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In the year 2025, scientific breakthroughs worldwide were advancing in leaps and bounds. Quantum Physics, genome research, and human consciousness had all made advancements exponentially. It seemed that in the years following a worldwide pandemic people had more time to do research. A community of researchers had discovered a way to move through a different dimension. They belonged to an organization named SBTN which stood for Searching Beyond the Norm. The director of the company was Douglas Banks. He immediately patented his discovery and announced his findings to the world. What he created was a particle accelerator machine, with this, he could send a human to another Earth. At the same time as ours. The differences in the other Earth were subtle, such as free will, The same people would be there, but maybe they had different jobs, different spouses, or different political figures. But most things were the same. There were no major differences such as futuristic advancements, flying cars or aliens. It wasn’t time travel just a parallel dimension.

             When Society got wind of this discovery two years later, there was a huge desire for the general-public to take advantage of this possibility to see the other Earth. Douglas saw this as an opportunity to make millions if not billions of dollars from his breakthrough. People wanted to travel and see themselves in this other dimension. It was compelling. Human curiosity would make Douglas a very rich man. There was a downside. Each time you went through the particle accelerator it could damage your cells, therefore there was a disclaimer that if you used it more than five times to go back and forth that you could seriously damage your DNA. And cause an early death, so the machines were set for no more than five trips. To purchase a machine, the cost was set at one million dollars each.

             Jason Merrick was one of the people compelled to spend the money on an accelerator to make the trip. He was an entrepreneur that owned commercial real-estate. He was a very wealthy man. Married to his wife Janet. He knew his marriage was on the rocks though. He was an alcoholic and the stress of his drinking weighed on their marriage. He loved Janet deeply, but he couldn’t kick his habit. A year earlier he noticed that she started to resent him and that a divorce was inevitable. Jason paid for one of the accelerators and brought it home for his voyage. He never told Janet that he wanted to try it. They had so much money and she had her own trust fund as well. She would never know of the expense he made. The first time he used it was a day when Janet was out. He took it to the garage and set it up. During the first visit to the other dimension, he immediately went to his home. The public from the other Earth knew of the travelers coming to their dimension. It was happening more regularly, and they were getting used to it. It was only a minor annoyance to them. Jason watched from a short distance as he saw his other self and his other wife interacting with one another in their yard. He could tell that they were happier than he and his Janet were. He felt a bit jealous of what he saw, why couldn’t he have that? He wondered. He hesitantly decided to make contact the couple. The other Janet and Jason were taken aback when he approached them, although they were not shocked as it was happening more frequently. It was very odd to see your twin staring you in the face though. The other Jason was more receptive than Janet was. She had a look of concern on her face for the whole interaction. After a half hour of conversation Jason left and went back home to his garage. After speaking with them he realized that there wasn’t much difference. They were just as wealthy, same home, but what he did notice was the Janet seemed happier than his Janet. They seemed like a loving couple.

Jason started thinking about something. Something a bit sinister. He could replace the other Jason with himself and take over his life in the other dimension and be with the happier Janet. He knew it was morally an awful thing to do. but he loved his wife. His marriage was all but over now. This new opportunity could change everything. He also knew that there would be no way the other Jason could come back because once you purchase an accelerator, you can’t buy another one. It was prohibited for your own safety. That was one of the rules of the purchase. They didn’t want people to be reckless and cause their own deaths because of overuse. The first trip back and forth meant he had already used the machine twice now; therefore, he had 3 more left. He had to execute everything perfectly if he was to pull this off.

             Jason had to plan a way to get the other Jason be alone with him. And then all he had to do is render the man unconscious and then send him back to his Earth. Sounded easy enough. With him gone he could just resume his life there. A happier life with the other Janet. He had to get more information though on their marriage and the things going on in their lives just in case there were differences. He had to be aware so that Janet would not think he was an imposter.

