It’s always impressive how humanity can turn an unimaginable shift in the world or catastrophe into something boring, but here we are four years later, and I am having to listen to a prof do the same reminder of a dimension clash occurring for the third time today. Once that phrase would have thrown everyone into a panic wondering if they would be touched by it, but now it is merely another statistic - like dying in a car crash or winning the lottery in levels of likelihood. The fact that the number of clashes is dropping off quickly helps asway most peoples fear as well, we are down to one every few months rather than weeks or days. The current assumptions are that the damage to the boundaries of our dimension caused by those idiots in Nevada is stabilizing over time.
As for what they did, the quick summary is that some periphery company under Blue Origin/Amazon’s umbrella decided to test some faster than light propulsion technology they thought would work. We don’t even know what it was they did as their entire facility and prototype got replaced by a glowing globe of something because of their test run. If any information got out of there, it vanished into some alphabet agency and has yet to reach the rest of the public, all we do know is that we have been having dimension clashes as the aftershocks ever since.
Those aftershocks are described as the result of the discontinuity in our dimension’s boundaries scraping its way across some other dimension, which results in ours picking up characteristics from the other in some form or other. Beyond the landscape, something like twenty million people have been physically altered by clashes, which for most people means that you know of someone having a change of some kind. For most of those people, it is something minor like their hair color or height changing maybe now someone is a little taller or brunette instead of blond. Given we are talking about our dimension being partially merged or replaced with another, that is a statement about how little most of the others must differ from our own.
There have been more major changes of course, but these alterations never seem to be outright harmful to people, although physiotherapy or adaptation courses for potentially unique individual changes are commonplace thanks to public outcry. So far including in the most extreme recorded physical changes, like complete body replacements, the individuals have been able to establish a consistent line of consciousness. So even if your buddy got turned into a giant spider or something it is still them and not someone from that other dimension. It’s still an open question what happens in the other dimension, but we have nothing but guesses for that. The current belief is that it’s that the overlapping part of our dimension is made to match the other rather than something being taken from it. Mind you only like a million people worldwide have been altered in any significant way, but there will always be people wishing they were like that Finnish superman from a few clashes ago who flies around doing wannabe superhero stuff. I didn’t really keep up with them after they were in the news for a bit trying to become a ‘legal vigilante’, whatever that means.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
The globe of nonsense at the origin seems to wobble before anything happens, and a reasonably accurate warning system has developed to let the public know when a clash is going to occur. So all workplaces and schools are required to give a presentation on what to do when one is expected, in Ontario at least it varies from place to place. Since the university doesn’t define student schedules, to ensure everyone attending class would see it, they are required to warn us in every class daily ahead of the predicted event. Hence why I am sitting through the prof having to read out the standard warnings about not trusting road signs and who to contact if you or a family member has been changed.
Bleh.
At least these endless presentations do mean a bit less time spent on lectures. Well, and learning the clash is supposed to be somewhere between two and seven am tonight, so I will probably be asleep when it happens. As a result, it shouldn’t really mean that I have to do anything to alter my schedule besides checking the transit system’s site for any service disruptions in the morning.
One proofs lecture later and its time to head home, the mundane bus ride back was followed by the discovery of a … unique mess in the kitchen and a long-timer on the stove. Implying that Mike, one of my roommates, has decided to produce some needlessly elaborate meal again. Well at least that’s dinner sorted, I still don’t understand his refusal to just throw the stuff in the dishwasher as he is going but at least we have one.
After I finished cleaning up, the rest of the evening ended up going about as expected. Procrastinate till dinner, then work on assignments for a few hours, and finally playing games until well past midnight before going to bed.
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Virrrr…
Some kind of whirring noise woke me up, while I was considering that I noticed there was a continuous low rumble like the furnace running mixed with the water heater or something. Damn, Is the dude with the big truck next door idling again? I feel like it’s probably way too early to be awake, but the neighbors aren’t students so I guess I can’t judge them too harshly.
Virrrr…
Maybe it isn’t them. The rumble does sound kinda like an engine, but it’s way too small for a truck, and didn’t that have more of a thrumming feel anyway? It wouldn’t explain the whirring either, that sounded like an electric motor.
Virrrr…
Refusing to open my eyes, so I can put off having to genuinely be awake as long as possible, I vaguely reached for where my phone should be and snagged it off the charger. As I do the whirring noises are joined by a series of hisses and clanks, maybe it’s just construction a few blocks over. Bringing the phone close to my face, I crack an eye open a touch to see the time. 7:43 AM. Way too early for any reasonable student, and I didn’t think noise laws allowed working before 8 AM normally.
Virrrr…
I released an expansive sigh at the indignity of it all.
Fwssshhhhhhhhh
Huh?
Why is there a cloud of steam in my face?
…that didn’t sound like a sigh at all.