First Dimensionaut on Collossus
by
Desperate for glory and recognition as the world's first dimensionaut, Kyle
stowed away in the probe just before it was launched. The scientists and
engineers were unaware that Kyle was on-board the otherwise unmanned exploration
probe.
Out of the incalculable number of alternate quantum realities, Kyle's
exploration probe landed on a parallel world where every atom of that universe
existed on a massive scale compared to ours.
Opening the hatch, Kyle found himself stranded on a world of giants, unable
to return to Earth. The tall grass stretched above his head like small trees,
and the rocks, plants, and insects were massive in size.
A woman, one of the giants of that alternate reality, found Kyle. She had
long, flowing brown hair and hazel eyes. She was no different than a normal
woman, with the exception of her massive stature...she was at least a couple of
hundred feet tall. From his best estimation, Kyle was about three or four inches
tall compared to the giantess. Kyle tried to run from her, but she was too large
and too fast. She quickly overtook him, and reached down and picked up Kyle and
the exploration probe, and carried them home.
The exploration probe was dumped on the dining room table, and Kyle along
with it. The woman towered over Kyle, and studied him. The room was like in
indoor coliseum. The beams in the ceiling were thicker than the largest redwoods
back on Earth. Cups, spoons, and other every day items on the table were
colossal.
The woman's teenage daughter stepped up, and was astonished. She resembled
her mother, and her titanic stature was on an equally massive scale.
"Mom," The daughter of the giantess asked, "how did one of the
little people get out of the walled city? What if we get in trouble for having
him?"
The woman replied, "I don't know, dear, but you're right. I'd better call
someone and let them know we found him."
She alerted the authorities, and a squad car came over. An officer picked up
Kyle and the probe, and took him away. A couple of days later, a magistrate
sentenced Kyle to live among the little people, a race of people the same size
as Kyle. On this world, the giants and little people were segregated, to protect
the little people from harm.
The territory alotted to the small people extended below ground, and large
plastic windows in the ceiling area allowed the giants to observe them. The
habitation area extended for many miles in all directions, stretching besides
the sidewalks of the city the giants lived in.
A police officer placed Kyle and the probe he came in into a slot in the side
of one of the walls of the tiny people's habitation area. The slot slid shut,
and another door slid open on the other side. A conveyor carried the probe
inside the walls of the complex, and the sliding door closed again.
Kyle looked up, and saw the plastic ceiling of the city of tiny people. A
group of giant children were watching his every move, pointing at him and
silently talking to each other beyond the soundproof plastic dome of the walled
city. A newscrew of giants were filming him, because he caused quite a spectacle
by arriving outside the walled city.
A group of the tiny people, who were in fact the same size as Kyle, walked up
and introduced themselves. The mayor, elected governor of the tiny people,
welcomed him. "Good day," said the mayor, "welcome to Tiny Town! How did you get
out of the walled city?"
"I'm a dimensionaut..." Kyle responded, "I'm from an alternate reality much
different from this one. On the world I came from, there are no giants. Why are
all of you trapped in here?" Kyle asked.
"We're not trapped," said the mayor, "we live within the protective walls of
this city for our own protection. Come with me, and I'll show you what I mean."
The mayor realized almost immediately that Kyle was telling the truth about
being a dimensionaut from a parallel world, and was quick to explain the ways of
his world, which he guessed must be quite strange to Kyle. He took Kyle to a
museum, where there were paintings of scenes from the history of this other
reality.
One painting showed giants hunting down smaller people, and another showed a
slave auction where giants were selling smaller people as toys to bidders. Other
paintings showed even more terrifying scenes from history.
"The history of our world is violent, and barbaric," said the mayor, "when
technology brought our world into a more dignified level of civilization, a
summit meeting was called between the three races of humans on this world."
"Three?" Kyle asked, "I know we're the little people, and there are a race of
giants here, but what about the third race? I've only seen two groups of people
on this world."
The mayor asked Kyle to come with him, and showed him a plastic dome in the
middle of the walkway. Underneath, Kyle could see a race of people about three
inches tall walking around as if nothing was out of the ordinary. They walked to
and fro, minding their own business. Some of them looked up at Kyle, but pretty
much ignored him.
"Those are the smallest people of this world," the mayor informed Kyle, "at a
summit meeting about one hundred years ago, our ancestors decided that
segregating the three races would be the best option. No matter how peaceful we
all are as a society, there is no way to control human nature. Criminals and
deviants would always make it dangerous for the smaller races, so we all agreed
to seperate ourselves like this. Now our three races can co-exist peacefully."
