I interrupted, “If you’re going to tell me that it’s impossible due to your travel machine being under high security, rest assured. I’m not under any delusion that it will be easy, nor do I think it’d be wise to make any moves immediately. I’ll first need to meet food and shelter needs and learn more about your world and organization before weighing my options and deciding on a plan.”

It was fortunate that Darla was at the daycare when this happened, so I had no worries about her safety or needs being met (only missing her).

Darcy whistled and leaned back, crossing their arms while cupping their chin. “Wow! You’re an interesting person. How are you so calm and calculated? I would’ve lost my shit by now.” They gasped, hands covering their mouth. “Were you, like, a mercenary in your world?”

I smiled again, this time able to suppress my laughter. “Darcy, I’m sorry to continue relying on you, but could you connect me with any resources, first for free food and shelter?”

Darcy smiled back. “I asked a silly question, totally forgot you’re in business wear and tripped into your world’s portal.” They rubbed their thighs, seeming embarrassed. “Then you worked for your world’s version of CenUMR?”

I gave a single nod.

“Oh, also, I can connect you with resources.” Darcy paused and it took me a moment to realize they were doing it for drama. “First one’s me! It’s definitely the universe at work that you fell right in front of me.” They snapped and shot a finger at me while smirking. “I know a lot of people in the city so even if I can’t get you to the portal, I can hook you up with whatever else you need. You can crash at my place and I’ve got some leftovers for tonight. What else do we need? Toothbrush, underwear…”

Over the next week of staying in Darcy’s apartment, I was able to gather a lot of information thanks to Q and A sessions with them, walks around the city, and online research. I compiled a mental list of notable similarities and differences between this world and my own. It feels sort of nice to be able to finally write them down.

1. This world consists of one known realm. My world consists of two.

2. People here are free to choose the careers and lifestyles they want; economic classes exist. My world limits people to choosing to work in either service, education, or management institution careers; economic classes barely exist.

3. Coffee isn’t a thing here. Really, the coffee bean doesn’t even exist. This made me sad.

4. This world/realm is geographically larger than my world’s management realm but 100 times smaller than our civilian realm.

5. The language here is very similar to my own world’s, with the exception of cultural colloquialisms, forms of address, grammatical neopronouns, and slang.

6. This world’s Center for Utilitarian Management of Reality (CenUMR) is the equivalent of my World Chaos Organization Institute (WCOI).

7. CenUMR is abbreviated so because nobody realized CUMR looked strange until it was too late.

8. CenUMR includes a Reality Rip Resolution Department that is the equivalent to my WCOI’s Chaos Repair Department.

9. CenUMR do repairs not only in this world but in parallel worlds as well. This is to maintain universal stability, much like WCOI repaired chaos in the civilian realm.

10. Higher-ups in the world management organizations here are chosen through gradual promotion or direct employment by superior organization and government leaders. Unlike my world where we were promoted and elected by staff nominations and votes.

11. They call their smartphone-like devices “communicators.” Comm, for short.

12. Experts here working in CenUMR have already data-mapped a large portion of the universe including over 100,000 worlds and 220,000 realms, 60-80% of which are known or suspected to be inhabited by sentient beings. At WCOI, we’d so far data-mapped five worlds and eleven realms in the universe. Including our own. That also makes me sad.

Apologies to the reader for the lack of organization of this list, but I think you needn’t bother to remember them all since some will likely be mentioned again as this journal goes on.

Anyway, after a week, I had completely settled on a course of action in the plan to return to my own world and my furry daughter:

1. Begin working at CenUMR.

2. Get promoted to becoming a Reality Rip Resolution fieldworker.

3. Make sure Darcy gets promoted to Reality Rip Repair Tech.

4. Use our clearance levels to get into the portal, set the destination for my world, and send me home.

5. Darcy clears the data or thinks up some excuse for the travel record in the system and my disappearance. I’m not sure; it’s Darcy’s job to figure out a procedure for the technical logistics and aftermath.

It was a vague plan, the details left out because neither of us would be working on enough information until a prerequisite step was completed. Our first preliminary step was entering me into society.

Through other “back door” connections, Darcy was able to get me this world’s forms of identification. The first is a digital ID card stored to a communicator. It can be viewed through holographic projection or transmitted to a computer or communicator through RFID. The ID designates me as Maalik Loren, 30.

