Crossing The Brandenburg

Crossing the Brandenburg (Short Story)

Now Mr. Finley, this won't hurt a bit. Everything will be put back to its place in just a second...

I stun to realize that I'm strapped down to an operational bed. What the... I try to scream out, but cannot manage. I felt a brusque sharp pinch from the back of my neck and immediately fell into an abyss with the sensation of everything being pinched into one singularity. Time's stopped.

Whoa! I exclaimed as I shrug up from my sleep. Having calmed myself from the shock of that surreal dream, I took a deep breath and looked toward the familiar baby blue ceiling. The ARM Co. holoprojector detects my neural activity and turns on with a low pitched hum, displaying the morning sky in real time with the clock fading out from behind the clouds harmoniously. Classic retro music from the 2010s comes on in the speaker, the information unit presented me with some mundane local news and daily tattle from my favourite newscast channels with perfect typography. Laying in the comfort of my anti-gravity pod horizontally opposed from the rest of my living space, I begin to recover from the shock of that awful dream and smiled as I embrace the comfort of my home. It's not much, but it is my haven.

The corner of the ceiling is now blinking red. That's my morning alarm, reminding me that this comfort doesn't come for free, which means I've got to be at work soon. I sighed wistfully, hopped out of the pod and walked to the sanitation deck. As I quickly washed up, my closet unit has placed my scheduled outfit on the nearest platform. Breakfast has already been dispensed on the dining table, I took some bites and headed off to the teleporter, grabbing my suitcase along the way. 'I wonder if Jim's got those annual figures yet.' I thought as I selected the preset location "Work" on the holographic menu. The teleporter charged up as I stood emotionlessly, impatiently thinking that if I've gotten the QR-90 model, I wouldn't need to wait this long for the tele-drive to charge. A brilliant flash went in front of my eyes. Oh good, about time. I stepped out of the teleporter only to find myself back in the living room of my home. I glanced at the room in confusion, and stepped back into the teleporter. I pressed the 'Work' button repeatedly, but the computer keeps throwing back some weird error message with the title "e/Brandenburg". Damn piece of junk, I muttered in sotto voce. I headed for my car in the garage and pressed the start/stop button, the engine refused to turn over as a message displayed on my heads-up display. "Emission policy in enforcement, internal combustion devices are prohibited until June 20th." "Now this is just great". I slammed the control surfaces in anger and remarked sarcastically. I turned to look toward the old bicycle rack.

It took me 15 minutes to bike to work with much effort, I haven't done anything so repetitive without being paid in years. Finally, I walked past the teleporter room and arrived at the security desk, everyone seems to have already checked in. Glancing into the booth, I nodded hi to Jackie: "Hey Jack, buddy. Sorry I'm late. The teleporter broke down." Jackie gave me a look. "Uh, Tom I don't think so. Didn't you teleport and check-in like 20 minutes ago?" "Definitely not." "Hmm. Cause it says right here on the log, yeah, 7:32AM Central Time, that's when you checked in." I rolled my eyes in bewilderment. I don't have time to joke around. "Okay Jackie, very funny. You got me. Did anyone else have teleporter problems today?" Jackie seems unimpressed. "Uh, not as far as I know. Also, when did you leave the building? I don't remember seeing you swipe out."

Whatever. I shrugged at him and swiped in. To my surprise, the turnstile gate didn't open. A caution sign obstructed the entire screen. I tried again to no avail. Jackie uttered, "It thinks you are already in the building. Told you." I looked toward him, "Hey, the machines seem to be screwing with me today. Could you override this?" Jackie seemed reluctant. "Alright Tommy, but you can't just leave next time. Gotta remember to swipe out, I'm not supposed to do this you know." He pressed some buttons on the keyboard and rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, but I really did just get here." I walked past the gate, leaving him muddled. Out of the blue, I heard some tire screech across the main entrance. A bunch of SUVs had arrived at the front door while I waited for the elevator in the lobby. Men in suits rushed into the building and vaulted over the security turnstile, triggering blaring alarms. They seem to be headed towards my direction with much haste. I try to get out of the way, but a disc shaped grenade landed right next to my feet. It went of with a loud bang and a cloud of gas surrounded me and that's the last thing I remember.

I woke up in a very bright white room. Hazed and scared, I barely managed to concentrate my vision. Some guy is sitting there in front of me, staring. Before I said anything, he announced at me. "Mr. Finley, I'm glad you are finally awake. I'm sorry for the circumstances but I assure you that all of these are done to protect your own sanity." He paused briefly and stood up, "You see, your teleporter malfunctioned at 7:32 AM, central time this morning, creating Thomas F. Finley 34/372-2." "Uh.... what?" I contented with confusion and disbelief. "Is this some kind of a prank?" He seems a bit annoyed, smacked his lips and continued. "Let me get this straight, Mr. Finley. After the invention of quantum teleporters, we can now teleport people's original copy of themselves instead of creating clones that carry on their consciousness while disintegrating the original source composition. The law simultaneously banned the usage of conventional teleporters as it was deemed extremely unethical with a new alternative available. However, the new technology failed to consider a situation of quantum discrepancy. The inventor of the quantum teleportation, David Brandenburg planned to publish an OTA update for all teleporters enrolled to counteract the so called 'Brandenburg phenomenon'. However, as the result of its rare occurrence, there are now two of you in dimension 43. We are obligated to settle this incident.."

"Dimension 43?" I looked at him, staggered. I didn't know what to say. "So.. what does that mean? I didn't ask for any of this. I was on my way to work and..." "Yes, Mr. Finley. I understand that the situation is especially peculiar to you. However, we've already formulated a solution. As we speak, the replica - Thomas Finley 372-2 is being rectified. We can only allow one version of you to carry on in dimension 43."

"What?" I cannot believe what I'm hearing with great terror. "By rectifying... do you mean to tell me that you are planning to... get rid of my other self - that's also me?" What's going to happen to the other ... well me"?

He looked confused for a second, but quickly regained his composure. "Mr Finley, this may be difficult to process, but... you are the replica." Before I could react, he had pushed a button on the control panel, rendering me motionless and incapacitated.

Now Mr. Finley, this won't hurt a bit. Everything will be put back to its place in just a second...