the other option

PART 1

The room was dark and cold in the mid-autumn morning. Professor Kramer O'Brian flips on the lights, and places his things on the counter closest to the door. He takes his lab coat and throws it on and turns on the heater for the room.

Kramer: burrrr...Chilly today...

He goes over to the clock-in machine and types in his ID number. Just as he was about to close the lab door it burst open.

Adam: Wait!

Kramer opens the door to reveal his assistant, Adam Rylan.

Kramer: My mistake Adam, come in. We still have to work on the deconstruction grid.

Adam: Yeah, I probably would have been in already, had that moron not taken a wrong turn and smashed into that pick-up...

Kramer: Well at least be thankful that you were on time to work today...I mean, not every day do you need to be early for work Rylan...

Adam: Is that a bad thing professor?

Kramer: No, no. I'm just implying that I think you should have an extra hand instead of always trying to impress me with early finished work. I know that you're a great physicist.

Adam: yeah but I feel like over achieving even if you don't need me too. It's in my nature to, it's like a built in thing.

Kramer walked over and put a hand on Adam's shoulder

Kramer: I know Adam....now get to work.

Adam smiles, then walks over to the computer. After about 3 or so hours, the two have stopped working for a bit and sit at a table at Mary's Café. They start to discuss the work they've been doing.

Adam: you know, we've been working on that machine for a bit, what does it do?

Kramer: Well, let's start with this... (Takes a sip of coffee)...have you ever heard of Schrodinger's cat?

Adam: ...

Adam looks blankly at Kramer as if expecting to magically gain the knowledge and tell him yes.

Kramer: Okay, in a nutshell, it's an experiment that a person did to prove that something can be perceived as both dead or alive depending on the "reality" we're in.

Adam: You mean like alternate universes? Like a "choose your own adventure" book?

Kramer: Precisely. But the whole test consisted of a bunker, a cat, and a barrel of unstable gunpowder. The gunpowder had a 50/50 chance of exploding in the bunker. So it could be dead or alive by the time they went to check on it.

Adam: How does that relate to alternate universes?

Kramer: Because in one reality, the cat dies and in another the cat lives, obviously.

Adam: So then back to the machine, what does the thing do?

Kramer: It allows us to see the other option if we already chose one...

Adam: So... you mean...

Kramer: yes. Inter-dimensional travel, going through all of the pages of the book without having to flip them.

Adam sits in his seat, staring dumbfounded. He leans back in his chair, then his eyes turned to a concerned look.

Kramer: What? What's the matter?

Adam: What if this machine ends up working... does it go out to the public? That could mean terrible things! That means that people would know that they could have different lives to better themselves in, everyone will want that kind of power!

Kramer: Hey! If you don't want it to be so public why are you screaming it in a public restaurant? Look, it won't be public this is only for scientific reasons only. We open the door, go through, check out what we see, document it, come back, and then close the door until the organization decides to open it again.

Adam: Alright then... that's fine, sorry for freaking out there...

Kramer: It's natural, it isn't every day you get picked to make a machine that can literally change your life choices.

Adam: Yeah, you're right professor. We should probably get back to the laboratory and finish our "life changing" machine.

Kramer: Yes...quite.