July 12, 1997
The congregation gathers at the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. The congregants watch and wait until the church's pastor, the Reverend Fred Phelps, arrives to address them.
"Welcome, my friends," says Reverend Phelps. "Yesterday we have witnesses the holy judgement of the Lord God Almighty upon this wicked nation. The Rod of God has smitten fag America. For years, Americans have elevated sodomy as a virtue. They aborted millions of innocent babies. Americans greedily lied, cheated, stolen, and killed. Now the wrath of God is upon them. Millions of people were cast into Hell as God laughed and mocked at them as He torments them forever and ever! Remember this-God hates America!"
Secretary of the Treasury Rob Rubin finishes his breakfast. He is now at an underground Army base, somewhere in the country. After hearing about the attacks on Washington and New York, Army soldiers picked hime up and sequestered him here. He was briefed upon developments concerning the attack.
"We are ready, sir," says an Army general.
"Is this necessary?" asks the secretary.
"Yes, sir"
Rubin looks down. He had been briefed about this, after being sworn in as Secretary of the Treasury. Now he has been called.
He approahces a small room. The room is guarded by Army military police, and there are television cameras pointed at him. A man in black robes awaits him. Rubin recognizes him as a judge from a U.S. District Court.
the judge presents a Holy Bible. "Place your right hand on Bible," he says.
Secretary Rubin places his rioght hand on the Bible.
"Let us take the oath," says the judge. "Repeat after me. I, Robert Rubin."
"I, Robert Rubin."
"...do solemnly swear...."
"...do solemnly swear..."
"...that I will preserve, protect, and defend....."
"...that I will preserve, protect, and defend....."
"....the Constitition of the United States of America...."
"....the Constitition of the United States of America...."
"....from all enemies, foreign and domestic..."
"....from all enemies, foreign and domestic..."
"...and to faithfully execute the duties of my office..."
"...and to faithfully execute the duties of my office..."
"...so help me God..."
"...so help me God..."
"I present unto you, Robert Rubin, the President of the United States of America."
Wade Welles and Rembrandt Brown watch the evenbt unfold in the Chandler Lounge and Sports Bar.
"My fellow Americans," says President Rubin. "Under the laws of succession passed by Congress, I have taken the oath to act as President of the United States of America. It is my sad duty to inform you that neither the President nor the Vice President nor the leaders of Congress have survived last night's bombing raids. We have confirmed that Washington, D.C. and New York City were completely destroyed, and that nuclear devices were used to bomb those cities. The death toll is estimated in the millions. it is by the grace of God that I survived and I have now assumed this duty in this time of crisis. My first act is to completely assess the damage and find out who attacked us. Make no mistake, we will find the enemy and we will destroy the enemy."
"My God," says Rembrandt. "I can't believe this is happening." He looks at the July 12, 1997 copy of the Los Angeles Times, the headline reading "WAR! NUCLEAR BOMBS DROPPED ON U.S. SOIL! MILLIONS DEAD IN N.Y. AND D.C."
"I wonder what Quinn will think if he finally gets home and sees everything destroyed," says Wade.
"Maybe we should call his mother."
Wade remembers that Quinn's mother willed her a safety deposit box containing a message for Quinn. she wonders if she will have to break the news to Quinn about his mother's death. She goes into the hotel office and picks up a phone and dials Mrs. Mallory's number.
"We can not connect your call," says an automated voice.
Wade frowns. Apparently, the enemy had disrupted long distance telephone service.
"So we have a new commander-in-chief," says Major General Alexander Hunt, watching a Sony color television from the conference room in Sub-Level One of the U.S. Marine Corps Research Center in Yerba Buena Island.
"What do we do now?" asks Colonel Angus Rickman.
"We stay here," says the general. "The Internet is still up; I will send messages up the chain of command and we will await further orders."
Captain Maggie Beckett looks around at the marines and the sliding technicians. The events of the past twelve hours have been a shock.
"Maybe we should evacuate," says Steven Jensen, pacing around the room. He had received his spinal implants just a week ago on another world, and relearned how to walk. Now the country was under attack by a mysterious foe.
"We can't leave now, Steven," says Maggie. "We have been assigned here, and we will not evacaute this post."
"Not all of us here are marines," says Diana Davis. "If the enemy comes close, you can stay here and die. I'm gonna slide."
President Rob Rubin goes to the conference room in the secret underground Army base that now serves as the headquarters of the United States government. For the past few hours, the officers in the base have been trying to contact surviving military units. There has been no contact with General Shalikashvili or anyone in the Joint Chiefs. A United States Marine general had survived the events of July 11, and as such the President had made him acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs until General Shalikashvili can be found.
