Editing The Parallel (section)

==Plot==
An [[astronaut]], Major Robert Gaines, is orbiting Earth in his [[space capsule]]. Suddenly, his communication systems stop functioning and he blacks out, waking up on Earth with no memory of his return. He appears to be none the worse for his experiences and is released to the custody of his family.

However, inconsistencies quickly pop up. His daughter senses that he is not the same person. His house has a white [[picket fence]] that he has never seen, though his wife insists that it was there when they bought the house. Everyone calls him [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] (confirmed by the rank insignia on his uniform) when he knows he is a [[Major (rank)|Major]], and he insists that the President of the United States is [[John F. Kennedy]], a man whom no one else has ever heard of. Gaines concludes that he has slipped into a [[Parallel universe (fiction)|parallel universe]]. His acquaintances see this as nonsense until a mechanic reports his space capsule is not completely identical to the one he was sent out in. Gaines is summoned to examine the capsule, but when he approaches it he is gradually returned to the point at which he left his own universe.

He lands his craft safely and reports what happened to his superiors. They are prepared to write it off as a nightmare, but controllers on the ground subsequently receive another transmission—from ''Colonel'' Robert Gaines. The transmission cuts out a few seconds later, and the Colonel disappears from [[radar]]. The Major returns home and happily confirms that his daughter now recognizes him and the white picket fence is absent.