Doppelgoogler

Jason liked to spend his lunch breaks traveling the world. He was stuck inside a government office, but at his fingertips lay the largest collection of unfiltered and unpolarized humanity on the internet – Googlemaps. Jason treated each lunch session as a treasure hunt. As he ate a sandwich, he visited places very few people knew existed. He zoomed in on his Googlemaps screen as far as it would go. He liked the road views that provided an adjustable perspective of landscapes and neighborhoods. After an hour of exploring a spot on the map, he felt connected. It was not exactly like being there in person, but his visits were much cheaper and environmentally friendly than airplane tickets.

           The true gems of his treasure hunt trips were the raw pictures and commentary provided by anonymous visitors to landmarks, buildings, businesses, and every other kind of spotlighted location on the digital map. Some photos contained scenery.  Others were posed and candid shots of people. Most were taken with phones. Sometimes you saw locals and other times tourists.

           Jason began the first week of November with a trip to Finland, where he explored above the Arctic Circle. A town called Köngäs caught his interest and he wandered to a hotel called the Aurora Pyramid Glass Igloos. Photos showed huts covered by glass enclosures. From the place’s name, Jason figured the huts were for renters hoping to view the green glow of the Northern Lights through their ceilings.

           Visitor-posted pictures showed cars stuck in snow, reindeer nibbling on landscaping, and the cute hut interiors decorated with toy elves. Many people shared pictures of meals eaten inside the huts. No one bothered showing a Northern Lights photo, despite all the effort it took to reach the pyramids.

           On Thursday, Jason found himself in Africa, right on the equator. He hovered over the village of Omunkunyu, Uganda, before zooming in on a highlighted electronics store. The place was owned by someone named Bwambale Peter. Jason could not decide which was his first and last name. Most of the pictures associated with the store showed the owner. He stood next to solar panels, lamps, and heating elements for electric stoves. According to Googlemaps, he was open 24 hours per day and was waiting for his first user rating.

           Jason spent Wednesday’s lunch farther east, flying over Indonesia. He landed on Penida Island, east of Bali. He was drawn to a particular sheer cliff overlooking a hidden beach and turquoise water. On top of the cliff, sat the Pura Palwang, also known as the car temple. Hundreds of pictures showed stone shrines built to look like small cars. The site had lots of reviews and a 4.4 out of 5 rating.

           Thursday might have been Jason’s favorite day of the week because he always treated himself to a meatball sub. He learned to eat it with only his left hand so his mouse clicking hand remained clean and free. He liked spending Thursdays around the sunny Mediterranean, and on that particular day, landed on the Dalmatian Coast and the city of Split, Croatia. He hovered over the orange tile roofs before moving up and down the streets. He stopped at a little shop specializing in hats of every kind – caps, fedoras, and especially wide-brimmed sun hats.

           Jason had seen pictures from similar shops countless times, but he almost dropped the sub in his left hand after his first glimpse of the shop’s owner, Dubravko. He looked exactly like Jason! Same round face, widow’s peak hairline, and V-shaped eyebrows. Jason could not look away as he slowly scrolled through Dubravko’s selfies.

           Like all humans, the vision center in Jason’s brain was wired to instantly categorize facial features. With only a glace, he could make a judgment on another person’s attractiveness and mood. And even more quickly, he could recognize a relative or his own image. As he stared at Dubravko, he got the strange sensation he had a twin or was suffering amnesia after once living in Croatia.

           Jason called to a coworker in the office across the hall. “Hey Tammy, can you come and look at something for me?”

           “What is it?” Tammy asked after strolling over for a look at Jason’s computer screen.

           “Who does that look like?”

           “You. Where did you take that picture?”

           “I didn’t. This is some random guy living in Croatia.”

           “You’re kidding,” Tammy replied, moving closer toward the screen for a better look.

           “He’s got other pictures. Let me click through them.”

           “Wow, I would bet money that was you.”

           Jason summoned other friends in the building and they all confirmed it was a scary coincidence. Jason saved the Googlemaps coordinates on his phone so he could show his wife when he got home. She gawked at Dubravko’s pictures with the same amazement Jason experienced.

           “He’s an exact copy. There’s a word for it.” Jason’s wife thought for a few seconds before coming up with it. “He’s your doppelganger.”

           “I thought only celebrities had doppelgangers.”

           “I think anyone can have a doppelganger.”

           Jason acted skeptical. “I don’t know about that. And this feels so totally random, I think it deserves a new word. How about doppelgoogler since I found him on the internet?”

           “If you want to invent a new word, go right ahead.”

           Jason liked his new word and used it when anyone would listen to his story of finding Dubravko. The more he thought about it, the more convinced Jason was that the resemblance was more than a fun coincidence. Over the past year, he had investigated his family history, including spending $100 for a DNA analysis by Ancestry.com. He discovered his genetic origins included Eastern Europe and now had a hunch Dubravko was a relative.

           When Jason finally found the nerve to send Dubravko a message using the email address for the hat shop, the greeting began with an assurance it was not a money scam. “I found your shop while investigating Split, Croatia. You look so much like me in your pictures, we must be related.”

           Jason included some details about himself and where he lived. He attached photos and added a list with his parents’ and grandparents’ names in case they sounded familiar to Dubravko.

           A reply arrived the next day. Dubravko seemed thrilled to hear from Jason and agreed they looked alike. “I do not know of any American relatives. I do not know any of the names you sent. Please visit if you come to Croatia.”

           The news disappointed Jason, who was hoping to discover a new branch of his family tree. He had no brothers or sisters and only two cousins. He envied large families and all their connections. He dreamed of flying to Croatia and meeting loads of people with the same bloodlines.

           When faced with disappointment or failure, Jason was usually quick to switch his attention somewhere else. This time, he could not let the idea of Croatian relatives go. He wrote back to Dubravko and explained that family ties can get lost. A DNA test could show a connection they did not realize existed. “The DNA test is easy and I’ll pay to get it done. A website will show how closely we might be related. This has to be more than coincidence.”

           Dubravko agreed to take the test. He sent in his DNA sample and Jason checked the Ancestry.com website daily for updates. When people were added to their database, if they were a suspected relative, they would appear in Jason’s profile. He imagined Dubravko’s name popping up as a close cousin. Or maybe a half-brother. Was there a family secret his father never told him? Even if the results were not that dramatic, Jason was sure Dubravko would show up somewhere on his sparse family tree.

           Weeks passed without any visible result. Jason finally wrote to Dubravko asking if his online profile was updated. Dubravko wrote back to say, “Yes, I see it. I see other people connected to me but not your name.”

           Jason read the news and felt strangely sad and isolated. “Too bad,” he wrote back to Dubravko. “I guess all we have in common is our looks.”

           Dubravko replied with a laughing emoji. “I did not tell you this before. People come into my shop all the time and say I look like someone they know. I think we look like lots of other people.”

           After a few days of disappointment, Jason caught hold of the idea of multiple look-alikes. Maybe his face matched a favorable genetic mold. There could be thousands of copies around. His obsession with relatives switched to an obsession with finding other doppelgooglers.

           Jason continued to enjoy his lunchtime world travels with Googlemaps, but he had a new purpose when scanning posted pictures. He was now on the hunt for anyone who looked like him. He started a list with two entries, one in Augusta, Maine and the other in Split, Croatia.