THE MOMENT
Isaiah had had an eye-opening 24 hours. What started out as a normal trek to his mailbox resulted in a trip to an alternate universe, and then a formal tour after that. He'd had the option to return home at any time, but as the day wore on, the idea was less and less interesting. What was there to do at home? He'd already had a full, boring life at 52 years old, and he wasn't exactly living his best life. He managed to make it from paycheck to paycheck reliably, but 'office work from home' was hardly anyone's dream job. He was learning the secrets of the multiverse, and it was more astonishing than he could've imagined. At the moment, he was following his personal tour guide, Brooke, through narrow white hallways. This was likely one of their last meetings, and he was okay with that.
"So, how'd you like the apartment?" Brooke asked.
"Are you sure it's free?" Isaiah asked with a broad grin. "It was perfect."
"Don't get too comfortable," Brooke replied. "Sharp Development is still wanting to put you somewhere more permanent. Those apartments are meant to have frequent turnover, you're not the only person accidentally crossing multiversal boundaries on any given day. As soon as you decide where you want to go, they'll set you up there. And yes," she smiled. "It'll still be free."
"And school too?" He gestured at their location as they emerged into a broader hall. The narrow passages weren't too crowded, but the space connecting them held dozens, maybe hundreds of students in various private conversations. When she asked what he wanted to see that day, he suggested a university he'd read up on.
"Sharp Community College, yes," Brooke nodded. She crossed the hall Isaiah close behind. "If you want to attend any of the other major multiversal schools Sharp Development can likely work something out as well."
"I'm not too old?" He asked. It was hard not to feel it when every other person he passed was at least 25 years younger.
"We've only been here 15 minutes," Brooke shook her head. "And most of the serious students are in class right now. You're fine, it's a multiversal college," she reminded him. "There are plenty of students over 100 years old, and a few over 200." They entered another narrow hall with fewer students again, and Brooke kept leading the way.
"Great, now I'm insecure in the other direction," Isaiah chuckled and Brooke laughed too.
"All things considered, you're adapting pretty fast," she smiled at him.
"After seeing a 50-story tall goose.. I guess it's hard not to take everything else in stride too," he said.
"That's the spirit," Brooke smiled as she came to a stop outside a closed classroom door. "And here we are, class is almost over." As soon as she said it, the door opened, and Isaiah instantly felt better. The first person out of the room was an elderly, frail man with a long silver beard wearing a white robe. The second, third, and first dozen or so all appeared older than Isaiah as they filed out of the room. And, he quickly surmised that the white robe was due to the program.
He hadn't been able to guess a reason before, but he'd seen students in various styles of clothing, but always all white. He was trying to make sense of it, but wasn't able to tie their wardrobes to various scholar disciplines until he arrived to see everyone wearing the same garb. The flow of aged students died down, and Brooke peeked into the room, then she entered it waving Isaiah along with her. He knew where they were going, and he knew who she was going to introduce him to, and he was still surprised.
After seeing the assortment of old people, he didn't expect to find a young teenage girl around Brooke's age alone in the room. She had dark short hair and piercing blue eyes that looked right through Isaiah as he entered.
"Hi, Dara," Brooke waved at the girl, then gestured at him. "This is Isaiah. He was displaced yesterday and has decided not to go back to his own Earth," she said. Dara met his eyes, and gave a subtle, polite nod.
"Hello," was all she said, and he felt obligated to explain what Brooke hadn't.
"I have decided to major in Theoretical Physics with a focus on Arcanaology," he said. "The scientific study of magic and sorcery." Dara tilted her head at him, and briefly glanced at Brooke for a moment.
"If you want to learn magic, you're in the wrong place," she said.
"But..," that was a shock. Since he'd met Brooke, everything seemed to happen easily, and in his favor. She was the one that led him there. She was the one that said it'd be okay. Why was Dara denying him? He looked at Brooke full of disappointed, and she simply nodded at him. He'd had a full day, and it was so packed that he briefly forgot a minor conversation they'd had before arriving, but she'd prepared him for this. He looked at Dara and shook his head.
"That's not why I'm here," he said. "I don't want to learn magic," he'd spent time trying to make that clear to Brooke. "I want to learn about magic. I want to study how it works."
"Oh, that's different," Dara smiled genuinely this time. She glanced him up and down, apparently taking stock.
"Very well, I approve your application to the Arcanaology program," she said.
"Hey congratulations," Brooke smiled. "You're officially sorted out. Welcome to the multiverse, enjoy your life," she said. She waved at him and at Dara before heading toward the door.
"Thank you!" Isaiah said. He knew how to get home, or anywhere in the multiverse from there.
"So what time does this class start?" He asked. Dara smiled and shook her head.
"I'll arrange a schedule sent to your node. You've gotta start with the basics," she said as she gestured at the empty room. "These were my seniors."