Jeff movie 2004 POV
It was finally time to get some much-needed answers. Jeff was wondering if the counterparts of his sons were still sleeping together, after the beautiful slug interpretation he saw the older one doing early in the morning. It was ten o'clock and time for some answers.
Jeff collected the family that was at home and present at the breakfast table, together with Brains they headed to the infirmary. John was still in orbit in Thunderbird five, monitoring the world while Alan was at school. They would have to be filled in later.
They headed down after a long breakfast. Having discussed different theories during it. The new information from Scott and Virgil was mindboggling. Year 2060? What? Time travel on top of everything. Especially Brains was excited. Not just possibly an alternative universe, but an alternative universe, that were ahead of their time technologically. He almost started to drool.
They were greeted by the sight of the other Gordon sitting on the infirmary bed, talking softly to his brother. The lights were dimmed. They were dirty dishes leftover from a light breakfast on the side table. Probably thanks to their physician, Frank Wynberg, who had checked up on them this morning.
Frank Wynberg was one of Jeffs old childhood friends. You could not find a more loyal man. After Jeff confessed, he, was the one running international rescue, together with his family Frank was livid. To see one of the most kind-hearted souls Jeff had ever known completely lose his temper was frightening. It reminded Jeff, that it was always the quiet ones you should be extra careful with pissing off.
Frank was utterly outraged that they did not have a qualified physician on hand on the island. When they put themselves in dangerous situations every day with IR. Not being able to acquire adequate healthcare, because of concerns of secrecy. Especially after hearing about the spring break disaster, and how close they all came to lose their lives. "Nobody cares about secrecy if you die! Health first, God dammit Jefferson! Think about your boys! You are not bloody invincible!" Were a few of the lines Frank screamed at Jeff that struck a chord.
Frank was, like Jeff, a widower. Having lost his wife and children in a horrible car accident a few years ago. Frank and Jeff had a lot in common. When Frank was finished thoroughly chewing Jeff out for his pure idiocy, he practically forced him to hire him as a full-time live in physician.
It was a win-win situation. Frank could keep his idiot best friend and family in good health and continue his research on how to better treat trauma patients in his downtime. The Tracy's would get great healthcare. He also forced all international rescue operatives to become better first medical responders. Having obligatory one-hour refresher lessons once a week. Virgil really had a knack for it!
Frank had already informed Jeff of Alan's current condition during breakfast. This Alan woke up feeling ill, light sensitive, noise sensitive, dizzy and with a headache. He had also started coughing. It seemed like the pneumonia was well on its way emerging. No fever yet. The physician had managed to give Alan the right mix of medicines to alleviate his symptoms for now. The fact he managed to have some breakfast, was awake and listening to his brother was a great sign of his recovery. Unfortunately, he was not out of the woods yet.
Jeff argued that this version of Alan deserved to be included in this meeting. It concerned him after all. Frank reluctantly agreed on the condition that they stopped, if Alan showed any sign of deteriorating. Frank gave them their privacy after grumbling at Jeff, that he always got into the weirdest situations.
Before Frank headed back down to his office after breakfast, he beat Jeff to the coffee pot. Hording the last few drops of coffee the pot had left to offer, he then turned to look smugly at Jeff. Lifting the cup in a cheeky cheer, taunting Jeff, just like he had done when they were children. Frank then darted out of the kitchen. Probably also down his own memory lane, remembering the retribution that usually came after besting Jeff. A strategic retreat was certainly the way to go in this situation.
The house guests looked up when they walked into the room, greeting them with a small "good morning". Studying the group that had just arrived. When the other Alans eyes landed on Jeff, he lost what little colour he had left on his face. Calling out to his brother in record speed "Gordon! Is that who I think it is or am I hallucinating?". Never taking his eyes off Jeff.
Gordon followed Alans pointing finger, when he met Jeffs eyes the colour quickly vanished from his face too.
"Why do they look like that?" Jeff thought. "No child should look at their father like that. Am I a terrible father in their world? They almost look like they have seen a ghost! Oh… Is that it? Am I a ghost to them?".
Gordon found his voice again "I think so Allie, otherwise I am hallucinating too.". Taking his little brother's hand in moral support. Never once taking their eyes off him.
Thankfully Scott stepped in, asking in a soft voice reserved for younger siblings "Hey, why are you looking at dad as if you have seen a ghost?".
