“How did you guess?” he asked. She couldn’t tell if he looked more bewildered or relieved.
“I’m not arrogant enough to believe that life only exists on one planet in a universe that dwarfs me into near nonexistence. I also watch a lot of science shows.” Watched, but not necessarily comprehended, she thought.
“I think I’m more surprised than you are,” he chuckled.
“So what does this mean? Is there a version of me and everyone else here that exists in your universe? Do I have a doppelganger?”
He laughed a little at her question and relaxed back into the sofa. “No, at least not where I come from. What you’re talking about is a multiverse where different versions of yourself exist, each one in a different timeline of your life dependent on what choices were made or paths taken. The universe I come from is not a replica of this one, and as far as we know we don’t have a multiverse that replicates us.”
Zoe leaned forward and cradled her head in her hands, using her fingers to rub her temples. It had been an incredibly long and unpredictable day, and combined with all of the new information she’d received it was all a bit much. However, a part of her feared he had barely scratched the surface. She didn’t have enough brain power to try to deconstruct the knowledge that she was speaking to a man from an alternate universe.
“Sorry. It’s a lot to take in.”
“I understand. When I said it would be difficult I didn’t just mean for me.”
Suddenly the thought occurred to her that there were probably others there, walking around in her universe disguised to look like her and everyone else. Had she ever met one before? Was Evan sent there to collect and send information back to his own home?
“How many?” she asked.
“Well, there’s possibly dozens of them, maybe more. We know of only a handful of them.”
“They’re just walking around pretending to be us?”
He looked dubious. “What?”
“Others like you. Here in this universe?”
“Oh. No, I don’t know. It’s not unlikely we’re the only ones who’ve been able to create the technology required to travel between universes.”
She ran her thumb and forefinger over the length of her eyebrows. “There’s this universe, yours, and more?”
“Of course. We’ve only identified half a dozen but we believe there are more.”
“How do you know for sure?”
“I think that should be obvious,” he professed. “If we can come to this universe, then doesn’t it stand to reason we also go to the others?”
“Why?” She was completely bewildered. Her head was already filled near capacity and he seemed to have so much more information to give. When would exhaustion finally outweigh her incessant need to ask questions?
“I think I’ve given you enough for today.”
‘No!’ she thought. Yes, she was overwhelmed, but the more he told the more she wanted to hear. He was some sort of multiverse traveler? Did he just vacation in universes for the fun of it? And what is life like in his universe? He claimed they were more advanced, but what exactly did that mean? Did they have flying cars? The Internet? There was so much she wanted to know.
“Wow,” she exclaimed softly, more to herself than to him.
“I should probably leave, Zoe.” He was impassive and curt, a matter-of-fact tone to his voice. He stood up and much to her surprise she followed suit.
“Why? Where are you going?” She looked outside and noticed it was still early morning. The sun would be rising soon.
“There are things I have to do.”
“Are you coming back?” She found herself wishing that he would, and soon. “I still have so many questions.” The glass device in his hand was pulsating a glowing white light. It didn’t look like any smartphone she had ever seen, and wondered if it was a piece of technology from his home. It was strange how it looked both familiar and alien to her at the same time.
“Do you want me to come back?”
Something about the way he asked made the hair on the back of her neck and shoulders stand up. There was an undercurrent to the question. Did she want to see him again just to ask him questions, or was there a deeper reason? She felt uncertain of herself under his gaze. Again it seemed like he was trying to read her innermost thoughts, and yet she hardly knew what they were herself. Perhaps it was best that he did leave. She wouldn’t be able to process all of her newly acquired information if he was there giving her even more.
He had been at her side since the island, catching her, talking on the boat, the restaurant, and zipping around the world. A little piece of her had become used to his presence.