I was taken to jail, an experience I was all too familiar with. I wondered what it was between me and jails. I was taken to this inmate processing station. I was photographed. The jailers then stamped my fingerprints in ink and then stamped a piece of paper on it.

I was finally taken to the cell block. The jail was already in lockdown, so the cell was locked.

I sat down on my bunk. The cell was not much, concrete walls and iron bars. I guessed there was nothing else except to go to sleep.

The enxt morning, the chow horn blared. The cell doors were unlocked. I walked to the jail's cafeteria where the inmates ate their breakfast. I had corn flakes and milk and orange juice and toast.

One of the jailers approached me. "Mallory," he said, "Your lawyer has come to visit you."

The jailer led me down a corridor to a room. There was a window allowing me to see into the next room. A sgin informed me that his room is for communication between inmates and lawyers, and nothing said here can be used in a judicial proceeding.

I saw the lawyer, a man dressed in a suit. I recognized him.

Four months ago, one of his duplicates prosecuted me for unspecified crimes against the Aryan race. The whole trial was a sham. I had not been allowed to object to the prosecutor's questions, nor was I allowed to cross-examine witnesses and havw witnesses testify on my behalf. I was sent to a death camp in the Presidio. But it turned out well in the end, for I led an escape.

"Hello, Mr. Mallory," said the lawyer. "I am sure you recognize me. I was your lawyer during the trial."

"Trial?" I asked. "I haven't been tried yet!"

"Yes, you were, You were sitting through it, until you decided to flee and become a fugitive."

"What happened after I fled?" I asked.

"You were convicted on all counts, and sentenced to life imprisonment."

"So what now?"

"Well, you are scheduled to be transfered to Happyland Federal Prison today at 10:00."

"Perfect," I said.

"Listen, I am working on appealing some of the judge's rulings. I believe the Ninth Circuit would overturn your conviction based on the appeal I plan to file. But there is a catch."

"What?"

"The San Francisco D.A. has plans to file state murder charges against you, and to seek the death penalty. He offered to refrain from going for a state indictment if you choose to drop your federal appeals."

"What is your recommendation?" I asked.

"We take the deal. I used to work for the D.A.'s office in San Francisco, and I know that if it went to trial, you woulkd certainly be convicted. If you wish to drop all appeals, fine. But if you want to go one with the appeals as well as face a state trial, I'll fight for you."

Then my duplicate's lawyer got up and left.

At 10:00, I was taken to the inmate transfer area of the San Francisco Federal Jail. It was a courtyard where vehicles would arrive to transport jail inmates.

A bus arrived, with "U.S. BUREAU OF PRISONS" stenciled on it. I boarded the bus, along wioth a few other inmates. The bus then pulled into the street. Within minutes, we were heading south on the 101.

A few hours later, we arrived at Monterrey, California. The bus went to the edge of the town, and I saw a complex of buildings. I then saw a sign.

HAPPYLAND MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON

BUREAU OF PRISONS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

I realized I'd be spending the next few days in a prison full of violent criminals.

The bus stopped, and the guards from Happyland arrived to greet the new inmates. We got off and we marched single file to a gate built into a chain-link fence.

We went into a room for inmate processing, like the one in the San Francisco jail. There was a table for fingerprinting and a camera on a tripod. I was once again fingerprinted and photographed.

I was then taken to another room, marked "STORAGE." I was stripped of what personal belongings I had and given a gray prison jumpsuit with a number stenciled on it.

I was then taken to another room that looked like a classroom. I sat down on the desks. I noticed several prison guards moving around. One of them attached something around my neck; it was a collar.

A man in a suit then walked in, flanked by two guards. I noticed one of them was Rembrandt Brown.

"Hello," said the man in the suit. "I am Mr. Redfield, the warden of this prison. some of you will be staying with us for a while, some of you will never leave here alive.

"We the staff of Happyland believe in an orderly environment. You will get what you put into this. If you cooperate with us, you can live here in peace. If not, there are serious consequences.

"You will notice the collars around your necks. Each collar has a small amount of plastic explosive inside. If you try to leave the prison, the collar will explode and remove your head. If you try to remove the collar, it will explode and remove your head.

"You will all be assigned a room. You will share the room with other inmates. And you will get along, or there will be serious consequences. Understood?"

We all nodded.

"Good," the warden said. "Make yourselves at home."

I was led by a guard to the room where I would stay. I had an explosive collar on my neck, which would explode if I left the prison.

In a few days, I would leave this prison, as well as this version of Earth. Whenever I slide, anything on my person goes with me. And that would include a skintight collar. I did not know how the collars work, but sliding to the next world might make it explode, relieving me of my head. I had to get this collar off me somehow before I leave this world.

I went to the prisoner's living quarters. There were several door marked with numbers. I noticed the doors were not made of steel bars, though the windows were.

I finally arrived in my quarters. It seemed I shared this with at least six other men. A video camera was located at the corner. There was one man in there, readiong a book.

"This will be your room," said the guard. "You will go here when lights out is called. Understood?"

