Altered state

“The quantum theory of parallel universes is not the problem, it is the solution. It is not some troublesome, optional interpretation emerging from arcane theoretical considerations. It is the explanation, the only one that is tenable, of a remarkable and counter-intuitive reality.” ~ David Deutsch

Stella woke to harsh lights and excruciating pain. A mask covered her face, and a padded collar immobilized her head. People were yelling incoherently, and running in and out of her periphery. In the background of all the chaos, she could make out machine noises, and far off crying. The pain and noises faded, and she mercifully lost consciousness.

When Stella woke again, the pain and surrounding noises were muted. Her eyes were crusted shut and felt gritty. Raising her hands to her face, she let out a squeak of panic, her throat raw, her face swollen and bandaged.

“Look who’s awake,” a gentle voice came from somewhere beside her. Soft hands settled Stella, holding her arm, two fingers on her wrist. “Let’s get you sitting up.”

The head of her bed began to slowly rise, and pillows bunched up behind her shoulders. A warm cloth washed her face, releasing her eyes from their bondage. Stella blinked against the dim hospital lights, and she could just make out two fuzzy figures at her bedside.

The specter in all white helped Stella with her glasses, bringing her world back into focus.

With great effort, Stella turned toward the two people in her room. One a nurse, and the other, she guessed, the attending physician.

“Do you know where you are?” The doctor said.

“It looks like a hospital,” Stella felt horrible, so she gave Nurse Evident and Doctor Obvious a pass.

“Do you know how you got here?” The doctor was writing on a clipboard.

Ready to give a snarky response, Stella stopped, stumped for an answer.

Scattered images of a gloomy, rainy night flashed in her memory. A blind curve, a car stopped in her lane, breaking glass, crunching metal, pain, darkness.

“There was an accident,” Stella closed her eyes, trying to bring back the vision.

The doctor and nurse conferred again in hushed voices, then more writing.

“Can you tell me your name?”

Finally, Stella thought, a question worth answering.

“Stella, Stella Patton.”

More writing, more secret whispering, then the nurse left the room.

The doctor pulled a chair up to her bedside and sat down, clipboard discarded on the overbed table.

“We screwed up,” the doctor said without preamble.

“Who are you?” Stella could hear the heart monitor blip speed up in time with her agitation.

“Sorry, forgot introductions,” the doctor held out his hand, then thought better of routine pleasantries. “I am Avil.”

“Who are you?” Stella asked again.

“I am a Divergency Agent,” he said. “I was sent here to help with your split… mishap.”

Stella left her questions unasked, letting her angry stare speak for her.

“The automobile accident created a divergent event. You were supposed to survive the accident, which you did, but a parallel You did not. The problem came in that your split erroneously brought you here. When the parallel You split, she arrived at your reality.”

Stella’s headache was returning, and her ability to concentrate greatly impaired.

“Am I being pranked?” Stella tried to look around her room. “If I am, this is awful timing.”

“No, if only it was that easy.” Avil rubbed his face, and took a deep breath. “The problem is that the Agency has no contingency plan in place to return you to your reality. Your family and friends have already learned of the other You’s death. We can’t simply return you, the breach in the continuum could be catastrophic.”

“What does that mean?” Stella was surprised that she now accepted his story so easily.

“That’s up to you,” Avil said “We can’t send you back, but we can help with your assimilation. You can keep your memories, or we can expunge them and you start over. Amnesia.”

“Amnesia?” Stella suddenly felt very tired. “Do I have a family here? A husband? Children?”

“Yes, to all of that.” Avil picked up his clipboard.

“Am I happy here, was the other me happy?” Stella began to softly cry.

“It’s best that we don’t give you too much information, especially if you choose erasure.”

Stella closed her eyes, lying back against the cool pillows.

“The family is asking to see you, and you need to make a decision before we can allow that to happen,” Avil said.

Stella nodded, thinking of her husband and two children. Wondering how they were dealing with her death.

“I don’t have any other choice,” Stella whispered. “I choose erasure. I couldn’t survive knowing what I left behind, and never being able to see my family again.”

“Wise choice.” Avil called the nurse back into the room. “You’ll feel a slight pinch from the injection.”

Avil watched Stella’s frown ease, and the heart monitor slow to a normal rate.

“You can let the family in now,” he said. “I’ll explain to them about her memory loss.”