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 other 
associated characters are owned by Kitty and the ever-creative 
Rumiko Takahashi.  Any new characters are the property of the 
author.  This is purely a work of fanfiction done for fun, 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 >.

After the initial interest in the story, my C&C seemed to dry up.
If you like it, or have any thoughts, on it please let me know.

Chapter 6 - Playing The Hand That You're Dealt

    Ranma dove to one side as the heavy umbrella smashed into the 
concrete where he had been standing.  *So this is Ryoga.  A lot of 
brute force, but he doesn't seem to have much upstairs.  Maybe I 
can defuse this situation before it gets violent.*  He regained his 
feet and smirked at the boy in the bandanna.  "Can I help you with 
something, Ryoga?"

    Ryoga whirled.  Anger blazed in his eyes.  "What are you doing 
here with Shampoo?!"  He stomped closer to Ranma.

    "We just saw a movie together," replied Ranma casually.  "Why 
is that a concern of yours?"

    "You should be more faithful to Akane!"  Ryoga looked like he 
was about to have some sort of fit.  "Why are you here with 
_her_?"  Ryoga jerked his thumb in Shampoo's direction.

    "I didn't much feel like being in school today, and Shampoo 
invited me here," Ranma replied.  He stood in the opening of a 
nearby alleyway.  He found a thousand impulses to leap into some 
sort of action rampaging through his head, but he kept a calm 
smile on his face.  That only seemed to enrage Ryoga further.

    "You... skipped... school... to... go... on... a... date... with... 
Shampoo?"  Ryoga was forcing the words out through grinding 
teeth.  Ranma sighed.

    "Look, pig boy," remarked Ranma with another sigh.  "Who I 
spend time with is really none of your business."  *Did I just call 
him pig boy?  Am I subconsciously _trying_ to get myself stomped 
on?*  He backed away a step from Ryoga, and started to turn to run 
away.  He realized that reason wasn't going to work here.

    "I'm making it my business!  You shouldn't treat Akane's 
feelings so casually!"  Ryoga suddenly lashed out with his 
umbrella.  Ranma dodged, but he didn't quite make it.  The 
umbrella cracked against his shoulder, and spun him around hard 
to land in a pile of garbage in a nearby alley.  His head slammed 
against a brick wall when he landed, and stunned him.

    *The colors are _sooo_ pretty,* Ranma thought as Ryoga hauled 
him up by the front of his shirt.  Ranma watched the world swim 
around.  His legs didn't seem to want to work when he tried to 
stand on his own.  There were four or five Ryoga's in front of him.  
They kept moving around, so it was hard to keep count.

    Shampoo watched as Ranma tried to stand while being held up 
by Ryoga.  Ryoga's angry facial expression had changed to one of 
puzzlement.  *This isn't like Ranma,* he thought.  He slapped 
Ranma's face a few times to try to wake him up.

    "Hey!  Wake up, stupid!  Don't think faking unconsciousness is 
going to get you off any easier."  He slapped his right hand across 
Ranma's face a few more times as he held him up easily with his 
left.  He must have been a little too forceful with his slaps because 
Ranma's eyes rolled up in their sockets and he passed out.

    "Ranma," said Shampoo softly.  She came over and stood by 
Ryoga.  She was a little scared.  Ranma had _never_ lost that 
easily, not even to Ryoga.  It was like he wasn't fighting at his best 
just then.  She turned angry eyes at Ryoga.

    "You follow Shampoo and bring Ranma, if you know what's 
good for you," she ordered imperiously.  Ryoga started to bristle at 
being ordered around by some girl.  Shampoo glared at him harder, 
with a few tears forming at the edges of her eyes, and his resistance 
crumbled.

    Ryoga, grumbling, followed Shampoo as she headed off in the 
direction of the Cat Cafe.  "You never stop making trouble for me, 
Ranma," he said in a growling tone.  "Just wait until you get better, 
then I'm going to pound you like you deserve!"

                    ******************************

    Cologne kept an eye on Mousse as he went about his cleaning 
duties.  *Pathetic fool,* she thought.  He had woken up an hour 
ago, and was about to charge off after Ranma and Shampoo when 
she had soaked him with some cold water.  A near-sighted duck 
was much easier to deal with than a near-sighted adolescent 
martial artist.

