So there you are sitting at home by yourself minding your own business when you hear a knock at the door. Answering you see two people, a man and a woman, they are wearing odd clothing and have somewhat strange accents but you instinctively trust them.
They quickly explain the situation, they are members of a law-enforcement organisation tasked with maintaining peace and stability across the multiverse. It turns out that in their home reality an alternate version of you has been a long time member of their team, but unfortunately he (or she, if you’re of the feminine ilk, swap pronouns if necessary) was recently killed by the big bad guy they’re currently chasing.
For reasons of plot they want you to take your alternates place for the upcoming mission, it promises to last for two or three weeks and while you’ll be sharing the dangers with the rest of the team (who will be the only people aware of your identity) they’re fairly sure you’ll come out of it alive, having experienced the kind of breath-taking adventure across time and space you’ve previously only come across in Hollywood movies. Indeed if you don’t want to return to this reality they’ll find you a place in their home reality, perhaps even on the team if you do well. Otherwise you’ll be returned back home when the mission is over and they promise they’ll be able to smooth over any problems your absence may have caused.
They give a demonstration of technology beyond current Earth abilities proving they really ‘aren’t from around here’.
You have half an hour to decide and tie up any loose ends, write a note etc before the dimensional Gate closes, if you don’t go with them they’ll hop across to another dimension and try a different alternate you but they’d rather not have to do this as time is wasting.
So, do you take the opportunity for adventure or pass it up in favour of mundane everyday reality?
Why me? What do I have to offer that makes me such a good candidate to suddenly become part of a multidimensional swat team even with alternate me, he grew up in a different higher tech culture.
Do I get to bring back any toys or souvenirs?
Is there a paycheck attached to this?
Will any transdimensional bad guys come looking for me after you leave?
<ChannelingHollywood>
It has to be you because you (and your counterpart in our universe) have some unique, special ability that is linked to your genetic makeup. There’s a (generic ancient/alien MacGuffin) in our universe that can only be unlocked by you.
</ChannelingHollywood>
I’ve seen enough Hollywood sci-fi to know that time/dimension travelers are all dirty, dirty liars. They’re probably trying to get me to go with them to harvest my genetic material or something.
Even if they were telling the truth - they want couch-potato Me to do the job that got highly-trained-sci-fi-SWAT Me killed? No thank you.
Are you counting on me to provide comic relief on your mission with my odd vocabulary and low-tech habits?
Will I be able to use a weapon (and to learn to use it properly)?
Which member of the team is secretly in love with my counterpart in your universe? Will that person know that I’m a stand-in?
Since I’m pretty sure my original house/city/planet will be destroyed while I’m away on the mission (as I will discover in Act 4), am I allowed to take my poodle with me to your cool high-tech universe?
Yeah, even then I might consider it if I could be 30 again (or if I were 30 when they asked). I’m 64 and only reasonably spry for my age. I can’t imagine being much help.
On the other hand, if all they need is some passive ability I have but don’t know about, I might go ahead. With only 30 minutes to decide, it’s going to depend almost exclusively on how I’m feeling at the time, rather than on extensive reasoning.
Here’s a fun exercise for this scenario: compose the note. Would it be a different note if you are expecting to return to normal life afterwards, vs. staying in another universe? Here’s mine, to my landlord (based on if this happened back when I was 30, before I had an SO):
“I have been called away suddenly and I will of necessity be completely out of communication for two or three weeks. Please don’t worry about me, everything is fine. Sorry to be so mysterious, it just can’t be helped right now. Enclosed is a check for next month’s rent. Please call my boss Jane Doe at (xxx) xxx-xxxx and read her this note. Cheers, Roddy.”
Wait, if they can time travel, I don’t have to wrap anything up. Pause “Not Finding Bigfoot” and go… then pop back in a second later and the dog wouldn’t even know I’d been anywhere.
You’re being offered the chance for the adventure of a lifetime and you want to know if you’ll get paid? Shesh!
Well Alt-You was probably off on his own show-boating (as usual) when he bit the bullet. The team members are (fairly) sure that they’ll (probably) be able to protect you.
As a wise man once said, ‘Where’s the fun in gambling for matchsticks?’.
I like your style!
How cool would it be to be able to say that you saved the world[s] at age 64? Still they might even have age-reversing tech in their reality and I’m sure they wouldn’t have asked you if they didn’t think you were up to it.
I like your note btw succintly captures all the needed info
Well its more alternate timelines than time-travel, you wouldn’t be able to do that in your own original reality. Anyway, what if you get killed when off adventuring, what about your poor dog?!?
btw forgot to add that this thread was inspired by the much-maligned Green Lantern movie, an aspect of that movie that I liked is that the main character kind of freaks out at all the alien weirdness he finds himself surrounded by, we all like to think it would be, “Oh, weird aliens, strange civilisations, look at this cool tech!”, when it might actually be, “Agggghhh!!! Look at all the weird aliens, where the hell am I? What the hell is that thing doing?!? I want to go home!”
I disagree with the Prof.
I remember this working out just fine last time when that other trans-dimensional team recruited me for 12 days. Wonderful adventure, exotic food and saving the world. What’s not to like?
If I wasn’t married, I’d go in a second. As it is, I can’t imagine how these people would “smooth over” my having suddenly left my husband for 3 weeks with no plausible explanation. I think it would ruin my marriage, so I’d have to pass. Shame, because it sounds fun.
