THE MOMENT
"But, what about the core?" Jim asked. He was seated in a clean white corporate office across from a kindly old woman who seemed incapable of any other expression than a smile. He'd never heard of Sharp Development until they invited him to discuss his dream project. That's all it was for most of his life, and all he ever expected it to be. The reality of reality meant it was an impossible goal, but he still shared some of his passion online with other like-minded dreamers.
"I say this with all the sincerity I can, that's your problem," Estelle giggled. "That's why you're here after all."
"Wait...," Jim took a second look around the office. It was perfectly tasteful and professional in every way, except for one. It was larger than his home office; but, that wasn't saying much. He'd converted a section of the basement into a work environment, and it was just enough space for a desk, chair, and computer. The size of Estelle's office didn't feel like it matched up with that of a high-ranking executive. "... is this a scam somehow?" he asked. "Do you have the authority to give me 'unlimited funding'?" He wouldn't have even attended the appointment if the email mentioned 'unlimited funding'. But, it only hinted that Sharp Development wanted to help him explore the possibilities of his dream, and it looked promising on paper.
It wasn't until she started explaining the offer that Jim decided to be the adult in the room. It was one thing to toss around the word 'unlimited' when discussing dreams and hopes; but, quite another to try and quantify it in the real world. He needed to make sure that she understood it was impossible.
"I do," Estelle nodded. "You might not be aware of how... trivial this offer is for Sharp Development. Honestly, it's even a little bit beneath me," she smiled. "But, I like to pitch in with the interns when I have time."
"Unlimited funding... is trivial?" Jim was almost ready to dismiss her claims entirely. But, he decided he wasn't going to be mean about it, Estelle had been perfectly pleasant, even if she was tryin to scam him.
"If you agree to work with us, you'll learn quite a bit about Sharp Development," she nodded. "And, of course, I can arrange for you to visit with someone to explain everything before you make a decision, if you'd like that route. However, I can sum up the basics here to help you understand what we're offering," she took in a breath, then continued.
"Sharp Development is a multiversal corporation," she noticed Jim's eyes open wide. "Yes, alternate universes exist, and in fact you're not currently on the Earth you were born on, the elevator brought you to this one for your appointment."
"Uhuh...," Jim nodded. His thoughts were jammed and jumbled together, but he felt like it was his turn to say something.
"We have branches on hundreds of billions of alternate Earths. When people hear 'unlimited', they tend to think of 'infinite'; but, that's not exactly right in this context. It's only 'effectively' infinite. It doesn't necessarily have to be truly infinite resources, the bottleneck is you. Sharp Development has enough resources to give everyone on several Earths 'unlimited funding' with the same indifference as accidentally dropping a penny down a gutter."
"So why don't you!?" Jim asked. He felt lucky he'd led a comfortable life so far; but, it was easy to imagine how much better things would be if everyone on Earth had unlimited resources. Estelle smiled.
"We are," she nodded at him. "That's you."
"Oh.. so.. you're going to waste money to help me dig a hole through the Earth?"
"Of course not, that's very likely impossible," Estelle shook her head; but, the smile remained.
"But.. you said...," he hesitated and changed it to a question. "Why am I here?"
"It's okay, learning about the multiverse frazzles some people," Estelle replied. "Let me explain it like you're an intern. Sharp Development has vast resources and the owner, Ms. Dana Sharp, would rather invest in ideas than let too much of it sit around doing nothing. From the company's perspective, we're not 'wasting money to help you dig a hole through the Earth'. You're certainly not the only wild idea we'll be funding; there are countless Earths, and we regularly give others the same offer as you. The reality of the situation is, you've demonstrated passion in your fantasy, and Sharp Development is aware that we don't know everything. We're funding your dig simply to see what you do with it. Given unlimited resources, could you think up a way to dig through the core? If you did manage it, that's quite a bit of knowledge for our Company. If you don't, we lose so little it's effectively nothing."