Reuleaux's Portal

3

3

Holly and Simon found Coppélia’s deduction difficult to accept but even more difficult to refute. The difference in the colour of the leotard on the two holo-recordings wasn’t sufficient proof on its own that the Coppélia sitting before them wasn’t the same Coppélia that had left Earth to explore Proxima b, but the differing CIC designations couldn’t be ignored.

If two inconsistencies existed then perhaps there were more. Holly and Simon agreed that further investigation was warranted. Holly poured herself a coffee and prepared herself for the marathon task of comparing the videos. Fortunately, it was the weekend and she had no other pressing commitments that could pull her away from the chore. She touched a couple of icons on the universal remote control, the URC band, that she wore on her left wrist and a holographic monitor appeared in the middle of the room. Although Holly and Simon were seated on a sofa, and Coppélia was in an armchair, facing them, all three had a perfect view of the screen. The holo-monitor was state-of-the-art and possessed the latest refracto-visual technology, a collection of digital prisms that distributed the image directly ahead of the viewer’s gaze, no matter where in the room they were. Holly took a sip of her coffee.

“Fortunately, my grandmother was an obsessive record-keeper. She recorded many events in her life, in the form of a personal log. Some of the entries are anecdotal, made post-event, but some are video-logs, recorded as they happened. We can compare my grandmother’s log with what’s in your memory banks.”

Coppélia agreed but had a better suggestion.

“It will be more efficient for me to study the log alone and highlight any differences. You’re restricted in your processing abilities whereas I am able to view, process, and compare at a rate that is far beyond your capability.”

Holly had to admit that this was a good idea. Coppélia could make the comparisons in a fraction of the time that Holly or Simon could. There were years of Karen’s entries to study but, seven seconds later, Coppélia was ready with her results.

“I was able to identify another couple of major discrepancies, along with many minor differences which exist but are not so obvious.”

Holly was impatient.

“What are the big differences, Coppélia?”

Coppélia knew that what she was about to say would confirm her own thoughts.

“The spacecraft on which I travelled to the exoplanet was called the Galileo, whereas the spacecraft recorded in Karen’s logs was the Carl Sagan.”

“Yes, I remember Nan thinking that the name was a fitting tribute to the great astrophysicist and visionary. What’s the second?”

“According to Karen’s logs, she was married to Raef Ulfursson.”

“Of course. My grandfather – your creator –was Raef Ulfursson.”

Coppélia shook her head.

“My creator was Gylfi Ulfursson.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. He and Karen weren’t married when I left Earth, so I have no updated records pertaining to Karen after our last conversation, but Gylfi Ulfursson was definitely my creator.”

Simon took Holly’s hand.

“I think we have no choice but to accept that perhaps Coppélia isn’t Coppélia – not our Coppélia anyway.”

Holly grasped her husband’s hand tightly as she tried to make sense of the situation.

“But we went to Proxima b. We rescued her.”

Simon nodded.

“We did – but was it our Proxima b? Perhaps we somehow entered an alternative reality. I know it sounds very science fiction, but how else can we explain it?”

“But that’s impossible.”

Simon shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s improbable, yes, but not necessarily impossible. I can’t think of anything else that could explain it.”

Holly’s nose twitched, as it always did when she was confused.

“It doesn’t sound very rational to me.”

Coppélia spoke.

“I agree with Simon. I can’t see any other explanation. Clearly, I am not the Coppélia that built up a relationship with your grandmother on this planet. Our timelines are similar – I experienced most of the same events as your Coppélia did, except they were apparently with another Karen, in another universe. My universe.”

A thought suddenly dawned on Holly.

“If you’re correct, that means that Coppélia – our Coppélia – is probably still on the planet.”

Simon agreed.

“If it is the same planet, she could be. But the question is...what do we do now?”