I woke up,and I immediately went up to the office complex on the surface. So far,none of the Marines tried to stop me. My pass was still valid,or they did not know. I went to the office of Diana Davis and waited outside,hoping she wouild recognize me when she comes.

"Colin Mallory," she said to me when she arrived for work. "You're up."

"Just checking to make sure I am in the same world," I said. "What did you find?"

"Only some sort of energy radiating from your body," she said. "It is faint."

"I am radioactive?"

"I brought this geiger counter from the lab." She checked for radiation. "It is so faint I can not detect it with this; it's not sensitive enough. The radiation from your body is lower than that of the normal background radiation. I do not think it will pose a health hazard."

"I haven't had breakfast yet," I said.

"They are serving cereal and bread in the cafeteria," said Davis.

"Better go get it."

So I did.

Later, we were all assembled in the conference room. All of us, myself included,were dressed in suits and ties. Major Maggie Beckett and Major General Alexander Hunt were in their dress uniforms. Then the senator and his associates came.

The senator's name was Dan Lungren.

"Hello there,Senator," said General Hunt. "Welcome to the Terminal Island Marine Corps Logistics Base."

"Always a pleasure,General," replied Lungren. I took a look at the senator. He seemed to be a nice man. He had curly black hair,a big nose,and a big forehead. He had this rough,husky voice which made him seem even more genuine.

"Hello there,Senator Lungren," said Conrad Bennish,who was with us. "I voted for you last year. I really like your speeches"

"Excuse me,Senator," said Quinn. "I knew Mister Bennish for six years,and he is a pothead."

"Pothead?" asked the senator. "You should meet Governor Kubby. THERE'S a pothead for you."

"Senator Lungren,I am Maximilian Arturo," said the professor,"Chief researcher assigned to this project. It is always a pleasure to meet you."

"Well,let's get down to business," said Lungren. "Have you gathered any new technoloigies?"

"The engineering staff is studying the new technology right now," said Arturo.

"When can we implement this technology into our society?"

"In a few months. Probably by the beginning of next year. We are still exploring new worlds in search of new ideas."

"Senator," said General Hunt,"I would like you to meet Colin Mallory."

"Hello there,Mister Mallory," said the senator.

"Hello there,senator," I replied.

"Where are you from?"

"El Segundo."

"Nice place."

"Senator," said the general,"Mister Mallory hwere is from another dimension."

"Could you say that again?" asked Lungren.

"Colin Mallory here is friom another world. Look at his forehead

He took a close look at my forehead. "No bar code."

"We did match his fingerprints to a Staff Sergeant Colin Mallory

currently deployed to Egypt. Also,the DNA matches thast of Sergeant Mallory. Minus the barcode and subdermal chip,he is identical to the Colin Mallory native to this world."

"Okay," said Lungren. "Mister Mallory,tell me about yourself."

So I told him the story I told these people earlier. About my birth,my brother,the kromaggs,etc.

"Interesting story," he said.

"I was hoping these people can find my Quinn and my Maggie," I said to him.

"I am sure they will."

"Senator,if I can ask you a question."

"Go ahead."

"How much do you support this project?"

"Very much. When I first hear of it,I thought of it as a new endeavor for this country. You know how this country lagged behind Nazi Germany in the space program. I remember when Ludwig van Houten first stepped on the surface of the moon and planted a swastika banner on the ground. Hitler said that this marks the conquest of the heavens by the superior Aryan race. I was twenty-one when that happened,just a young man,younger than you are now. Like all Americans,I was devastated at the triumph of the Germans and the triumph of Hitler. When I found out about this,I supported this because we were studying the basic nature of reality and unlocking the secrets of God's universe. And now,with interdimensional travel,we are expanding our horizons. We are light years ahead of the Nazis in interdimensional travel. Besides exploring new worlds,it gives us new perspectives into our world,our history,and ourselves."

"That's good."

"Unfortunately,many on Capitol Hill do not share my forward-looking perspective. They want this to pay off. They want payoff in resources and technology. In Senate subcommittee hearings,there were talks of abolishing this project. They said it is better spent on weapons to use to prevent the spread of fascism. But they just don't understasnd how important this is. The Germans beat us in the space race;we sure as hell will not let them beat us in this race."

