Quantum Destinies 
A Ranma fanfic 
by Steven Thesken (jurai-knight@home.com) 
 
This idea occurred to me after I finished the science-fiction novel  
�Paths to Otherwhere� by James P. Hogan.   Ranma and all  
associated characters are owned by Kitty and the ever-creative  
Rumiko Takahashi.   This is purely a work of fanfiction, so please  
read and enjoy. 
 
Notes: Thoughts will be bracketed by a * on each end.   Any  
speech other than Japanese will be bracketed by < and >. 
 
 
 
Chapter 1 - A Life Unlived 
 
	The soft whirring of the overhead fan is interrupted by a loud  
ringing sound.   A hand emerges from beneath a light blanket.   It  
slowly reaches and fumbles around for the source of the noise.   A  
muted grumbling is heard from beneath the blanket as the hand  
takes several long moments to track the sound to its source on the  
table.   A brief struggle is won, and silence reigns over the  
bedroom once more. 
 
	A few minutes later, the door opens with a loud bang.    
Slippered feet make their way into the room, and stop next to the  
futon.   A rather angry female voice makes itself known. 
 
	�Ranma!  You are _not_ going to be late for school again!�    
The figure waits to see what reaction occurs, slowly tapping one  
slippered foot. 
 
	More grumbling is heard from beneath the blanket, then a  
little motion.   The motion becomes more and more frantic over the  
next several seconds.   More grumbling is heard, then a final flurry  
of motion occurs.   A male body emerges from the covers over the  
futon.   Ranma Saotome was now officially awake. 
 
	�I�m up, mother.   I�m up.�   His voice has the mildly sullen  
tone of the typical teenage boy in the morning.   The dream that he  
had been having evaporated into nothing.   He never could  
remember his dreams. 
 
	Satisfied that her son was awake and would not be late for  
school, Nodoka Saotome charges out of the room to finish  
breakfast.   Ranma sits on the edge of his futon, and wishes for the  
thousandth time that his parents weren�t such traditionalists that  
he could have a bed.   His mother would be scandalized at the  
thought.   His father would simply agree with his mother. 
 
	Ranma gets up off the floor and walks over to his closet,  
sliding open the door.   He pulls his school uniform out of his  
closet with a hint of distaste.   Even though it was tailored to fit  
quite well, he still disliked wearing the stupid thing.   He put on a  
clean shirt and socks from the drawer.   He eyes the hated uniform  
for a moment before struggling into it. 
 
	*Now I look like a proper student for the Tokyo Imperial  
Academy.*   His mind was full of sincere hopes that he wouldn�t  
run into any trouble today.   His independent study science project  
was near completion.   The last thing he needed was trouble from  
any of his fellow students. 
 
	Breakfast was the usual affair.   His father, Genma Saotome,  
kept his nose buried in the newspaper, occasionally turning pages  
or grumbling at some new development in the world.   His mother,  
Nodoka Saotome, busied herself with  delivering another delicious  
meal to the table before sitting down to eat. 
 
	The family eats in relative silence.   Ranma gobbled down his  
food as fast as he could while under his mothers watchful eye,  
trying to avoid her usual morning lecture on his table manners.    
Genma occasionally gulped down some food, briefly emerging  
from behind the barrier of his newspaper.   All in all, it was  
another typical morning in the Saotome household. 
 
	Upon finishing with his breakfast, Ranma picks up his  
bookbag and stuffs his personal notebook deep down inside.    
Inside it are his latest calculations dutifully recorded.   A large and  
rather weighty tome with the name �Quantum Mechanics and  
Parallel Universe Theory� joins it.   The authors name on the cover  
was �Dr. Genma Saotome.�   He slings his bookbag up onto his  
shoulder, and heads out the door after putting on his shoes.   His  
parents watch him as he heads down the street. 
 
	�I swear I don�t know what is with that boy lately,� grumbles  
Nodoka.   �All he cares about is this project of his.� 
 
	Genma grunts noncommittally.   Nodoka turns to look at him.    
Her look is one that Genma has come to see lately all too often. 
 
	�He wants to prove your theories correct.   Do you think he  
can?� 
 
	�My son will succeed.   I didn�t drag him over half the world  
for the last ten years, to every center of learning I could find, to  
have him fail.   You really  shouldn�t coddle the boy, Nodoka.    
You will see that I kept my promise.   He will be the greatest mind  
that the Empire has ever seen.�   Pride fills his voice. 
 