Rubin sits down, surrounding by officers and soldiers.
"Give me a status report," he says.
"Mr. President," says the acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, "whoever the enemy was, they knew where to hit us. they bombed the headquarters of our combatant commands. Pearl Harbor, Norfolk Naval Station, Ramstein Air Base, all bombed to hell. We lost half of our air forces. They also managed to disable most of our satellites."
"So who is it?" asks Rubin. "Is it Iraq? Syria? Russia?"
"We don't know, sir."
"Well, how will we launch a counterattack if we don't know whom to attack?"
"We do know that the enemy launched their missiles and bombers from ships in the Pacific and Atlantic. A recon plane spotted the ships, which immediately opened fire. There is something you should know, sir."
"What?"
"These warships have advanced technology. Apparently the ships use high-powered lasers. And we have visual records of the enemy airplanes. It was taken by an AWACS flying over the Atlantic before it was shot down."
An Army sergeant presses a button on a remote control device. The screen reveals the enemy planes.
"Odd-looking shape," says Rubin.
"They look like manta rays," says the Marine general. "This design is unknown in any country, and we are certain neither Russia nor China manufactured planes like these in massive quantities. And our pilots claimed that these manta planes were shooting lasers."
"Well, what do we do now?"
"We know where their forces are. I believe wer can launch a nuclear strike agains the enemy fleets. We still have nuclear subs in the Pacific and the Atlantic. They are operational and they are awaiting orders from us to fire at the enemy."
President Rubin takes a deep breath. "Make the preparation for the attacks," he says.
"Yes, sir."
Deep below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, a U.S. Navy submarine commander receives the orders.
"Okay, people," he barks. "We have been ordered to launch a counterattack against the enemy. The enemy fleet has been sighted, and we have their coordinates. We are to launch a cruise missile with a one hundred kiloton warhead at the fleet's last known position. Given the estimates of their maximum speed, we should be able to sevrely damage the ships, if not destroy the utterly. Prepare for the launch."
And so the submarine crew does so. They arm the missile with the nuclear launch code and select the target, a point in the Pacific Ocean where the enemy fleet is believed to be located.
The submarine commander goes to the missile control console. He flips open the lid and presses the button to fire.
The cruise missile is launched from the Navy submarine and flies into the sky. It cruises a few feet above the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Soon, it finds its mark and detonates.
The nuclear explosion generates heat and a shock wave. The shock wave reaches a group of kromagg ships. The shock wave capsizes the vessels, including an interdimensional aircraft carrier.
The news comes back to the submarine crew.
"Missile has met its target!" shouts a Navy ensign. Everyone in the submarine bridge cheers. the news is relayed up the chain of command.
But their cheers will soon turn to horror. Eighteen minutes later, a sonarman detects something splashing into the water.
"It's a depth charge!" yells the commander. "Dive!"
and so the helmsman puts the submarine into a dive. But it is too late. They are rocked by an explosion, and suddenly cold, salty water sprays ijnto the bridge. The submarine continues to sink, and all hands drown.
Meanwhile, at the Kromagg Dynasty flagship, a Navy commander reports to the admiral.
"Sir, the enemy has launched counterattacks," says the commander. "Four of our carriers were destroyed."
"How?" asks the admiral.
"We believe enemy submarines launched missile attacks against our fleet. Fortunately, the survivors sent antisubmarine bombers to drop depth bombs at the locations where the missiles were believed to be launched. We are now dropping deep-sea recon probes to determine if the enemy subs were sunk."
"The humans of this world seem to be putting up quite a resistance," says the admiral. "I'm going to request more ships from the High Command. We must achieve air and sea superiority before we can send in the marines."
"I agree, sir."
July 13, 1997
"Today is the two-month anniversary of our homecoming," says Wade.
"I don't feel like celebrating that much," replies Rembrandt. "If we only knew who was attacking us."
"Why does it have to be our world?" asks Wade. "Why?"
the two of them watch the news report on television. They see an image of a Boeing airplane factory.
"I am here now at the Boeing Aircraft plant in Long Beach," says a Fox news reporter. "Ever since the war started, the workers have been building warplanes."
"We're on a tight schedule," says a factory foreman. "The Air Force and the Navy and the Marines have ordered all sorts of military aircraft. We've had to convert the assembly lines for military production."
"Do you expect to..."
Then the reporter is suddenly interrupted by an explosion. Then there is snow. Soon there is an image of the Fox logo, with a message about technical difficulties.
Wade and Rembrandt hear another air raid siren.
"We'd better get down to the basement, Remmy," she says.
