| End of the Road, part 2 by IamBoris |
| Safely on the next world, the Professor and Remmy now have time to explain, and they do so. Everyone then goes on to explain the events of the past 18 months, up to and including the most recent events that had led them to Earth 113. The Professor then delivers some astonishingly good news. After hearing from Remmy about what happened with Quinn, he and Logan have spent the past several months developing a theory on how to separate Quinn and Mallory. He�ll needs to know some specific information (like their respective quantum signatures, exactly how long they�ve been merged, etc), but he has a general idea of how it could be done. He, Quinn, Logan, and Dianna combine forces to brainstorm strategies. After a week of deliberations on three different worlds, they believe they have a viable solution. But they need a lab. The nine (or is it ten?) of them�Rembrandt, Wade, the Professor, Maggie, Colin, Logan, Quinn/Mallory, Tenaren, and Dianna�all begin searching for a suitable lab on every world they slide into and also begin trying to figure out a way to gain access to it once they find it. After a half-dozen or so slides, they arrive in a San Francisco where a very large sign outside U-Cal Berkeley says, �Home of Conrad Bennish Jr.� in large letters and then �& Dr. Helan Donovan� in much smaller letters. The two of them, according to the university�s newspaper, are conducting quantum experiments in a lab on campus. (For an explanation as to why this is such big news, see the Bennish bio here.) The Professor decides to try to arrange a meeting with Bennish, hoping that his (Arturo�s) double was Bennish�s professor on this world. The meeting is set, and Arturo decides that the easiest way to gain access to the lab and to get the equipment they need is to be honest with Bennish & Donavan and tell them everything that�s happened. To the Professor�s amazement, Bennish believes the story right away. You see, it turns out that this is the Bennish from Earth Prime (see Second Chances), who�s been stranded here ever since his timer was irreparably damaged eighteen months ago. Bennish convinces Dr. Donavan to allow the Sliders permission to use the lab, and both of the physicists offer to provide any assistance necessary...on one condition: that they can go sliding with the group when they leave. Although the Professor is reluctant to subject yet another set of people to the rigors of sliding, Bennish says he�s well aware of the risks and he wants to enjoy the �righteous adventure� of sliding. Furthermore, Bennish claims that Quinn and the Professor owe him for not taking him along in the first place seven years ago. In spite of his reservations, he and the others are desperate to get home, so the Professor reluctantly agrees to Bennish�s condition. The Professor, Bennish, Donavan, Dianna, and Logan all get to work in the lab with Quinn/Mallory (who�s to be divided) and the memory chip from the non-Logan timer (which Rembrandt has had with him ever since leaving the Seer�s world, and which contains the information about Quinn and Mallory�s respective quantum signatures). They manage to download the data concerning the quantum signatures into the lab�s computers, and they then prepare the equipment to separate Quinn and Mallory. While they work, Wade, Rembrandt, Colin, Tenaren, and Maggie take time for some long-overdue R&R, reminisce about old times, and discuss what happened while they were separated. Less than three days later (having all been sliders, the Professor, Dianna, Logan, and Bennish are all accustomed to working very fast!), everything is set in the lab and they�re ready to try to separate Quinn and Mallory. The procedure is a success, and after a brief, joyous celebration by everyone, Quinn and Mallory are brought by Colin, Maggie, and Remmy to the Dominion Hotel to rest (while everyone else remains at the lab). Wade would have liked to be there to help Quinn through his first few hours of recovery, but her computer skills are needed at the lab. After Quinn has had a few hours to recuperate, the news is broken to him that Colin is not actually his brother but the brother of one of his doubles. He�s unsure how to react at first but rather quickly accepts the fact that even though he doesn�t have Colin as a brother, he at least has him as a good friend. Then, Rembrandt asks Colin to scan Mallory with the tracer (which he got in �Associations�); if Rembrandt is right in guessing that Mallory is Colin�s real brother, the tracer should go off when Colin scans Mallory with it. Colin, though not really convinced that his search could be over this quickly, does as Rembrandt asks. To his surprise, the tracer does go off! Colin has found his real long-lost brother! Once Mallory is filled in on what the excitement�s all about, he and Colin begin celebrating finally having a family again. Colin, remember, lost his parents (well, foster parents) to a flu epidemic when he was still young, and he never had siblings. Similarly, Mallory lost his parents (well, foster parents, as it turns out) in a car accident when he was still relatively young, and he spent much of his childhood in an orphanage. Meanwhile, back at the lab, everyone that stayed behind begins working on trying download Earth Prime�s coordinates into Logan�s timer. You see, the damage that Bennish�s timer sustained eighteen months ago was to its vortex-activator; its memory chip, which contains Earth Prime�s coordinates, remains perfectly intact. The reason they can�t just input Bennish�s memory chip into Logan�s timer is because the technologies of the two timers are incompatible. To get around this, they decide to download the data from Bennish�s timer into the computer, then use the computer to reconfigure the data into a type that Logan�s timer can understand, and then finally transfer the data from the computer into the memory chip of Logan�s timer. In spite of their best efforts, after working through the night, the group is unable to find a way to translate the data into something understandable by Logan�s timer. As dawn rolls around and the group is ready to get a good rest before starting all over, Quinn comes in. Armed with donuts and coffee, he looks well-rested and ready to work. He asks how it�s going, and they tell him. Quinn, wanting to see if he can help, asks what they�re trying to do. He's handed a print-out of the data, which he looks over while the others get their second wind with coffee and donuts. When they've finished eating, Quinn announces he�s solved their problem. He recognized a single flaw in their translation program and he thinks he�s straightened it out; they would have caught it themselves if they weren�t so tired. The group looks over his work and...he's done it! Well, they think he has; they still have to try it. The group�which at this point has been joined by Colin, Mallory, and Remmy�immediately sets to work trying to translate the data. This time, the procedure is a complete success; Earth Prime�s coordinates are securely stored in Logan�s timer. Congratulations are shared in a brief celebration. But they�re not done yet. They now must go through a similar process to get the coordinates of Mallory and Dianna�s homeworld into Logan�s timer. To do this, the disc that Dr. Geiger gave Dianna at the end of �Eye of the Storm� is inserted into the computer. (Along with the timer, Rembrandt also took the disc with him at the end of �The Seer�; Dianna had already copied the coordinates onto her PDL, and so Rembrandt figured it couldn�t hurt to take the disc with him, just in case). The coordinates for Combine World (Mallory and Dianna�s Earth) are then called up and are transferred into Logan�s timer from the computer. Everyone can finally go home! The group returns to the Dominion in the late afternoon triumphant, but exhausted. They have plenty of time to rest, though; they don�t slide for another twenty-six hours. TO BE CONCLUDED (on to part 3 - the FINAL EPISODE). . . |
| Sliders is owned by, or is a trademark of, Universal Television, St. Clare Entertainment, the Sci-Fi Channel, & Studios USA. It was created by Tracy Torm� and Robert K. Weiss. I am using the title and characters without permission but am making no profit from doing so; so for the love of all things holy, don�t sue me! That having been said, this particular story was written by me, so please ask me before posting it anywhere else, and give me credit if you do. |
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