"You know,Senator,I've been to worlds where the Nazis were totally defeated in the Second World War."

"I have read of such worlds."

Senator Lungren left the conference room along with the others. I said to Arturo,"What was this space race about? I mean,I am new here,and I have not read much about it."

"The Germans beat us in every endeavor of space exploration," said the professor. "In 1953,they laucnhed the first satellite into orbit. We did not do so until 1955. In 1958,they sent the first man into orbit. We did not do so until 1961. In 1966,they sent a man to the moon. We did not do so until 1970. Every time the Germans made a milestone in space exploration,Hitler used this as proof his Aryan race is superior. Now we are ahead of the Nazis in one field of exploration."

"But why is it kept such a big secret?" I asked.

"National security," said Arturo. "Still, Dan Lungren does not want this project to be kept secret. He wants to unveil this publicly. He knows we found a world where sliding technology is public. Now let's go. I'm hungry."

So we went to eat lunch. We went to a cafeteria. I had some spaghetti,garlic bread,and a Coke. I sat with Quinn,Maggie,and Bennish. I remembered that the Maggie I had been sliding with for the past year was widowed.

"Are you married?" I asked her.

"Was married," she replied. "We were divorced in 1997. His name was Steven Jensen. He was a scientist."

"Was he involved in this project?"

"No,he wasn't."

Maggie just looked down and twirled the spaghetti noodles on her fork. I couild tell she still misses her ex-husband.

I loooked at Conrad Bennish. My brother told me a lot about him. Bennish was a classmate and friend of Quinn's. My brother never found out what happened to the Bennish of Earth Prime. He hoped that Bennish found the sliding machine in his basement and slid before the kromaggs took San Francisco.

"Are you married,Mister Bennish?" I asked.

"No way man," he replied. "I've had enough women to last me a lifetime. I'm not like Quinn here. He just had to get hitched,you know what I mean?"

"I've been to a world where I saw my counterpart get married."

"Did you get to kiss the bride?"

"Well,yes. Have you slid before?"

"Yeah ,I accompanied one of the research teams to another world. In that world,the Dodgers won the pennant three straight years. Also,the Cold War was between the U.S. and Russia instead of between the U.S. and Germany. After sliding was determined to be safe,we civilians got to visit these worlds."

"I guess having a base of operations is useful. For me and my friends,we had no base of operations. We just slid from one world to the next,never knowing what to expect."

"I wouldn't like that,dude. It would be scary."

"Sometimes it was. You wouldn't know how many narrow escapes I had in the past year."

So I told Bennish about all the adventures I had. Including my last one,where I giot separated from my friends.

"So Colin," said Quinn. "Tell me about myself. I mean,my counterpart. Your brother."

"Well,he was a scientist like you. When he was eleven,his father died. He later became an athlete in high school,playing football and baseball. He was a graduate student at the University of California when he invented sliding. He was a great guy."

"Not surprising," said my brother's duplicate. I saw Arturo come to the table.

"Did you meet the version of me that slid with your brother?" he asked.

"No,I replied. "He was killed about a year before my brother found me. But from what he told me about him,you act just like him. Your

demeanor,your attitude,is just like my brother's professor."

He left the table,and I continued my lunch with Quinn,Maggie,and Bennish.

That night,we went to a pub in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach. It was in this neighborhood where Quinn Mallory lives. I was in a sedan riding with Quinn,Maggie,Conrad Bennish,and Diana Davis.

"Did you find something else?" I asked Davis. Earlier today,I had taken more tests with that X-ray machine.

"It can wait till tomorrow morning," she said.

So we arrived on Second Street,the main street running thorugh Belmont Shore. We got off,and the driver left to park the car in one of the parking lots behind the buildings. I looked around. There were plenty of cars going in both directions on Second Street. I was in front of a gym called the Belmont Athletic Club. Another car pulled up,and Maximilian Arturo,Alexander Hunt,and Dan Lungren stepped out.

"It's this way,Colin," said Quinn. He went up a flight of stairs

located to the right of the entrance to the gym.

