The Traveler

Jim watched as the man at the top of his staircase walked toward him, only breaking eye contact occasionally to see where to place his foot. The man had a full head of white hair, with a perfectly manicured goatee to match. Although the man was already gray, Jim figured he couldn’t even be fifty yet. He was well put together; wearing a button down dark green dress shirt that was tucked into his blue jeans, exposing his simple black leather belt with a classic gold buckle. He wore a pair of black slip on dress shoes that were shined enough to see your reflection on them. This was clearly a man with an attention to detail.

He reached the bottom of the staircase and held out his hand with a warm and inviting smile, “Finneas O’Bryan, but everyone calls me Fin, or Uncle Fin.” He looked to the side as he pondered his own words. “Although, I’m nobody’s uncle, but some names just stick I suppose.”

He looked at Jim with that smile and nodded when his extended hand was not accepted. “Very well. I know that I am a stranger in your home and you probably have some questions for me. Smells like food might be ready, shall we talk over a meal?”

Jim just stared at this strange man in his home, not really sure what he should be doing right now. None of this seemed like it could be reality. He followed Fin into the other room where he and Amelia were already seated and dishing out the food laid before them on the table. Jim just stared at them from the doorway. Perplexed by the normalcy at which they were going about their business. There was nothing normal about this situation. His dead wife was sitting right in front of him, serving a plate of food to a man that goes by the name of ‘Uncle Fin.’ There was no doubt in Jim’s mind that he was hallucinating.

Fin’s eyebrows raised up at Jim as he looked from Jim to Amelia and then back. Fin put down his fork and put his elbows on the table with his fingers intertwined. “Jim, why don’t you join us? Or would you prefer it if we shut down the wife simulation for the evening?”

Jim squinted and shook his head. “What do you mean wife simulation?”

He looked over at Amelia who smiled up at him and asked, “Would you like to end tonight’s simulation?”

Jim took a step back defensively with his head cocked.

Fin proceeded to pick up his utensils to eat before saying, “She will sit like that until you tell her what to do next. I would do it for you, however it only takes orders from your voice. If you want her to go away, just say, ‘terminate simulation,’ and she will disappear for the evening,” he said as he cut into the food before him.

Jim cautiously took a step forward and said, “Terminate simulation.”

The image of his dead wife vanished immediately without a trace or a sound. Jim's jaw dropped in astonishment. He stepped forward and touched the chair she was just sitting in. He looked under the table and scanned the room trying to figure out how she could have just vanished. Fin glanced at Jim occasionally as he enjoyed his meal, as if this were a completely normal occurrence in life. Jim finally sat down in the chair across from Fin with a look of bewilderment written across his face.

Fin returned his look and said, “Since you seem to be in a bit more shock than I thought you might be, perhaps I should answer some questions that I assume you have. The first thing that you probably noticed is that you in fact are not in your home. At least not the home that you know. So one might wonder, where am I exactly?” Fin picked up the bottle of wine in the middle of the table and examined the label which read, Carnivor Cabernet Sauvignon, he nodded approvingly and proceeded to pour Jim and himself a glass.

“Well, Jim, the answer to that question is both simple and complicated. You are in an entirely different universe. This universe is labeled by the Bureau of Multiverse Functions as Universe 3741KTC. Don’t ask how they decide on the numbers or letters, because I do not know. However, upon discovering what they call, a Traveler, they discovered that there were many different universes all occurring at the simultaneously. The bureau was slowly formed to help keep the universes in order by limiting the crimes that would take place in different universes. Primarily, their focus are the crimes that are committed with the intention of altering the timeline of a universe.”

“Okay, so, if this crazy story is in fact what is happening, what does that have to do with me? And, how do I know that you aren’t just some crackpot who rearranged my home?”

“Well, to answer your first question. I am in need of your help. The Jim of this universe has gone missing and he is usually the person that I come to when I am in need of assistance. He is very perceptive and capable of picking up on clues that I myself cannot see. I know that your predicament in your universe is grim and thought that it would cause minimal disruption if I removed you from your timeline for a brief period.”

“And, again, why is it that I should believe anything that you are telling me? You are really expecting me to believe that I am in a different universe than when I woke up this morning?”

“That is what I am telling you, but I can’t expect you to believe anything. However, look at the fact that you just told the woman that you thought was your wife to, ‘terminate simulation,’ and then she disappeared.” Fin said all of this in a very eccentric and animated manner with his hands flying all around him as he spoke.

“So it wasn’t really her?” Jim asked with sadness in his voice.

Fin was slow to respond. “It was not actually her, but it was her as you remembered her to be. The simulation is designed to start when you come home and it is a new creation every time. It is a subconscious reflection of your desire when you get home in the evenings. I will say that I prefer your taste over the Jim of this universe. Normally we are served by a scantily dressed woman who does everything in some sort of seductive manner.” Fin shook his head and said, “The man appeared to have no shame about it. Anyhow, what other questions do you have for me?”

“Am I stuck here?”

“No.”

“Can I go home whenever I want?”

“Yes, you ae not a prisoner.”

“What exactly is it that you want?”

“I need your help solving the investigation of a murder.”

“Of course! That makes total sense! Get the data analyst to come help solve a crime in another dimension! Why didn’t I think of that?! So, the Jim of this universe was some sort of private investigator or?”

“In part, yes. However, he too was a data analyst. There are only about a dozen of you that make their money as a data analyst. The others are quite busy with life, work, and families. I figured this would probably fill your empty time nicely.”

It was like a dagger was pierced straight into Jim’s heart. Furthering the realization that he really didn’t have anything going on in his life since the passing of Amelia. He had become an empty shell of a man. Even this stranger that sat across from him knew how pathetic his life had become.

“Jim, I know that you have been through a lot, but…”

“Don’t,” Jim said as tears filled his eyes.

With a sigh, Fin pressed on with determination, “I need your help. I don’t have anyone that I can trust right now. I promise that I will get you back to your universe the second we are done. I can even return you to the exact moment when you left. What do you say?”

Jim dried his eyes with the pads of his fingers and said, “Nothing to lose I guess. Where do we start?”

That award winning smile crept across Fin’s face as he said, “I’m glad you asked. Follow me.” The chair scraped across the hardwood floor as he stood. Jim followed suit and followed Fin out to the garage.

Jim’s eyes widened in awe as he took a look around the room. Holographic images littered the surrounding walls. Names, faces, dates, and times. It was all a whirlwind of information. Fin walked to the center of the room and touched a table that pulled up an image of a deceased man in what appeared to be some kind of office. Jim, who had never seen a dead body, took a step back.

“This is our victim, Marion Banks. He has been murdered three different times and in three different universes. He is one of the premiere developers of nanotechnology for a company called Apex. He works specifically for a division that deals with the use of nanotechnology for medical usages such as severe hemorrhaging. His work has been revolutionary. It has changed the shape of the medical world as we know it.”

“So, why would someone kill him? I mean, it sounds like his work is important.”

“His work is actually vital to the timeline in multiple universes. His death will wreak havoc on the future of these universes. It is imperative that we discover who is behind this and find a way to prevent it from happening. It is believed that the person who is behind this is like me. They are a Traveler, if you will.”

“Ok, so how many Travelers are there?”

“Only seven of us, if you don’t include the Bureau. Which they don't by the way. Beneath them I suppose,” Fin retorted with a shrug.

“Great! That means it should be fairly easy to solve right?”

“Yes and no,” Fin said as he nodded.

“Well, does the Bureau have a prime suspect?”

“They do.”

“Even better! Who is it?”

“That would be me.”