The rays of the morning sun woke me up. I did not see anyone elese in
the park except for some bums and a jogger. I got up,and decided to walk
back to the Dominion Hotel.
I went inside the lobby,and I saw a different guy than the one I saw
last night. the recongized him as Gomez Calhoun,the manager of the hotel.
He is a fat man with light brown hair.
"Excuse me,I am looking for a few friends of mine," I said to him.
He utterred something,but it is clear he did not understand English. It
was then that I noticed something.
A No-Smoking sign,with the familiar icon of a cigarette inside a circle
with a slahs bar. I saw it was written in several different languages.
Including Spanish. "NO FUMAR" it was written. Then it struck me. San
Francisco is a major port city. Many immigrants live in San Francisco. I
know that Chinese and Spanish are also spoken here. Maybe English is as
well.
A woman in a pink waitress's uniform walks up to me. She says,in
English,"Hello. How may I help you?"
"You speak English," I said to her. I looked at her. She is a bit
shorter than me,with reddish-brown hair.
"Only a little," she replied. "I'm not good."
"The name is Mallory," I said. "Colin Mallory. I want to see if Quinn
Mallory,Rembrandt Brown,or Maggie Beckett checked in here." I spoke
slowly,so she would understand.
The waitress speaks with Calhoun,who checks the computer. She comes
back to me and says,"No,they are not here."
"Well,I am leaving them a message. Do you have a notepad?"
"Notepad?"
"A paper."
The waitress goes to the desk and gets a piece of paper. I write down
this message.
"I was here at the Dominion. I don't have any currency for this world.
I will be here at the lobby during the day hours-Colin."
"Give this to Quinn Mallory,Rembrandt Brown,or Maggie Beckett," I said
to her. "Give this message to them if they ask for me."
"Okay," she replied. "I tell you my name. Wells. Wade Wells."
"Wade?" I asked. "Do you know Quinn?"
"I do not know Quinn," Wade replied.
"Is there a bookstore where they sell books written in English?" I asked.
"Books? English?" asks Wade. "Little England."
"Where is it?" I asked. "Point it to me on a map."
Wade takes me to the hotel gift sop. There are various items for
sale,from mugs and T-shirts. Wade takes a map of San Francisco,unfolds
it,and points to an area. I can see she is pointing to Lombard Street,just
a few blocks west of Van Ness Avenue.
"Thank you," I said.
"You're welcome," she replied. With that,I left the hotel to look for
an English bookstore.
As it turned out,Little England was an English neighborhood in San
Francisco. The store signs were written in English. I found a small
bookstore called Westminster Books.
I went in,and an employee said hi to me in English. I went to a shelf
marked "HISTORY",and I read about the history of this world. Every time we
slid,we checked out the history of the world we were in.
On this world,the Arabs colonized North America in 1367 (all datyes are
in the English calendar,the Arabs use a different calendar.). They quickly
spread west towards the Rockies. In 1689,they fought a war with Spain and
gained California and the territories west of the Rockies.
Soon afterward,there was a war for independence. The viceroys
governing the American colonies declared independence in 1692,and drove
out the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire,which were weakened by the war
with Spain. By 1700,the United Emirates of America established itself as
an independent country.
History went on in a similar fashion to the American history of Earth
Prime. Africans were imported as slaves. There were waves of immigration
from Europe and Asia. There was even a civil war becuase of the division
over slavery. In the end,the antislave southern emirates won and the emirs
who led the northeastern emirates to secede were publicly beheaded. (On
Earth Prime,the South supported slavery and lost the war.)
Currently,the United Emirates of America has a federal system. Each of
the fifty emirates are ruled by an emir who heads the emirate government.
The federal government was headed by a sultan,who,rules from a palace in
the Federal District of Saladin,which was named after the first Sultan.
The United Emirates cover a wide area,encompassing all of North America
north of the Mexican border.
I had always loved reading. I began reading even more since I started
sliding. My favorite part of sliding is reading the alternate histories of
parallel worlds. In most cases,I would go to the public library,but this
time I had to go to the bookstore on account that I can't read Arabic. All
I know is that somehow,I had to make money.
As it turned out,there was a job available. At the Dominion Hotel. I
had asked Wade if there were positions available for me,and she told me
Calhoun was hiring. It was,afdter all,the summer,and the hotel would be
busy.
"Calhoun only needs temporary workers," she said. "Business comes and
goes by the year. And temporary help can be paid below the table."
"You mean under the table," I said. "I just want room and baord and
some money."
As it turned out,Gomez Calhoun was very happy to hear about it. He said
some Arabic phrases. Wade told me that he is happy to have a worker for
the upcoming season,. As for the room,he did not mind. Wade told me I can
stay in the room at least until all reservations are filled.
"Wade," I said. "Did anyone come looking for me?"
"No," she replied. She left and went back to work. I looked at Wade. I
wondered how syurpirsed she would be to know the truth about me,and about
the part where one of her duplicates was sent to a breeder camp.