	�We�ll see, Genma.�   A small particle of doubt can be heard  
in her voice. 
 
              ****************************** 
 
	Ranma walks along at a leisurely pace.   School was not one of  
his favorite places to be.   It wasn�t that he did poorly at it.   On the  
contrary, it was too easy for him.   After following his father all  
over the world for so many years, learning at the feet of every  
scholar and scientist the old man could coerce into teaching him,  
school had been a relief.   Ranma had been initially content to  
attend regular classes with other students his own age.   He had  
quickly grown bored though, and his lack of social skills hadn�t  
helped with his classmates. 
 
	He almost collides with one of the annoyances in his life when  
he turns the next corner.   He stumbles, dropping his bag, as a deft  
footsweep causes him to lose his balance.   The day was still new,  
and it was already looking bad. 
 
	�Watch out, you clumsy weakling!� shouts an angry female  
voice.   He looks up and grimaces inwardly.   Standing before him,  
in her gray Imperial Security cadet uniform, was Akane Tendo.    
Her older sister Nabiki, also in the gray colors of an Imperial  
Security cadet save for one extra hash mark on the sleeve, stands  
next to Akane with a smirk on her face. 
 
	�Ranma dear,� purrs Nabiki, �you should make more of an  
effort to be aware of your surroundings.�   She flashes a cold smile.    
It chills Ranma to the bone.   He had heard that Nabiki Tendo  
already had a promising future mapped out ahead of her in the  
Emperor�s Secret Police. 
 
	*This is all I need today.*   Ranma keeps his face composed as  
he gets back to his feet.   The Thug, as he referred to Akane in the  
privacy of his own thoughts, watched him stand with a frown.    
Nabiki watched him with a cool look of detached interest.   He  
bows his head after regaining his feet. 
 
	�My sincerest apologies, ladies.�   He hopes that the faint hint  
of mockery he is feeling is not present in his voice.   He keeps his  
head down as Akane looks at him for a long moment, before  
turning with an angry sniff to stomp away.   Nabiki gives him  
another cool smile, and her hand reaches out to caress his face.    
Her hand feels warm, but he imagines that he could feel his skin  
crawl at her touch. 
 
	�Be more careful in the future, Ranma dear.   We both know  
that Akane is one to bear grudges for the smallest of slights.�   She  
turns with proper military form, and hurries only slightly to catch  
up with her sister.   Ranma watches them walk off before taking a  
slightly different route to school. 
 
              ****************************** 
 
	�You should learn to take it easy when it comes to Saotome,  
little sister.   All that anger can�t be good for you.�   Nabiki walks  
with an unconscious precision to her stride, her appearance that of  
the perfect Imperial officer. 
 
	�Grrr.   I still haven�t forgiven him for what he did at the  
beginning of the year.�  Akane kicks a stone through the fence and  
into the drainage stream as she stomps along in a foul mood.    
*Damn you, Ranma Saotome.   I wish you weren�t such a  
weakling.* 
 
	�As I recall it, that incident wasn�t entirely his fault.    
Someone switched the signs for the locker rooms on the first day of  
school.�   Nabiki smiled as she recalled the look on her sisters face  
that day when Ranma had walked in with some of the other new  
freshman boys.   It had been one of her better pranks on her little  
sister.   The few of Nabiki�s associates who knew of her  
involvement would never tell.   Nabiki chose her allies carefully. 
 
	�I still think it was just an excuse those boys cooked up  
between themselves to peep.�   Akane could feel her insides begin  
to seethe from her remembered embarrassment.   She had come out  
of the showers to see a surprised bunch of boys looking at her.    
The other girls from her class had been conveniently absent.    
Akane had pummeled every boy to within an inch of their lives. 
 
	�You also got detention for a week for harming the star  
intellect of the school.�   Nabiki smirks as her sister blushes with  
annoyance.   Baiting her little sister was a favorite game.   Even  
though the Tendo family had served with distinction in Imperial  
Security for almost two centuries, Nabiki just could not see Akane  
as rising very far in rank due to her aggressive nature. 
 
	Akane grumbles to herself the rest of the way to school.    
*This is all Ranma�s fault!   He�s a boy.   I keep provoking him.    
Why won�t he fight me?* 
 
              ****************************** 
 
	Ranma finally arrived at the gate surrounding Tokyo Imperial  
Academy.   Built almost ninety years ago, it was a very stolid, but  
dreary-looking structure.   The Emperor of that time had wanted to  
construct a site for serious learning, along the lines of the finest  
schools of far-off lands such as Germany  or Russia.   The  
architecture was to mirror the seriousness of the purpose it was  
built for.   Ranma just found it oppressive. 
 