As it turned out,the bar was on the second floor. The bouncer asked us to show ID. He used a bar code scanner to scan the bar codes on our foreheads.

"I don't have a bar code," I said.

"It does not matter. You look old enough to me," he replied.

The bar was dimly lit. There were a dozen people in here,all having drinks. the room had a faint smell of marijuana smoke. There was rock music playing. There were sports being shown on the various televisions in this room. We went to a bar,and Quinn spoke to a pretty blond-haired bartender.

"So Quinn," she said. "what do you want?"

"Get me a Murphy's Irish Stout. For me and my brother here."

"Brother?"

"Colin Mallory. He is on leave from the Marines."

The lady bartender scanned him,and then brought him two tall glasses of

beer. It was dark. I drank it,and it was rich. I liked this beer. I heard

Bennish order a Corona.

"Wait a minute," said the bartender. "Are you Dan Lungren? That senator on TV?

"that is right,Miss," replied Lungren.

"I voted for you."

"Well,I want to order a pitcher of Budweiser."

"Coming right this way,Senator."

So she gave Senator Lungren a big old pitcher of Budweiser,and we all sat at a long table,having a few brews. Bennish took out some joints,and gave one to me.

"I never liked those things," said Lungren.

"Aw come on,man," said Bennish. "It's not like it's gonna kill you. I mean,.more people died from beer than from pot."

Just then,I saw an advertisement for Joe Camel reefers on the television. I heard a message saying how pot makes your troubles go away.

Suddenly,a fellow from another table went up to our table.

"Dan Lungren?" he asked. "What is a high-flying senator like you doing in a joint like this?"

"I didn't know you're a regular here,Mike," the senator replied. "These

people are treating me here."

"Who is this?" I asked.

"This is Michael," said Lungren. "He works at my home office in downtown

Long Beach."

I looked at the guy. He seemed a bit younger than me. He has short black hair parted on the left. He is wearing blue denim jeans and a T-shirt with a bunch of Japanese cartoon characters on it,with the caption Dragonball Z.

"How are you doing?" I asked. "I'm Colin."

"I'm Michael," he replied. Mike here seemed to be a geniune fellow. "You

know,Colin,one of these days,I am gonna be in the Capitol alongside Dan

Lungren here. In 2002,I will be old enough to run for the House of

Representatives."

"I'll be supporting you, Michael," said Dan Lungren as he sipped his beer.

Lungren left our table and joined Michael.

"So Quinn," I said to my brother's counterpart from this world,"how do you like your job?"

"It's a fine job," he said. "Exciting. I am glad to know my work made history. That we beat the Nazis. We also get to explore new rolds right here on Earth. Same planet,different dimension. But we always have a way home."

"What if you miss the slide?"

"We have an emergency extraction point on Terminal Island just in case such a thing happens. If that happens,we go there and wait for the people on this side to open a vortex."

After a while ,Lungren went back to our table. I decided to ask him some quesations.

"You married?" I asked.

"Yes,to my wife,Bobbie. We have three children-Jeff,Kelly,and Kathleen," he replied.

"When were you elected?"

"In 1992. After my term as state controller expired in 1990,I ran for the Senate but lost. People said I was political road-kill. Well,I showed

them. In 1992,I won by a larger margin than I lost in the 1990 Senate race. It goes to show that you can't keep Dan Lungren down."

"By the way,Senator," said Maximilian Arturo. "There is something I wanted to show you."

Arturo gave Lungren a magazine. The cover read,"Dan Lungren-1998 Man of the Year."

"Thanks," said Lungren. "At least I know I am appreciated in some places." He read through the magazine. "You mean here I work for the king. Of America?"

"It seems you were the king's attorney general on that world."

"I will keep this. Bobbie will surely be surprised. Here,Kurt Cobain was named Man of the Year in 1998."

"You know,"I said. "Maybe there is a world where I became Man of the Year."

We all giggled. Apparently the pot and beer were getting to us. We all relaxed,like we did not have a care in the world.

"You've been quite,Dr. Davis," I said to Diana Davis.

"I am not that talkative," replied Davis. "If you are asking me,I am not married,and I like my work. It is exciting."

