The Remarkables (The Remarkable Owen Johnson, part 1) by A. D. Elliott

they?”
    “In other universes.”
    Owen thought f or a moment, trying to recall the limited knowledge of astrophysics that he had acquired from school and, more extensively, television. “Like parallel universes?”
    “Exactly!” Ken exclaimed with a clap of his hands. “Cee, we’ve got a smart one here!”
    “Not really,” Owen admitted. “I’ve heard the term, but I don’t really understand it.”
    “Don’t knock yourself,” Ken said, “all you really need to know is that there are an infinite number of universes layered upon one another, each one different.
    “These differences can range from subtle changes such as a hedgehog deciding it won’t cross a busy road in one world, and getting squished in another. In one world the air might be still, whereas elsewhere there might be a stronger wind blowing, as a result of any number of causes, ranging from atmospheric variations to solar flares maybe.
    “But the d ifferences can also be immense. Human life may not have evolved in the way it has here, or it may not exist at all. Another Earth may have a totally uninhabitable atmosphere.”
    “What would cause that?”
    “Who knows? A volcano that didn’t erupt here may have exploded elsewhere and filled the air with noxious gases that might poison or destroy the ozone layer. An ice age may have endured for whatever purpose. The reasons for such variations in our own world can be multiplied over and over and over again, manifesting themselves in any number of ways.
    “So right here, right now we are in the middle of a land mass, whereas in another world the tectonic plates may have moved differently and what we know as Britain is hundreds of feet below sea level. Or there might be a large lake over there.” Ken pointed at where a large warehouse stood. “Personally, I prefer fresh water to salt water: it tends to leave less of a mess behind once it dries.”
    Owen considered this. “So how come you can stand next to each other and one of you makes with the gusts and the other soaks everyone?”
    “ Good question!” Ken responded. He stared at Owen intently for a few moments.  “Any ideas?”
    “You’re asking me? How am I supposed to know?”
    “Well we don’t know for certain, so it’s always advisable to be open to other ideas. We do have theories, but none we’ve been able to prove. My favourite one, today at least, is that we somehow resonate towards particular worlds with certain characteristics.
    “ I seem to like water, little sis here likes to blow up a storm”.
    “So what about me? What draws me to places with rocks and stones I can hold onto? And how come I can climb so well? Why don’t I get out of puff? Tonight I was flinging myself about all over the place without breaking into a sweat!”
    “ More excellent questions! Again we don’t know why each of us is drawn to worlds with distinct characteristics. I for one never had an affinity with water, and Cee here wasn’t obsessed with flying kites.  Have you ever had a thing for rocks?”
    Owen shook his head.
    “Well there you are; another mystery. But for whatever reason, you have a connection with worlds where there are rocks or stones for you to hold onto. There are so many worlds out there that in one of them there will be some geological formation for you to interact with. A dormant volcano perhaps, caused by a fracture in the Earth’s crust. Or a mountain that had been thrust up by the plates moving in a different way to how they did here.
    “As for how you can move around so athletically, a gain, we don’t know for sure but it would seem that whilst we are flitting about in other worlds, the laws of physics seem to get muddied somewhat. So your mass on this world seems to be diluted by the gravitational effects on the other world. So you’re not going to build up your muscles launching yourself about, alas. However, there are some benefits.” Ken smiled at his sister.
    “What benefits?” Owen asked.
    “How old do