The question made everyone in the room tense up. That was not the direction they thought this meeting was going to go.
It was the youngest who responded "Because he probably is. He disappeared nine years ago.".
"That was quite unsettling to hear" Jeff thought "to say the least".
A wave of silence descended over the room.
"Allie, come on, we don't know that. We still must not give up hope." Gordon told his brother as he gently forced him to meet his eyes.
"I don't really remember him, Gordon. I grew up on the stories from everyone else. It feels like everyone knew him, except me. Everyone talks about how incredible he is. How he could almost do the impossible. If he is so amazing, why haven't he come home?" Alan asked utterly miserable.
"I can't answer that Allie…" Alans brother replied.
"That's it! I must do something about this!" Jeff thought while walking forward to the two children. He sat down on the chair by the beds. Keeping eye contact with his alternative children.
"Hey boys! I'm Jeff Tracy. I know that I am not your dad. I don't know what you have been through. I'm sorry that your dad could not be there for you. But I know that if the other Jeff Tracy is anything like me, he would do everything in his power to come back to you! Nothing is more precious to me than my children. I know that if my children were in your position, I would want someone to help them get home. I can unfortunately not help you with your dad. But would you be up for trying to find out exactly what happened to get you here and how we can bring you back home?" Jeff asked their guests.
Gordon replied "Thank you! We would like that very much!". He turned away from Jeff and towards Scott "Hey, Scott! You are part of another universal constant; you are a carbon copy of dad in every universe. Even your pep talks are the same!" Trying to lighten up the gloomy atmosphere.
Scott let out a laugh "This time I do believe that I was the first to give you a pep talk. Doesn't that technically mean that dad was copying me? In any case. I am always glad to be of assistance." He said while mock bowing.
The attempted jokes worked, the mood in the room was noticeably lighter.
"Let's start with a round of introductions." Virgil cut in.
After everyone had introduced themselves, they got down to business.
The other Gordon went first and described everything that led them to that moment, beginning with the start of their rescue. Afterwards Scott continued, describing how they found them in the ocean. The team brainstormed for a while. No idea was too crazy at first. They narrowed it down to the most likely causes. Going back and forth discussing different possibilities.
In the end they narrowed it down to the most likely suspect. Alternative universe, crazy right? They suspected that they were from an alternative universe. Too many things did not add up for it to be anything else. Brains informed everyone about the multiple world's theory.
The other Alan explained that they had a similar theory in their world about the multiverse or parallel world theory. He had discussed it with his John after they had watched a documentary about the subject on one of the rare nights John was home from Thunderbird five.
Alan lit up when he went on a tangent about their "dokumovienights" as they called them. Jeff found himself filled with needless but heart-warming knowledge. He now knew John and Alan both had a love of science fiction and space. They loved to "geek out" as their brothers called it with a marathon of documentaries mixed in with movies on the subject they were learning about. John called it a Win-win situation. He got a good excuse the watch fun movies along with his brother and calling it "quality learning time" because of the documentary's. The best kind of learning was the fun kind after all. This version of his Alan could really talk when he got going. Jeff couldn't help but to smile fondly.
Apparently in their world they had come close to solving the mystery of the multiple world's theory. Although testing it was put on hold pending legislation from something called the world council. Some influential individuals had lobbied for a ban on it, while others were all for it. Some factions feared the worlds found could potentially be a cause of conflict, internal or external.
Other parties were afraid of losing their own wealth, using the rhetoric about supply and demand. One popular example was if gold was found in the other world and brought over it would increase the supply thus devaluing it. They were afraid this could lead to conflicts on their own world by rocking the boat of power.
The final faction thought of the worst-case scenario and was afraid of war with different worlds.
After a worldwide debate, the testing phase was put on hold until legislation could be made first. Another thing that was a universal constant was that politics were slower than a snail. It had already been three years and no progress on the political front according to Alan. Jeff hated politics, even when they were a necessary evil. Jeff was a doer, not a politician by any means, even if he sometimes had to play their games.
The scientist in charge of the project were beyond devastated. They tried to lobby against the decision to be allowed to continue their research. Unfortunately for the scientist they did not have enough influence to be able to make a difference. They had to follow the worlds wishes and shut down the project while waiting for the green light to continue. The documentary was apparently a way for the scientist to describe their side of the story to sway the public opinion.