	His morning classes were dull, even at the accelerated  
program that Ranma was in.   In his current class, he listens half- 
heartedly as the instructor drones on about some lesser-known  
aspects of the history of the Empire.   *Who really cares about  
some failed revolution in Britain�s old North American colonies?,*  
he thinks with a bored sigh.   The western region of North America  
had been a colony of the Empire for over a century, after the war  
with Spain.   *Would the shape of the world really have changed  
that much?*   There had been peace in the world for the last  
several decades, since it was divided up among the three  
superpowers in the last war: Japan, Germany, and Russia.   Ranma  
could care less about history himself.   Science was all that  
mattered to him. 
 
	Finally, he was released into his personal study period and  
headed down into the labs in the basement.   Today would be the  
day when he would solve the problem that had plagued him, and  
he would see another world. 
 
              ****************************** 
 
	*Almost got it.*   Ranma carefully adjusts the small soldering  
iron as he sets the last chip in place on the circuit board.   *There.*    
The new chip snaps into place and is held solidly by a few daubs of  
lead solder.   He pushes the board back into place and runs the  
system through final checkout.   The monitor brightens into life  
next to him as he sits with the keyboard in his lap. 
 
*SELF-CHECK COMPLETE 
 
*ALL LOGIC COMPONENTS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN  
THE DESIGNATED PARAMETERS 
 
*QUANTUM FLUX COIL IS FUNCTIONING WITHIN THE  
DESIGNATED PARAMETERS 
 
*NEURAL INDUCTION SENSORS ARE FUNCTIOING  
WITHIN THE DESIGNATED PARAMETERS 
 
*SYSTEM HAS 10 QUANTUM COORDINATES STORED IN  
STABLE MEMORY 
 
*SCAN FOR NEW COORDINATES:  YES 
 
*SELECT QUANTUM BAND FOR SCAN:  RANDOM 
 
*SET CYCLE INTO ACTIVE MODE:  YES 
 
*SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST:  60.00 MINUTES 
 
*WAITING FOR SIGNAL FROM NEURAL HEADSET 
 
	Ranma sits back and contemplates the machine assembled in  
front of him on the lab floor.   He could hardly believe it was  
finished.   After two years of polishing his fathers theories, three  
months of design work, and almost a month of assembling a  
mishmash of prototype components, it was now done.   The proof  
of his father�s theories lay before him.   The Quantum Neural  
Resonator was finally finished. 
 
	Ranma picks up the bulky neural induction headset.   All his  
calculations told him it should work.   Every piece of the device  
had been checked and re-checked.   If he was going to do it, it  
might as well be now.   The random search program was engaged,  
but would not engage until he put the headset on.   This would give  
the system a comparison model to use to begin searching for a  
likely quantum signature match.   He could have gone with one of  
the ones he had already gotten a signature match during his earlier  
limited tests, but he decided the first full-powered test should be to  
a set of coordinates scanned from scratch. 
 
	He takes the precaution of locking the lab door, and the recall  
mode for the Resonator was already set for an hour.   *That should  
give me sufficient time to look around.* 
 
	He settles back onto the couch he had dragged down from one  
of the storage rooms.   It had been used as a prop in a number of  
school plays, but it suited his purposes.   The headset settles easily  
onto his head, the background hum of the Resonator feeling like a  
faint tickle along the inside of his skull. 
 
	*This is it.   I wonder what it will feel like?* 
 
	In the background, the soft computer-generated voice began its  
repetitive statement, �Searching... Searching... Searching....� 
 
	Suddenly, �Quantum signature found.   Activating cycle.� 
 
              ****************************** 
 
	There was a brief moment of dislocation, then Ranma found  
himself in another place, another life.   What was unexpected was  
the rush of memories from that other life filling his awareness.   It  
was rather distracting and even more disorienting.   He was  
confused a moment by his surroundings, so he didn�t realize that  
someone was addressing him immediately. 
 
	�Mister Saotome!   Have you fallen asleep in my class, you  
delinquent? What is the answer to the question?�   An annoyed- 
looking eight year old girl was shouting at him. 
 
