Chapter 1

My name is Charles Marcus Sextus and this is my story. The first thing that I'm going to do here is to explain to you a few facts that I learned recently, facts that I came to understand and accept after I had died. I'll tell more about that soon.

The first fact that I want to tell you about is parallel universes. They exist and they exist in an infinite number and comprise infinite possibilities; they are all stacked one upon the other with only a thin barrier separating them. There are universes that exist where Earth is a barren rock devoid of all life and there are universes where Earth is the home to utopian societies and there are many more universes where Earth is just like yours and mine. There are even universes where mankind did not evolve as the dominant sentient life-form. In those universes the dominant species grew out of other life-forms. There are universes where Earth is populated by sentient bipedal dinosaurs and there are universes where Earth is ruled by creatures that should inhabit the pages of fiction like the Lord of the Rings and not reality. It surprised me when I learned about that as I imagine it surprises you.

The next fact I need to tell you about is life and death. As I mentioned above, I learned these great secrets about the universe after my death. For now I'll remain silent about that little issue; however, I'll reiterate that the whole experience took me by surprise and I will talk more about it later. What I do want to say is that of all the known religions that dominated my world, it was Hinduism that came closest to being correct with their belief in reincarnation. Amazingly I found out that when a person died, the thing that makes a person an individual, the essence of their personality or what my religious leaders describe as your soul leaves your Earth and moves on to another one in another universe. If you're very lucky you'll end up being born into a better world. If you're not lucky, you could end up being reborn into a Neolithic world where people lead a subsistence existence. Of course when this happens your memories become suppressed in your new body, left to seep out from time to time as strange dreams, déjà vu, or as inspiration that could lead you to become an inventor, scientist, or even an artist in your new society on your new Earth.

Naturally you're about to say, 'but you said you learned this after you died and you're telling us about this, even though you've stated that all memory is suppressed after you move from one universe to another and are reborn into a new life' and I'll admit that you'd have reason to ask that question if it wasn't for one little point that I haven't told you yet. You see, technically I was never reborn. Let me explain it to you.

I don't remember much about my death. I'm told it was quick and painless and I've accepted it as being so and have chosen not to ask too many questions about it. Personally, it isn't something I feel that comfortable about learning. What I do remember is that I was in a mall walking about doing some window shopping. It was Christmas time and the place was both packed and noisy. I had just stopped to look at a nice colourful scarf that I was thinking of buying for my wife when it happened. I died. There was pitch black for a minute and absolutely no sound or any other form of sensory input, and then there was a dim light that slowly grew stronger and stronger until it surrounded me and I was able to see and hear again; a fact that I didn't catch on to immediately, but it was of some significance as you will soon see.

As my senses returned I gazed about me and found that I was sitting in an office. The room was reasonably large and immaculately laid out and decorated. There was one door leading into the room and it was off to my right. To my left and behind me were floor to ceiling bookcases that were stuffed with leather-bound books and an assortment of pottery, figurines, and various pieces of artwork. There was a broad elegant desk in front of me and behind it was a wall of floor to ceiling windows that looked out on a quaint little park. Between the windows and the desk sat a woman. The woman was smiling at me. I returned her smile.

"Good day Charles," the woman said greeting me informally. Her voice was soft and pleasant to my ear and she spoke with a very articulate British accent. As she spoke she went on to say that her name was Victoria Winters, however she'd like it if I just called her Victoria and in return she would appreciate it if I would let her call me Charles. She then asked me if I would like a cup of coffee.

As I noted above, I was surprised and I'll openly admit to you a little stunned. Because of that I didn't respond immediately. I was sitting in a high-back black leather chair, with my mind racing and my mouth open and catching flies. The woman said nothing and waited. She did indicate that a cup of coffee was waiting my attention, sitting just in front of me on Victoria's desk. It hadn't been there a second before. The sight of the coffee cup got my mouth working.

"Am I dead?" I asked hesitantly in a low, uncertain voice.

"Yes," Victoria replied without hesitating, her reassuring smile still upon her lips.

"Is this heaven?" I queried her a second later.

"No Charles," Victoria replied with a light chuckle, "this isn't heaven and please be reassured that it isn't hell either. In fact, neither of those places exists as far as I know and I do know a lot. Currently you are in what the Catholic Church used to call 'Limbo' although I prefer to call it the 'in between'.

"What do you mean the 'in between'?" I asked with concern, uncertain what all this meant to a person who was dead.

"It's very simple Charles," Victoria reassured me once more, "and you shouldn't worry about it at all. What I mean is that you are now 'in between' your old life and your next life. Now I know that doesn't make much sense to you and you're about to ask me 'what new life', however please don't. Instead I'd like you to keep your questions to yourself for a few minutes and let me explain things to you. Hopefully my explanation will answer most of your queries and if it doesn't then I'll listen quietly and let you ask away. Do you agree?"

Of course I agreed. I was at a loss as to know to do or say and I was totally confused by what Victoria was telling me. Being baffled I needed time to think things through and to get a grip on myself. I just nodded my consent and picked up the coffee that had appeared before me. I'll admit now that it was the best coffee that I had ever tasted and I started thinking I was in heaven once more.

It was at this point that I learned about parallel universes, multiple Earths, travelling between them, and life after death. More importantly I learned what the in-between was in relationship to all of that and more. As Victoria explained it to me, it was a thin dimensional barrier between one universe and another and it was where souls went before moving on to their next universe and their next life. Without the in-between there really would only be death, a thought that sent a shiver down my spin as I reflected on what Victoria told me. In-between is also the reason why I can remember everything and am able to relate it to you. Just follow along and I'll explain.

