“Good morning, Doctor,” a woman said. Dr. Jones heard her voice the moment he stirred, before he managed to open his eyes. He realized he was laying down and decided to sit up while looking in the direction of the woman’s voice. An easily recognizable government agent in a black suit nodded at him and smiled. “Sorry for the sudden invitation, but we have something of an emergency,” the woman said. She walked to him with an outstretched hand. “I’m Agent Mundo.” Dr. Jones accepted the greeting while looking around. He sat on a padded examination table in a small medical room.
“Please, call me Michael. I think we’re close enough considering you kidnapped me.”
“Right. Here’s the situation. We have an alien child in our care and his heart is failing. We’ve done all we can with the staff we have, but when it comes to the surgery itself you have the best chance of success.”
“Are kidding! I get to operate on an alien?” Michael jumped off the exam table and walked toward the door. “I’m in.” He felt a firm grip around his arm.
“It’s not quite that simple,” Mundo said. “Unfortunately for you, specifically, it’s a one way trip.” Michael pulled away from Mundo and glared at her with suspicion.
“How so?” He asked with an eye on the door.
“You’re not in any danger. However, if you touch the child you’ll have to be quarantined for the rest of your life.”
“Huh,” Michael took a moment think. “That’s not necessarily a deal breaker. How many other medics am I quarantined with?” Mundo shook her head.
“Just you. On the plus side you’d have an alien friend for company.”
“Wait a sec, just me? You said your staff already did all they could?”
“Yes. As I said, this is a problem for you, specifically,” she shrugged. “Me too, but I have no reason to interact with the child.”
“Alright then, what’s so special about me and you?”
“That takes more time to explain than we have right now. Your patient is waiting. I need a decision first. If you’re not going to operate we need to send someone else in there.
“But the quarantine will be more like house arrest than a prison cell, right?”
“Oh yes, absolutely. You’ll be perfectly comfortable and looked after.”
“Okay, I’m in. Let’s go.” Michael moved toward the door again, and Mundo followed. He stepped out into the bright hallway then waited for her to take the lead.
“Thank you for this. I’ll fill you in with what I can while we walk,” she said as she turned a corner.
“You and I are what’s known as Unique Souls. The short version is there are alternate universes,” she said.
“Are you serious? Aliens and alternate universes??” Michael asked.
“Yes. Don’t interrupt if you want answers. We’re almost there.”
“Sorry. Tell me more, please.”
“Most people, like all the medics here,
“The trouble is the way Uniques work. Everyone, everywhere, vibrates at a certain frequency. Uniques are built for multiverse travel, so their frequencies are able to fluctuate as needed.” They walked into the white building and headed straight to the elevator. Michael sighed when she pressed the button for the second floor.
“Can you skip to the part about why I can’t go home?”
“Pretend you have a magic address book that automatically fills in the details of anyone you meet. Not only that but if you meet anyone else with the same magic address book the information is shared with them too. Once you touch the child you’ll have his frequency. And you’ll give it to every Unique you touch after that.” The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.
“And that’s bad?”
“Catastrophic, but we can talk more after the surgery.”
