm, and panic spread like wildfire. Engineers dropped their tools. Technicians froze mid-command. Scientists backed away from control panels as beeping machines screamed out data overload.
At the heart of the chaos stood a towering monstrosity of metal and energy—the Parallel Resonance Engine. A marvel of scientific ambition, the machine was eighty-eight feet tall, a blend of arcane geometry and quantum circuitry. Rings the size of trucks rotated slowly around a glowing core: a levitating orb pulsing with red-blue energy. Untranslated runes lit up across the machine's ribs, flickering between dimensions like a faulty hologram.
"No no no... no!" came a panicked voice.
At a far safer distance from the machines energy fields—Dr. Lucien Vale, head scientist and theoretical physicist, stood at the base of the machine, tablet in hand. His screen was a stockpile of overlapping error messages, warnings piling like corpses. His fingers danced over the tablet, trying to stabilize the core's parameters.
"CUT ALL CIRCUIT CONNECTIONS NOW!" he barked into his collar's communicator.
Above, inside a glass-walled control room, Ashley Vale, Operations Director and also his wife, caught the command. Her face tightened beneath her headset as she gestured to her team. Switches flipped. Circuit breakers lifted.
The mega machine glitched for a second, its light flickering violently before stabilizing. Vale looked up and gestured for them to stop. Dismissing the flood of pop-ups, squinting at the change in rune arrangements.
"Doctor, we're shutting this beast down," said a gruff voice.
Vale didn't turn. Mr. McAllen, the project's government liaison—gray suit, gray hair, and gray morality—stepped into view.
"Exactly what I was thinking," Vale replied, checking something on the tab,"but we can't."
McAllen scowled. "You wantin' to end our people, eh? I knew you were one o' them mad scientist types."
Vale sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "The Parallel Resonance Engine has successfully made contact with a parallel dimension. Unlike last time, this isn't theory anymore—it's happening. Two worlds are now linked by a shared rift pulse. If we shut it down, we won't just destabilize the machine, we'll tear open that rift."
McAllen raised an eyebrow. "Talkin' gibberish again. What goes on must come off. That machine can be turned off. Just like any appliance."
"You're not hearing me!" Vale snapped. "It's not about 'turning it off.' It's about what happens when we do. The connection's already formed. Shut it down, and we tear the fabric of two realities. Shut it down, and that'll cause a collapse at the rift point. A tear large enough to destabilize both dimensions. If we leave it on, we risk a detonation in five or six hours. Yes. Probably enough to take Europe, South and North America out, including touches of Africa. But turning it off? That'll wipe out Earth, destabilize Mars, and probably take half of Mercury with it."
McAllen scoffed. "Madness. All of it. Always pullin' out end-of-the-world speeches when your budget's threatened."
"We're messing with reality itself! This isn't budget talk, this is extinction-level consequences!"
McAllen's voice dropped low. "Turn off the damn machine, Doctor."
Vale froze. A realization gripped him—one that chilled him more than the warnings on his tablet.
"Now I understand why Nathan left when the project got banned in the first place..."
"Huh?"
"You're all monsters. Willing to destroy what you don't understand just to maintain your illusion of control."
Vale worked furiously on his tablet, initiating lockdown protocols.
"Ashley, don't turn anything off! Keep the generators running!" he shouted.
Chaos surged. The techs watched, paralyzed by indecision.
Click.
The unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked echoed behind him.
"Dr. Vale," said one of McAllen's guards, "Drop the tablet. Hands behind your head."
"Shit..." Vale muttered, complying.
McAllen grinned like he had won an award. "Now, be a dear and tell sweet Ashley to pull the plugs."
Pained, Vale did. Ten minutes later, the Resonance Engine powered down—but the core orb remained active, still glowing.
"Ah, this must be one of your tricks." McAllen said, then he grabbed the fallen tablet and tapped a blinking red button: Emergency Collapse (code-Ω).
"This sounds like somethin' worth tappin'," he chuckled.
The orb surged. Rings spun wildly, lights blinked faster, and the entire structure began to quake.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Vale yelled.
"Emergency somethin'," McAllen shrugged.
The lab trembled. Cracks formed in the ceiling. Dust fell in sheets. The massive escape elevators roared to life as people fled.
Most out, leaving Dr. Vale watching the machine with a face holding no defined emotion.
Ashley sprinted back into the chamber, grabbing Vale's hand.
"Let's go, Lucien!"
He didn't move. "Go... I'm not."
"Lucien, stop it. Let's go!"
"Whether we run or not... it's the end."
"You once said physics can't explain how much I love you, I'm not leaving you here alone." Ashley hugged him tightly. Then kissed him. "When we got married, we made a vow—'till death.' What better place than your arms?"
They held each other tightly.
Then—
BOOM!
From above, a massive explosion warped the area. For a moment, reality bent back into shape. Silence. A stillness.
BOOM!
The second blast was the final blow. Earth exploded.
Debris spiraled. Mars took a hit. Mercury too. The solar system reeled.
Fifteen Revolutions Later...
Fifteen days of non-time. Then—
A tear in space.
Floating debris of another Earth began to draw inward. Shattered planets reassembled like puzzle pieces. Then:
A new Earth.
The Rift sealed.
Deserted.
Then... glitching. Flickers of people. Reality correcting itself. Humanity blinked back into existence.
[23rd March, 2027.]
New York City, USA
Morningside Heights, Manhattan
The sky turned black almost instantly. Thunder rolled. Lightning crackled, dancing without rhythm. The storm to end all storms had arrived.
Jake and his cousin Carl struggled against the wind, bent low as they approached home.
"Finally, just two blocks," Jake grunted, gripping Carl's arm.
"Why'd we even stay that long? Was it practicals?" Carl shielded his eyes from dust.
Jake frowned. "I don't even remember yesterday... or the whole week or the previous."
Lightning flashed.
Carl froze. For a heartbeat, Jake had long hair... and a female frame.
"Great Nachos!"
Jake turned. "What's going on in that dumb head now?"
"Y-you were... a girl. You had it. You had... curves"
Jake scoffed. "You're losing it."
"No, wait!" Carl chased after him. "I'm serious."
Jake stopped. Reached for Carl's hand. Lightning flashed again.
Carl looked down—his hand was feminine. His chest... larger. Then it all snapped back.
"Holy chips! I'm going crazy! Oh my, I'm—"
Jake turned, annoyed. "If I get soaked, you're on snack probation for a week. Bet that."
Jake helped him up and continued toward their door. They stepped inside, kicked off their shoes—
Carl screamed.
Two screams echoed.
Jake whirled around.
Facing him was... himself. But female. And opposite Carl—a female Carl.
"Who the hell are you, and why do you look like me?!" all four shouted in perfect sync.
This is just the beginning...
The beginning of the craziest time of their lives.
Of reality splitting at the seams.
Of Parallel Me.