As I sat and drank my coffee and listened to Victoria speak about the things I've already mentioned and more, I learned that Victoria represented one of the more advanced Earths from amongst the infinite number of possible Earths. Her world was almost a utopia as it had solved many of the problems faced by life on my Earth and yours and on an infinite more. There was no disease or hunger or war or discontent and death was something that could be avoided if it was so desired. On her world, scientists had solved many of man's oldest questions and it was in the pursuit of those questions that they had cracked the secret of life and death and in turn they had learned about the in-between and the parallel universes. Then she told me about another universe similar to hers where another Earth had done the same thing. Unfortunately, as Victoria told me, the people of that Earth were not as altruistic as the people of her Earth. While the people of Victoria's Earth used the knowledge of the parallel universes and the in-between to lift them out of darkness into enlightenment, the other Earth sought to exploit their ability to move from one universe to another so that they could profit from it, regardless of how it affected the denizens of the other Earths that they visited. Naturally this difference in philosophy and approach to the existence of multiple universes and approach to interacting with the Earths that they came into contact with brought Victoria's people into conflict with the other Earth. It was a conflict that neither side wanted to pursue in the traditional manner. It was at this point that I learned about Game World.

Game World was an Earth where mankind had died off early in its history. To my amazement I learned that the other Earth had been using it as a venue for a reality entertainment program. They had imported life from other Earths and they had resettled them all over Game World. They had done this indiscriminately, collecting settlers from an Earth that had never evolved beyond the Neolithic period and then plopping them down a short distance from another group that had been collected from an Earth that had advanced beyond the Iron Age and who had entered the age of sail. They had even introduced beings from Earths that weren't human along with a wide variety of fauna with the intent of spicing things up. As Victoria explained, Game World was a place where anything could happen and because anything could happen, the people of the other Earth loved watching it. They watched as cultures came in conflict with each other and as races and species fought each other for dominance. Victoria told me that there were microscopic cameras everywhere on Game World, collecting live coverage of everything that happened there around the clock and feeding it back to the other Earth via inter-dimensional transmitters. To top everything off, Victoria told me that the other Earth often tossed random individuals into the mix, placing them at points about Game World and letting them loose with false knowledge. This knowledge was often a wild tale about being recruited by aliens as part of a long term experiment being conducted into the sociological impact that a single individual from an advanced culture would have on a Neolithic society. The other explanation given is that the world that the advanced individual was being placed into was stagnant and in need of new blood to help get it back on track. Regardless of what the individual was told, the real reason for their presence on Game World was to boost ratings for individual networks who oversaw the running of and the commercial exploitation of Game World. Rarely did these individuals learn the truth until it was too late and then most of them rarely cared, for those that survived Game World were usually happy with their new lot in life.

This now brings us to my role in everything. Victoria put it to me bluntly. Because her Earth did not want to fight a war that might spill over into a myriad of other universes and impact upon a multitude of Earths, her world had agreed to a challenge. Her people would send a champion to Game World who would represent the interests of Victoria's people. That champion would live and interact in the day-to-day struggle on Game World and that champion needed to survive. Interacting was a big point in the agreement between the two Earths. The champion could not hide out somewhere and let the clock tick down. The champion had to survive for a complete year while he fought battles and confronted various hardships. In essence the champion needed to put on a good show. Additionally, while the champion struggled to survive while putting on a good show, the other Earth was at the liberty to throw new and more dangerous situations into the path of the champion in the hopes of killing him. It was at this point that Victoria asked me to be her world's champion.

'Why me?' I asked bluntly and without thought or hesitation.

I'll pause for a moment here and explain that on my Earth I had been nobody of any significance. What I do remember of my life is that I had come from a broken home and as a result, I had become an underachiever. Instead of pursuing a higher education I had joined the military believing it offered me an escape out of the life that I was living. Unfortunately my military career while honourable wasn't very impressive. To make things worse I ended up being medically released after a few years because of a genetic disorder. The doctors discovered the reason that I had problems hitting a target and driving trucks on blackout manoeuvres. I was going blind. After being released I found a quiet government job and stuck with it until I couldn't work anymore. At the time of my death I was totally blind in one eye and had only three degrees of sight in my other. The only redeeming quality in my life was my dedication. I had been dedicated to my wife and family and to providing for them. When Victoria asked me to be her people's champion I immediately knew that dedication wasn't going to cut it. Like always, I was wrong.

You see Victoria knew more about me than I did. As I'd mentioned earlier Victoria's Earth had answered many of the great secrets that have haunted the infinite universes and the Earths that inhabit them. Having learned the secret of life and death and in-between and how souls moved from one universe to another, Victoria's people had learned a way to study those souls and to plumb their depths. With her planet's technology, Victoria could examine any soul passing through the in-between and she could see every life that soul had experienced throughout its long existence and that is why I was sitting in front of Victoria and not some other man. Victoria had plumbed my soul and had learned much about me. From her research she knew that I was her people's champion. She told me that I had been a warrior many times before as well as an adventurer and a leader of people and that in all these many existences I had been dedicated and that dedication to principles, causes, people, and duty was what her people were looking for in a hero. Victoria also told me that her research had shown that I had a great imagination. I didn't argue with her on that point. It was one of the few positive things that I credited myself with. The rest of what she told me though I had problems accepting; still I told her that I'd listen to her offer.

Victoria went on to explain that the other Earth was willing to accept a negotiated deal. If her Earth's champion won then they would accept Victoria's Earth's perspective and limit their contact with the parallel universes and the alternative Earths to Earths that were either devoid of sentient life or who were already aware of the reality that parallel universes existed. If however Victoria's Earth's champion failed, then Victoria's Earth would keep their noses out of the other Earth's business. To me the whole deal sounded too simple to be true; however Victoria did point out that the use of champions to resolve conflicts had occurred in my Earth's history and that it was an acceptable alternative to a full scale war that could spill over into other universes, so long as everyone honoured the deal.