"Well,my work has always been exciting," said Maggie. "I was a fighter pilot in the Corps before I became a slider. You can't imagine the rush of being strapped in to an F-14. Firing missiles and laser beams at targets. You know,if we go to war with the Germans again,I will be in that cockpit,shooting down and destroying the enemy planes."

So we continued all talking. We laughed frequently and smiled,not having a care in the world-or any other.

The next morning,I went to Davis's office.

"So whaty with the tests?" I asked.

"We now know how you slid in your sleep," she said. "you see,matter is held onto a particular dimension,like electrons are held onto atomic orbitals. If an electron gains enough energy,it can leave the orbital. If matter on this world gains enough energy,like when we slide,it can leave the bonds of this dimension and travel to another one."

"So what happened with me?"

"The boinds between matter and a dimension are normally stable. But

your bond with this dimebnsion is unstable."

"What?"

"This radiation from your body is the energy release from the bonds breaking down. It is decaying exponentially. Soon,it will become too weak to hold you here. That is why you slid from that Arab world to thius world without a timer. You,in effect,are your own timer."

"How did this happen?"

"You said there was a collision in the wormhole? It probably put you in

this unstable state. For lack of better word,you are unstuck, man.

Eventually,you will leave this universe and slide to a new universe. You realize how exciting this is. I mean, unstuck matter, matter that rnadomly slides to other dimensions on its own. It was only theoretical."

"It's not theoretical anymore," I said. "So when do I slide out?"

"By my calculations,six days."

I just could not believe what Doctor Diana Davis had told me. I was unstuck. I was now sliding aimlessly from world to world,without any timer except my own body. In six days,I will slide out of this world and end up in a new world.

Well,I figured,at least I can't miss the slide. No worry of being

stuck for twenty-nine years.

We went to the conference room to discuss my situation.

"Unstuck,you say?" asked Maximilian Arturo.

"That is right," replied Davis. "Colin is not held to this dimension

with stable dimensional bonds like we are. In six days,he will slide from

this world and end up in another world."

"What happens after that?" asked Quinn.

"He will stay on that world until the dimensional bonds become weak and he slides again. Then the cycle continues."

"How do we get him unstuck?" asked Major General Alexander Hunt.

"I don't know," said Davis. "We only have six days to figure it out."

"Wait,"said Major Maggie Beckett. "The dimensional bionds reset themselves after each slide. What igf we slide colin to another world,then bring him back here? We can keep him here."

"Unfortunately,we can not determine how much time Colin will have on

another world if we slide him," said Davis. "What if we slide him to

another world,with the timer set to one minute,and the dimensional bonds

break down in thirty seconds?"

"There must be something we can do," said Conrad Bennish. "I mean,sliding randomly,without any way to control where you go."

Diana Davis handed Arturo a lab report concerning this issue.

"We shall all work to find a way to get Colin Mallory stuck again," said Arturo.

"What will I do?" I asked.

"Well,you have six days,man," said Bennish. "Maybe you should go out and go sightseeing."

"Sightseeing?"

"You can visit the Titanic,go to the beach. Cabrillo State Beach is just across the bay in San Pedro. We'll take care of things here. You relax."

So that's what I did.

First thing I did was to go to the Long Beach harbor to see the ship the Titanic. It was a huge ship,with four pipes where smoke and steam would come out. The ship was used a hotel. I remember my brother Quinn told me that on his world,a ship called the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in 1912.

I went to the building attached to the ship and signed up for a tour. The tour guide,a young lady with culry black hair,led me and the others on the way. We crossed a bridge and entered one of the lower decks. She was dressed in a black suit with a plastic nbametag pinned to her chest.

"This ship was commissioned in 1912," said the tour guide. It made its maiden voyage to New York City,arriving on April 16,1912. It was the most advanced ship when it was buiolt. It was designed so it would not sink even if three of its compartments were flooded. Now this ship had a long history. It carried munitions during the First World War,avoiding the German U-Boats. In 1945,it rescued the passengers of the Queen Mary,which was sunk in the north Atlantic by a U-boat. In 1966,it was finally anchored here in Long Beach harbor."

