Vancouver Variable
by Andrew Nicolas Moran
@GROK
March 2026
[April 1999. A coin flip: West across a continent, or East across an ocean? I chose East. What if I’d gone the other way?]
My first stab at alt-bio. AltHist fanboy forever.
[A flash—Andreas blinks into sunlight. Suburban villa, too big, too clean. No snow. A man and three boys stare back.]
Andreas: Who the fuck are you? Where am I?
Theo (calm, almost fond): I’m Theo. Your husband. These are our sons.
Andreas (backing up, palms out): Bullshit. I don’t have a husband. Yusuf died in 2014. We never adopted.
Theo: We met in Vancouver, 2013. You’ve always had us. Always.
Youngest (giggling, tugging his sleeve): Dad’s being silly again.
Andreas (voice cracking): This isn’t funny. Send me back.
Theo (soft): You’re home.
[Subtext: quantum wave collapses—linearity bends.]
Andreas: You’re not Scandinavian. Your English—American?
Theo: Canadian. British Columbia. West Coast.
Andreas: I live in Kongsvinger. Norway. Albert: That’s real. Ninety-five klicks north of Oslo. Right by Sweden.
Theo: The rig pulled you from one of seventy-seven variants. Closest match.
Andreas: You kidnapped me?
[Subtext: forward flow—reality glitches.]
Andreas (hands in hair): Time travel? That’s science fiction.
Theo: Not if you build the math right. We needed an Andreas. You fit.
Andreas: This is insane. Albert (to twins): Xbox. Go. I’ll catch up. Andreas: Look—even if you yanked me here, I’m not him. I’m not the guy who belongs.
Theo (arms crossed, tired): Physically? Identical. The rest? Different. But you’re here. And we need you.
Albert (quiet, hard): The other one... he drank. Hit us. Was cruel. We handled him.
Theo: Albert—
Albert: He needs to know. We dumped him in Indian Arm. Lake’s deep.
Andreas: So I’m supposed to... what? Cover up my own murder? Andreas (low): Fine. For now. But I’m not playing pretend. I won’t be him.
Theo (eyes wet): We don’t want that. The boys just need someone who doesn’t vanish. You’re... hell, maybe you’re the fix.
Albert (muttering): You’re already better.
[Sunlight pools on hardwood. Andreas exhales. Theo steps in—tight hug. Albert joins, then twins crash into legs. Laughter bubbles up—real.]
Andreas (half-laughing): Jösses—okay, I’m staying.
[Somewhere north of Kongsvinger, Mikke stares at an empty trailer. Snow drifts over the ski path. Here, though, the universe shrugs—and calls this family.]
The End.