July 22, 1997
Quinn Mallory and Maggie Beckett are absolutely unaware of the events transpiring in his home world. Their main focus is finding a way home.
"That is the place," says Quinn, looking at a condominium in Newark, California. "That is where this world's Quinn Mallory lives."
"What are we waiting for," says Maggie. "He will wonder why you look exactly like him."
Quinn rings the doorbell. He and Maggie wait for a few tense seconds. Maybe this world's Quinn is not home. there is, after all, a thing called a day job, and it is only 3:00.
The door is answered. Quinn and Maggie look at a young man with short cropped hair that is darker than Quinn's brown hair.
"May I help you?" he asks.
"I'm looking for Quinn Mallory," says Quinn. "Does he live here?"
"I'm Quinn Mallory."
The two of them look stunned. This man has no resemblace to any duplicate of Quinn they have seen or encountered.
"It's obvious he simply has the same name as you do," says Maggie. "We should go look for another Quinn."
"What's this about?" asks the native Quinn.
"Is your father's name Michael?" asks visiting Quinn.
"Yeah. How do you know?"
"Is your mother's name Elizabeth?"
"No, it's not."
"Well, there's something we have to tell you."
And so Quinn tells the native Quinn a condensed version of his story.
"Wow," says Native Quinn. "You sure tell an interesting story."
"I once encountered a duplicate of mine who was female," says Quinn. "Our fathers are duplicates of each other, but they apparently married different women. In a sense, we are interdimensional half-brothers."
"I hope this isn't some sort of scam."
"It's not. and anyway, I think you won't be able to help us. If you don't believe us, then you are not familiar with interdimensional travel."
"Okay, buddy."
Native Quinn closes the door. And he smiles.
He goes to his bedroom and turns on his Power Macintosh G4. Soon he writes a story about parallel universes.
Maggie and Quinn walk along a sidewalk after leaving Quinn's interdimensional half-brother. "It just occurred tom me," says Maggie. "If we get home, I'm gonna have to stay behind in whatever world we do."
"Oh yeah," says Quinn. He had not forgotten Maggie's allergic reaction to the air in his home world. "Listen, maybe there's a way for you to breathe the air on our world."
"We can't risk it," says Maggie. "Once you fix the tracker, I'll have to stay behind. Besides, I wouldn't fit in if there is already a Maggie Beckett on that world."
"And if there's another you on the world you stay behind in?"
Maggie thinks. "Let's just cross the bridge when we get there."
July 25, 1997
A squad of U.S. Army soldiers patrol Hermosa Beach. It is early in the morning, a few hours before dawn. The soldiers had been civilians before their National Guard unit was placed under the command of the United States Army. For the past two weeks the enemy has conducted bombing raids. The soldiers notice that there is less resistance.
then they hear whistling sounds. The whistling sounds are followed by explosions.
"Get back!" yells an Army sergeant.
Missiles and artillery shells are fired from positions offshore. They strike buildings in Hermosa Beach, reducing them to rubble. The bonbardment continues for many countless minutes.
Then the soldiers who survived the bonbardment see something over the horizon. One of them looks through a pair of binoculars.
"Enemy ships," he says. He can see huge ships approaching the beach. Above in the sky, helicopters approach.
The soldier recognizes the boats in front. Thery appear to be amphibious landing boats, oike the ones used in the Normandy invasion in 1944!
The enemy ships fire more artillery shells at the beach. The explosions from the impact kill some of the soldiers. The enemy helicopters then fire tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided missiles at the soldiers, killing more of them.
Most of the soldiers posted at Hermosa Beach are dead now. The few survivors take a look at the amphibious boats. They now open, and they see tanks and armored personnel carriers wading through the shallow coastal waters approaching the shore. The tanks fire laser beams and the soldiers take whatever cover they can.
Only one soldier is left on the beach. He sees an armored personnel carrier stop on the sands of the beach. The door opens and enemy troops come out, clad in armor from head to toe.
He tries to retreat back into the streets of Hermosa Beach. But one of the enemy troops opens fire with a laser. The laser beam hits the American soldier in the back, killing him. The enemy troops stand grand, securing the beach.
Now the enemy tanks get on the streets of Hermosa Beach, with helicopters providing air support. The tanks' crews take a look. the naval bonbardment had knocked down many of the buildings. Rubble covers the streets, but that poses little problem to the tanks which were designed for going over rough terrain.
A U.S. Army M-1 Abrams tank is standing at the intersection of Hermosa Avenue and Tenth Street. Its crew spots the enemy tanks. They open fire with their main gun. One of the enemy tanks is hit and flips over. The crew cheers. But then one of the enemy tanks fires a high-powered laser beam, which turns the Abrams tank into flaming debris, incinerating the crew.
