THE MOMENT
"Whooaaaa..," Magnus laughed as countless memories flooded his mind. He suddenly remembered every joke he'd ever heard and every touch any version of him ever felt. It was fun at first, even entertaining. But then he started to remember love and it's endings. Girlfriends, boyfriends, wives and husbands; he'd loved a lot of people throughout his lifetimes.
"Here you go," Victoria, the violet-haired woman that was in charge of the procedure offered him a tissue. Magnus hadn't realized his eyes were overflowing until he leaned forward and tears ran down his cheeks.
"Thank you...," Magnus nodded then dabbed at his eyes with the tissue. "...did you go through this too?" he asked.
"Not exactly," Victoria shook her head. "This is Ms. Sharp's shortcut. I went through all this the natural way. I lived millions of lifetimes before I was born as a Unique Soul. It's almost the same thing we're doing here, except usually slower. Whenever a version of you dies naturally that soul fragment is added to the next batch of YOU that's born. Since you forget a lot of what you learn between lives, it can take hundreds of millions of years for a soul to become Unique," she said. "Ms. Sharp's method allows us to choose the consciousness that becomes Unique as well as speeding up the process. The extra memories are a temporary side effect. You'll forget about your other lives soon."
"Can I keep any of them?" Magnus asked. He had a dozen flashes of a dozen different mothers; he felt nothing but pure love and appreciation for each of them. He realized that he could kind of control the memories. He started trying to remember what it was like to be other versions of himself. Victoria shook her head.
"Only Mundos can keep their memories, you chose to become a different Unique," Victoria said. "Are you ready for another round?" she asked. Magnus took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then, he nodded.
Images of himself filled his mind. He was a scrawny teenager standing in front of a mirror. He was an old, pot-bellied bald man shaving. He was a mid-20s office worker being tortured to death. The flood of visions faded out as Magnus tried to catch his breath. The last image was particularly intense.
"How many more times...?" Magnus asked. He would endure because he knew what was waiting for him on the other side. But, he hoped he did not have to endure much longer.
"After this?" Victoria asked with a smirk. She started the process when Magnus wasn't ready. He was still trying to shake the pain from the previous round and it happened to be what was on his mind when the next round started.
He saw hundreds, maybe thousands of versions of himself writhing in pain. All of them were dying one by one; he felt each of his lives end. The only way he kept his sanity was by reminding himself what he signed up for. He was on the verge of being the most powerful version of himself.
"Just one more," Victoria giggled when the round ended.
"Thanks for the warning...," Magnus replied with sarcasm. He was breathing hard, the process took a lot of him even if he didn't understand why or how he felt weaker. He made conversation to stall and catch his breath.
"I gotta say, though, I'm really impressed by Sharp Development," he said.
"Most people are," Victoria smirked.
"No, I mean it," Magnus shook his head. "Not only did the company find millions of other versions of me. Somehow you are able to show me their last moments."
"Of all the things Ms. Sharp has achieved, this is the least impressive," Victoria said with a shrug. "Tracking other versions of a Zero is as simple as scanning the multiverse for a frequency that all versions of you share."
"Oh," Magnus nodded. Victoria's finger hovered over the red button. "Still…," Magnus took in a deep breath to prepare for what he was about to experience. "I'm there, seeing the end of each life. I can almost feel it. You can't tell me that's not incredible…," he said.
"Incredible?" Victoria asked. "Boy, you're easily entertained."
"How are you not amazed?" Magnus asked. "I'm witnessing different lifetimes. All me, all of them ending."
“I think you’re putting too much thought into it,” Victoria said. “Once we find other versions of you, the rest is easy.”
“Huh?” Magnus asked. In his mind, there had to be more than that. How was he experiencing what they did when they died?
“I’ll give you a hint,” Victoria smirked. “What do you think this button does?”She dropped her finger on the button and new, familiar visions filled his mind. Horrible endings he’d experienced before and was experiencing again. But even as he remembered terrible events he felt like he was living through them again.