So I went to work. My job was cleaning the rooms and stuff with vacuum
cleaners and ammonia and other stuff. Calhoun would just write the room
number down and I would go clean it. I was assigned one of the cheap,lower
level rooms,which I kept tidy myself. Every morning,the hotel served a
free continental breakfast,with pastries and cereal. At lunch and dinner,I
was entitled to a small serving of food. I had never tasted Arabic food
before,and it was delicious. I would also greet the hotel guests. Most of
them did not understand English,but they understood I was greeting them.
At night,I would go to bed. sometimesd I would watch TV and tune it to the
Spanish channel,since I understand Spanish. At the end of each week,I was
paid in cash. Wade told me the currency was dinars. I still held on to my
three hundred dollars;I might need it someday.
One day,Wade told me that the hotel was totally booked and I had to
vacate my room while it was reserved. It appeared not a single room will
be available for me for at least four days.
"You can stay with me," she said. So that's what I did.
Her apartment was small. It had a living room,a bathroom,and two
bedrooms. She introduced me to her roommate,Stephanie Bowman,a
blond-haired lady who appeared to be about Wade's age.
"You can sleep on this," she said,pointing to the couch. I lied down.
As I closed my eyes,I can hear Wade and Stephanie talking in Arabic. I
could tell they were talking about me.
The next day,I went back to the Dominion to work again. I had some
spending money,and I decided to ask Wade something.
"Would you like to go out tonight?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied.
So that's what we did.
We went to a fish and chips place in the Little England neighborhood of
San Francisco. I did not make enoguh money to take her to a fancier
restaurant,so I took her here and ordered fish and chips. We sat down on a
table. There were stains on it. The place was not crowded,there was only
one other man sitting at the far side of the place.
"Mallory," said Wade. "Stephanie knew a Mallory."
"Quinn?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied. "They went to the university. Both of them."
"That was him," I said. "He's my brother. Dud you know him well?"
"No," she replied. "I was not close. Ask Stephanie."
"Does Stephanie speak English?"
"No,she doesn't. She chose Chinese."
"Oh. Tell me about yourself Wade. About what you want to do."
"I was born in San Francisco. Attended Northshore College. Major
Poetry. I studied English for three years. I am not good at it. I want to
write."
"an author?"
"Yes. I want to write English and Arabic."
"Maybe you will learn to speak English better."
"Maybe you learn Arabic," she said,smiling.
"I might have to. I need to see someone at the university where Quinn
and Stephanie attended."
"A girl?"
"No,a professor. I am not sure if he is still there. His name is
Maximilian Arturo."
"We will do that on the day off."
the park except for some bums and a jogger. I got up,and decided to walk
back to the Dominion Hotel.
I went inside the lobby,and I saw a different guy than the one I saw
last night. the recongized him as Gomez Calhoun,the manager of the hotel.
He is a fat man with light brown hair.
"Excuse me,I am looking for a few friends of mine," I said to him.
He utterred something,but it is clear he did not understand English. It
was then that I noticed something.
A No-Smoking sign,with the familiar icon of a cigarette inside a circle
with a slahs bar. I saw it was written in several different languages.
Including Spanish. "NO FUMAR" it was written. Then it struck me. San
Francisco is a major port city. Many immigrants live in San Francisco. I
know that Chinese and Spanish are also spoken here. Maybe English is as
well.
A woman in a pink waitress's uniform walks up to me. She says,in
English,"Hello. How may I help you?"
"You speak English," I said to her. I looked at her. She is a bit
shorter than me,with reddish-brown hair.
"Only a little," she replied. "I'm not good."
"The name is Mallory," I said. "Colin Mallory. I want to see if Quinn
Mallory,Rembrandt Brown,or Maggie Beckett checked in here." I spoke
slowly,so she would understand.
The waitress speaks with Calhoun,who checks the computer. She comes
back to me and says,"No,they are not here."
"Well,I am leaving them a message. Do you have a notepad?"
"Notepad?"
"A paper."
The waitress goes to the desk and gets a piece of paper. I write down
this message.
"I was here at the Dominion. I don't have any currency for this world.
I will be here at the lobby during the day hours-Colin."
"Give this to Quinn Mallory,Rembrandt Brown,or Maggie Beckett," I said
to her. "Give this message to them if they ask for me."
"Okay," she replied. "I tell you my name. Wells. Wade Wells."
"Wade?" I asked. "Do you know Quinn?"
"I do not know Quinn," Wade replied.
"Is there a bookstore where they sell books written in English?" I asked.
"Books? English?" asks Wade. "Little England."
"Where is it?" I asked. "Point it to me on a map."
Wade takes me to the hotel gift sop. There are various items for
sale,from mugs and T-shirts. Wade takes a map of San Francisco,unfolds
it,and points to an area. I can see she is pointing to Lombard Street,just
a few blocks west of Van Ness Avenue.
"Thank you," I said.
"You're welcome," she replied. With that,I left the hotel to look for
an English bookstore.
As it turned out,Little England was an English neighborhood in San
Francisco. The store signs were written in English. I found a small
bookstore called Westminster Books.
