As both of our Jameses walked along the interdimensional market after their little chat about the new gun, our protagonist asks his alt one:
James:
So, this is cool and all but, where will I stay at?
Alt James:
Don't worry, I'll just pay a hotel room for you. It's not like you have any of our money.
James:
Thank you man.
Alt James:
I would do anything for myself.
James:
(Laughing a bit) That was a good one, I have to agree. And where is this "hotel"?
Alt James:
Well, it's just a few blocks from here. It's a safe place, they have security and all, especially after the terrorist strike. But anyway, let's get going.
James:
Sure bud.
They start walking through the market streets. As they walk, James starts to look closer at the different dimensional species and analyzes them.
James:
First, we got the ones that look like a human but differ in their appearance, like having fur on all their body and animal attributes—what we would normally call "beastmen"—to pointy ears like elves. Then, there are the ones that look completely alien.
A creature that looks like a horse strolls by. It seems to have gray skin and several green eyes.
James:
That looks like a horse, but no, it's more like a camel. It has a hunchback. Hmmm, I have an idea.
Alt James (pointing to several people):
Well, as you can see we got all kinds of weird and interesting creatures.
Our protagonist, as the weird horse passes next to him, directs his words to him.
James:
Oh, hello?
The horse, in an ominous voice, answers as he moves his mouth to articulate:
Horse:
You aren't from around here, do you? You should just let your twin guide you. (He refers to the alt.) He for sure knows this place very well. Now don't disturb me. I have a race to win.
As he says that, he continues galloping through the market in the direction of what seems to be a stadium in the distance that James didn't notice before.
Our dimensional twins keep walking, the hotel directly in sight only two blocks away.
Alt James:
Do you have a question?
James:
Yeah, so you have races with those weird horses. That means over here people must gamble a lot.
Alt James:
Well, you could say that. I personally don't gamble. That's more for people that are really well-off. In here, bids can go to 1 million credits easily. That horse you saw is one of the newbies. His bids are on the low end, 10 thousand credits max.
James:
Yeah, but dude, could you explain me some of the situation? It's like I have no idea what's going on. You mentioned before something about a terrorist attack, like who's trying to take over or who governs this place?
Alt James:
Well, first things first, the terrorist attacks are not that common, but in the immense expanse of all the dimensions there's always gonna be some ragtag group trying to take power. Regarding the recent attack, no group has taken responsibility for it, but I would guess it was some cell of the "Path of Light." They are an extremist group with desires to take power and gain recognition so they can pocket resources and money from running things. About the current situation, this is a republic. Our president is currently a Squidward-shaped creature called Zolther and he was elected two years ago. He's an ok leader, but the sudden attack has eroded public trust in him because of not taking security measures to prevent it.
They arrive at the entrance of the hotel, a three-story building that looks modest and simple. They enter and see the other guests that are waiting or hanging out at the lobby. Both Jameses salute the receptionist.
Alt James:
Hello, my interdimensional twin here would like a room.
The receptionist, a red-haired goat beastwoman, responds:
Receptionist:
Of course. How long will he stay here?
Alt James:
Book his room for a month. I'll pay in advance for it. Here.
Alt James gives the card to the receptionist. She scans it and books the room.
Receptionist:
It's done, Mr. James. You can go to your room now. It's the number 15.
She hands the key to Alt James, and both Jameses go to the second floor to see the room.
Alt James:
Ok James, your room should be this one. Open it.
Our protagonist opens the door. He notes that the room isn't locked by key, and when he opens the door wide, he sees a couple of what resemble two enormous snakes breeding. Both Jameses get shocked by the sight and close the door instantly.
Alt James:
Well, that was awkward.
James:
Awkward would be underestimating what that was.
Alt James:
Well, with infinite dimensions come uncountable or ridiculous situations. Come on now, our room is the next one.
Alt James uses the key and opens the door, revealing a simply furnished room. It's got a personal-sized bed, two windows to the street, two chairs and a table, an AC unit, a fridge, a small bathroom, and a microwave. The walls are painted yellow and the bed blankets are white.
James (inspecting the bed):
Looks good enough. So, I will have to stay here for a while. Now, let's talk a bit. I want to know more things. You told me the political climate around here is a bit tense, but I still don't know how I'm gonna live in this place in the long run.
Alt James:
For now, what you have to know is that that is covered. I am gonna make sure you don't have a hard time adapting to this place. And regarding work, the security is interested in looking for people that know how to handle a gun, but also they don't need any gangster. They need someone, how do I say it, more trustworthy, preferably educated. And because you are me, and I know that I know how to handle guns, I will recommend you. Maybe you can even have some adventures with them.
James:
Isn't that dangerous? I mean, with terrorist strikes?
Alt James:
Actually, not really. The Path of Light, they don't have the firepower for a direct engagement and they only attack when they see there's no risk. For example, the recent terrorist attack blew up a data center building causing five deaths. It went something like this.
Alt James grabs a notebook and a pencil and starts creating a sketch.
Alt James:
First, the entrance. They parked a van outside of the building.
Second, five masked people get out of the van armed with submachine guns and carrying several explosive backpacks.
A hacker from the distance manipulates the cameras to put them in a loop and disables security, opening the door for the group.
They go in and into the server entrance. Someone that was keeping an eye on the servers goes out of the room and is killed instantly with a poisonous syringe to not leave traces or make any noise.
Two of the masked persons wrap the body and throw him in the van.
James:
How do you know that?
