The World is at stake in Station 7

“Hold up, I’m telling you this is important” screamed a man who most would consider a madman from the clothes hastily draped over him. With a shirt two sizes too big, he was running in a pair of jeans with one leg ripped off at the knee and the other so full of holes that a slice of Swiss cheese would be envious. As he continued his path, another person dressed more appropriately for a Monday morning rush hour could be seen running ahead of him at a bit of a breakneck speed. It was obvious that something was amiss. It was unclear as to what altercation between the two had transpired to make the man feel the need to keep a good chunk of space between himself and the oddball, but what was apparent was that it was something very troubling.

“Like I said two stations ago, what I know about tomorrow is going to cause the both of us serious irreparable damage” the man yelled out, this time with a bit of extra gumption and he began throwing what appeared to be pens and pencils at him. With each toss of the writing instruments, the man most would see as an average everyday commuter attempts to remain a couple of steps ahead of the lunatic. Despite all the onlookers just gawking at the commotion, the businessman focuses on getting away from his apparent stalker who has been letting out numerous groans of pain with each manic step toward his target. Along with his latest handful of moans, he screamed “I know you think I’m crazy thinking I can see the future, but you know what I told you yesterday came true today!” Hearing this, the businessman lowered his head and stopped dead in his tracks for this shook him a bit.

“Why do you think that a small coincidence is any proof of you knowing anything about the future?” the man wearing the budget-minded suit screamed in the ragged face of the now self-proclaimed witness of the future. Without missing a beat, the unkempt psychic followed up with “of course I do Stan. How else would I also know that today is the third day in a row that you wore mis-matched socks.” The silence in that entire station was deafening at that point and the tiniest pin drop would sound like a boulder falling down a waterfall. The awkward silence lasted mere moments before the businessman began to laugh somewhat hysterically at what the man had just proclaimed. His laugher soon gave way to silence, and he felt flustered as he thought more about the seemingly small and unimportant details that the stranger guessed two days in a row. While trivial, it was unbelievable that this stranger would know these things about him but tried not to give away his uncertainty on the matter; however, the hesitation and doubt could be seen clearly in his eyes. A door began to open within him at this moment to what should be unbelievable.

So many scenarios were now running through the head of this poor flustered man, now known to the entire facility as Stan, and he had no idea why someone such as himself was put in such an unlikely scenario. Who was he in the grand scheme of the universe to be so important that a witness to visions of the future was in front of him. In all his years on this planet, he had only aspired to be average, and he achieved this every step of the way. In all accounts, both by his family and those he would regard as friends, he had been extremely successful in this task. He had perfected the art of the wallflower. He had set up residence directly in the midway of anything he’s ever done in his life, neither failing nor excelling at whatever work he was given.

“Hello vacant eyes” proclaimed the raggedy man in the direction of Stan. It took a few seconds for his mind to leave the hazy flashbacks of his moments of mediocrity, of which there were many. Noticing that the eyes of the man in front of him were back in the present day, the raggedy man introduced himself as Jack. Businessman Stan let out a slight scoff, thinking that a name like Jack did not sound amazing enough to be given to a man who could see events yet to transpire. With a look of annoyance, the crazed man muttered “if you think that name is so funny, I wonder if you and everyone here will think another name is worth at least a chuckle...” In mere moments, Stan caught on to what he was insinuating and squeaked out a whimpering no.

“So can we talk, seeing as I have at least a shred of believability now.” Once Stan heard those words coming from the man standing in front of him, he knew that he was in for a big change in his life’s status quo. Whatever plans he had for the immediate future would have to be put on hold at the very least, and possibly sent to the trash all together. With a heavy sigh and shoulders shrugged as low as they could possibly go, he asks “so what crazy Earth-shattering tale of events yet to come are you here to tell me?” Suddenly, this homeless soothsayer’s mood changed from confrontational to as happy as a five-year-old on his birthday.

The psychic proceeded to inform Stan of the events that had transpired that caused him to lead him to reach out to him this morning. He began his tale by telling him facts about his life that nobody but he himself would know, interspersed with all the moments he hid from even those closest to him. All of this was told to him with exact precision, and throughout the conversation, Stan’s newfound belief in his new guide to the future never faltered and he listened with amazement. However, nothing of what fate planned for tomorrow or the next day was mentioned. He assumed that Jack felt the need to erase any doubt in his mind first before bestowing this other information to him.