President Rob Rubin sits in the situation room, dressed in a robe. An Army soldier had woken him up at this early hour.
"We have reports of invasions on our Atlantic and Pacific coasts," says an Army lieutenant colonel. "The enemy seems to have advanced weaponry. Our forces are in retreat."
"Don't they have air support?" asks the President.
"Most of our aircraft was destroyed in the past two weeks of bombing raids," replies the colonel. "There is very little air support. Basically we have foot soldiers fighting against tanks and helicopters along with enemy infantry."
"What about naval support?"
"Most of our warships were sunk, sir," says a Navy commander. "Our shipyards were bombed to ruins so we are unable to manufacture any more ships."
President Rubin looks at a wall map of the United States. He can see where the invasion zones are marked.
Wade Welles and Rembradt Brown watch the events unfold as they sit in the Chandler Hotel Lounge and Sports Bar.
"The enemy has now launched an invasion of our soil," says a Fox News anchor. "We now bring you to our correspondent in the streets of Los Angeles."
"I'm here with the U.S. Army," says a reporter reporting from an intersection in Los Angeles. "The Army has deployed units to guard strategic points."
Rembrandt notices the buildings in that area have all been reduced to rubble.
"We are going to dig in and slaughter the enemy invaders," says an Army lieutenant. "We may not know who the enemy is, but we will not surrender."
The two of them look behind them. A helicopter approaches them.
Then the image on the screen becomes snow. After a few secionds, it goes back to the Fox Newsroom.
"We lost contact with our reporter in the field," says the news anchor. The expression on his face implied to the viewers what he knew about the field reporter's fate.
Then Wade and Rembrandt hear machine gun fire and rocket fire. the battle has reached their block! Then the hotel is rocked by nearby explosions. They both go to the basement to take shelter in the boiler room. they stay there for countless minutes. They say nithing, and the only sound is that of distant explosions.
Then the explosions and the gunfire stop. Wade, Rembrandt, and the other hotel workers go back to the first floor. they look around. A few things areknocked over, and there are a few bullet holes in the wall and a shattered window, but the first floor had not been hit with a missile or an artillery shell.
"At least it's over for the moment," says Wade. As she looks around, she thinks. This can't be her world! Her world is a peaceful place, not a war zone!
Her memories betray her wishful thinking. Everything she checked out indicated this was her world-the world's history and her own personal history.
She and Rembrandt go out of the hotel and look at the damage. They can see pieces of buildings littering Wilshire Boulevard. They see partially collapsed buildings; the Chandler got off lucky. A car parked on the street is now a flaming wreck. There are bodies of dead American soldiers.
They both look up a t a helicopter circling the sky above. They look at the emblem.
That is not an American helicopter!
Then a tank rolls down the street. Wade and Rembrandt notice alien writing on the tank, writing they are not familiar with.
They duck behind the front door as they see an armored personnel carrier stop on the street. They see soldiers clad in head-to-toe armor come out and secure this block of Wilshire Boulevard. None of them dare go out to the street.
And then a voice comes from a louspeaker in the helicopter.
"This is the Kromagg Dynasty!" yells the voice. "We are now in control. All humans are to surrender. anyone who resists will be killed!"
"Oh no," says Wade. Even after a year, she can not forget her encounter with the kromaggs. she hweard how they went from world to world, conquering the humans and enslaving them.
And now they have come to her home.
Rembrandt holds her. Moments later, a squad of armored soldiers enters the Chandler and point their lasers at everyone. Everyone gets down on their knees.
The squad commander removes his helmet, featuring a hariless head. He flashes a wicked smile.
Wade and Rembrandt sit inside a bus along with the others captured in Los Angeles. They wonder where the kromaggs are taking them. For all they know, they could be going to the kromagg homeworld where they will be slaves, or where they will be killed and their eyes eaten. Everyone is too afraid to talk.
They see that the bus is crossing a bridge. Rembrandt recognizes the place; they are heading to Terminal Island.
The bus finally stops inside the Long Beach Naval Station, which had closed two years before and is now used as a base of operations for the Kromagg Dynasty forces.Wade notices construction equipment around; she wonders if the kromaggs brought it from their world or if they were appropriate from her world.
The humans on board the bus are ordered off and they are marched through the base. They can see quonset huts set up for the officers and troops. Rembrandt sees their destination-a barbed wire enclosure.
The humans are all herded in, and then the gate is locked. There are already humans in the enclosure, some of them American soldiers who had surrendered.
Wade breaks the silence. "I hope Quinn never makes it home," she says.