             He spent the rest of the day devising his plan and how to carry it out. The machine only allowed you to bring yourself and what you were wearing. He wished he could bring some of his belongings and money from his dimension to the new one, but he knew he was wealthy there as well, so it mattered not. Jason went back and spent a day with the other Jason. Both Jason’s were curious about one another, it made sense really since they were essentially the same person. They walked and talked and went for a coffee at a local diner and watched a soccer match on the TV. Jason got as much information on his life as he could, everything from Janet to his business to details about their home. It seemed innocent to ask all the questions, they just wanted to see how much difference there was between the two realms. One thing he found out was that the other Jason wasn’t an alcoholic, he never drank at all. After a while together the two men parted ways for the day, afterwards Jason felt that he had enough information to pull off his plan.

             The next day, he was ready to execute what would be the replacement scheme as he called it to himself. He would have his wife back and she would be happier than his current Janet. His life could go back to normal.

 In his garage he looked at the machine as he prepared to travel. He was a bit hesitant as he knew there were no more trips permitted after this one. He would be stuck in the other dimension if things went awry. He felt confident enough that he was ready to go. He had to have a few drinks first though to build up the courage to make this big move. It was the rest of his life after all. Off he went.

In the other Earth he went to his other home and used the hidden key to enter where he would then wait. The other Jason said that Janet would be home later than him today. He had a window at 4p.m. to knock him unconscious and send him to his Earth. He waited patiently by the front door. Anxiety was high as he waited, he wasn’t used to doing shady business like he was about to do, but it was for his greater good. A deed he would have to deal with. He heard Jason pull into the driveway and prepared himself. The man unlocked his front door not knowing of what was waiting behind it. As he walked through Jason hit Jason over the head knocking him out cold to the ground. He quickly dragged the man to the garage where he used the accelerator to send him off tom his new home. It was done. Jason was here in the new realm with his new life and his new old wife. He felt no remorse for what he had done. It was a new beginning for him. He felt bad for hitting the man, but he would be fine, he may not even realize what happened, after all he is going to the same life. He cleaned up the mess in the front hall by the door and then prepared for Janet to come home soon. He decided to make dinner. It was so simple, everything was the same, the cupboards had all the same ingredients in the same location. Things were looking up and he was a happy man.

About an hour after sending the other Jason away, Janet came home from work. Jason was excited to see her and anxious. He had hoped that they could make love. In a way it is a woman he has never been with even though she is the same person so to speak. She walked in the front door to the smell of dinner. Her mouth started to water. “What’s for dinner hon?”

“Pasta Carbonara.”

“Oh, my favorite. What’s the occasion?”

“Oh nothing, I just felt like treating you.”

She quickly walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek, and just as quickly backed away.

             “What’s wrong?” he asked hesitantly.

             “Where is Jason?” she asked coldly.

             “What do you mean? I am standing right here.”

             “My Jason, you’re not him.”

             “What the hell are you talking about?”

             “My Jason doesn’t drink, but you smell like a booze factory.”

After a brief hesitation he said, “I used some wine in the sauce Janet, don’t go crazy on me here.”

             “Interesting choice of words, that’s what you used to say when I asked you if you were drinking before I left you.”

             “Left me, what are you talking about Janet? You never left me, we never split up.”

             “Well, we did, you just didn’t know about it.”

             “I don’t understand.”

             “No, I suppose you wouldn’t. Jason, I left you a year ago, I used a portion of my trust fund to get the particle accelerator to come here. When I met this Jason and saw he wasn’t a drunk, I knew I wanted to leave you for him. I sent this Janet back there against her will as I am sure you did the same to this Jason. I hope you didn’t hurt him.”

He stood there with a look of shock on his face at the deception that he realized she pulled off without him knowing.

             “You were too drunk to realize that she wasn’t me and now she is probably sick of you as well, otherwise you wouldn’t be here,” she said smugly.

             “You figured out all of this from smelling alcohol?”

             “This Jason has never had a drink in his life, he doesn’t cook with wine, we don’t even keep wine in the house. Where is My Jason?”

             “I sent him to our garage back home.”

             “Well, Jason, I’m leaving you for the second time, only this time you will know about it. I hope it was all worth it. Don’t worry, I will find a way to send the other Janet back. But I’m sure she won’t stay with you long either. I guess people aren’t so easily replaced huh?”

THE END