    Mousse wandered around in his duck form, cleaning.  The only 
sounds coming out of him were grumbling tones that vaguely 
sounded like some sort of speech.  *I am going to _kill_ Ranma 
Saotome for trying to steal my Shampoo,* he swore inside his 
mind.  A well-aimed chopstick bounced off the back of his skull.

    "Concentrate on what you're doing now," said Cologne coldly.  
"I don't pay you to slack off."  She watched as Mousse picked up 
the pace of his little one duck cleaning detail.  She smiled in 
amusement.  *Oh Mousse, you do provide an old woman with 
hours of entertainment.*

    Shampoo appeared in the doorway of the Cat Cafe.  "Great-
Grandmother!  Ranma is sick!  Please help!"  A moment later, 
Shampoo was gone again.  Cologne hopped over to the doorway of 
the Cat Cafe and peered out.  She saw Ryoga carrying an 
unconscious Ranma.

    "Bring him in here," ordered Cologne.  "What's wrong with 
him?"

    "Ryoga attack Ranma, but Ranma no fight like normal," said 
Shampoo.  "He seem distracted by something.  Ryoga hit him, and 
Ranma hit head on wall when he fall."  Shampoo glared at Ryoga 
again.  "If Ranma no wake up, Shampoo _kill_ stupid pig boy!"

    Ryoga wisely kept his distance from Shampoo.  Mousse sat in a 
corner, unnoticed by the others, and listened.  As much as Mousse 
hated Ranma for what he put Shampoo through, he didn't really 
want him to die.  After all, how could he prove himself to 
Shampoo by defeating Ranma, if Ranma wasn't able to fight?

    Cologne checked Ranma over, probing a few healing pressure 
points.  His head didn't appear to be seriously injured as she ran 
her withered hands over his skull.  *His ki is unbalanced,* she 
thought as her hands paused.  She tried a few pressure points as 
she attempted to rebalance it, but Ranma didn't appear to respond.

    "He doesn't appear to be ill, or in any immediate danger," said 
Cologne.  "Call that young doctor to be sure though.  For now, take 
him upstairs to rest."  Cologne watched Shampoo carry Ranma 
upstairs.  She noticed with amusement that Shampoo was carrying 
him to her room.  She turned her eyes to Ryoga.  Ryoga returned 
her gaze with a startled look.

    "Why are you looking at me like that," asked Ryoga.  Cologne 
hopped closer to him.

    "Ryoga, did you use any new attacks on Son-in-Law?"  She 
watched him calmly.

    "No!"  Ryoga looked extremely defensive.  "I just hit him with 
my umbrella, and he fell.  How was I to know that he wasn't all 
right?  He looked just as smug as always."

    *Ryoga has always been a poor liar,* she thought.  *If he didn't 
do anything to Son-in-Law, then could it have something to do 
with the way he was acting earlier?*  She hopped over to the 
register, pulled out her pipe, and lit it up.  She blew out a ring of 
smoke as she thought about what might be going on in Ranma's 
mind.  *Could Ranma be possessed in some way?*

    That was a disturbing possibility.  With all the strange events 
that seemed to be attracted to Nerima, possession was a very likely 
possibility to explain Ranma's change in personality.  *I'll let him 
sleep for a few hours.  If he isn't awake by dark, then something is 
definitely wrong.*

                    ******************************

    Nodoka kept looking at the clock.  It read '5:06'.  Genma had 
gone out to check Ranma's usual haunts a few minutes ago, at 
Nodoka's _strong_ insistence.  *Ranma is over an hour late.  I 
wonder where he could be?*  She had telephoned the Academy, but 
was informed that Ranma hadn't been to any of his classes all day.  
There had been a power failure that morning in the lower levels 
where he had his lab, so he couldn't be down there.  She busied 
herself with cooking dinner as she tried hard not to imagine her 
only son lying injured somewhere.

                    ******************************

    Ranma was lying unconscious on Shampoo's bed.  Three girls 
watched Doctor Tofu as he examined Ranma for sign of serious 
injury.  He had arrived to check him over a few minutes before a 
seething Akane and a worried Ukyou had arrived.  To prevent a 
possibly nasty scene, the doctor had allowed all three to stay in the 
room.  Things were tense, to say the least.