The congregation gathers at the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. The congregants watch and wait until the church's pastor, the Reverend Fred Phelps, arrives to address them.
"Welcome, my friends," says Reverend Phelps. "Yesterday we have witnesses the holy judgement of the Lord God Almighty upon this wicked nation. The Rod of God has smitten fag America. For years, Americans have elevated sodomy as a virtue. They aborted millions of innocent babies. Americans greedily lied, cheated, stolen, and killed. Now the wrath of God is upon them. Millions of people were cast into Hell as God laughed and mocked at them as He torments them forever and ever! Remember this-God hates America!"
Secretary of the Treasury Rob Rubin finishes his breakfast. He is now at an underground Army base, somewhere in the country. After hearing about the attacks on Washington and New York, Army soldiers picked hime up and sequestered him here. He was briefed upon developments concerning the attack.
"We are ready, sir," says an Army general.
"Is this necessary?" asks the secretary.
"Yes, sir"
Rubin looks down. He had been briefed about this, after being sworn in as Secretary of the Treasury. Now he has been called.
He approahces a small room. The room is guarded by Army military police, and there are television cameras pointed at him. A man in black robes awaits him. Rubin recognizes him as a judge from a U.S. District Court.
the judge presents a Holy Bible. "Place your right hand on Bible," he says.
Secretary Rubin places his rioght hand on the Bible.
"Let us take the oath," says the judge. "Repeat after me. I, Robert Rubin."
"I, Robert Rubin."
"...do solemnly swear...."
"...do solemnly swear..."
"...that I will preserve, protect, and defend....."
"...that I will preserve, protect, and defend....."
"....the Constitition of the United States of America...."
"....the Constitition of the United States of America...."
"....from all enemies, foreign and domestic..."
"....from all enemies, foreign and domestic..."
"...and to faithfully execute the duties of my office..."
"...and to faithfully execute the duties of my office..."
"...so help me God..."
"...so help me God..."
"I present unto you, Robert Rubin, the President of the United States of America."
Wade Welles and Rembrandt Brown watch the evenbt unfold in the Chandler Lounge and Sports Bar.
"My fellow Americans," says President Rubin. "Under the laws of succession passed by Congress, I have taken the oath to act as President of the United States of America. It is my sad duty to inform you that neither the President nor the Vice President nor the leaders of Congress have survived last night's bombing raids. We have confirmed that Washington, D.C. and New York City were completely destroyed, and that nuclear devices were used to bomb those cities. The death toll is estimated in the millions. it is by the grace of God that I survived and I have now assumed this duty in this time of crisis. My first act is to completely assess the damage and find out who attacked us. Make no mistake, we will find the enemy and we will destroy the enemy."
"My God," says Rembrandt. "I can't believe this is happening." He looks at the July 12, 1997 copy of the Los Angeles Times, the headline reading "WAR! NUCLEAR BOMBS DROPPED ON U.S. SOIL! MILLIONS DEAD IN N.Y. AND D.C."
"I wonder what Quinn will think if he finally gets home and sees everything destroyed," says Wade.
"Maybe we should call his mother."
Wade remembers that Quinn's mother willed her a safety deposit box containing a message for Quinn. she wonders if she will have to break the news to Quinn about his mother's death. She goes into the hotel office and picks up a phone and dials Mrs. Mallory's number.
"We can not connect your call," says an automated voice.
Wade frowns. Apparently, the enemy had disrupted long distance telephone service.
"So we have a new commander-in-chief," says Major General Alexander Hunt, watching a Sony color television from the conference room in Sub-Level One of the U.S. Marine Corps Research Center in Yerba Buena Island.
"What do we do now?" asks Colonel Angus Rickman.
"We stay here," says the general. "The Internet is still up; I will send messages up the chain of command and we will await further orders."
Captain Maggie Beckett looks around at the marines and the sliding technicians. The events of the past twelve hours have been a shock.
"Maybe we should evacuate," says Steven Jensen, pacing around the room. He had received his spinal implants just a week ago on another world, and relearned how to walk. Now the country was under attack by a mysterious foe.
"We can't leave now, Steven," says Maggie. "We have been assigned here, and we will not evacaute this post."
"Not all of us here are marines," says Diana Davis. "If the enemy comes close, you can stay here and die. I'm gonna slide."
President Rob Rubin goes to the conference room in the secret underground Army base that now serves as the headquarters of the United States government. For the past few hours, the officers in the base have been trying to contact surviving military units. There has been no contact with General Shalikashvili or anyone in the Joint Chiefs. A United States Marine general had survived the events of July 11, and as such the President had made him acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs until General Shalikashvili can be found.