	He looks around quickly.   A classroom full of students looks  
back at him.   The uniforms even looked similar to the ones he was  
used to.   To his surprise, Akane Tendo was sitting behind him and  
glaring at him.   She even wore her hair the same way he  
remembered from home.   She points to her text with a final glare.    
Ranma glances down at a similar book in front of him and flips to  
the same page.   Luckily, it was apparently a math class. 
 
	�The answer is the cube root of seventeen, teacher,� he  
answers absently. 
 
	The child teacher, Miss Hinako his new memories prompted,  
looks more than somewhat surprised, to say the least. 
 
	�Th... that�s right.   You are correct.�   She wanders off to ask  
another student about a different problem, still looking surprised. 
 
	�So you _did_ study last night after all,� a voice stage- 
whispers behind him.   �I thought you were too busy training  
nowadays.� 
 
	�I... uh... found the time later,� Ranma whispers back. 
 
	Ranma found himself somewhat overwhelmed by the  
memories of a life he had never lived, but intrigued too.   This  
Ranma had traveled for over ten years with his father to learn  
martial arts.   His life was a confusing kaleidoscope of random  
memories.  Brief flashes of people met, and various fighting  
techniques learned filled his mind.   A strong image of a valley of  
pools of water filled his mind for a moment, but it was gone before  
he could focus on it.   *Jusenkyo?*   He was engaged by his father  
to marry Akane Tendo, but several other girls also claimed him. 
 
	*Engaged to marry Akane Tendo?*   The very thought makes  
him feel slightly ill.   From this Ranma�s memories, he could tell  
that Akane Tendo was as much of a thug here as the one he  
remembers from home.   He found himself feeling sorry for the  
poor fool.   He feels even more surprised when he senses feelings of  
love and affection for Akane associated with the memories, but  
buried deep. 
 
	*Ranma Saotome loves Akane Tendo?   Ranma Saotome falls  
in love with a brutish, angry girl who constantly beats him up?    
This Ranma needs some serious mental help.*   Ranma looked out  
the window as he mused on the very strange life of his quantum  
counterpart. 
 
	The bell rings while Ranma was pondering these things. 
 
	*Lunchtime.*   He looked at the clock on the wall.   *I have  
about fifty minutes before recall occurs.*   Ranma sits at his desk  
for a minute before the smell of food from his bookbag finally gets  
the better of him.   He pulls out his lunch, and sets it on his desk as  
his mind wanders.   *Whatever it is smells fantastic.* 
 
	Not too surprising, most of the memories of this Ranma�s life  
were rather incomplete.   Apparently, immersion into another life  
did not immediately provide complete access to all the memories  
from that life.   *I�ll have to set the timer for longer next time.    
That should let me get more of a feel for my quantum  
dopplegangers life.* 
 
	He feels a tap on the back of his skull. 
 
	�Are you just going to sit there and ignore me through all of  
lunch?�   The voice of an annoyed Akane Tendo disturbed his  
upcoming enjoyment of what smelled like a delicious lunch. 
 
	Ranma sighs softly, and turns around. 
 
	�Sorry about that.   I was just thinking about some things.�    
He hoped if he sounded meek enough, it would defuse the  
infamous Akane Tendo wrath.   She softens her gaze a little, which  
surprises him.   His Akane had never looked at him with the  
slightest amount of warmth.   She saw him as a weakling, since he  
didn�t spend his life learning how to break bricks with his fists like  
she had. 
 
	This Akane felt different, and he had to revise his opinion of  
her a little.   Maybe if he didn�t do or say anything that this Ranma  
normally did to make her mad, she might even smile at him. 
 
	*Where the hell did _that_ thought come from?*   He blinks a  
moment. 
 
	�Are you okay, Ranma?�   She looks at him in mild concern. 
 
	�I�m fine, Akane.�  He risks a smile, and she smiles in return. 
 
	�Nihao, Ranma!�   A perky female voice speaks up behind his  
head.   The look on Akane�s face darkens into a scowl, and she  
turns her head aside with a slight huffing sound. 
 
	Ranma turns around to see a bouncy female body to match the  
perky voice.   She was sitting in the window, holding a delivery  
box.   *Shampoo,* his new memories prompted, *proud Chinese  
Amazon warrior girl.*   He smiles at her, and she smiles in return. 
 
