Terrance was sitting at his desk looking at the latest online news headlines. Countless articles are being pumped out with no real substance. He went to one of the major new organizations left to see if if could actually find something with more information in it. He finally found one that wasn't clickbait with an actual image from The Daily Info, a fairly non-partisan news outlet.
> The Daily Info
> Breaking News: Seeming Portal opens in the U.N. Building
> Something that appears to be a portal opened in the U.N. Building and multiple humans came through, claiming they were part of a multiversal coalition of planets. World leaders enact closed-door meetings to receive information packets that are expected to be disseminated to the public soon.
'So it is true, there really was a portal' Terrance thought. At that moment, Terrance received a text from a number he didn't recognize.
> Unknown (555-555-8346):
> Terrance, we need to talk. We are pretty sure this is you. Please confirm and we will send you more information. We know you wouldn't trust us if we directly approached you.
Terrance shot back a reply:
> Who is this?
> Unknown:
> No denial, so now it's a 97% chance of being you. Preliminary info will be sent when you supply whatever email you feel safest giving out
'How does this person or group know me?' Terrance wondered. Terrance sent back the email he used when he signed up for online accounts. It was already the one that got the spam, so even if this was a hoax there was no security risk or annoyance there.
Terrance opened up that email account and the newest message had a picture of five guys that all mostly looked like Terrance. They weren't identical, but they looked more alike than most brothers. They looked like they were Terrance's brothers, except Terrance's actual brother looked nothing like him.
He texted the number back
> This is Terrance. You have my attention. Now what's with the Photoshopped picture?
> Unknown:
> Not Photoshopped. This is us. We can send more pictures. How many do you think would be too many to fake? Or we can send do a video chat if you are open to that.
> Terrance:
> Sure we can hop on a video chat. I am curious enough and you can send an invite to the email I already gave you. If this is a prank, though, I'm blocking your number
> Unknown:
> 5 minutes work for you? You can turn on your VPN if you feel flighty.
> Terrance:
> Sure.
Terrance was feeling a little spooked at this point. This was a weird day. Terrance could draw connections and wonder if it was likely to be tied to the portal that claimed to be from the multiverse or if this was some elaborate scam aimed at people wondering exactly that. It was no secret he was a nerd, and he guessed nerds would be the ones most likely to fall for that kind of scam. His website definitely outed him as a nerd, but getting his personal cell phone number wasn't that easy, that wasn't on his website.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Terrance turned on his VPN, put on his computer headset, and then connected to the video call link he had received in the email.
The video came on and there was someone who looked very much like him sitting in what looked like a hotel room with four others that looked very much like him.
"Hello, Terrance, I'm Terrance. And this is Terrance, so is he, and that's Terrance, and the last guy is Terrance. We are all Terrance."
Terrance was silent for a moment. Everyone on the other side of the screen was silent.
"I need you to explain" Terrance finally said.
"Of course. You should have seen the news about the portal already. Well, we are all versions of you from different universes. Not everyone has alternate versions, but we do. Quite a bit more than the average. Something in our family lines shines through. We often have similar but different ancestry, but somehow there is more often than not a Terrance whenever a new universe starts connecting to or branching from the multiverse. Multiversal physics is outside the scope of this conversation." The main speaker said.
Another one chimed in, "He is underselling it. Nearly every universe has a Terrance. No one else has this experience, so we started reaching out first to help protect each new Terrance. We call ourselves the Council of Terrance. You aren't in any danger right now, but societies always go through some kind of change when they connect to the multiverse. As a group, we tend to say each universe adopts some kind of genre like games, books, and movies, but the official terms vary."
"Do you have autism?" another person says. The main speaker sighs and smacks the Terrance who just spoke on the back of the head.
"You can't ask that!" he says.
"But it seems like this Terrance does! I've been going through all of the online stuff we have found and it"
Smack.
"I'm sorry about Terrance, Terrance," the main speaker says, "And yes, calling everyone Terrance all the time is not how we usually handle things. With all of us having the same name, we adopt some kind of nickname or go by a middle name if we end up with a unique one."
"Is there a Terrance Prime?" Terrance asked. He was being overloaded with information, but this was the first question that came out. One of the Terrances on the screen started chuckling. He guessed that was a common question.
"There is not, and Prime and similar designations are forbidden to be used in the Council of Terrance. In order, you can call us Albert, Nathan, Rusty, Kenith, and Steel. Yes, we wear name tags when we meet up. We will need to wait for the in-person meeting for more info. Is your address (Address)?"
"Yes, that's me. I don't know about having you over, though. I don't actually know you, even if you say you are me."
"We are you, but we are also not you. The rude one here who called you out for potentially being on the autism spectrum has what your world calls ADHD. I, on the other hand, am neurotypical. Even with so many other things being the same, just that one change causes us to approach life differently and therefore be different. No Terrance is exactly the same. We all have similarities, but we have differences too. Sorry to be rude, but if you actually are on the autism spectrum, per your universe's description, then we will need to adjust our approach to not stress you out while still helping you."
Terrance let out a sigh and said, "Yes, I have autism. This is a lot to handle at once."
"We know, but we have also found that it is either give you whatever info you want or we come across as some shady scam to most Terrances. Not much of a better way for us to break it to ourselves that we have a multiverse of ourselves."
"I need some time. We can text for the moment. Bye." And Terrance ended the call.
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'How do I even deal with the fact that a group of me from the multiverse has formed some kind of group?' Terrance wondered. So many thoughts were going through his head. 'What do they mean that I'm not in danger right now?' 'Does that mean that I'm valuable to someone who would harm me just because I am Terrance or a Terrance?'
A different unknown number sent Terrance a text.
> Unknown Number (555-555-0953):
> Hey, this is Terrance, but I don't go by that. You'll understand. They called me in, and I will be at your door in 30 minutes. You don't have to panic clean, I'm not going to judge you right now.
> Terrance:
> What? You can't just show up!
> Unknown Number (555-555-0953):
> 29 minutes, 15 seconds.
> Terrance:
> I won't let you in.
> Unknown Number (555-555-0953):
> We both know you will.
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There was a doorbell ring and then knocking on Terrance's door. He looked through the peephole and saw a woman holding a phone. His phone then buzzed with a text that said
> It's me. Yes, I'm female. I was born this way. Let me in.
Terrance opened the door to let her in and just stared as she came in and shut and locked the door behind herself. 'Why is she cute?' Terrance couldn't help but wonder.
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