    Akane kept alternating glares at Ranma with glares at Shampoo.  
*That dummy,* she thought with a frown.  *How dare he make me 
worry like this.  Shampoo must have done something to him with 
another of her crazy schemes.  That's why he's been acting so 
strange the last couple of days.*

    Ukyou just watched Ranma's silent form with worried eyes.  
*Oh, Ranma honey.  Please get well.  I promise to stay by your side 
until you do.  Just get well.*  She paused and wiped a tear from her 
eye, then went back to watching Ranma quietly.

    Shampoo watched Ranma with a worried expression on her face.  
She was trying to ignore the looks that Akane was giving her, but 
they were getting on her nerves.  "Stop glaring at Shampoo, violent 
girl," she ordered.  "Shampoo think you hit Ranma in head one 
time too many.  That why he not wake up now."  The two girls 
locked stares.

    Doctor Tofu paused in his examination, and cleared his throat.  
Startled by the unexpected sound, both girls looked up at him.  He 
peeled back each of Ranma's eyes to examine his pupil dilation.  
He pulled a small penlight from his pocket and moved it across 
Ranma's eye.  The pupil dilated normally, and he relaxed a little.  
His examination hadn't shown any cracks in the skull or damaged 
neck vertebrae, so Ranma seemed to just have a mild concussion.  
*He should wake up in a few hours.*

    To forestall any trouble, it was agreed that Ranma would be 
moved to his clinic for observation.  As a neutral territory, it put 
the three girls at a small amount of ease.  The move was done 
without any trouble.  The three girls set up camp in one of the 
rooms with Ranma's unconscious body.

    A little over two hours later, his body gave a slight jerk.  Ranma 
blinked his eyes for a few moments before opening them.  "Oh 
man," he said with a groan.  "I just had the craziest dream."  The 
three girls were at his side in an instant.  He looked at them in 
puzzlement.  "You were all in it, too."

    "Shampoo so happy to see Ranma awake again," said the 
Amazon as she hugged him tightly.  Ukyou seconded the sentiment 
as she tried to pry Shampoo off of Ranma with her spatula.  Akane 
just glared at the three.

    "I'm starved," said Ranma.  "Can I have something to eat?"

                    ******************************

    Ranma's lab sat in darkness.  The monitor suddenly flickered on.

*FULL CHARGE REACHED ON CAPACITOR.

*SIGNATURE LOCK HOLDING STEADY.

*ACTIVATING EMERGENCY RECALL PULSE.

    Ranma's eyes suddenly opened.  His eyes felt dry and gummy, 
and his mouth tasted like cotton.  The only light was the dim 
silvery glow from his computer monitor.  *I was right.  It was a 
power failure.  I guess I must've blacked out from the fight.  All I 
remember is Ryoga hitting me, and then nothing much else.*

    He sat up, and the room spun for a moment before settling down 
again.  He stood up, and his legs felt wobbly.  *Must be a side-
effect from the length of time I was gone.*  He stumbled over to 
the sink, banging his knee against a table in the dimness.  He 
cursed for a few minutes as he rubbed his knee.  He filled the mug 
and drained it four times before his thirst was satisfied.  His 
bladder's needs suddenly made itself known.  *I should have left a 
flashlight in my lab.*

    He made his way back over to his equipment, and shut it down.  
The lab plunged into total darkness.  He threw the tarp over it, and 
picked up his bookbag, after he felt around for it for a minute 
under his workbench.  His head slammed against the bottom of the 
table when he straightened up, and he saw stars.  *This is just 
_not_ my day,* he thought sourly.

    He felt his way to the door of his lab, being careful not to bump 
into anything else.  He unlocked the door, and a pitch-black 
hallway was all that lay beyond.  He closed and locked the door to 
his lab, almost dropping his key in the process.  He felt along the 
walls like a blind man as he maneuvered his way towards the 
stairs.

    He was almost blinded when he opened the stair door.  Beyond 
it, a flashlight that seemed to be giving off a couple of thousand 
candle-watts of light was suddenly thrust near his face.  He blinked 
as red spots exploded across his vision when the flashlight was 
turned away a moment later.  His hand reached up to rub his eyes.

    "Mister Saotome?"  Ranma recognized the voice as Kyoji, the 
elderly security guard.  "What are you doing down here?"

    "Uhm... I was in my lab this morning, and I must have fallen 
asleep before the power failed," lied Ranma with a straight face.  
"Could you lead me upstairs where there's some light?"