Alt James:
When they found him at the incinerator, his dental registry coincided.
James:
Oh shit.
Alt James:
Yeah, they found him three days later. We first thought he just abandoned the guard before or fled the scene and was too scared. Ok, where was I? Oh right. Well, the guys entered the server room, hid the backpacks, connected the explosives to the server and fled without leaving trace.
Next day they remotely sent a signal to the server which detonated the explosives, killing the other four people that were checking the servers in that moment.
James (impressed):
What a catastrophe. But they should have had armed guards knowing that there are terrorists around here.
Alt James:
That would have been the most optimal thing to do, of course. But until the strike, this place was really safe. And also, having guards around in my experience causes people to get a bit uncomfortable, and that's no good for political ratings.
James:
I understand.
Alt James, while looking at the darkening skies through the window:
Alt James:
It's getting late. I have to go, but first, take this.
He hands him a phone and a charger.
Alt James:
This will help you a lot. I paid the internet on it. If you have any doubts, you should search some encyclopedia or article, ok? Of course your old phone won't work here, but don't go to shady sites that promise you get rich quick.
(He laughs and continues.)
I'll see you tomorrow.
With that, they shake hands and Alt James leaves the room and closes the door behind him.
James goes to take a bath. He undresses and gets in the shower. As he does it, he thinks:
James (thinking):
What a day. Heh, who could have said I could have ended in another dimension? I mean, I just wanted to go to work and do boring experiments, but now I have to look for another job.
Hmmm, it would be between a portal engineer or security guard. But I guess the cops also need portal guys. They need, after all, interdimensional deployment capabilities. I don't know anything about portals yet, but surely I can do an online course with my phone. I am a fast learner after all. But also, by joining the cops as a portal technician, I can use my skills and have some adventures. Maybe gunslinging and everything. Also, those motorized armor sets looked really cool.
He finishes bathing, puts his clothes back on and realizes:
James:
Shit, I haven't tasted any food since breakfast, and that was very mediocre.
(Checks his phone and the bank app.)
It looks like my alt is very generous. He left me 10 thousand credits.
He leaves the room, closing it with the key, and goes down to the hotel café. He sits at the bar and asks for the food that looks the best, and ends up deciding that the purple pasta with meatballs looks tasty.
James:
Bartender, I would like a soft drink and that, Blungerdel it's called?
The bartender, someone that is obviously fit for such job because of being some kind of octopus and able to handle several clients at the same time, asks James a bit confused:
Bartender:
Yes sir, what do you want?
James notices he doesn't understand and says:
James:
What? Oh sorry.
He apologizes and uses his phone translator to place his order.
Bartender:
Don't worry, it's very common with foreigners. So, pasta with meatballs and a soft drink.
He gives the order to the chef that seems to be another octopus, and he gets to work.
As James waits for his food, someone else sits next to him. It seems to be a species of bird-man, from what he can tell, with shining blue feathers, clawed hands and feet, and a thin figure. The octopus seems to recognize him, and they start chatting in a language James doesn't understand.
In a very cheerful and sweet tone, in a language that resembles a bird singing, the birdman asks:
Alex:
I would like a cocktail please, the best you can do.
Octopus:
Sure Mr. Alex, it will be ready in a minute.
Using his free tentacles, he gets to work and prepares Alex's cocktail and James's soft drink, and retrieves the cooked pasta from the kitchen and hands it to James.
Octopus:
I hope you like it, and recommend us to your friends if that's the case.
The birdman turns to face James, and as our protagonist devours his food, he brings his cocktail to his lips and asks him in James's language. Now his voice resembles a parrot's, without renouncing to his cheerful tone from before.
Alex:
You seem to be new around here. You made a good choice. They serve delicious food and drinks around here.
(He keeps bringing his cocktail to his almost closed lips, drinking it gracefully.)
My name's Alex. I'm what you call a singer.
James:
Well, you're a bird. It's not very hard to put two and two together. I'm James.
Alex (laughing, with a soft feeling of amusement):
Oh, you're so silly.
Uhmm.
(He says as he finishes his drink.)
Well, the chat was nice, but I have to go back to prepare for my show. Bye.
He stands up and quickly disappears through the doors of the cafeteria.
James thinks to himself as he finishes eating:
James:
Well, that was random.
(He talks to the octopus.)
The food was really nice.
He too stands up and leaves to his room to finally rest. After everything that happened today, he falls asleep as quickly as he lets himself fall into the bed. He starts to dream indiscernible and nonsensical things all night.
The next morning, he wakes up to the ringing sound of a phone call. He picks it up and asks:
James:
Who is it?
Police Officer:
This is Captain Piek. I'm calling about James.
James:
Yes, I'm James. What happened?
Piek:
Not you. The other James. Today we found him in his house. He shot himself.
James, in shock after hearing those words, asks:
James:
What? How could that be? Why?
Captain Piek:
We are still researching the scene, but being sincere, I have no idea.
But he left a suicide note. He said to call you and also he seemed to have left something for you in the bank. If you want, you can assist the funeral if he was so close to you. Goodbye.
James puts down the phone, still in shock from the news, and lays in the bed again not understanding anything that happened. From all the things he imagined happening, he never expected that his alt would kill himself.
What were his motives? Was it something that was bound to happen to him?
Right now all those questions were in his head. And if he wanted to solve them, he would have to go see what his alt left for him that was so important to leave in the note, and figure out how to start working.
But another realization came to him.
Maybe this was the true start of his adventure, alone against the multiverse.