My sci-fi novel - Chapter 3
OK, here's the latest installment, with hopefully more to come this weekend, to catch up for the days I missed.
And if I understood what Sarah wrote, then you should see it after the cut.
CHAPTER 3
“Next in line, please?”
Blue stepped up in line at the bank to the teller who just spoke, and hoped that he didn’t look too out of place. The mechanical suits were meant to be worn with very little underneath, since they provided all the heat and protection. Of course Blue couldn’t go out in public with that on, so he went in his briefs and boxers, and bare feet. And it was definitely not briefs-and-boxers weather. He was a soldier; he could handle it. But the stares from other people were starting to worry him.
He walked up to the teller with a smile. “Hi, I’d like to make a withdrawal, please.” He put down the withdrawal slip that he had made up, along with his ID. If he was going to survive here for an indeterminate length of time, he was going to need some sustenance. And, as much as he hated doing it, he was going to have to get some money out of the account of his doppelganger on this world. It bothered him because, on some level, it was technically stealing, even though he was taking the money from “himself.” He knew how upset and angry he would be if someone else took his money. But this was an emergency, so he was just going to have to hope for the best.
Fortunately, keeping one’s ID on hand was standard issue for an officer, even in the high-tech suits. So he presented that and hoped it looked normal on this world. He wished he had some money already on him, but no soldiers carried that in case they would get captured and lose it anyway. Besides, it might not be much help to him in another dimension, where the currency was bound to look different in some days. After all, who knew if this world even had a 40-dollar bill, let alone if Jimmy Carter’s face was on it?
But Blue had to make a lot of wild guesses to get this far. First, he had to guess and hope that his doppelganger lived in town here. For some reason, many of them did seem to all wind up living in the same area, in this suburb of Chicago. So there was a good statistical possibility that the other William Alexander was nearby. The town was relatively small and had only one bank in it, so Blue hoped that this was indeed the bank that his double banked at. Lastly, he noticed that his other dopplegangers had very similar affinities for certain groups of numbers. So he hoped that his account number would match up with this world’s W.A. as well.
The teller smiled, gave a quick once-over to Blue’s interesting “outfit,” and then started typing in the numbers. There was a moment’s hesitation. She frowned. And then . . .
“I’ll get that money for you in a moment, Mr. Roberts,” the teller said with another smile.
“Thanks,” he said with a sigh of relief.
The teller went away for a minute. Then she checked something on another computer. Then she talked to another teller. Then she came back without the money.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Roberts. There seems to be a problem with your account. You put your old account number on the blank. Could you please fill out the current one?”
“Sure,” Blue said, trying not to sweat. He wrote down something else, his next best guess.
The teller took the slip back and started typing again. Then, glancing up, she said, “You know, you look familiar.”
“Well, it’s probably because I come here so often!” Blue said with a smile.
“No, I’m pretty new here, and I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before,” the teller replied. “I feel like I’ve seen you on TV at some point.”
Great, Blue thought. I must have been on the evening news. But what he said was, “Nope. I guess I just have one of those faces!”
The teller looked at her screen again. “I’m sorry, Mr. Roberts. That’s not the right number either.” Now she was starting to eye him suspiciously.
“Man! I hate it when I change my numbers and forget what the new one is,” Blue said with a pleasant laugh, as he took back the slip and ID. “I’ll have to go home and check on my computer.”
“Have a nice day,” the teller said flatly. Then she turned her attention to the next customer and, fortunately, seemed to stop thinking about him altogether.
Blue walked disgustedly out of the bank. Great, he was still freezing and he still had no money! Blue rubbed his hands together and blew on them to try to warm up. He also wanted to kick himself for taking off his mask in public. He knew it wasn’t a great idea, but the suits were really not meant for catching one’s breath, as Blue badly needed to during the fight.
But, he reminded himself, some good had come out of this trip. He did confirm that he has a double in this area. Now the trick would be finding out where this other version of himself lived. He hated having to do this - it was always dangerous and very unpredictable - but he would have to actually meet his doppelganger and talk to him. Maybe he could borrow some money and clothes, and warn his double that others might be looking for him.