    "Of course, Mister Saotome," replied Kyoji.  "Follow me."  
Ranma trailed along behind the cone of light provided by Kyoji's 
flashlight.  They went up two flights of stairs, and Ranma was very 
grateful that he'd run into the old man.  *Climbing up stairs in the 
dark would not have been much fun at all.*

    Ranma went out the stair door on the next level.  He thanked 
Kyoji and walked out into a brightly lit corridor, looking for the 
nearest restroom.  The building was quiet except for some of the 
janitorial staff working.  They were mopping the floors.  He 
ignored them as he walked past them into the men's restroom.

    Ranma stared into the mirror, as he slowly washed his hands 
after emptying his bladder.  *I look like hell,* he thought to 
himself.  His eyes had dark circles under each of them, and his 
cheeks looked a little hollow.  For just a moment, a slightly 
different face looked out at him from the mirror.  It was the face of 
a pigtailed martial artist wearing a red Chinese-style shirt.  Ranma 
blinked, and it was gone.

    He bent down and scooped some cold water into his face.  *This 
experiment must be taking a toll on me, but I can't just walk away 
from it.  I exist on both sides of the quantum barrier.  I wonder 
how many of the others might?*  He scooped another handful of 
water up into his face as he thought.  *I have to find out,* he 
decided.

    Ranma dried his face and hands, and headed out of the building 
through the front door.  The late afternoon sun made long shadows 
on the ground as he walked the distance from the main building to 
the front gate.  *This has been one weird day.  I just want to go 
home, have something to eat, and sleep like the dead.*

                    ******************************

    Nodoka heard the front door open as she was putting the 
finishing touches on dinner.  She turned down the heat on the 
stove, and stepped into the hallway.  "Ranma?  Is that you?"

    "Yeah, mom," Ranma replied as he pulled his shoes off.  "It's 
me."

    *He called me... Mom?  Since when does my son take to using 
slang talk?  What sort of people is my son spending time with?*  
Nodoka took a closer look at her son.  "Where have you been, 
young man?"  Her tone of voice was one that mothers' have used 
since the dawn of time.

    "I was working in my lab," Ranma started to say.

    "I called the school," said Nodoka calmly, as she interrupted 
him.  "They said that there was a power failure this morning.  How 
could you be working in a lab with no power?"  She folded her 
arms.

    "Uhm," said Ranma.  "That's a very good question."  Ranma's 
brain felt like mush, and he didn't like lying to his mother anyway.  
He also had the inexplicable urge to run from her.  He'd never felt 
that way about her before.

    "Well?"  Nodoka examined her son.  *He looks awful,* she 
thought.  *First all those bruises and injuries yesterday, and now 
disappearing today.  What is going on with him?  Has he joined 
some sort of gang?*

    "I was using my backup power to run my equipment," he 
replied.  "I had some fuel cells rigged up to keep everything going 
in my lab.  They probably didn't even know I was down there."  
Ranma sniffed the air.  Something smelled really good to him.

    Nodoka noticed the hungry look that appeared on her son's face.  
"Well, I guess it was all a simple misunderstanding," she said with 
a smile.  "Are you hungry?"

    "Starved!"  He zipped past her into the dining room.  He 
dropped into a kneeling position next to the table.  Nodoka smiled 
again.  *I'll tell him my surprise while he eats.*

    "Your father is out looking for you," she said as she walked back 
into the kitchen.  "I'll call him on his cellular phone before I serve 
you dinner."

    "That sounds great, mom."  Ranma sat at his place at the table, 
as he enjoyed the smells of his mother's cooking.  *Maybe before I 
go to sleep, I'll do a little research on the Datanet tonight.  I'll see
if I can find listings for some of the others.  If I'm here, and the 
Tendo's are here, then maybe Uk-chan and Shampoo are too.*  Ranma
settled back to wait as he softly tapped his chopsticks against the
table.

    Nodoka came out of the kitchen with a serving tray.  She started 
to set bowls of food down on the dining room table.  Ranma felt his 
mouth watering.  He hadn't eaten all day, and the urge to consume 
everything on the table was becoming overpowering.

    Nodoka set out the last item, a large serving bowl of rice.  She 
started to serve herself, and nodded at Ranma that he could begin 
eating.  Ranma immediately began scooping up food into his bowl.  
Nodoka watched in stunned silence, her chopsticks halfway to her 
mouth with a piece of chicken, as Ranma consumed the food in his 
bowl in seconds.  *Didn't he eat at all today?*

    Ranma was working his way through his second bowl of rice 
and chicken when Nodoka set her bowl down and just stared at 
him.  Her son continued to eat at his manic pace.  She coughed 
politely into her fist, but he didn't appear to notice her.  She 
coughed again, a little louder as she looked at him.

