Earth 266
''Professor's not a name'' Joe West said. ''It's a title. What's the rest of it?''
''Martinstein.'' Barry replied sullenly. He was still smarting from the tongue-bashing Joe had given him when he'd told his foster-father about what had happened in New York.
''Martin Stein.'' Joe pronounced the words separately. ''No, I don't know him.''
''Well, he knew you'' Barry was being defensive. ''And he seemed friendly.''
Joe rolled his eyes for a moment. He doubted that his adopted son really believed that. He was uneasy about Stein, more so about the man's knife-wielding companion. Female scavengers were often the most dangerous.
X
When he was told about the stranger's camp, some five days later, Joe went to take a cautious look. What he saw made him even more wary, but - at the same time - filled him with a kn awing curiosity. Whatever these strangers were, they weren't scavengers. The four tents they had erected weren't made from any material he knew - it looked more solid and waterproof than anything he'd ever seen.
It was disconcerting to find out that there were actually five of them. In addition to the two Barry had described there was a blonde woman and two more men. The older of the two other men had some kind of high-tech weapon strapped to his right hip. He and the blonde woman appeared to share a tent, while the other three had their own. It was the former two that he saw do something totally inexplicable - and quite frightening. They walked a short distance away from the other three. The woman pointed some kind of small device at the empty air in front of her. A glowing, swirling oval of white light appeared - then the two of them simply walked straight into it. A second later, they - and the oval shape - were gone. It was all Joe could do not to voice his surprise and shock aloud. The other three in the camp took no notice of what had happened.
During the next half hour, the three who remained in the camp seemed to be sitting around waiting for something. He learned what that was when the shimmering oval appeared again and the missing two walked back through it. The man was carrying two large flat cardboard boxes and the woman a large brown paper bag. Evidently they had brought lunch - from somewhere. The woman handed the bag to the oldest man, who took himself off a short distance from the others. The other four grouped themselves around the boxes. Joe stared, only gradually realising he was seeing something he hadn't encountered in over twenty years. They were eating pizza.
X
Martin Stein walked slowly down towards the fishing village. His thoughts were occupied with what they'd seen so far of this ecological nightmare of an Earth. This is what will happen to us, he realised, if we ignore the growing threat of climate change - or do too little about it. This Earth and its flora and fauna would adapt, survive, in some form, but it didn't look as if the result would be a world in which humanity would do very well. Already remnant populations were clinging on to what they had.
He'd known that his progress was being watched. When they finally showed themselves and ordered him to stop, he did so. He was probably the least threatening looking of the group and he'd been trying to look especially benign and peaceful.
After the encounter with the young Barry Allen, he wasn't surprised to see Joe West. It appeared that he was actually the leader of the small group of men confronting him. This Joe West's hair was turning grey and he was quite a bit thinner than his Earth 1 counterpart, another indication that things were not very good here.
''I'm Martin Stein.'' he said, seeing that Joe recognised the name.
''What do you want?''
''To talk to you, Mr West. Would it be too much of a cliche to say that I come in peace?''
For a moment, Joe West didn't say anything. What he'd been waiting for became plain when two men approached Stein from behind. They frisked him, thoroughly and none too gently.
''He's not armed'' One of them confirmed.
''What have we to talk about?'' West wanted to know.
''The bottom line is that I want to make you an offer, Mr West. But what it is and why I'm offering it is going to take quite some time to explain. I may also need to show you something.''
X
Two hours later, Joe was staring at Stein, not knowing what to think. The stranger had identified Iris, Wally, Caitlin and Cisco by name. He'd even known the name of Joe's wife, who'd died so long ago that none of Joe's current neighbours knew of her.
''How do you know all this?'' Joe demanded.
Stein had begun to talk of things that sounded crazy - and one of the men who'd come along to guard Stein did begin to snigger - parallel Universes, other Earths -specifically an Earth that was Stein's home. Also home to another Joe West, another West family. It was unbelievable and yet it fitted in with it what he had seen in the strangers' camp. The tents, the other man's weapon, the shimmering oval -
''Ah yes''Stein said, when Joe asked what the oval was. ''That's the way we travel between dimensions. My companions went to fetch lunch from our Earth.''
''He's mad'' one of the guards offered.
Joe shook his head. ''I saw it.'' He looked at Stein. This was totally bizarre and yet it made a kind of sense. He remembered something. ''You said you had an offer for me?''
Stein told him what it was, adding ''You don't have to believe me. I can use the 'oval' to show it to you.''
Joe's mouth dropped open.