"Now that we have the pleasantries of the past cleared away, we can move on to the possibilities of the future,” Jack casually stated in what sounded like a pre-rehearsed speech, before then hitting him with a bombshell of a revelation. Jack continued in a now cold and calculating tone, “I’m here to give you the chance to save everyone in the world. You may not believe the decision is yours to make, seeing as you have never been responsible for a decision more impactful than what to put on a grocery list or what insurance to pick for your job. And even in cases like those, it has only involved your life. You might even be saying to yourself that there must be literally thousands if not millions of other people on this planet that are much more qualified to take on this task. None of us know the reason why those who are chosen are the ones chosen. It could be just a roll of the existential dice, it could be the one chosen has interacted with key people throughout their life that gives them some sort of knowledge to make the decision properly, or it could be just waking up at a specific time and place. The fact of the matter is that now you have been chosen for this task.”

It took a couple seconds for all that information to sink in, but it did for poor Stan. As if there was a time limit in place, Jack abruptly asks “are you still with me Stan? We don’t have much time.” The sense of urgency, while warranted, seemed to come out of nowhere since Jack up until now was nice enough to give him a bit of a breather between his sentences. As if mind-reading was an ability alongside seeing the future, Jack abruptly mentions “yes, I’m in a bit of a rush. The higher ups that sent me here aren’t totally sure of it, but they have stressed to me the importance of explaining things without taking much of a break. Pretty much a single breath between sentences is all the luxury of time that I have.”

Recognizing yet another look of confusion and disbelief to go along with the handful he has already seen on Stan’s face this morning, Jack mentions that the higher ups have done this before on many occasions, and that it is best to just trust in their decisions. “I know it’s not the best strategy, to trust in some faceless group you’ve never met before,” Jack opens with, adding “they’ve been at this for a good number of decades.”

Jack was avoiding the fact that most of the “jobs” that he’s been assigned to were failures. Yet another fact he was dancing around was that multiple failures meant that there were multiple universes. It was not an insignificant detail, and it really shouldn’t have been omitted. However, one would assume that informing your average mortal that there are an infinite number of universes almost immediately after giving them the burden of saving the world would probably put an incredible strain on their mind and break it into numerous pieces. Further, the burden of knowing the pain that would ensue to everyone if the chosen one was to fail would certainly increase that strain.

It often starts out as a small natural disaster that quickly escalates into a world-shattering event in mere hours. Nine times out of ten the disaster is fire-related, which is terrible since Jack or a colleague of his is always the last living being on the planet and witnesses the pain of everyone else along with his own. Mere moments before the universe’s ultimate demise, they are relieved of their pain and are transported to another universe to find another chosen one to continue the cycle in another universe. As the minutes in the new universe go by, the strong memory of such agonizing pain subsides to a faint recollection, but the pain is always a constant reminder for Jack and a constant push to get it correct the next time.

Deciding to forego the infinite multiverse talking point, Jack continues to explain to the now perpetually bewildered Stan of the authority and experience the higher ups have concerning this subject. Continually glossing over the bit that they are usually unsuccessful; he tries his best to win Stan over to being open to taking on the task being given to him. “So, how about it Stan, what’s your decision? Continue this mediocre path leading to just a couple more hours of living until a very painful death, or come with me and take a few steps onto the road to Earth’s continued existence?”

With more hemming and hawing than Jack was comfortable with coming from Stan, his anxiety over trying to change his current streak of defeats begins increasing. Remembering that it has been almost a minute since his last words spoken, Jack looks directly into his new acquaintance’s eyes and tells him “The clock is ticking.” Still, the hesitation did not end. Quite the opposite, putting him on the spot caused Stan to be more sheepish in his decision-making. “Stop doubting what is right in front of you,” yelled Jack, with his anxiety increasing the volume of his now highly agitated voice.

