Atmospheric Disturbances Trivia Quiz

Answer: Puppy

Leo awakens from a migraine-induced daze to find a woman who looks exactly like, and behaves identically to, his wife Rema, walking in with a puppy, an animal which she normally has no inclination towards. Somehow, Leo knows this is not his wife - he has a feeling that something is different. Leo, a psychiatrist, is forced to leave in the middle of the night to attend to a patient in the psychiatric ER and he leaves his wondering for later.

Arriving at the hospital where both he and his wife work (he as a doctor and she as a translator), Leo is simply confused and his mind keeps swaying back to the issue of his possible impostor wife. Nevertheless, someone has been brought in, presumably his patient, Harvey, and presumably missing a 'stolen leg'. He decides to check some files.

Harvey is a peculiar fellow who, apparently, disappeared a couple of days before Rema was replaced by a fake. When Harvey first came to Leo he had schizotypal personality disorder and believed that he was a secret agent for the Royal Academy of Meteorology. His duty: control the weather and proliferate the randomness of the elements to prevent opposing groups from taking advantage of weather fronts in this and other parallel worlds. Knowing the weather is power. Harvey claims to only control small bouts of wind, though. Small fry. His father, apparently, was also a member of this elite weather-controlling group, but he was abducted and sent to another world. Of course, months ago, Leo was persuaded by Rema to lie to Harvey (unethically) and claim he was a higher rank in the Royal Academy of Meteorology. This plan works and prevents Harvey from leaving the area.

Answer: Anatole

It turns out that the man at the hospital is not Harvey, so Leo goes home and has tense dreams about doubles and doppelgangers. When he wakes up, he resolves to search for his real wife, somehow, and first begins to look in places where he would expect to find her - the streets near their apartment, the coffee shop where they met. This, of course, is fruitless.

Returning home and hoping to find his old wife back at the apartment, he opens the door to find the new one and the puppy. The two have a strained argument about dogs while he realizes that the woman playing the Rema role is a much older woman- she has crow's-feet on her face. Unfortunately, Leo married a younger woman. He does commend the relatively good job, though.
He falls asleep on the sofa and awakens to hear the phone ringing. To his surprise, upon picking it up, it's the Royal Academy of Meteorology, calling to ask if he wants to become a fellow. This mention and faux-Rema's call from another room freaks him out enough to hang up. In the kitchen he decides that it must've just been a joke and he tries to succumb to the idea that this woman may actually be his wife.

Of course, a few days later Rema accidentally refers to Leo as 'Anatole', a name with no connection to his. She tries to cover this blip up and starts to cry. The two of them don't talk when they go to bed; Leo figures that, if it's actually Rema, she won't bring up the issue again in the morning.

Answer: Buenos Aires, Argentina

The next morning, 'Rema' leaves a note for Leo asking him to walk the puppy, which he does. The walk leads him to a certain revelation - he would use the theory of the doppler effect and hone in on his issues as if he were treating a patient. He calls off his appointments for the day and heads to the library to start accumulating info about himself and the problem at hand for a proper self-diagnosis.

At the New York Public Library, Leo abandons his normal concept of logic in order to perform his search through the stacks. Writing his name, the Royal Academy of Meteorology, and 'doppelgangers' on three index cards (and a number of red herrings on three others) he takes painstaking efforts to draw one randomly. This turns out to be the academy card, so he begins a search via a 'fern-like' receptionist who directs him to volumes of lectures from said academy. One strikes him in a peculiar way and he discovers that it was written by Tzvi Gal-Chen, the man who he claimed to be speaking to on the phone during Harvey's sessions. He takes this as a sign and also realizes that Gal-Chen hailed from Buenos Aires, Argentina, the same place Rema came from. He takes it upon himself to make a trip to Buenos Aires and see what he can uncover there.

When he tells the woman who may not be his wife of his newfound plan to leave for an indefinite amount of time, she is rightfully concerned though Leo doesn't really know how to respond. The phone rings again, but the person on the other end hangs up. Leo waits until 'Rema' is asleep to pack and depart for the airport.