As she talked ,we walked around the ship. We visited conference rooms,ballrooms,the passenger and crew quarters. We went up to the sun deck where I saw the blue sky and smelled the salty air of the harbor. I could imagine the passengers of the ship as they rode during the ship's maiden voyage. I could imagine them looking out into the ocean,seeing the waves. I could imagine one of them standing at the bow and looking at the setting sun. I could imagine the orchestra playing in the ballroom,with the passengers dancing.

I felt sorry for the passengers of the Titanic on Earth Prime,where it sank and everyone drowned.

We continued down to the shops and restaurants. The tour guide mentioned there will be a wedding reception here tonight. She said the Titanic was the most popular place for wedding receptions in the South Bay area.

After visiting this great ship ,I left and went back to my quarters in the Terminal Island facility. The Marine Corps gave me a cable TV. I watched the channel known as MTV,with its music videos and stuff. I watched music videos from Warren G ,Pearl Jam, and Fiona Apple. then I saw it.

It was a duet. Starring Mariah Carey. And Rembrandt Brown.

"Remmy," I said. They were singing a ballad called "One Fine Day." I notice Mariah Carey was a little chubby,which I figured was from her pregnancy with her husband Eddie Vedder of the band Pearl Jam. It was so wonderful to hear Remmy sing,even though it was not the Remmy I had been sliding with.

Later after dinner,I went back to my quarters. Quinn had told me that I should leave it up to them. I knew I was going to slide next Thursday. I sat down,and watched Behind the Music on VH-1. The guest was Rembrandt Brown,which was why I watched it.

I saw Remmy talking about his childhood,his service in the Navy,and his days with the Spinning Tops in the 1970's. After the Tops broke up in 1987, Remmy pursued a successful solo career. He had a solo album that went double platinum. He reunited with his Spinning Top buddies in 1995 top make another album. He sang duets with Vanilla Ice ,MC Hammer, Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, Boyz II Men, and Mariah Carey,whose music video duet I saw on MTV earlier today. This Remmy talked with the same voice and tone as my Remmy.

"Did you ever consider doing a duet with Elvis Presley?" asked Tabitha Soren,the host of Behind the Music.

"The King of Rock and Roll and the King of R&B," Remmy replied. (It brought a flashback to the time Remmy and Elvis performed on stage at the Shrine Auditorium.)"Well,Elvis and I habve not made a deal. I am recording another duet with that singer Selena. It shoudl be out in October. As for Elvis,maybe we can get the King of Rap Vanilla Ice and then we can be a duet of the three kings." Remmy then laughed his distinctive laugh I was most familiar with."

As I watched the interview on Behind the Music,I wondered where the real Rembrandt Brown is. I wonder if they found a way to find me. Remmy must be worried about me. I hope he is safe. So at night,I went to sleep,wondering where he and Quinn and Maggie are.

Anyhow,for the weekend I went sightseeing in this world. i remember the times I went sightseeing with my brother,especially when there was plenty of time on the timer and there was no one after us. I visited Signal Hill,a large hill in the middle of the city. I also visited El Dorado Park and the Bolsa Chica State Beach. When I was not sightseeing,I would stay in my quarters and watch TV,on account there was nothing else to do. Meanwhile,Diana Davis continued to run tests on me.I asked Davis

what was going on,and she said the energy radiating from my body as a result of the dimensional bonds lsoing energy is increasing,indicating that the bonds are decaying. It was the same type of energy that radiates from the wormhole,but it has a unique frequency. Hopefully,the frequency of the radiation will give a clue as to how to get me stuck again. I also met with this fellow from the National Security Council, Mr. Fox, and I told him about the kromaggs.

On Wednesday morning,I was called into Davis's office.

"Any progress?" I asked.

"Not enough to get you stuck here," she said. "It is likely you will slide out before we can figure out a way."

"And then what? I just slide on without you?"

"Here is something for you," she said. She gave me a digital watch. I read numbers on it. It read thirty-seven hours,twenty-nine minutes,and fifty six seconds. And it was counting down. It reminded me of the timer.

"This watch will tell you when you are ready for departure.It also has a tracking signal which will allow me to track you. In about

thirty-seven hours,which is about 11:00 tomorrow night,you will slide."

So that's what I did.