Have I mentioned to the reader that my original personal name is Noble Loren Malik? Well, I shared this with Darcy a couple of days after we met (along with other detailed truths about my identity). I also clarified that the order was family name, birth name, societal name—and that they were free to call me whichever based on the culture of their society.

I am not sure where the communication broke down, but it appears from the moment we met up to the moment they displayed my new ID, Darcy was under the impression that my given name was Malik, my “optional” name Noble, and my family name Loren. And up until that point I was also under the impression that Darcy was a given name.

I came to learn, at that moment, that this world’s people refer to one another by family name—the only exceptions being from relative to relative and from lover to lover. As for the extra A in Malik, under some complex linguistic rules, all intimate (given) names contain a set of double letters. Once the situation was cleared up, Darcy and I apologized to each other profusely—me for thinking I was referring to them intimately, and them for repeatedly referring to me intimately—and agreed to never mention the mishap again.

Concerning my age (which, if you don’t recall, is originally 33), Darcy said the blackmarket dealer made a mistake, but assured it doesn’t matter because I don’t look much older than 26 anyway. I was less concerned over becoming three years younger and more concerned over my counterfeit ID having been created by someone prone to mistakes. But if I dwell on this any longer, I’ll stress myself out—and I took the same mentality back then. So, moving on…

The second form of identification was a chip implant. The implantation of the rice grain-sized chip doesn’t have to be very invasive; many adults attach it to a molar like a cavity filling. For those who prefer it sub-dermal, behind the earlobe, in the belly button, or under the buttocks are popular. Naturally, I had my reservations about implanting a chip—and a black market one at that—especially after learning they remain dormant unless you become a missing persons or unidentified corpse. But hearing that I’d get an institution-placed chip to replace it once joining CenUMR, I decided it’d be least suspicious to have remnants of a prior implant.

Next, I took on part-time jobs whilst studying university textbooks in my spare time. These activities provided me with the knowledge I needed to pass as a native in this society and successfully work my way up the ladder at CenUMR.

Two months after arrival, I successfully passed this world’s post-secondary education exam—a necessary qualification to enter the government or corporate workforce regardless of university completion. Having already been formally educated in my own similar world and well-read to fill in the gaps, this was one of the easier tasks.

A month after that, with an exaggerated résumé of my part-time work, I was accepted to enter CenUMR. Unfortunately, it was only as a mail clerk—completely unrelated to any technical positions. But my speedy delivery and exemplary organization talents earned me Team Member of the Month and ensured a glowing recommendation from my supervisor. Pairing that with my high score on CenUMR’s Knowledge and Aptitude Exam during their biannual hiring period allowed me to snag a position in the Records Department.

Maybe the reader is wondering why I ended up in the Records Department as opposed to the Reality Rip Resolution (RRR) Department. You see, RRR employees are not hired off the street; CenUMR sources them exclusively through internal avenues. This shouldn’t be a surprise when you consider that the work is of a sensitive nature and also requires a level of internal knowledge. There’s no time limit on how long one must work within CenUMR before qualifying for a transfer to RRR; that is all at the discretion of the higher-ups. But I knew I’d be in other departments for more than a few months before any possibility of transfer to RRR.

What I did not expect is to plateau after a single lateral promotion and be stuck doing clerical work in Records for over a year.

Darla probably doesn’t even remember my face anymore. Though, I’ve no clue what the passage of time here translates to in my own world. I should mention that while I’ve read about countless worlds via the reports completed by the RRR Dept., past and present, I haven’t seen a single mention of my own world.

No, no, no. I’m not losing hope. I still have hope. It’s just being smothered by my impatience and indignation. As my now best friend Darcy would put it: this is bullsh*t and I’m f*cking fed up.

Of course, outwardly, no one would tell. I’m all pleasant smiles. In fact, I’m smiling at my boss right now. Why is he standing there staring at me from the doorway? Can’t he see I’m on break; this is the damn break room after all. He can’t possibly be wanting to scold me for taking a break when I’m the best performing employee in the entire department. He’s smiling back but this lazy codger never smiles at me with any good meaning.

I think this is a good place to end my first log. Apologies to the reader for the abrupt end, but I have the feeling I need to gear up for a battle.