    Ranma paused, suddenly realizing what he was doing.  *Uh oh,* 
he thought.  *Mom hates poor table manners.*  He set his bowl 
down, and smiled innocently as he swallowed the food in his 
mouth.  Nodoka continued to look at him with a slight frown on 
her face.

    "Ranma... what was the meaning of that display?"  She picked 
up her own bowl and chopsticks, and she began to eat slowly while 
she waited for an answer.

    "Your food is just so good, mom," he said with a smile.  The 
smile died as she continued to look at him with a slight frown.  
*Hmmm... mother doesn't look like she's buying this.*  He picked 
up his chopsticks again.  "Umm... sorry?"

    "Is this how you expect to eat in polite company," Nodoka asked 
as she raised a bite of food to her lips.  "I shudder to think how you 
may act when we have visitors next week."

    "Visitors?"  Ranma picked up his bowl and began to eat at a 
more acceptable pace to his mother.  She smiled and set out a few 
photos in front of him.  Ranma glanced down in curiosity.  He 
almost swallowed his chopsticks when he saw the three faces that 
stared back at him from the photos.  The mouthful of rice he had 
just swallowed seemed to be lodged in his throat.

    "I took the liberty of visiting with a marriage broker this 
afternoon," said Nodoka with a smile.  Ranma suddenly looked like 
he was having trouble breathing.  "These are the first girls that she 
showed me as potential brides for you.  I'm making arrangements 
for you to spend time with each of them next week."

    Ranma pounded his chest to get the rice he swallowed to go 
down.  He coughed for a moment, and then he gulped down some 
of his tea.  Nodoka looked on in concern.  *I certainly never 
expected _this_ sort of reaction.  He almost looks... scared.*

    Ranma finally got himself back under control.  He blinked 
several times as he stared at the faces in the photos.  Two of them 
he already had the dubious pleasure of knowing.  Nabiki had only 
_hinted_ at doing things to him if he displeased her.  On the other 
hand, Akane had recently developed some sort of potentially 
violent fixation on him.  The third photo was a pleasant surprise in 
comparison, but the thought of Ukyou Kuonji suddenly dropped 
into his life was worth a fear reaction all it's own.

    "M... m... marriage?"  Ranma managed to stutter out the word.

    "Why, yes," said Nodoka with a smile, puzzled by Ranma's 
strange reaction.  "The lady that I met from the marriage broker 
told me that they all come from fine families.  You already know 
the two Tendo girls, I think.  The third girl, Ukyou Kuonji, comes 
from an old family in the Koga mountains area, where those stories 
of ninjas still circulate.  Her family has managed a large shrine in 
the area for several hundred years."

    "I see," replied Ranma.  "Rumors of ninjas where she grew up, 
you say?"  Ranma had a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach for 
a moment.  Then he realized that he was probably being silly over 
nothing.  *What are the odds of anything strange happening?*  His 
mother had gone back to looking at him with a puzzled expression.

    "I guess I should meet them then," he said somewhat grudgingly 
after a moment.  "Since you've gone to the trouble of arranging 
things, that is."  Ranma tapped one of his chopsticks on the table 
as he thought.  "I am curious as to something though."

    "What is that, my son?"  Nodoka took a sip of her tea.

    "Well... why did you feel the need to arrange for a bride for me 
so soon?"  Ranma picked up his cup of tea, and noticed that his 
hand was trembling slightly.  He drank it down quickly.

    "Well, you don't have a girlfriend," she replied.  "I wasn't sure if 
you would be able to tear yourself away from your studies long 
enough to find a girl to marry.  I decided, as your mother who only 
has your best interests at heart, to arrange for you to meet someone 
suitable.  I had the marriage broker arrange for each girl and her 
parents to visit us over the next week."  Nodoka set down her 
teacup, and gave Ranma a reassuring smile.

    Ranma wasn't feeling reassured at all.  *When did I lose control 
of my own life?*

                    ******************************

    Ranma collapsed on his futon.  He felt drained.  His mother had 
chattered on about the good qualities of each of the girls that he 
was going to meet next week.  Each glowing description just made 
him feel more anxious, as if the walls were starting to close in.  It 
was strange.  *How quickly life can change,* he thought as he laid 
his arm across his eyes.

