The End

Written by Anakin McFly

"So this is it."

They stood and watched the people filing into the waiting room, the rows of chairs as far as the eye could see: people sitting, standing, fidgeting, anxiously checking their ticket slips and waiting for their number to be called.

The beeps and flashes of red LED lights filled the room. Queues formed in front of each counter or off to the side in booths. At the seats, people sat with heads bowed, pens scribbling away in the forms that would dictate their new identities from here on out. New names, for some of them who wished to start completely on a clean slate; new addresses for almost all, save those lucky few whose counterparts both lived in the same location and were willing to take them in. New lives, transplanted out of a destroyed world, negligible bits of luggage all that was left from the old universe that they knew, remnants of their past with their accompanying memories to remind them of home, and that it once existed.

The weaker world had fallen; the stronger had to take them in. Wars in the past had been less complicated. The sides had been more clearly delineated. Enemies had been enemies and easily treated as such, but things were less certain in a war where the ones you fought against and tried to kill were your family, your friends, yourself; different versions, and yet the same in so many ways.

Sharing. It could be hard at the best of times, but doubling the Earth's population with close to no warning was a strain on even the most generous of hearts. These people needed to be fed and clothed and sheltered, given jobs in time, allowed to be responsible for their own lives once again and have their basic human dignity restored. Family relationships had been shaken: by new members, or the continued existence in the other world of those thought to be dead, or alternate versions of those already living. Meanwhile, the hastily created temporary bubbles of hyperspace would collapse eventually and those currently taking refuge in them would need to be relocated.

Holding on to her own scrap of luggage, Olivia Dunham watched the masses of new arrivals and wondered what they thought. It was one thing to lose all that you've ever known, and another to do the same when the same fate had befallen everyone else you'd ever known.

The world – both worlds – would need time to readjust. Things would change. Life would never be the same again. They knew now that they were not alone, but shared the multiverse with beings very much like them. Life would be less lonely, to some degree.

It was a brave new world.

"This is it," Peter agreed, sticking his hands into his jacket pockets. "The end of one world... and the beginning of another."

"I just remembered," Olivia said, turning to look at him. "We left Gene behind."

Peter shrugged. "She can take care of herself."

"She's dead," Olivia said, stifling a laugh.

"Off in some cow heaven where she'll never want for cud to chew or magic hands to milk her."

Olivia nodded, considering. "That's nice. Yeah... I like that."

Her number flashed on screen #42: 1396022.

"...and that's me." Olivia went over to the counter and smiled at the suspiciously-robot-like attendant sitting behind it. She passed over her ticket. "Hi."

"This has your new identity card," the attendant said, ignoring the greeting and sliding a translucent file folder over, pointing at the card, "and other documents that you'll require. Please do not lose them or you'll make the paperwork folks very upset. Inside also are some food coupons, and..."

Olivia rejoined Peter moments later with the folder.

"Got everything?"

"Yep."

Peter prodded the folder to get a better look at the identity card.

"Olivia Dunham," he read. Peter looked up at her and smiled. "Welcome to my home."

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