&

&

By Elise Bach

The concept of different realities existing on either side of ‘and’ has gripped societies for ages. Weak & Strong; Sound & Silence; Good & Evil. The binary opposition of these universes haunts all who dare find out what lies in them. The clashing perspectives destroy one's concept of self. And for one unfortunate enough to find themselves catapulted through the looking glass, what happens to this idea of ‘yourself’ when faced with a version of you so twisted…

Well, it shatters.

It was an experiment. One made to test the existence of other realities. But through some algorithmic miscalculation, Doran woke up on a different Earth. The series of events that happened next as documented not only prove the existence of other worlds, but the existence of other yous. Doran encountered a version of himself only described as the exact opposite of how he saw himself.

He was a weaker man. Wanted to prove himself strong. But he was kind hearted, if that counted for anything.

He was a strong man. A wolf in sheep's clothing. His heart as black as the darkest void you can muster.

Neither renditions thought of themselves as evil. No, instead they both simply saw themselves as strangers. Exiles of society. Except our Doran sought happiness through humbleness and other people; This Doran was a megalomaniac.

The encounter between the two was catastrophic - neither could admit to themselves a version of them existed who was so evil. So weak. So different. But there was an underlying acceptance. A fascination. An obsession.

Traits amplified and twisted.

Dulled and deformed.

What made Doran himself had been ripped apart and mutilated. The man in front of him could only be him by relation itself. They shared the same blood, they shared the same body, but something had happened in the exact middle of both traits to send them flying in opposite directions.

If Doran had wanted to come home, he would have. But he was stuck in this alternate universe. Not by being forced, or by any sort of dark magic, but by his own messed up volition.

He had realized that together, there was no ‘either side of and.’ There was just being.

Elise Bach loves to draw and write about concepts like sci-fi or the paranormal. This piece was inspired by the song "&" by Tally Hall, as well as Star Trek's mirror universe.