Think, think, think. What now? Finally, Blue remembered passing a library on the way here. Though he didn’t have his library card (who would ever bring that with them on a military mission?), he could use his ID and maybe charm his way towards using one of the computers. Then, if this world had something called the Internet, as many of the worlds he visited did have, he could look up his address. It’s not the type of information that should be so readily available on the Internet, but people tend to leave an enormous digital trail, when they shopped or paid bills online. If he could find his double’s address or even the phone number, he could try to contact him.
Come to think of it, while he was online, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to see if this world had things called “Wikipedia” and “MapQuest.” It would be good to see if there was any world history or current events that he would be expected to know as a citizen of this place. As for the latter service, it was often unreliable, but it was better than nothing. He would need a lay of the land to find his doppleganger’s address.
After the idea of the library had come to him, Blue had started walking in the right direction. He was almost there now. That was good, even just for the warmth. At first, Blue had been able to steel himself for it as a soldier. But he was drafted into service; he wasn’t a soldier through and through. And he was starting to get annoyed at having to walk in his bare feet everywhere he went. But with a little sleuthing, and perhaps some Providence, he would be on the road to solving his problems very soon.
__________________________
Kate Hollinsworth, a tall brunette with shoulder-length hair, opened the door to her apartment with a smile. She was surprised to see two police officers standing there. “Can I help you?” she said.
“Good evening, miss. I’m Officer Wentworth and this is Officer Greenwood. We’re looking for a young man accused of disturbing the peace in your neighborhood. Some witnesses came forward and said that they recognized the young man, and we finally got his name and address. He seems to be one of the tenants of the apartment across from you, but he’s not home. Do you know him?”
“Oh, my gosh!” Kate said with a start, putting her hand to her mouth in shock. “Actually, I don’t really know either of the guys who lives there. I’ve only seen them a couple of times. But my roommate is over there pretty often.” Kate turned her head and called behind her. “Laurie?”
“Just a minute!” came a voice from the back. Then Laurie came, still holding an electric curler in her hair. She was planning to go out that night, and didn’t want to risk losing her work on this curl. So she just unplugged the dang thing and carried it with her. “Kate, what is it? I’m kind of busy right . . .” Her words trailed off as she saw the officers, and she released the curler from her hair. “Um, hi. What can I do for you?”
“Ma’am, we’re looking for William Alexander Roberts. We believe he’s dangerous, and we intend to take him to jail.”
And if I understood what Sarah wrote, then you should see it after the cut.
CHAPTER 3
“Next in line, please?”
Blue stepped up in line at the bank to the teller who just spoke, and hoped that he didn’t look too out of place. The mechanical suits were meant to be worn with very little underneath, since they provided all the heat and protection. Of course Blue couldn’t go out in public with that on, so he went in his briefs and boxers, and bare feet. And it was definitely not briefs-and-boxers weather. He was a soldier; he could handle it. But the stares from other people were starting to worry him.
He walked up to the teller with a smile. “Hi, I’d like to make a withdrawal, please.” He put down the withdrawal slip that he had made up, along with his ID. If he was going to survive here for an indeterminate length of time, he was going to need some sustenance. And, as much as he hated doing it, he was going to have to get some money out of the account of his doppelganger on this world. It bothered him because, on some level, it was technically stealing, even though he was taking the money from “himself.” He knew how upset and angry he would be if someone else took his money. But this was an emergency, so he was just going to have to hope for the best.
Fortunately, keeping one’s ID on hand was standard issue for an officer, even in the high-tech suits. So he presented that and hoped it looked normal on this world. He wished he had some money already on him, but no soldiers carried that in case they would get captured and lose it anyway. Besides, it might not be much help to him in another dimension, where the currency was bound to look different in some days. After all, who knew if this world even had a 40-dollar bill, let alone if Jimmy Carter’s face was on it?
But Blue had to make a lot of wild guesses to get this far. First, he had to guess and hope that his doppelganger lived in town here. For some reason, many of them did seem to all wind up living in the same area, in this suburb of Chicago. So there was a good statistical possibility that the other William Alexander was nearby. The town was relatively small and had only one bank in it, so Blue hoped that this was indeed the bank that his double banked at. Lastly, he noticed that his other dopplegangers had very similar affinities for certain groups of numbers. So he hoped that his account number would match up with this world’s W.A. as well.
The teller smiled, gave a quick once-over to Blue’s interesting “outfit,” and then started typing in the numbers. There was a moment’s hesitation. She frowned. And then . . .
