Multiversum Read Free Page B

and his neck muscles. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming sensation of emptiness. He felt as if he were dangling in midair. As if a giant void had opened up underneath his feet and he were floating above it, without falling in. He could no longer see the familiar setting of the university library. All he saw was smoke and fog. And the void.
    But his mind remained alert. He could feel that he still had control over his own body, that he wasn’t about to faint. He was awake: he was partly anchored to physical reality and partly drawn into the abstract setting of his vision. That afternoon, for the first time in four years, there were no background noises. Just a rustling, like a gust of wind. Alex could feel the cool air around him.
    Is that you, Jenny?
    A moment of silence followed, and it seemed interminable. Then came the answer.
    Yes, Alex .
    He was in the grip of a completely new feeling: a mixture of disbelief, joy, astonishment, and curiosity.
    On the other side of the world, she too for the first time felt no physical pain during their contact.
    Please, tell me you’re real , said Alex.
    You know I am. And I know you are, too , said Jenny, in a voice that was delicate and familiar. To Alex, it seemed as if he were talking to someone who had always been at his side, as if he were communicating with her in a way that rendered distance meaningless.
    Jenny, I’m going to ask you something that might sound completely stupid .
    She said nothing. Alex went on looking into empty air, seeing nothing but fog.
    Are you there, Jenny? I want to ask you —
    A voice came out of the fog, interrupting him.
    Robert Doyle .
    For a few seconds, Alex sat breathless. Incredulous.
    His name is Robert Doyle , she said again. Her answer seemed impossible to him.
    Jenny … I hadn’t even asked you yet .
    His words began to echo. Alex sensed that their communication was starting to fade. Their voices slowly drew further and further apart.
    Yes , you did ,she replied, and her words repeated themselves over and over in Alex’s head, before vanishing into the distance, fading into the sound of the wind.
    Alex opened his eyes wide. He clenched his fists and pulled his head back, feeling nothing more than a faint tingling, just pins and needles.
    Around him, in the reading room, there were two small knots of students, each occupying a table, while the librarian stacked reams of paper into a cabinet.
    Alex mentally replayed everything that he and Jenny had just said to each other. He shot to his feet and almost fell over: his legs were still half asleep. He went over to the librarian, who had sat down at her desk and was lazily typing on a keyboard.
    â€˜Excuse me,’ Alex said, ‘I wonder if I can ask you a favour. Is your computer online?’
    The librarian, a woman in her early fifties with a wrinkled face and an enormous mole on her right cheekbone, looked him in the eye. She didn’t seem especially interested in helping him.
    â€˜What do you need to do?’ she asked, lowering her glasses to the tip of her nose.
    â€˜I just need to check one thing. It’s very important.’
    The woman heaved a sigh and arched her eyebrows in annoyance. Then she nodded her willingness to grant this one request.
    â€˜Could you type “Melbourne mayor” into Google and tell me what name comes up?’
    The librarian opened a new window and, maddeningly slowly, she typed Melbourne mayor into the Google search window.
    â€˜Robert Doyle.’
    Alex looked at her in disbelief. ‘Are you sure?’
    â€˜See for yourself,’ the woman said, turning her computer screen towards him. Alex could read the name as clear as day: Robert Doyle .
    â€˜Then she exists … she really exists,’ he muttered to himself.
    â€˜Who really exists?’
    Alex smiled and said nothing in reply. He turned on his heel, threw his backpack over his shoulder, and headed quickly for the exit, a huge smile on his