“Ok, ok Jack, I got it. Yes, I’ll follow you down this rabbit hole. What do you need me to do?” Finally, a snippet of relief can fall upon Jack’s shoulders. Without wasting another second, he taps Stan on his shoulder and points at a small group of much more successful looking businessman than he could ever dream to be. These were the ones that yearned to be the best of the best, as much as he aimed to be what most people consider to be the most adequate of the rest. “You need to walk up to that group, talk yourself up to them for a bit. A woman talking on her phone will bump into the one with the black suit and red tie. Once that happens, walk away without speaking a single word.” Seems like an easy enough job, at least that is what Stan initially thought. However, once he was close enough to see the group’s faces clearly, a shiver rose along his spine. Before he could change his mind and turn around, one of the men saw him and after a couple seconds recognition appeared on his face and he yelled “hey look who it is, long time no see ‘Stan-dard.’” Oh no, thought Stan, the dreaded nickname that Jack nearly brought up earlier.

The rest of the group turned toward Stan and followed the first one’s laughter with their own moments later. As if each of his legs were tied to one ton cinder blocks, he slowly continued his path toward the obnoxious lineup. Keeping his eye contact with them was tough as memories of high school came flooding back to his mind. All the jokes and psychological tormenting added more weight onto his shoulders and led him to his instinct to lower his head, but he was able to counter that with the thought that he was more important than them. He is the one that has been chosen to save the world. He wondered if they had ever been given anywhere near as high of an honor. Even if it was a trudge to get through, talking to this group that had plagued his teenage years, it would not be too much of a pain. If this was all it took to keep the planet spinning in relative peace, he figured it was a necessary evil to get through.

As Stan presented his life in as exciting a journey as it could possibly be, Jack waited patiently and watched for this mystery phone woman. It did not take too long to see someone to fit the bill. She looked to be running late. Oblivious to the world she furiously yelled at whoever was on the other end of the call, going on and on about missed text messages and shared calendars not updating. Just as Jack noticed her, as expected she bumped into the group member that first noticed Stan. Taking that as the cue to leave and hopefully never look back, he turned around and headed for the nearest train platform. By the time the businessmen noticed the disappearance, their attention had waned and resumed the conversation they were having before he walked to them. They noticed that in all the commotion, the train they had been waiting for had already left the station and they’d be forced to reschedule a seemingly inconsequential meeting with their company’s scientists regarding some recent environmental developments.

Peeking back at the group, Stan wondered how such an insignificant encounter could possibly impact the future of the world. After witnessing them make their way to a nearby bench, he proceeded to look for Jack. First, he looked where he had last spoken to him, then any benches nearby. Assuming he had left to go onto bigger and better things, Stan made his way out of the station to enjoy the world he had a small part in helping to continue its life. On his way out, he made a call to his workplace to tell them that he was not coming in today, and that he was not entirely sure about any that followed.

With a smile of relief and a sense of contentment, Jack was on his way to another universe. Luckily, his exit from this universe would be more peaceful and less painful than his last few exits. However, something felt off to him. The feeling of weightlessness that precedes a peaceful teleport did not occur. A bit perplexed, Jack begins to look for any nearby bar with televisions. A fear always in the back of his mind, is now creeping quickly to the front. Did he take too much time finding Stan? Did he take too long in between pauses in their conversation? He figured it was a long shot that any pauses mattered; but when the survival of a planet and its inhabitants is on the line, anything that appears inconsequential must be considered.

It was on the fourth television in the bar across from the last platform in the station. The previous three were all playing clips from the latest sports games or the entertainment awards show from two nights ago. The breaking news being shown on that television sent Jack’s mind into a tailspin. The tornados occurring on the other side of the country might seem insignificant to the bar’s patrons, but he knew what it meant. He failed yet another universe, and no matter how many times he ran the morning’s events through his head, it was still all for naught.

Meanwhile, in a room far off in a universe that has existed longer than any other in an infinite sea of universes, a small handful of beings somewhat resembling humans converse with each other. The last moments of the current universe in their purview play out. Some of them chuckle, while the others look away and move their attention to the next universe in their itinerary. The one seemingly in charge tells the rest, “Well, that elimination has given us a good number of years added onto our universe. By my calculation about thirty-five, which is the most that we’ve gotten in a good long while. Ready the agent Jack for his memory wipe and prepare him for the next mission.” Looking pleased, they all agree to an early end to the day and head to their respective homes.