Answer: Magda

Arriving in Buenos Aires, Leo loses his luggage; it never shows up at the airport. His first decision is to call Magda, Rema's mother, who is surprised, but invites him in. She figures that he must be a friend of Rema's husband and starts asking questions, but Leo is simply too caught up in the moment and acts awkward around her, especially when she starts crying over her jilted relationship with her daughter. When asked about his relationship to Rema and her husband, Leo claims he's a research meteorologist.

Heading to a coffee shop to ponder over the recent events and his prospective plan of action, Leo reads over the files taken from the library and wonders about their contents before receiving a call on his Blackberry, surprisingly from the Rema lookalike back home. She seems concerned and is shocked to discover that Leo left without any indication (with her stuff) and flew to Buenos Aires to meet her mother. Leo hangs up before anything can be reconciled. He returns to Magda's house and looks at aged pictures of Rema as a child before asking to rent a room for the night. Having lost his suitcase, he is also offered another man's clothes which he oddly accepts.

Answer: Patagonia

Over breakfast, Leo reads an Argentinean newspaper and looks at a classified page of missing people. While he hopes that he will one day find his Rema, his Blackberry buzzes with an urgent message, this time from Harvey. It turns out that Harvey is in Oklahoma looking for guidance from Dr. Gal-Chen, the semi-fictional figure from the Royal Academy of Meteorology. After heading back to the airport to find the wrong suitcase waiting for him, Leo tries to draft a response to Harvey telling him not to contact anyone else directly (for fear it may cause problems) and he receives a troubling note back. It's not really from Harvey so much as it's forwarded; the note is originally from Tzvi Gal-Chen. It tells Harvey to consider himself autonomous in his cause and to pass his best regards to Leo. This is kind of shocking.

Magda comes into the coffee shop when she sees Leo inside and continues to ask about her daughter, most specifically how she wears her hair. When Leo gives a long description of her hair, Magda believes that he loves her and hopes that they could be together; Rema's husband, she says, never seemed to love Rema when she met him on one occasion many years ago. Soon after, both of them go their separate ways.

Leo calls the Royal Academy of Meteorology from Buenos Aires and speaks with a flaky secretary on the phone in an attempt to return the call he received back in New York. This doesn't happen - there's too much confusion between them. What does become clear, however, is that a job is waiting for him in Patagonia, and that he'll probably get it if he goes through with it; there are not enough people in the region. When he hangs up the phone, he considers this to be progress, at least in some sense. Leo heads back to Magda's house and meets a friend of hers, an analyst who walks dogs for his funds. He happens to work with people who have family members who have disappeared. The next day, Leo decides to write an email to Tzvi about everything from the replacement Rema to all of the dogs and everything else.

Answer: 'Arthur'

The letter Leo receives back from Dr. Gal-Chen is almost instant and it apologizes and asks that they never speak again; he doesn't know Leo and he doesn't know Harvey. Leo isn't sure what to make of this and he responds swiftly and passive-aggressively noting that it may be possible that Dr. Gal-Chen is lying and not trusting him.

When Leo returns from a walk, he finds a woman who looks distinctly similar to Rema sitting outside on the front step. She jumps up and embraces him just as Magda announces that someone is on the phone for Rema. He's still quite confused and purposely pushes her away at the door to answer the phone, at least to avoid keeping Magda from waiting. He can't quite explain this action. The three of them talk for a bit - Rema says that Leo is her husband and he's not a meteorologist. Magda says she likes her daughter's hair. Leo decides to leave.

Lola calls Leo while he's out walking though really she's calling for a man named Arthur. Leo claims to be Arthur and she briefs him on a job 'down south' that he'll be able to attend to. That night, he talks with the simulacrum about how she's not Rema. He tries to speak to her calmly stating that there's certain parts of her mannerisms and emotions that don't click but she argues that she knows so much about him and is, in many ways, the same as before. She doesn't understand why he doesn't love her. When they finish their talk, she says that it is he who has changed, not her.