I went in,and an employee said hi to me in English. I went to a shelf
marked "HISTORY",and I read about the history of this world. Every time we
slid,we checked out the history of the world we were in.
On this world,the Arabs colonized North America in 1367 (all datyes are
in the English calendar,the Arabs use a different calendar.). They quickly
spread west towards the Rockies. In 1689,they fought a war with Spain and
gained California and the territories west of the Rockies.
Soon afterward,there was a war for independence. The viceroys
governing the American colonies declared independence in 1692,and drove
out the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire,which were weakened by the war
with Spain. By 1700,the United Emirates of America established itself as
an independent country.
History went on in a similar fashion to the American history of Earth
Prime. Africans were imported as slaves. There were waves of immigration
from Europe and Asia. There was even a civil war becuase of the division
over slavery. In the end,the antislave southern emirates won and the emirs
who led the northeastern emirates to secede were publicly beheaded. (On
Earth Prime,the South supported slavery and lost the war.)
Currently,the United Emirates of America has a federal system. Each of
the fifty emirates are ruled by an emir who heads the emirate government.
The federal government was headed by a sultan,who,rules from a palace in
the Federal District of Saladin,which was named after the first Sultan.
The United Emirates cover a wide area,encompassing all of North America
north of the Mexican border.
I had always loved reading. I began reading even more since I started
sliding. My favorite part of sliding is reading the alternate histories of
parallel worlds. In most cases,I would go to the public library,but this
time I had to go to the bookstore on account that I can't read Arabic. All
I know is that somehow,I had to make money.
As it turned out,there was a job available. At the Dominion Hotel. I
had asked Wade if there were positions available for me,and she told me
Calhoun was hiring. It was,afdter all,the summer,and the hotel would be
busy.
"Calhoun only needs temporary workers," she said. "Business comes and
goes by the year. And temporary help can be paid below the table."
"You mean under the table," I said. "I just want room and baord and
some money."
As it turned out,Gomez Calhoun was very happy to hear about it. He said
some Arabic phrases. Wade told me that he is happy to have a worker for
the upcoming season,. As for the room,he did not mind. Wade told me I can
stay in the room at least until all reservations are filled.
"Wade," I said. "Did anyone come looking for me?"
"No," she replied. She left and went back to work. I looked at Wade. I
wondered how syurpirsed she would be to know the truth about me,and about
the part where one of her duplicates was sent to a breeder camp.
So I went to work. My job was cleaning the rooms and stuff with vacuum
cleaners and ammonia and other stuff. Calhoun would just write the room
number down and I would go clean it. I was assigned one of the cheap,lower
level rooms,which I kept tidy myself. Every morning,the hotel served a
free continental breakfast,with pastries and cereal. At lunch and dinner,I
was entitled to a small serving of food. I had never tasted Arabic food
before,and it was delicious. I would also greet the hotel guests. Most of
them did not understand English,but they understood I was greeting them.
At night,I would go to bed. sometimesd I would watch TV and tune it to the
Spanish channel,since I understand Spanish. At the end of each week,I was
paid in cash. Wade told me the currency was dinars. I still held on to my
three hundred dollars;I might need it someday.
One day,Wade told me that the hotel was totally booked and I had to
vacate my room while it was reserved. It appeared not a single room will
be available for me for at least four days.
"You can stay with me," she said. So that's what I did.
Her apartment was small. It had a living room,a bathroom,and two
bedrooms. She introduced me to her roommate,Stephanie Bowman,a
blond-haired lady who appeared to be about Wade's age.
"You can sleep on this," she said,pointing to the couch. I lied down.
As I closed my eyes,I can hear Wade and Stephanie talking in Arabic. I
could tell they were talking about me.
The next day,I went back to the Dominion to work again. I had some
spending money,and I decided to ask Wade something.
"Would you like to go out tonight?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied.
So that's what we did.
We went to a fish and chips place in the Little England neighborhood of
San Francisco. I did not make enoguh money to take her to a fancier
restaurant,so I took her here and ordered fish and chips. We sat down on a
table. There were stains on it. The place was not crowded,there was only
one other man sitting at the far side of the place.
"Mallory," said Wade. "Stephanie knew a Mallory."
"Quinn?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied. "They went to the university. Both of them."
"That was him," I said. "He's my brother. Dud you know him well?"
"No," she replied. "I was not close. Ask Stephanie."
"Does Stephanie speak English?"
"No,she doesn't. She chose Chinese."
"Oh. Tell me about yourself Wade. About what you want to do."
"I was born in San Francisco. Attended Northshore College. Major
Poetry. I studied English for three years. I am not good at it. I want to
write."
"an author?"
"Yes. I want to write English and Arabic."
"Maybe you will learn to speak English better."
"Maybe you learn Arabic," she said,smiling.
"I might have to. I need to see someone at the university where Quinn
and Stephanie attended."
"A girl?"
"No,a professor. I am not sure if he is still there. His name is
Maximilian Arturo."
"We will do that on the day off."