Rubin sits down, surrounding by officers and soldiers.
"Give me a status report," he says.
"Mr. President," says the acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, "whoever the enemy was, they knew where to hit us. they bombed the headquarters of our combatant commands. Pearl Harbor, Norfolk Naval Station, Ramstein Air Base, all bombed to hell. We lost half of our air forces. They also managed to disable most of our satellites."
"So who is it?" asks Rubin. "Is it Iraq? Syria? Russia?"
"We don't know, sir."
"Well, how will we launch a counterattack if we don't know whom to attack?"
"We do know that the enemy launched their missiles and bombers from ships in the Pacific and Atlantic. A recon plane spotted the ships, which immediately opened fire. There is something you should know, sir."
"What?"
"These warships have advanced technology. Apparently the ships use high-powered lasers. And we have visual records of the enemy airplanes. It was taken by an AWACS flying over the Atlantic before it was shot down."
An Army sergeant presses a button on a remote control device. The screen reveals the enemy planes.
"Odd-looking shape," says Rubin.
"They look like manta rays," says the Marine general. "This design is unknown in any country, and we are certain neither Russia nor China manufactured planes like these in massive quantities. And our pilots claimed that these manta planes were shooting lasers."
"Well, what do we do now?"
"We know where their forces are. I believe wer can launch a nuclear strike agains the enemy fleets. We still have nuclear subs in the Pacific and the Atlantic. They are operational and they are awaiting orders from us to fire at the enemy."
President Rubin takes a deep breath. "Make the preparation for the attacks," he says.
"Yes, sir."
Deep below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, a U.S. Navy submarine commander receives the orders.
"Okay, people," he barks. "We have been ordered to launch a counterattack against the enemy. The enemy fleet has been sighted, and we have their coordinates. We are to launch a cruise missile with a one hundred kiloton warhead at the fleet's last known position. Given the estimates of their maximum speed, we should be able to sevrely damage the ships, if not destroy the utterly. Prepare for the launch."
And so the submarine crew does so. They arm the missile with the nuclear launch code and select the target, a point in the Pacific Ocean where the enemy fleet is believed to be located.
The submarine commander goes to the missile control console. He flips open the lid and presses the button to fire.
The cruise missile is launched from the Navy submarine and flies into the sky. It cruises a few feet above the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Soon, it finds its mark and detonates.
The nuclear explosion generates heat and a shock wave. The shock wave reaches a group of kromagg ships. The shock wave capsizes the vessels, including an interdimensional aircraft carrier.
The news comes back to the submarine crew.
"Missile has met its target!" shouts a Navy ensign. Everyone in the submarine bridge cheers. the news is relayed up the chain of command.
But their cheers will soon turn to horror. Eighteen minutes later, a sonarman detects something splashing into the water.
"It's a depth charge!" yells the commander. "Dive!"
and so the helmsman puts the submarine into a dive. But it is too late. They are rocked by an explosion, and suddenly cold, salty water sprays ijnto the bridge. The submarine continues to sink, and all hands drown.
Meanwhile, at the Kromagg Dynasty flagship, a Navy commander reports to the admiral.
"Sir, the enemy has launched counterattacks," says the commander. "Four of our carriers were destroyed."
"How?" asks the admiral.
"We believe enemy submarines launched missile attacks against our fleet. Fortunately, the survivors sent antisubmarine bombers to drop depth bombs at the locations where the missiles were believed to be launched. We are now dropping deep-sea recon probes to determine if the enemy subs were sunk."
"The humans of this world seem to be putting up quite a resistance," says the admiral. "I'm going to request more ships from the High Command. We must achieve air and sea superiority before we can send in the marines."
"I agree, sir."
July 13, 1997
"Today is the two-month anniversary of our homecoming," says Wade.
"I don't feel like celebrating that much," replies Rembrandt. "If we only knew who was attacking us."
"Why does it have to be our world?" asks Wade. "Why?"
the two of them watch the news report on television. They see an image of a Boeing airplane factory.
"I am here now at the Boeing Aircraft plant in Long Beach," says a Fox news reporter. "Ever since the war started, the workers have been building warplanes."
"We're on a tight schedule," says a factory foreman. "The Air Force and the Navy and the Marines have ordered all sorts of military aircraft. We've had to convert the assembly lines for military production."
"Do you expect to..."
Then the reporter is suddenly interrupted by an explosion. Then there is snow. Soon there is an image of the Fox logo, with a message about technical difficulties.
Wade and Rembrandt hear another air raid siren.
"We'd better get down to the basement, Remmy," she says.