“I’ll get that money for you in a moment, Mr. Roberts,” the teller said with another smile.
“Thanks,” he said with a sigh of relief.
The teller went away for a minute. Then she checked something on another computer. Then she talked to another teller. Then she came back without the money.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Roberts. There seems to be a problem with your account. You put your old account number on the blank. Could you please fill out the current one?”
“Sure,” Blue said, trying not to sweat. He wrote down something else, his next best guess.
The teller took the slip back and started typing again. Then, glancing up, she said, “You know, you look familiar.”
“Well, it’s probably because I come here so often!” Blue said with a smile.
“No, I’m pretty new here, and I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before,” the teller replied. “I feel like I’ve seen you on TV at some point.”
Great, Blue thought. I must have been on the evening news. But what he said was, “Nope. I guess I just have one of those faces!”
The teller looked at her screen again. “I’m sorry, Mr. Roberts. That’s not the right number either.” Now she was starting to eye him suspiciously.
“Man! I hate it when I change my numbers and forget what the new one is,” Blue said with a pleasant laugh, as he took back the slip and ID. “I’ll have to go home and check on my computer.”
“Have a nice day,” the teller said flatly. Then she turned her attention to the next customer and, fortunately, seemed to stop thinking about him altogether.
Blue walked disgustedly out of the bank. Great, he was still freezing and he still had no money! Blue rubbed his hands together and blew on them to try to warm up. He also wanted to kick himself for taking off his mask in public. He knew it wasn’t a great idea, but the suits were really not meant for catching one’s breath, as Blue badly needed to during the fight.
But, he reminded himself, some good had come out of this trip. He did confirm that he has a double in this area. Now the trick would be finding out where this other version of himself lived. He hated having to do this - it was always dangerous and very unpredictable - but he would have to actually meet his doppelganger and talk to him. Maybe he could borrow some money and clothes, and warn his double that others might be looking for him.
Think, think, think. What now? Finally, Blue remembered passing a library on the way here. Though he didn’t have his library card (who would ever bring that with them on a military mission?), he could use his ID and maybe charm his way towards using one of the computers. Then, if this world had something called the Internet, as many of the worlds he visited did have, he could look up his address. It’s not the type of information that should be so readily available on the Internet, but people tend to leave an enormous digital trail, when they shopped or paid bills online. If he could find his double’s address or even the phone number, he could try to contact him.
Come to think of it, while he was online, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to see if this world had things called “Wikipedia” and “MapQuest.” It would be good to see if there was any world history or current events that he would be expected to know as a citizen of this place. As for the latter service, it was often unreliable, but it was better than nothing. He would need a lay of the land to find his doppleganger’s address.
After the idea of the library had come to him, Blue had started walking in the right direction. He was almost there now. That was good, even just for the warmth. At first, Blue had been able to steel himself for it as a soldier. But he was drafted into service; he wasn’t a soldier through and through. And he was starting to get annoyed at having to walk in his bare feet everywhere he went. But with a little sleuthing, and perhaps some Providence, he would be on the road to solving his problems very soon.
__________________________
Kate Hollinsworth, a tall brunette with shoulder-length hair, opened the door to her apartment with a smile. She was surprised to see two police officers standing there. “Can I help you?” she said.
“Good evening, miss. I’m Officer Wentworth and this is Officer Greenwood. We’re looking for a young man accused of disturbing the peace in your neighborhood. Some witnesses came forward and said that they recognized the young man, and we finally got his name and address. He seems to be one of the tenants of the apartment across from you, but he’s not home. Do you know him?”
“Oh, my gosh!” Kate said with a start, putting her hand to her mouth in shock. “Actually, I don’t really know either of the guys who lives there. I’ve only seen them a couple of times. But my roommate is over there pretty often.” Kate turned her head and called behind her. “Laurie?”
“Just a minute!” came a voice from the back. Then Laurie came, still holding an electric curler in her hair. She was planning to go out that night, and didn’t want to risk losing her work on this curl. So she just unplugged the dang thing and carried it with her. “Kate, what is it? I’m kind of busy right . . .” Her words trailed off as she saw the officers, and she released the curler from her hair. “Um, hi. What can I do for you?”
“Ma’am, we’re looking for William Alexander Roberts. We believe he’s dangerous, and we intend to take him to jail.”