This all went down a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, the world council could not come to a consensus. The different concerns were valid. The project was because of this put on indefinite hold.
Brains wondered out loud if they possibly could have gone against the rules and continued their research anyway, but in secret? He admitted that he would have been tempted to do so if someone tried to put a stop to his life's work. He might just have done it, if he deemed the work important enough.
"It is possible. We have done a lot of rescues where scientific research blew up, quite literally." The other Gordon pondered.
Brains continued his train of thought "For it to have happened on a rescue is strange. Why then and there? If there have not been any incidents like this before?".
"Not that we know of." The other Alan answered, before he started coughing.
"Could the nuclear power research facility be a front for continued research for the alternative universes? To put a nuclear research facility in the ocean is not the brightest idea. Especially when it is an area that could have typhoons. Something doesn't add up. Even if you were to have better and stronger buildings in year 2060. There are much safer places you could put it. If it was a front for something else, it would make a bit more sense. Having it remote out in the ocean makes it hard to spy on.". Brains contemplated.
Jeff took over "Intriguing idea Brains. I think that we are on the right track! So, if the nuclear research facility was a front for research about alternative universes and something went wrong, it could theoretically explain how you ended up here.".
"There was a fire we were fighting. We never went inside the facility as all the workers had evacuated outside the building while waiting to be rescued. It possibly could have been a front for something else. Now that I think about it, it did not look like a typical research facility for nuclear power, it did not have enough containment structures for safekeeping of the radioactive material." The other version of his Alan responded.
"When you put it like that, it is the only thing that makes any sense. No matter how strange it is. As I suspect you know, you do not have time to reflect on the poor building choices during a rescue. It is first afterwards, we usually hand over any suspicions to the global defence force to investigate, as it is outside our jurisdiction. If this hypothesis is correct, the explosion might have triggered the prototype of a world opening machine they probably were working on. We had gotten everyone out, except for Alan, who was left on the facilities outside platform when it blew up." Gordon replied.
Brains continued "When the explosion happened, a rip in the space and time between our worlds must have opened in the ocean. You must not have realised that you went through because you were under water saving Alan. That also explains why no one else were affected by it or followed you through.".
"I think that this will be the best hypothesis we will get without more information." The other Gordon concurred.
"The next question is how to get you guys' home. Not that we mind you visiting." Virgil said.
"Now we are getting somewhere!" Alan exclaimed, perking up a bit. "I know for certain that our family are looking for us. They are good at finding schemes out when necessary. Especially Kayo, she's the best! Not that we aren't grateful for your hospitality! You literally saved our butts! I really appreciate that, you know! But I want to go home! I miss our family! They must be worried sick! Especially as we disappeared during duty, just like dad did.". Alan continued while glancing guiltily up at Jeff.
"Of course, their family must be worried sick…Wait Kayo? Who is Kayo? Do the other me have a daughter?" Jeff thought, but he was side-tracked by his other alternative son before he could ask the question out loud.
"We are very grateful that you saved us, are hosting us and helping us! Really! Without you we would have been toast! Or rather, fish food. I have always loved the ocean, but I am very grateful for you saving us from turning into snacks for its inhabitants! Never wanted to study them from the inside, you know!" The other Gordon winked at Alan, trying to cheer him up and distract him from thinking about their close brush with death. He was rewarded with a small snort and laugh from his little brother, as well as a few from Jeffs own sons.
"If we assume that they have come to the same conclusion as us. That we are in a different world. Which I totally believe they already have, especially with John and EOS on the case. Can we do something to help them find us?" The other Gordon continued.
"Can we even do anything with this ancient technology? No offence, I am sure you have the best equipment for your world and time. But the technological development from the beginning of the 2000 to 2060 is astronomical. I wrote a paper about it for school, that's how I know how much it differs! I may be the world's youngest astronaut, but I afraid these odds are even too astronomical for me! Wow, I never thought I say that. Ugh… Gordon, your bad word puns have rubbed off on me! Take it back! Anyway, I don't even know how to work with these fossils, everything seems too different to what I am used to. How would EOS and John even pick up our signal when everything is so different to what they would be looking for?" Alan thought out loud, looking a little sheepish at the potential insult to their hosts.