Kyle could see the sense in this. With giants and tiny people sharing the
same world, the rules all change. Kyle thought that it must've been very
dangerous for the smaller people on this world in the old days.
Kyle made friends with the mayor of the tiny town, and asked for assistance.
The technology of the people of this parallel world was equal to that of Earth,
so the task of refueling the exploration probe was daunting, but not impossible.
During the time when the scientists of the walled subterranean city were
working on Kyle's probe, he made friends with one of the locals, a man named
Jim. Jim had his own little apartment, and invited Kyle over to stay at his
place while the probe was being re-fitted with the necessary modifications.
Jim had a computer with access to a version of this world's internet. With
it, Jim communicated with one of the women from the city of giants. Kyle could
tell from Jim's emotional reaction that he cared for the giantess deeply, and
she cared for Jim.
At a city council meeting, Kyle stood up to make an announcement. "I'd like
to say something," Kyle said.
The Chairman replied, "The Council recognizes Kyle Zephyr from the planet
Earth."
"Greetings Chairman and board members," Kyle began, "I would like to address
the segregation issue. Dividing and seperating the three races of your world
seemed to have solved the problem of inter-racial violence on your world, but I
believe segregation is not the answer any longer."
There were murmers in the audience, some in agreement, and some against
Kyle's proposition. Kyle continued, "We had a similar problem on our world, and
we found that by integrating our cultures, we were able to grow and learn from
each other. Segregation only creates unrealistic opinions of each race for the
other two, and I think that by allowing limited integration of giants and
smaller people, on a trial basis, I think you would see that you could all live
together peacefully."
A man in the audience stood up. "Why should we trust the giants? And why
should the tiny people even trust us for that matter? Do you think you're wiser
than our ancestors? The founding fathers of this colony established the
segregation solution, and that was the first time in history that our three
races co-existed peacefully!"
Some people agreed, and Kyle replied, "What about two people in love? My
roommate, Jim, has had an ongoing relationship with a woman in the giant city.
The two of them are in love, but they can only communicate via artificial means.
Is that fair for everyone? Shouldn't an individual be able to decide for himself
if he does or doesn't want to keep himself seperated from the giants?"
A man stood up and agreed with Kyle, and a second, then a third. Before long,
everyone in the entire auditorium were standing and applauding Kyle's plan. When
the measure went up for a vote, it was voted in unanimously.
When the meeting was over, the mayor walked up to Kyle. "You know, Kyle," the
mayor began, "people are more willing to listen to an outsider than one of their
own countrymen...people have been trying to get that law altered, repealed, or
abandoned for years, but you were the first man to get anyone to take it
seriously."
"No problem," Kyle replied, "I'm just glad I did my part to help." Kyle felt
a sense of pride that he had made a difference for a group of people.
Before long, the necessary adjustments were made to Kyle's probe, and he
returned to Earth. All that needed to be done was to install another power
source, because the battery that had powered the probe on its maiden voyage had
been depleted. In spite of this simple problem, it had taken the Tiny Town
scientists several days to figure it out.
The citizens of Tiny Town waved goodbye to Kyle as he stepped into the
exploration probe and closed the hatch. He set the coordinates for the opposite
direction, and hit the power button that activated the dimensional transfer
device that would return him to Earth.
Because the exploration probe had been moved miles from its original location
when the giants had moved it to the walled city, the probe emerged above a lake
and plunged in. Kyle was able to get the hatch open and swim to safety just
before the probe was completely submerged.
Kyle sat up on the couch he had been lying on. "And that's how it happened,"
Kyle added, "I don't know how many times you want me to repeat it! What does it
take to convince you I'm telling the truth?"
The psychiatrist conducting the session informed him, "Mr. Zephyr, as long as
you're unwilling to give up this persistant delusion that you traveled to a
world of giants, I just can't grant you permission to be released from this
mental hospital."
"But if you send someone to dredge that lake, you'll find the probe!"
"Mr.Zephyr," the psychiatrist replied, "that lake has been dredged numerous
times, at the expense of the public defender's office. They found nothing."
"Then dredge it again!" Kyle pleaded, "It's there! It has to be!"
"There are half a million acres of lakes in the region you specified," the
psychiatrist replied, "it could take years to find the exact location you
mentioned, even if your story was true!"
As Kyle stood up, two male nurses stood beside him, and escorted him back to
his cell. On the way back to his cell, Kyle pulled an item out of his wallet. It
is one of his most prized possessions. It was an identification card from the
Fermi National Accelerator research lab in Batavia, Illinois.