"Yeah," I said.

I decided to go to the prison library to find out about what caused me to end up in prison. I crossed the prison courtyard, where there were a bunch of inmates either playing basketball or just loitering. I entered the library, which looked the same as any other library with the front desk and the shelves full of books.

Of course, there were two guards watching.

I went to the Internet terminal. I was required to sign in and to scan my prints. A sign informed me that my Internet usage would be monitored, and I can be removed for security reasons.

I decided to do a Google web search for Colin Mallory. It came up with a lot of stories.

Then a horn rang. I wondered what was going in. One of the guards approached me.

"Get down," he said.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It's a security horn. All inmates must get down in the ground and submit to search."

Well, I had no intention of getting into any more trouble, so I got down on the blue carpet of the Happyland library. The horn beeped for at least five minutes. I then got up.

After this, I decided to browse the news article Google found. I clicked on the link.

June 11, 1999

Attempted Assasin Convicted

Colin Mallory To be Sentenced July 1.

by Bobby Hawks, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO- Colin Mallory, who had escaped from the San Francisco Federal Jail during his trial for his attempt to assasinate King Leonard, was convicted of the attempted assassination of the Crown and the murder of a royal aide in connections with the attempt.

A 12-member federal jury delivered the verdict after three days of deliberation involving over sixty witnesses and one hundred pieces of evidence.

King Leonard was paying an official state visit to Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco on August 5, 1997 when someone fired shots. The King was hit and rushed to San Francisco General Hospital. Kelly Welles, 26, who worked in the Office of the Crown, was also shot and pronouced dead at the scene.

The San Francisco Police Department and the FBI placed the whole area under lockdown as they sought to find the king's attempted assassin. King Leonard was released from the hospital August 8. He later issued a statement offering condolences to the family of Kelly Welles, who was survived by her parents and her younger sister.

The FBI continued its investigation, and arrested Colin Mallory, then 26, for the attempted assasination of the king and the murder of Kelly Welles. Colin was known to associate with members of a radical Christian group called the Sword of the Lord, which is on the FBI's terrorist watch list. Mallory was indicted on October 29. Bail was set at four million dollars.

Trial began in the U.S. District Court of San Francisco on January 12, 1999, with U.S. District Judge John Nassau presiding. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Fontaine prosecuted the case, while San Francsico attorney Ross J. Kelly, hired by the Mallory family, represented the defendant.

Guards at the San Francisco Federal Jail reported Colin Mallory missing. After finding out he escaped, the FBI started a nationwide manhunt.

The trial continued in absentia. Ross J. Kelly filed for continuances, which were rejected by Judge Nassau.

The prosecution rested on May 29. The defense called witnesses in attempt to discredit the testimony of the FBI agents and the Sword of the Lord member who had agreed to testify against Mallory in exchange for immunity.

The case went to the jury on June 8. Three days later, the jury returned with a guilty verdict.

King Leonard, speaking from Castle America, said, "I thank the jury for its service to this country. Now we must focus our efforts into bringing Colin Mallory to justice."

The Welles family was in the courtroom when the guilty verdict was delivered. They hugged each other, with tears going down their eyes. Wade Welles, 26, the younger sister of Kelly Welles, issued a statement to the press.

"We're grateful to you for what you did," she said even as she cried. "I ask the people of this country to help us find my sister's killer."

The Mallory family has not issued a statement on this matter.

Ross J. Kelly promised to appeal the conviction. San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan has announced that he is prepared to file state murder charges against Mallory.

I started reading some more articles, such as the initial news report on the attempt on the king's life, as well as the funeral of Kelly Welles, which was attended by Mayor Willie Brown, California's U.S. Senate delegation, a portion of its House delegation, Castle America's Chief of Staff, and the friends and family of Kelly Welles. I looked at the picture of this world's version of Colin Mallory. He wore long hair and a long beard, and he was in court dressed in a white robe, as if he was trying to look like the Lord Jesus Christ.

And, of course, there was an article about my capture. It mentioned my phone call to Quinn, who then informed the FBI.

I then realized something else.

The true Colin Mallory was out there. And the FBI would not bother to look for him, now that they have me.

I spent the next few hours in my room, reading the book on American history. The British set up colonies in North America, which was granted independence in 1820. Prince Albert became the first King of the United States. King Leonard, his great-great-great-great-grandson, was crowned in 1985. The capital is called Alberton.

I went out to view the environment of this prison. There was plenty of free movement in the prison, all under the watchful eye of the prison guards. People tended to coalesce into race-based gangs. The whites would congregate in one spot, the Negroes would congregate in another spot, and the Mexicans would congregate in yet another spot. I chose to stick with the whites, as I would stick out among the Negroes like a sore thumb or something.

Among the whites, there were various factions. One of these factions simply stuck together and did not care much for the Negroes or Mexicans, while others sported a Nazi-like ideology. I suspected that factions also existed among the Negroes and Mexicans.

"Hello there, brother," someone said to me.

"Yes? I asked. I looked at the fellow; he had long black hair and a long beard.