    He laid there like that for several minutes.  He still had some 
nagging questions to deal with from his jaunt to the other Earth.  
He rolled to a sitting position and eyed the computer that sat on his 
desk.  *Now is as good a time as any to start looking for some 
answers.*

    He powered on the computer, and waited as it booted up.  He 
settled himself in his chair and began typing.  Just in case he ran 
into any problems, he logged into the data relays and bounced his 
signal around the planet through some non-Imperial nodes first.  
After a short time of setting it up so that he couldn't be easily 
traced, he hacked into the first Datanet server he encountered.  He 
began punching in his first information request.

*PLEASE INPUT INFORMATION DESIRED:  CHINESE AMAZONS, ALL INFORMATION

~The Amazons of Joketsuzoku, China were discovered by the 
~Fourth Imperial Army in the year 1840 (see Mount Phoenix, 
~Musk Dynasty).  The Supreme Matriarch of the Amazons 
~willingly entered into a treaty with the Emperor in the year 1849, 
~recognizing his sovereignty.  A primitive, agrarian people who 
~have been consistently labeled by the Security Directorate as a 
~low-risk group for rebellion.  END FILE.

    *That's it?  That's not much...* Ranma wasn't sure if a search 
for Shampoo would even turn up anything, with the information on 
the Amazons being so sketchy.  He decided to investigate some of 
the other groups mentioned.

*PLEASE INPUT INFORMATION DESIRED:  MUSK DYNASTY, ALL INFORMATION

~The Musk Dynasty was discovered by the Fourth Imperial Army 
~in the year 1840 (see Joketsuzoku Amazons, Mount Phoenix).  
~Determined by the Security Directorate to be a threat to stable 
~Imperial rule of the region.  Extermination measures were carried 
~out under the direction of Colonel Hisato Tendo in 1848.  The 
~final elimination of last members of the Musk Dynasty confirmed 
~in 1849 through standard security measures.  END FILE.

    *Hmm..  What could a group of primitives in the backwoods of 
China have done to warrant an extermination order?  That seems 
to be rather harsh.*  Ranma sat back in his seat to think about it.  
*I don't seem to have any memories from the other Ranma about 
encountering them, so I guess they must be extinct in his reality as 
well.  I guess if any members of the Musk Dynasty somehow 
managed to survive, then they aren't going to be real happy with 
any of the descendants of Colonel Hisato Tendo.*

*PLEASE INPUT INFORMATION DESIRED:  MOUNT PHOENIX, ALL INFORMATION

~The inhabitants of the region known as Mount Phoenix in 
~southern China were determined to be only a rumor by the 
~Security Directorate in the year 1842 (see Joketsuzoku Amazons, 
~Musk Dynasty).  END FILE.

    *That's the shortest one yet.  If they haven't been spotted by 
anyone since then, they must be a myth.  Ah well, now for the big 
one.*

*PLEASE INPUT INFORMATION DESIRED:  JUSENKYO, ALL INFORMATION

    The system paused for several moments while the system 
conducted a search for any files related to his request.  After a 
time, the screen cleared and came back with:

*INFORMATION ON JUSENKYO IS CLASSIFIED.

    *Hmm... that's interesting,* he thought.  *However, it's not 
about to stop me.*  He began to type in a set of commands that was 
taught to him a couple of years ago when he was in Russia by an 
old friend of his father's.  It was an old loophole in Imperial 
security that hopefully hadn't been discovered yet.  Basically, what 
it did was send two data requests simultaneously.  The security 
software would intercept the first one, but the second would get 
through.  *If it hasn't been discovered yet,* he amended in his 
thoughts.

*STAND BY FOR FILE TRANSFER FROM SECURE SERVER.

    *Ha!  The Anything-Goes School of Data Hacking strikes!*  He 
grinned at the screen.  His grin didn't last long.