Jeff was stuck on the world's youngest astronaut part. Was this child already an astronaut? He was too young! What kind of world are they coming from, where children worked, in space, before finishing school! He looked around and saw shock on his children's faces while they processed the information.
"You're not doing anything but focusing on recovering Alan! That is non-negotiable! You almost died and you are still seriously ill! We are having this conversation here because you deserve to be a part of it. Just because your symptoms are temporarily under control with medication does not mean that you can just go back to work." Gordon said in a seldom used stern voice.
"But Gords! You know this kind of thing with technology are more my kind of expertise. John taught me a lot of what he knows. He made me learn all of it before I could pilot Thunderbird three on my own! It is dangerous in space if something goes wrong. I must be able to program distress signals and code software to save myself, just in case. John also insisted that we space monkeys stick together and he have been training me to handle Thunderbird five, in case he needs me to, before EOS was born from his code." The other Alan pleaded with his brother.
"I would recover better at home! We have better healthcare, no offence, just think of our suit's health telemetry. Gordon! I think I got it! Please tell me we still have our suits! Please! If we use them to connect to their technology, we could use it to try to boost our signals. They are the signals that John and EOS are looking for! If we are lucky, we might find a way to connect to them, maybe even talk to them!" Alan looked like an excited puppy talking to his brother.
"You are absolutely brilliant, bro! That just might work! We will do that! While you rest and recover!" The other Gordon praised his brother with a big grin on his face.
The other Alan was about to protest when his brother quickly continued "Allie no! Just no! I am pulling both big bro- and International Rescue rank here! You nearly died and are still sick! You need to rest and to listen to the doctor to get better. Do not think that you can hide how you feel from me. I have always been able to tell, remember? I know you feel like crap right now. Just as you can read me like an open book."
After a deep breath he continued "I know how capable you are! We are the terrible two, partners in crime, the terrifying tiny brothers and best friends. Trust me! You know that I would do the same if our positions were reversed! I promise to come to you with questions we need help with. But your primary mission is to get better! Don't forget the most important rule of international rescue; take care of yourself first, so that you then can take care of others. It is in situations like this we need to follow them the most! You can't start rebelling now! Otherwise, our brothers will kill us both when we get back home, and it will all be for nothing!
The other Alan kept silent but looked conflicted and exhausted.
Jeff decided to step in. He would not let an alternative version of his youngest son work when he was very unwell. He was already starting to look worse. The medication that had helped his symptoms were probably wearing off. "That is enough! Little Alan, great idea! You have come up with a way to start solving this problem! Little Gordon and Brains can work on the communication system in your suits to see if we can boost the signal somehow. Little Alan you need to rest! You unfortunately still have a long way to go before you recover your health.".
Jeff was interrupted with a dual exclamation of "I am not little!".
Jeffs Gordon decided to use this moment to step in "Yes you are! How old are you two anyway?".
"I am sixteen! I am not little!" Alan exclaimed in a very teenager like huff, that did not do him any favours to help make his case.
"You are still a child and younger than us. Why are you part of international rescue at your age. Are you not too young?" Gordon continued.
"I am nineteen! We both have been a part of international rescue for several years; we are good at what we do, and we do not appreciate being undermined because of our age. We both have all the qualification necessary for this job. I have four years' experience and Alan has two. We both have saved countless lives. You are not allowed to judge us without knowing all the facts." Little Gordon continued.
"All right! We should all calm down. Different worlds may have different rules. Gordon, we don't have to like it but respect it." When both Gordons turned to Scott looking like question marks, he sighed and continued "Well, this is going to get confusing fast with the same names. Do you mind if we use a nickname until we get you home?" Scott tried to unruffle some feathers.
"You can call me Al if you want. I don't mind!" Al responded, looking much worse compared to the start of the meeting. He looked like someone had pulled his energy plug. Quickly running out of battery.
"Use Gords, if you must. It is at least better than little Gordon!" Gords said muttering the last part with a defeated sigh.
"Great! We will bring down John so that he can help! He is great with this kind of work, just like your version of John it seems! Alan comes home next week for his break. Anyone have any other ideas or suggestions?" Jeff asked.
The room was silent.
Jeff clapped his hands together "All right! Meetings over, let's get to work".
The chorus of FAB were nice to hear. They had a plan! Now they just had to pull it off.