Part I
To the original universe, the loss of the molecule plane is hardly noticeable. A cold spot here or there, where a concentration of molecules disappeared. If one could calculate mass and density to such a miniscule degree, there would be a slight fluctuation, an almost consistent decrease among all that exists. Is the new universe only a film? In the new universe, can you pass through a wall as you wade through water? Are the shadows as solid, the sun as bright, the earth as warm? Maybe the new universe rebuilds itself, fills in the gaps in connections as the injured brain of a young child, making due with its proportionately fewer parts. Maybe the new universe condenses to the point that the molecules can remain their appropriate ratios density, temperature, and if someone were to visit the new universe, she would find herself standing ankle deep in the ocean, her head grazing the stratosphere, or not even in the vicinity of the earth at all, but somewhere, deep in space, where the earth once traveled. But more likely than all of these, perhaps the new universe appears as a three-dimensional hologram, the inhabitants, holograms themselves, cannot distinguish between the original, from which they were split, and the new.
The summer before I was born, the newly released Magnum S4, a car whose frame was constructed of a new alloy, supposed to be the sturdiest and safest car ever made, was responsible for the deaths of nearly seven thousand Americans and Canadians. The integrity of the alloy had been altered, though vigorous testing could detect no measurable change. The vehicles were beginning to self-destruct, small accidents caused the frames to shatter, even hard braking, a full passenger load, or a forceful door slam, could cause the vehicle to collapse, turning into a heap of carseats, wheels, and fiberglass shells. My mother had a dream that she had two children. They were starting a family. She wanted my father to buy a house, to buy the S4. By noon, the car was off the market. This is why my mother drives a thirty year old compact.
There was a lot of speculation. The alloy had lost its integrity--but how? There were three major theories circulating. The first, and most likely, an electro-magnetic or radiation surge from deep space, from the sun, caused a re-alignment of the molecules on a molecular level beyond the sight of the most powerful electron microscope. Another theory: this alloy simply had an expiration date, and with the passing of that moment, the entire batch went bad, though there had been several batches, and all had seemed to go bad simultaneously. The third was simply to blame it on the Russians. This was the prevalent theory, though lacked any formal or scientific evidence as proof. There was only one vehicle not affected, that now rests somewhere in a museum, but at the time was parked across the street from what later became known as the Wyoming Warm Spot, though this fact was only uncovered years later when the elderly woman claimed that she only experienced the symptons of her second menapause when she walked through the hallway leading to her garage.
My mother says she saw me in her dream--but I was not alone. She never had a second child, but in her dream she did. Sometimes she still has flashes of memories with this other child, a son. She attributes them to her dreams or wishful thinking. I know what they really are.
