August 7, 1893
Private notes of Rosalind Lutece
I must admit that I had not given much thought to the amenities I would be sacrificing in my escape from Columbia; while its attitudes were primitive, its comforts were not, and there are many things about my previous situation that I find myself missing, voxophones among them. To be sure, a working model can be built given time, but I would hate to leave these first conscious days unrecorded for that reason, and so I gird my loins and soldier on with pen and paper.
I will set this down, so that I can perhaps come to believe it with time: I have traversed the dimensions, and now share a small frame house with this universe's counterpart of me, a man by the name of Robert. That he is my counterpart is incontrovertible; aside from the shock of recognition that I feel several times a day with his mannerisms and expressions, there is a phenomenon so strange as to have gone utterly unrecorded in any of the literature aside from the most speculative.
As I have become more accustomed to this universe – as I have regained consciousness, and come into myself, and recalled where I am and why I am here – the universe seems to have responded to this with, and I hate to describe things this way, but confusion. It was first discovered when my brother (he has asked me to call him that, though more on the topic later) tripped on the edge of the stove, thus raising a mark on my calf rather than his. Man of science that he is, he plunged his hand into the steam of the teakettle from there, searing my flesh with its heat.
In the intervening week, we have performed a number of experiments. The effect at present seems to be primarily physical. I do not know what an outside observer would say about the multitude of cuts and bruises that we have inflicted on ourselves in the service of learning more about this phenomenon, but in the absence of any other forces pain inflicted seems to have an equal chance of appearing on the original flesh or its counterpart. There is no magnification or lessening of the injury. And lest posterity think that we are fixated on the less pleasant aspects of our mortal existence, the comfort of a cool glass of water or repose at the end of the day does also transfer. Mercifully enough, motions do not cross whatever divide exists between us; it would be quite a thing to be a puppet able to be moved by the twitch of another's finger.
There is a weak, but present effect regarding emotional states and thoughts that appears limited to the physiological effects of that state. For example, if I frighten myself with a spider at some remove from Robert, he will experience the accelerated heart rate and sense of unease, but will not be able to identify why. One force, however, has a clear effect on causality in all situations. We discovered this by another happy accident when the machine was powered up; the presence of an active Lutece field will, without fail, attract effect to the person that is closer to the field. This renders the other almost without physical feeling, but with a sort of invincibility born of the accrual of all harm to another. If there is any ethical peril in this situation, I can see that this is where it might reside.
We are working on an expansion of the basic Lutece device that he was able to create, as well as an additional generator to provide the increased power that it will require. Robert has a small amount set by, and he was able to travel to a nearby town to exchange the silver ingots I had brought for cash, but we will need to find a patron or patrons in order to continue this work. There is a Comstock in this town, a widow whose late husband owned quite a bit of land and the local stores; I am hoping that we will not have to approach her as I fear the irony of doing so would quite overwhelm me. There are other businessmen in town, including a Frenchman by the name of Chardonneret who seems to be a man of some means. I will follow my brother's lead in this, as clearly my efforts in the past have led nowhere but my own ruin.
Robert has asked me to refer to him as brother, and he refers to me as his sister. He says that this is for the benefit of the neighbors, who would by no means understand our true relationship. He has also asked me to behave in a more…feminine manner…in public. I have acquiesced to the first in small ways, but I will not keep house for him as he has asked me to do to keep up appearances. Furthermore, I have begun to doubt that his affections for me are of a brotherly nature. On a number of occasions after we have been working together for a long stretch, he has gone to sequester himself for some time, during which the universe in its infinite wisdom decided to bestow the results of his efforts on my person rather than his. I cannot imagine what he must have been thinking as his efforts did not produce the desired effect, and I believe that the last time he realized what was happening and, without making any direct reference, apologized and I have not been so troubled since.
There may be some value to science of additional experiments, however; I will think on the matter.