	�Ranma happy to see Shampoo?�   She leaps at him in a single  
bound and hugs him without dropping her delivery box.   Ranma  
had never been greeted by a beautiful girl like this before.   It was  
more than a little pleasant.   He starts to return the hug, but a  
quivering at the back of his skull makes him glance behind him.    
Akane is glaring at him again. 
 
	�Ranma,� slowly says a furious Akane, �what do you think you  
are doing?� 
 
	�I was about to give Shampoo a hug.�   The words seem to just  
slip out before he could think about the possible repercussions.    
�What do you think about that?� 
 
	�DIE RANMA!!!�   Akane picks up and throws a desk at the  
couple for further emphasis of her point. 
 
	Ranma grabs Shampoo and jumps over the hurtling desk,  
which sails out the window.   It did so, amazingly enough, without  
touching the edges of the open window.   A loud crash is heard  
from below a few moments later. 
 
	�Ranma save Shampoo from violent girl.�   Shampoo snuggles  
in his arms happily.   Visions of Ranma�s heroism dance in her  
head.   Her voice had dropped into a purring tone. 
 
	�Ranma honey?  What do you think you�re doing?�   A large  
metal object attempts to pry Shampoo out of his grip.   Another girl  
is on the end of it. 
 
	*Ukyou Kuonji,* his new memories flashed up, *okonomiyaki  
chef and also engaged to Ranma.*   He lets go of Shampoo, and  
Ukyou pries her off of him.   Ukyou moves between him and  
Shampoo. 
 
	�You stay away from Ranma, you Chinese bimbo!�   Ukyou  
takes up an aggressive stance, her combat spatula at the ready. 
 
	�Ranma is husband of Shampoo, stupid spatula girl!�    
Shampoo takes up a combat stance of her own, looking ready for  
anything. 
 
	*I�ve never had women fighting over me before.*   Ranma just  
marvels at the novelty of the experience.   Both of them look pretty  
determined to fight over him.   Akane just stands to one side and  
glowers at all three of them. 
 
	�Please don�t fight,� he said rather louder than he intended.    
All three women looked at him in surprise.   Akane was so  
surprised she forgot to glare at him for a moment.   �I just want to  
eat my lunch in peace.� 
 
	�Shampoo bring you delicious lunch.�   She grabs her delivery  
box off a nearby desk, and pulls out a bowl of something.   She  
whips it under his nose, a steaming bowl of ramen noodles.   She  
smirks at Ukyou. 
 
	�I�ve got your lunch right here, Ranma honey.�   A small grill  
appears as if from nowhere, and a blue of cooking takes place.    
Faster than he would have imagined possible, Ukyou presents him  
with a plate of okonomiyaki while sticking her tongue out at  
Shampoo. 
 
	Ranma felt he was rapidly reaching the limits of his ability to  
deal with the female of the species.   The two women nearest him  
alternated adoring gazes in his direction with murderous gazes at  
each other.   Akane just looked upset at all three of them equally. 
 
	�Umm... that�s fine.   Just put it on my desk, and I�ll try to eat  
it all.�  He sits down and starts to eat the original lunch he brought  
out.   Two more full lunches are set down next to it by the two  
girls.   Both of them sit down at two recently-vacated desks next to  
him and sigh as they watch him eat.   Akane just glares in the  
trio�s direction. 
 
	*I think I could get used to this.*   Ranma eats with a smile.    
Akane moves off to eat with some of the other girls in class, still  
glaring at Ranma. 
 
              ****************************** 
 
	Ranma shakes his head to clear it.   The clock on the wall read  
an hour later than he last remembered it.   *Did I fall asleep sitting  
up?   Oh no!   I missed lunch!*   He didn�t feel hungry, which was  
odd.   He would have to ask Akane if he missed anything  
important. 
 
	He glances down at the book on his desk, and sighs when he  
realizes it was his English book.   What didn�t register  
immediately, but did within a few moments, was that he could  
make sense of it all of a sudden, and English had always been his  
worst subject.   *Must be from that year I spent in Britain.    
Waitasec.... Britain?* 
 
              ****************************** 
 
	Ranma opens his eyes and smiles.   The experiment had been  
an incredible and unqualified success.   He slips off the headset and  
stretches his arms out until his spine pops lightly.   Bracing one  
hand against the couch, he flips off in a smooth midair somersault  
and lands on his feet.   He then froze for a moment. 
 
	*When did I learn how to do that?*   He stares at his arm for a  
long moment.   *Memory transferal?   Could it be both ways?*