Answer: True

Intentionally forgetting about his past correspondence with Tzvi Gal-Chen, Leo decides to send him a message about windchill, partially because he's actually interested and partially to get a foot in the door and gain trust. Surprisingly, an interested message comes back about windchill and it's signed off with 'Love, Tzvi'. Leo decides to do an online search of everything related to Gal-Chen and discovers that he died in 1994 of a heart attack. Leo asks him about this and Gal-Chen doesn't deny his death. He doesn't really admit to not being alive either. Leo has his hypotheses about this, but to be sure it isn't Rema on the other end (as she had spent so long acting as Gal-Chen) he keeps asking questions. That is until the simulacrum awakens and beckons him to return to bed; she says that she feels they are the two happiest people in the world when they are asleep. Leo puts the phone away but insists that they allow Magda's dog to sleep with them. 'Rema' is hesitant, but allows it on the condition that they spend all of the next day together.

Leo reasons that his current life is too absurd not to be true and all this time he's been self-conscious and self-diagnosing to ensure that he isn't suffering from psychosis. But even then, his psychosis would likely take on a more mundane form. With this reasoning, he heads to Patagonia (escaping from Magda out a bathroom window and flying over the mountains) and checks into a hotel. He receives a call from 'Rema' who is understandably frustrated, but he berates her for being bad at what she's doing; she's impersonating Rema all wrong. Throughout their entire talk on the phone, he keeps remembering a time before Dr. Tzvi Gal-Chen, when he didn't need to worry about this horrible mystery.

Answer: Her father

Sitting in the hotel lobby in a small Patagonian village, Leo reads the paper before noticing a familiar figure near the fireplace. Harvey stands up when he sees him as well, comes over, and shakes his hand. The two talk stiltedly for a moment before Harvey says he's happy to help him in any way he can. He's been speaking to Dr. Gal-Chen and he's been informed about the Rema issue. The two of them decide to contact Tzvi for help and Harvey takes to communicating via Leo's Blackberry. What it all comes down to is the importance of the next week's assignment, without which the world could be placed into eternal nothingness with Rema being stranded in a parallel existence. They also figure that she was captured or switched shortly before or after the introduction of the puppy in New York. Everyone is assured that nothing will happen before the job though.

The next morning, Leo receives a wake-up call from reception saying that a guest is waiting for him in the lobby. It turns out to be Magda, who says she has some secrets to tell. Apparently, Rema (the real Rema) contacted her and told her to pass the message on to Leo that she was taken to Tokyo and used as a translator while her captors tried to figure out how she could control weather. Also, she recommended that he go back to Buenos Aires. Leo is wary that she may be lying, especially when she can't account for the origin of the letter. Uncharacteristically, she criticizes him for not returning with her but he says he has a job to do.

After a bit of breathing room, Leo finds Magda in a coffee shop elsewhere in the village in the evening, and attempts to learn more from her over dinner. She seems less kind than she was earlier and she continues to point out Leo's own untruths. He does, however, discover the truth behind Anatole, a man who left Buenos Aires many years ago with Rema. He was her father, and he was taken many years ago.

Answer: Monday

Magda and Leo have dinner, but their conversation is strained by Leo's desire to uncover more clues and Magda's dislike of his approach to pestering answers out of her. When Leo returns to the room and speaks to Harvey about what he's learned, the two of them are left confused and melancholy. Harvey is unwavering in his role in the whole thing while Leo stays up and writes a letter to Tzvi, deciding that he should make a point of showing his support for the Royal Academy even though the 49 clearly had enough power to know that his and Rema's relationship could be trifled with. After he sends the message, he receives a reply stating that Dr. Gal-Chen is out of the office.

The next morning, Leo is called to the front desk to meet with a female visitor and when he and Harvey arrive they find Rema ... at least, the doppelganger. She states that she tracked his credit card to find where he was and that Harvey's mother has placed him on a missing persons list. Harvey lets out the secret that they have a mission on Monday and Leo speaks cryptically with her, confused that she's even there and disappointed at all the traits she doesn't share with his Rema. Tired, she asks to take a nap in their bed. When she awakens, she promises Leo that they'll stay together until the end of time.

