At every important choice we make, the universe splits into separate strands of reality, each following the various possible outcomes of the choices we could have made. These strands exist simultaneously and independently, weaving together to form the fabric of the universe.
At least that’s how it’s explained to Jim Stafford by the bizarre homeless fellow pacing in front of Vic’s coffee shop. With animate arms and wild, unfocused eyes he accuses Jim of jumping from one strand to another, taking over his alternate “self” and thereby causing the universe to unravel.
Obviously the mad ravings of a lunatic.
Except Jim has been waking each morning into what seems like a different version of his own life, with conflicting memories coexisting in his head. Some mornings he wakes to the cries of his baby Jimmy, cradles him in his arms while haunted by vivid memories of losing him at childbirth. Or he finds himself lying beside his girlfriend Cassandra, her swollen belly stretching the sheets, Jimmy’s birth still imminent, Jim’s fear and apprehension confused by memories of a mop-haired child already toddling across the room. The worst days he wakes to an empty life, Cassandra merely a passing stranger at the coffee shop, brief eye contact before moving on, Jimmy only an aching absence, a memory of a child that doesn’t exist. There are very few constants in Jim’s days: Jim’s desperate love for Jimmy, the visceral foreboding that he is somehow destined to ruin Jimmy’s life, and each day’s inexorable conclusion -Cassandra is murdered.
Desperate to save Cassandra, Jim relies on the homeless man’s confusing advice as he jumps from strand to strand, trying to prevent Cassandra’s murder. As he flounders through the various versions of his own life, he discovers a past he doesn’t want to remember, and a choice he doesn’t want to make.
He must choose between saving Jimmy OR Cassandra.
At least that’s how it’s explained to Jim Stafford by the bizarre homeless fellow pacing in front of Vic’s coffee shop. With animate arms and wild, unfocused eyes he accuses Jim of jumping from one strand to another, taking over his alternate “self” and thereby causing the universe to unravel.
Obviously the mad ravings of a lunatic.
Except Jim has been waking each morning into what seems like a different version of his own life, with conflicting memories coexisting in his head. Some mornings he wakes to the cries of his baby Jimmy, cradles him in his arms while haunted by vivid memories of losing him at childbirth. Or he finds himself lying beside his girlfriend Cassandra, her swollen belly stretching the sheets, Jimmy’s birth still imminent, Jim’s fear and apprehension confused by memories of a mop-haired child already toddling across the room. The worst days he wakes to an empty life, Cassandra merely a passing stranger at the coffee shop, brief eye contact before moving on, Jimmy only an aching absence, a memory of a child that doesn’t exist. There are very few constants in Jim’s days: Jim’s desperate love for Jimmy, the visceral foreboding that he is somehow destined to ruin Jimmy’s life, and each day’s inexorable conclusion -Cassandra is murdered.
Desperate to save Cassandra, Jim relies on the homeless man’s confusing advice as he jumps from strand to strand, trying to prevent Cassandra’s murder. As he flounders through the various versions of his own life, he discovers a past he doesn’t want to remember, and a choice he doesn’t want to make.
He must choose between saving Jimmy OR Cassandra.