11.07.2017

Parallel Universes - is there a flip side?


One of my favorite things to think about is if there are parallel universes and multiverses. After watching season 2 of Stranger Things, I spent too much time staring at the wall and wondering if I could reach through and touch myself in another universe. If I did indeed exist in that universe.

I googled movies on this topic and very few came up. I found a lot about time travel and how that makes alternative histories, presents, and futures. But not so many about parallel universes.

Yet some of my favorite books have taken on this theme: Coraline by Neil Gaiman, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, and stories by H.P. Lovecraft. We step through a mirror or a wardrobe, and we've gone through a portal into a parallel world. Some more pleasant than others!


One of my favorite TV shows about multiverses was Sliders. Do you remember that show from the 1990s? They traveled from Earth to Earth trying to find their own. Some Earths were so similar to their home, they wondered if it was the right one, but then they'd find one little difference.

What am I like in parallel worlds? Did I have seven children like I wanted when I was a teenager? Did I become an archaeologist like Indiana Jones? Did I say yes to that doctor who asked me on a date in university? Do I have tentacles instead of arms and legs?

The possibilities are infinite. And great fuel for future stories!

What are your favorite books/movies/shows about parallel universes?

13 comments:

  1. I echo your book choices.
    And often wonder about the thin veil which separates us from the next universie(s).

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  2. Hi Christine - I often think there must be other parallel worlds around ours ... but I rather give up the unequal struggle of trying to find out - or spend my time worrying about it!!

    Interesting post though ... I'd like some other jobs through life - on the other hand if I had, then I wouldn't be here - cheers Hilary

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  3. I love parallel universes, and I do believe they exist. My favorite TV show with them is The Flash, and I loved when Stargate had the occasional parallel universe episode.

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  4. I loved Sliders. It was a fun show. Parallel universes is a trippy thing to dwell on. Maybe I'll attempt such a story one day.

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    1. I've been considering it too. But I haven't found a good plot yet.

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  5. Here's an even better question. What books did you write in those other worlds? Is it plagiarism if you steal from your alternate self and publish them here?

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    1. Ooh, good question. You technically can't steal from yourself... so if you borrow from another world... I hope I'm much more productive in those other worlds!

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  6. I don't have any favorite stories about parallel words, but I do like thinking about it too. The possibilities are endless.

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  7. After reading lots of non-fiction on theoretical physics I am a believer in the multiverse and parallel universes. The TV series FRINGE was a fave, as is Mr. Robot. And Robert Sawyer's Flash Forward had some great concepts in it.

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    1. I'm adding Flash Forward to my list now. I watch a lot of Science Channel, and love when shows about these things come on.

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