July 22, 1997
Quinn Mallory and Maggie Beckett are absolutely unaware of the events transpiring in his home world. Their main focus is finding a way home.
"That is the place," says Quinn, looking at a condominium in Newark, California. "That is where this world's Quinn Mallory lives."
"What are we waiting for," says Maggie. "He will wonder why you look exactly like him."
Quinn rings the doorbell. He and Maggie wait for a few tense seconds. Maybe this world's Quinn is not home. there is, after all, a thing called a day job, and it is only 3:00.
The door is answered. Quinn and Maggie look at a young man with short cropped hair that is darker than Quinn's brown hair.
"May I help you?" he asks.
"I'm looking for Quinn Mallory," says Quinn. "Does he live here?"
"I'm Quinn Mallory."
The two of them look stunned. This man has no resemblace to any duplicate of Quinn they have seen or encountered.
"It's obvious he simply has the same name as you do," says Maggie. "We should go look for another Quinn."
"What's this about?" asks the native Quinn.
"Is your father's name Michael?" asks visiting Quinn.
"Yeah. How do you know?"
"Is your mother's name Elizabeth?"
"No, it's not."
"Well, there's something we have to tell you."
And so Quinn tells the native Quinn a condensed version of his story.
"Wow," says Native Quinn. "You sure tell an interesting story."
"I once encountered a duplicate of mine who was female," says Quinn. "Our fathers are duplicates of each other, but they apparently married different women. In a sense, we are interdimensional half-brothers."
"I hope this isn't some sort of scam."
"It's not. and anyway, I think you won't be able to help us. If you don't believe us, then you are not familiar with interdimensional travel."
"Okay, buddy."
Native Quinn closes the door. And he smiles.
He goes to his bedroom and turns on his Power Macintosh G4. Soon he writes a story about parallel universes.
Maggie and Quinn walk along a sidewalk after leaving Quinn's interdimensional half-brother. "It just occurred tom me," says Maggie. "If we get home, I'm gonna have to stay behind in whatever world we do."
"Oh yeah," says Quinn. He had not forgotten Maggie's allergic reaction to the air in his home world. "Listen, maybe there's a way for you to breathe the air on our world."
"We can't risk it," says Maggie. "Once you fix the tracker, I'll have to stay behind. Besides, I wouldn't fit in if there is already a Maggie Beckett on that world."
"And if there's another you on the world you stay behind in?"
Maggie thinks. "Let's just cross the bridge when we get there."
July 25, 1997
A squad of U.S. Army soldiers patrol Hermosa Beach. It is early in the morning, a few hours before dawn. The soldiers had been civilians before their National Guard unit was placed under the command of the United States Army. For the past two weeks the enemy has conducted bombing raids. The soldiers notice that there is less resistance.
then they hear whistling sounds. The whistling sounds are followed by explosions.
"Get back!" yells an Army sergeant.
Missiles and artillery shells are fired from positions offshore. They strike buildings in Hermosa Beach, reducing them to rubble. The bonbardment continues for many countless minutes.
Then the soldiers who survived the bonbardment see something over the horizon. One of them looks through a pair of binoculars.
"Enemy ships," he says. He can see huge ships approaching the beach. Above in the sky, helicopters approach.
The soldier recognizes the boats in front. Thery appear to be amphibious landing boats, oike the ones used in the Normandy invasion in 1944!
The enemy ships fire more artillery shells at the beach. The explosions from the impact kill some of the soldiers. The enemy helicopters then fire tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided missiles at the soldiers, killing more of them.
Most of the soldiers posted at Hermosa Beach are dead now. The few survivors take a look at the amphibious boats. They now open, and they see tanks and armored personnel carriers wading through the shallow coastal waters approaching the shore. The tanks fire laser beams and the soldiers take whatever cover they can.
Only one soldier is left on the beach. He sees an armored personnel carrier stop on the sands of the beach. The door opens and enemy troops come out, clad in armor from head to toe.
He tries to retreat back into the streets of Hermosa Beach. But one of the enemy troops opens fire with a laser. The laser beam hits the American soldier in the back, killing him. The enemy troops stand grand, securing the beach.
Now the enemy tanks get on the streets of Hermosa Beach, with helicopters providing air support. The tanks' crews take a look. the naval bonbardment had knocked down many of the buildings. Rubble covers the streets, but that poses little problem to the tanks which were designed for going over rough terrain.
A U.S. Army M-1 Abrams tank is standing at the intersection of Hermosa Avenue and Tenth Street. Its crew spots the enemy tanks. They open fire with their main gun. One of the enemy tanks is hit and flips over. The crew cheers. But then one of the enemy tanks fires a high-powered laser beam, which turns the Abrams tank into flaming debris, incinerating the crew.