"I know who you are," he said. "Be strong. We must stick together for Christ."

"Okay," I said.

My eyes followed the bearded fellow. He went to speak with a bunch of people with the same hairstyles as he has. In fact, that was the only racially-mixed group in the entire prison.

The supper horn rang, and I went to the prison mess hall to eat. It was huge, with lots of tables. There was a chow line where inmates received food from the other inmates. it was clear that inmates did all the work in Happyland.

I brought my tray, and I was served chicken and scalloped potatoes. The inmates did the cooking. I went to find a place to sit.

The inmates segregated themselves by race, so I went to sit with the white prisoners.

"That's my seat," someone said to me. I turned, and saw this big old white guy.

"Excuse me," I said. "This seat was empty."

"I was here longer than you." The fellow refused to back down. None of the othwers at the table were willing to let me sit.

I did not want to cause trouble, so I left that table. It was clear that there was no space for me on the white tables, and I obviously could not sit at the Negro or Mexican tables, so I had to sit on the floor. I was not alone in that, for there were plenty of people sitting on the floor.

"You must be new here," a thin Negro fellow said to me.

"Yeah," I said.

"You have to fight to earn a place at the table," he said. "You have to fight to earn your place in line."

I started eating my supper. I was just finishing my potatoes when it happened.

Two of the inmates, arguing over something, started a fistfight. I heard the sound of peopel crashing into tables and benches.

then ther security horn rang. I immediately took to the ground. I looked, and those two prisoners were still fighting! they kept fighting for a minute, and then the guards rushed in and started whacking both inmates with the batons. They then dragged the inmates off. I guessed they would be put in a cage or something.

I later went to the recreation room. Again, there was no place to sit, so I had to stand.

America's Most Wanted was on. The host, John Walsh, reported on my capture. He retold the story of the assassination attempt on King Leonard and my duplicate's flight from the law. I saw Wade Welles make a statement on the show, asking for help in finding her sister's killer. And Quinn was on the show, telling Walsh his decision to call the FBI after being contacted by his brother.

It was lights out, and I had to go to my assigned room. I looked and saw all the beds were full, and some of the inmates were on the floor.

I was too tired to start a fight. I decided to sleep oin the floor.

At least I won't starve to death, I remembered thinking.

It was Sunday, and the prison holds worship services for Christians. Maybe there was someone I coukld talk to. I went to the prison's multifaith chapel.

I recognized the priest officiating over the Mass. He was Father Vincent Feretti. I remember him because one of his duplicates officiated the 1998 Christmas Mass that my brother and I attended. We sang songs and listened to Bible readings. I noticed none of those long bearded men were here. His Homily had the message of how we must never give up hope, and that if we accept the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, then he will not hold any of our sins against us, even if it was murder.

I received the Holy Communion, which symbolizes the sacrifice Christ made on the cross. I hoped to have a personal audience with the priest.

Later on, I met with Father Feretti. We were in this room which was reserved for communications between priests and penitents.

"My name is Colin Mallory," I said. "I guess you've heard of me already."

"I've heard about what you done," he said.

"I did not commit the crime I was sent here for. I'm innocent."

"Colin, it is most unwise to lie to yourself. You have nothing to gain by lying to me."

"I am not lying, Father. I am from a parallel universe."

"Explain."

"There are many universes. Each particle, which is what stuff is made of, interacts with its counterparts in parallel universes through quantum interference."

"Do you know what you are talking about?"

"I do not fully understand it. But we have counterparts in other universes. I am the counterpart of this universe's version of Colin Mallory. He was the one who escaped from jail. He was the one who was on trial."

"How did you get here?"

"Something happened to me, and I started travelling to parallel universes. I can't control it."

"Maybe you'll find yourself in a parallel universe when you wake up."

"Listen," I said. "I have this explosive collar around me. If I'm still wearing it when I leave, there's a chance it might explode. Fahter, I would like to at least be transfered to another prison-one which doesn't use these collars. I have this watch here which tells me how much time is left. I only have a few days."

"This is a fanstastic story," said the priest. "There may be something I could do. Just have faith, like the Apostle Judas."

"Judas?" I asked. "You mean Judas Iscariot, the guy who betrayed Jesus?"

"Betrayed?" asked Feretti. "You should study the Bible more often. Judas was chosen by the Lord to lead the Apostles after His ascension. He was martyred in Rome over nineteen hundred years ago."

That was interesting. I got up and left.

I went back to the general area of the prison. Suddenly, I was surrounded by some of the bearded men.

"You were talking to that priest," said one of them.

"I needed to discuss something," I said.

"That priest is an agent of Satan! He teaches false religion. he is leading the inmates here to Hell!"

"I think you shouild apologize. You are way out of line here and..."

He punched me. This was a fight.

I have gotten into fights over the past year of sliding, so I fought, using the techniques I honed both in practice and actual combat. I took on a platoon of kromaggs, I sure as hell would not let a bunch of losers beat me.

then the security horn sounded, and I got down on the ground. But then one of the guards picked me up and I was taken away.