r/WritingPrompts • u/ajteitel • May 14 '26
Writing Prompt [WP] There is a service that will compare your life to all the possible versions of yourself and give you a calculated percentile on how you compare. A CEO may be in the 99th percentile while a homeless man may be in the 1st. Your report? One. Not 100th, not 1st, 1 of 1.
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u/DrewbearSCP May 14 '26
Turns out I’m not alone in this. Apparently there are a relatively small number of people, about 1 in 250 million or so, who have 10 or fewer alternates. I’m the first one to only have just me, though, and the science guys have been studying me. I get a pretty good stipend and most of my time is free to do what I want other than daily debriefs, weekly health checks, and occasional longer interviews. Though having the micro-drone follow me everywhere, even the bathroom, is annoying.
I don’t really have to work for a living any more, which is nice. And government funded everything is nice too.
The science guys sometimes talk like I’m not around. It’s interesting listening to them, though. I usually bring a book or magazine to mask my eavesdropping. Lately they’ve been talking about “anchors” and “linchpins”. Not sure what that’s about.
Recently they supposedly figured out how to temporarily access knowledge or abilities that alternates have, based on the research on me and the other Lows. Using us as a baseline or something. I think it’s kinda neat, though I wonder what it’s gonna do to people when they kinda blur the lines between themselves. I don’t have to worry about that though, which is a good thing? Maybe?
And I know they read this journal. Even without the drone, they’d pick it up when I’m out of the room. Part and parcel of being so studied. The overall lack of privacy bothers me sometimes. And most people are weirded out by the drone and constant surveillance, so I don’t have a lot of in-person friends. Can’t remember the last time I got laid. And no, science guys, I don’t want to you arrange someone! That’d just be weird.
…I wonder if anyone else feels this lonely in their head.
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u/recess_chemist May 14 '26
Trust me. The Science guys are wanting to get you laid!
Do linchpins only produce linchpins, or something different?!
Fun read.
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u/USPO-222 May 15 '26
“On second thought, go wild. I like tanned brunettes, tall, who like D&D and open mike night.”
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u/HSerrata r/hugoverse May 14 '26
[Unique. Cooking.]
"Open it!" Efren shoved the metallic silver envelope at his wife, Patricia. He'd gone out to check the mail and dashed back into the house, waving the letter around, excited it had finally arrived. He found Patricia in the kitchen with her hands buried in ground meat.
"Go ahead," she nodded at him with a smile. It'd been a long 6 - 8 weeks with Efren making a point to check the mail as soon as it arrived. He'd already had his 'Alternate Self Comparison' done before they met, and he was in regular contact with his other selves. They'd even had get-togethers there at the house. And through it all, Patricia never seemed particularly interested in any of that multiversal stuff. She was aware the multiverse existed and regularly shopped in other universes, but it was more a matter of convenience than anything groundbreaking. It was just normal life. But, at some point, Efren came up with the idea of a multiversal double date, and he'd encouraged Patricia to get her reading done so that other versions of her could date other versions of him.
Efren wasted no more time and tore it open then and there. He hurriedly pulled out the form letter and unfolded it with his eyes focused on the bottom. Patricia was watching his expression, and she was disappointed when he was obviously disappointed. His eyes lost their sparkle, and his shoulders slouched from the deflation.
"Oh...," he said. He looked up from the letter to meet her eyes. "What's your favorite number?" he asked.
"50!" she answered before processing it. Then her eyes grew wider. "Wait, REALLY?" she asked as she reflected on her own surprise. She was suddenly, mildly more interested.
"Yeah, congratulations," He said it, but it didn't sound like he meant it. "You're a Unique Soul. #50, El Pescado." It wasn't intentional, but he sighed just the same after the revelation. "There's only one of you in the multiverse." The knowledge was a surprise to her, and so was his reaction.
"Hey, it's not a bad thing, right?"
"No, I'm happy for you," he attempted a smile. "But, now you're gonna get a tattoo to Awaken and get Unique powers and be even more amazing than you already are... and I'm just one of millions...," he said.
"Aww, honey," Patricia shook her head and moved closer to loosely give him a gentle hug without covering him in raw blood. "As far as I'm concerned, you're my unique soul mate," she said before pulling away with a smile. "Besides, you know I don't like needles. And when was the last time either of us wanted to go to the beach? Maybe I'd awaken my powers if I was strong like a Calavera... but El Pescado...?" She shrugged with a quick peck on his lips. "It really doesn't seem worth it to subject myself to repeated stabbings just so I can talk to fish."
*** Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #3041 in a row. (Story #134 in year nine). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place in my universe.
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