President Rob Rubin sits in the situation room, dressed in a robe. An Army soldier had woken him up at this early hour.
"We have reports of invasions on our Atlantic and Pacific coasts," says an Army lieutenant colonel. "The enemy seems to have advanced weaponry. Our forces are in retreat."
"Don't they have air support?" asks the President.
"Most of our aircraft was destroyed in the past two weeks of bombing raids," replies the colonel. "There is very little air support. Basically we have foot soldiers fighting against tanks and helicopters along with enemy infantry."
"What about naval support?"
"Most of our warships were sunk, sir," says a Navy commander. "Our shipyards were bombed to ruins so we are unable to manufacture any more ships."
President Rubin looks at a wall map of the United States. He can see where the invasion zones are marked.
Wade Welles and Rembradt Brown watch the events unfold as they sit in the Chandler Hotel Lounge and Sports Bar.
"The enemy has now launched an invasion of our soil," says a Fox News anchor. "We now bring you to our correspondent in the streets of Los Angeles."
"I'm here with the U.S. Army," says a reporter reporting from an intersection in Los Angeles. "The Army has deployed units to guard strategic points."
Rembrandt notices the buildings in that area have all been reduced to rubble.
"We are going to dig in and slaughter the enemy invaders," says an Army lieutenant. "We may not know who the enemy is, but we will not surrender."
The two of them look behind them. A helicopter approaches them.
Then the image on the screen becomes snow. After a few secionds, it goes back to the Fox Newsroom.
"We lost contact with our reporter in the field," says the news anchor. The expression on his face implied to the viewers what he knew about the field reporter's fate.
Then Wade and Rembrandt hear machine gun fire and rocket fire. the battle has reached their block! Then the hotel is rocked by nearby explosions. They both go to the basement to take shelter in the boiler room. they stay there for countless minutes. They say nithing, and the only sound is that of distant explosions.
Then the explosions and the gunfire stop. Wade, Rembrandt, and the other hotel workers go back to the first floor. they look around. A few things areknocked over, and there are a few bullet holes in the wall and a shattered window, but the first floor had not been hit with a missile or an artillery shell.
"At least it's over for the moment," says Wade. As she looks around, she thinks. This can't be her world! Her world is a peaceful place, not a war zone!
Her memories betray her wishful thinking. Everything she checked out indicated this was her world-the world's history and her own personal history.
She and Rembrandt go out of the hotel and look at the damage. They can see pieces of buildings littering Wilshire Boulevard. They see partially collapsed buildings; the Chandler got off lucky. A car parked on the street is now a flaming wreck. There are bodies of dead American soldiers.
They both look up a t a helicopter circling the sky above. They look at the emblem.
That is not an American helicopter!
Then a tank rolls down the street. Wade and Rembrandt notice alien writing on the tank, writing they are not familiar with.
They duck behind the front door as they see an armored personnel carrier stop on the street. They see soldiers clad in head-to-toe armor come out and secure this block of Wilshire Boulevard. None of them dare go out to the street.
And then a voice comes from a louspeaker in the helicopter.
"This is the Kromagg Dynasty!" yells the voice. "We are now in control. All humans are to surrender. anyone who resists will be killed!"
"Oh no," says Wade. Even after a year, she can not forget her encounter with the kromaggs. she hweard how they went from world to world, conquering the humans and enslaving them.
And now they have come to her home.
Rembrandt holds her. Moments later, a squad of armored soldiers enters the Chandler and point their lasers at everyone. Everyone gets down on their knees.
The squad commander removes his helmet, featuring a hariless head. He flashes a wicked smile.
Wade and Rembrandt sit inside a bus along with the others captured in Los Angeles. They wonder where the kromaggs are taking them. For all they know, they could be going to the kromagg homeworld where they will be slaves, or where they will be killed and their eyes eaten. Everyone is too afraid to talk.
They see that the bus is crossing a bridge. Rembrandt recognizes the place; they are heading to Terminal Island.
The bus finally stops inside the Long Beach Naval Station, which had closed two years before and is now used as a base of operations for the Kromagg Dynasty forces.Wade notices construction equipment around; she wonders if the kromaggs brought it from their world or if they were appropriate from her world.
The humans on board the bus are ordered off and they are marched through the base. They can see quonset huts set up for the officers and troops. Rembrandt sees their destination-a barbed wire enclosure.
The humans are all herded in, and then the gate is locked. There are already humans in the enclosure, some of them American soldiers who had surrendered.
Wade breaks the silence. "I hope Quinn never makes it home," she says.