~Jusenkyo Valley and it's many Springs were discovered by the 
~Fourth Imperial Army in the year 1840 (see Joketsuzoku 
~Amazons, Mount Phoenix, Musk Dynasty).  Local tales of 
~Springs' ability to transform living creatures into duplicates of 
~first creatures drowned in particular Spring initially thought to be 
~myths.  Gathering of evidence delayed due to pacification efforts 
~needed in nearby regions.  Confirmation of Springs' ability to 
~transform living creatures obtained through experimentation in 
~1847.  The Musk Dynasty was discovered to use the so-called 
~'Spring of Drowned Girl' in order to breed with local animal life 
~in 1848.  The Security Directorate determined that members of 
~the Musk Dynasty were to be classified as sub-human, and 
~purification efforts were carried out  under the able direction of 
~Colonel Hisato Tendo in 1848.  Final pogrom carried out in 1849.  
~Current status of Jusenkyo Valley: Biological Research Facility.  
~END FILE.

    Ranma immediately moved to cut the connection.  The link died 
quickly without a sign of any trace being done.  *So that's the real 
story.  No wonder it was classified.*  He saved the text of his last 
session, and powered down the system.  *At least the Amazons 
exist.  Since the Empire has practiced a relatively light approach 
with them, they may be much as they are in the other Ranma's 
quantum band.*  He wandered back to his futon, undressed 
quickly, and stretched out.

    *My mother is going to find me a wife,* he thought as he laid 
his arm over his eyes.  *I just _know_ that life is going to get 
complicated for me, soon.  I just know it.  I'll be able to deal with it 
though.  I'm Ranma Saotome... after... all....*  His thoughts faded 
off to sleep.

                    ******************************

    Ranma found himself in the Tendo Dojo.  The other Ranma sat 
opposite him, a smirk on his face.  For some reason, he seemed 
more solid than the last time.  More... present, somehow.  Ranma 
looked around while the other one opened his eyes slowly.

    "Welcome back," said the other Ranma.  "I see you didn't fry 
your brain with your last little stunt."

    "It wasn't my fault," Ranma said.  "The power failed."

    "So why didn't you pre-charge that gizmo of yours?"  The other 
Ranma stood up and stretched.

    "I did each time before, but Akane made me so upset that I 
didn't notice that she'd discharged the capacitor!"  Ranma suddenly 
blinked.  "She... discharged... it...," he said in a wondering tone.  
He had somehow forgotten that he kept it charged.  The trickle 
charger was his last-ditch backup.  It was all that had allowed him 
to come back.

    "Your Akane seems to be even more uncute than mine is, and an 
even bigger pain in the rear," observed the other Ranma.  He began 
to run through a slow kata.

    "Tell me something I don't know," replied Ranma.  "Now my 
mother is looking at two of the Tendo sisters for my future bride, as 
well as Ukyou."

    The other Ranma paused.  He dropped his feet flat to the floor 
and suddenly bent over.  His body began to convulse, and strange 
muffled sounds were coming out of him.   While Ranma kept 
looking at him, the other Ranma suddenly reared back and laughed 
deeply.  "Y... you... "  The rest went unsaid as the other Ranma just 
continued to laugh and laugh.

    Ranma didn't sleep well that whole night.

                    ******************************

    "I told Ranma about my meeting with the marriage broker 
during dinner, Genma," said Nodoka as she sat next to him in bed.  
He was reading a book, and just grunted an acknowledgment.  "I 
think that this will work out well for him.  The first three girls 
alone all seem like they would each make a good bride for our 
son."

    Genma just grunted again.  Nodoka, a little irritated, grabbed his 
book away from him.  Genma blinked his eyes.

    "Genma Saotome," she thundered.  "You will listen to me when 
I'm talking about our son's future!"

    "Yes, dear," he replied.  He put on his most attentive look.  "I 
still think that Ranma is too young to get tied down with a wife."

    "Tied down?"  Nodoka blinked.  "Genma Saotome, are you 
going to sit there and tell me that you've felt trapped and tied down 
by being married to me?"  Nodoka folded her arms.  Genma 
sighed.

    "Of course not, Nodoka-chan," he said in soothing tones.  "I just 
think that you may be a little premature in trying to find Ranma a 
bride right now.  The boy still has some growing up to do."

    "Marriage will do that for him," she said confidently.  "Our son 
needs a strong woman to give him guidance."

    "You're probably right, dear," agreed Genma.  "Can I have my 
book back now?"

    Nodoka narrowed her eyes at him.  Genma gulped, and he 
started to sweat a little.  As much as he loved her, Nodoka had 
always intimidated him a little, ever since they were married.  *If 
you know what's good for you my son, you'll prolong the decision 
as long as you possibly can,* he thought sincerely.  He began 
placating Nodoka, and by the time the lights were turned out they 
were both occupied with something other than arguing.