Parallel Predicaments

13

Blood obscured my vision as I struggled to open my eyes, feeling trapped by the seatbelt. With some effort, I managed to glance around, realizing the car was overturned. Sheldon was unconscious beside me.

"Sheldon, wake up. Are you okay?" I tried to reach him but fell short. After some maneuvering, I pressed the seatbelt button and freed myself. "Sheldon, please wake up!"

He slowly opened his eyes. "Nami, are you... are you alright?"

As relief washed over me, terror struck. A gun was suddenly pressed against Sheldon's head. There was no sound, just a quick disturbance in the air, and Sheldon's head drooped again, blood streaming down his forehead.

In a frenzy of despair, I screamed, "Why? Why!" My fists pounded the ceiling as tears blurred my sight. Coco, Professor Stephen, and now Sheldon, all gone while I remained powerless.

The assailant, a woman, moved to my side, dragging me out of the car. She then pointed the gun at me.

Looking up, I saw a face almost identical to mine, aged slightly. She held a transparent chip. "Looking for this?"

It was the chip. I realized she could predict our moves because she shared my memories when Sheldon mentioned the chip's location at my house.

"Why?" I demanded.

She clarified, "Don't confuse me with the Nami you've been talking to. I'm from 2038."

"Why kill them? Coco, Professor Stephen, Sheldon... they were important to you."

Her mission was clear: "My task was to eliminate everyone involved in the parallel universe research in 2024."

I reminded her, "Killing me means your end too."

She withdrew the gun, sitting down to explain. "At a time when humanity faces a crisis, do you think I'd choose my life?" Tears welled up as she confessed the directive came from Sheldon, her superior in 2038.

I pressed for Sheldon's reasoning behind such a decision.

She stood, her demeanor turning cold again. "Let me explain. By 2034, we made significant progress in parallel universe research, but the technology leaked. By 2038, Earth was unrecognizable. Countless time travelers altered pasts, committed murders, stole future technologies, and incited wars with advanced weaponry from further in the future. The world became hellish.

"I tried repeatedly to prevent the leak in 2034 and destroy the chip in 2024, but new chips always emerged. I concluded that history's events are immutable, so eliminating you all was the only solution."

I argued, "Events can change. We exposed Andy, saving four women. We prevented the deaths at Professor Stephen's house. Those changes happened, right?"

She countered, "Your view of time is limited. What if I told you Andy committed those murders again in 2033, and the seemingly recovered child committed suicide after killing Mrs. Stephen in 2035? Can you still claim history's fixed events can be altered?"

I stood firm, "The Sheldon I know would never condone this. In 2034, Nami is trying to close the rifts. As the research's founders, we can find a solution as long as we're alive."

She aimed the gun at me once more, "It seems I'm still naive in this world."