Over lunch, the simulacrum asks Leo if he read over the emailed articles she sent him about misidentification syndromes and, after a while, he admits he had and he took them seriously. She tries to get him to understand but he continues to state that she isn't his wife, and he's completely sure of this. At this point she admits that from then on, she is not really her. She says that somehow, they'll both find Rema together. Leo wants to ask Tzvi what he thinks about teaming up with Rema but the letter falls flat when he receives another automated response. The three of them enjoy the next few days and temporarily forget about their mission on Monday.

On one day, 'Rema' and Leo go out for ice cream and she suggests that the trail in Argentina may be growing cold and that they should set a date to return to the apartment in New York City. Leo says that the new job is important to him and that it may result in his finding Rema. At this time, a man from Rema's childhood recognizes her and strikes up a conversation. When the man reveals minute details about their past, Rema, frustrated, gets up and leaves, claiming that he has the wrong person in mind. That night, Leo sends a note about the scenario to Tzvi.

Answer: Dr. Tzvi Gal-Chen

Leo regrets originally leaving the Rema doppelganger in New York City without warning; it was rude and probably worrying for her. To make it up to her he decides to buy her a new coat for the job on Monday (to which he wants her to come). The coat shopping trip turns out to be a time to argue. He finds her a nice blue coat but she claims that she has one like it and would rather have a yellow one that Leo considers unflattering. He is also angered by the fact that it's Rema's coat, not hers. Leo still can't reach Dr. Gal-Chen via email.

Harvey speaks with Leo about the possibility that 'Rema' and her notions of Tzvi not existing may hold some weight. Many of Tzvi's emails to Harvey have contained similar words and sayings to Leo's vernacular, so it's possible that Gal-Chen and Leo are similar people from two different worlds and that they may swap when the time comes on Monday. That or the two Remas may swap or another combination entirely. Either way, this worries Leo.

When they return to the hotel, Leo hears 'Rema' on the phone speaking in context-less fragments with someone unknown. This raises and fills in a number of blanks in his head, and when she finishes he plans to ask her about other questions but finds that she is on the verge of crying. Rather than ask her more questions, he realizes that he may love this simulacrum and want her to love him back. Harvey consoles her with a hug, but Leo remains at a distance, at least until after Monday, he figures.

When Monday comes around, the three of them head to their meeting spot to find a woman and her German Shepherd waiting. Leo approaches and the woman asks if he's Arthur. He says he is, but she disagrees. Leo finds the situation disappointing. The woman leaves.

Back at the hotel, Harvey explains that the unreality of Tzvi may have resulted in the botched meeting and that something shifted the storms that were expected to happen. Leo gets a migraine and 'Rema' urges him to go back to New York. When he says he doesn't want to yet, she believes it's because he loves the old Rema (which he does).

Harvey flies home the next day as a result of a phone call. 'Rema' presents Leo with a faxed paper from a scientific journal outlining what he already found out; Dr. Tzvi Gal-Chen died in 1994. When 'Rema' asks what he thinks, he responds that he doesn't understand the true nature of what happened, but he thinks it would be impolite to speak with an unreal being about their death. She says that nobody understands that logic, not even Harvey.

Leo contemplates returning home with this version of 'Rema'. He hypothesizes that they'll return to the city, and life will begin to take its normal course. They'll take care of the dog, maybe another one, and grow close to one another. One day he'll come across her beauty and realize that he loves her like no other and they'll be unbreakable together. Of course, one day all that may change. She may simply change her habits and become less and less like the Rema he has grown accustomed to until he realizes that he must search for the Original Rema once again, and they cycle will continue. Maybe one day he'll hop on the train, run into Dr. Tzvi Gal-Chen, and not recognize him at all having forgotten him over time.

However, Leo realizes, despite what this means for the Royal Academy of Meteorology, maybe this is all his life's purpose. Of course, there's no way of knowing until he tries.