Ted Duncan, a professor of computer science with Asperger's, is astonished to find himself face to face with an Alternate Universe version of himself. When the two start talking, they learn they have a number of differences, most notably that Ted is an atheist and his double is a devout Christian. Ted and his alternate self, whom they both agree to call Chris, are each given a remote control that they can use to observe the events of their lives, and given the assignment to find out exactly where their lives diverged.
The Tuning Station contains examples of:
- Alternative-Self Name-Change: Ted's double goes by Chris both because of his religion and because their middle name is Christian.
- Daddy Didn't Show: When Chris reconnected with his estranged mom, he invited her to his graduation, which was in two weeks. She said, "We'll try, dear, but you know Saturdays are Steve's busy days. I'm so proud of you, though!" Sure enough, she didn't show. Ted never reconnected with her and thus was spared the disappointment.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Ted's dad started drinking after he disowned him, feeling that the destruction of all his relationships was God's punishment for his mistreatment of others.
- Flowers of Romance: Ted's mom began an affair with her husband's best friend, Steve Riley, when Ted was about eleven. She was hospitalized due to complications from a minor surgery, and Steve brought her flowers.
- I Have No Son!: When Ted first told his father that he wasn't sure what to believe about God, the two got in a shouting match that ended with his father saying, "Don't bother coming back. You're no longer my son." Ted learns later that his father expected him to come crawling back after a few weeks, but he never did.
- Intangible Time Travel: Ted and Chris watch the events of their lives as invisible, intangible ghosts. They can even walk through walls with effort.
- Let's Wait a While: Ted and his girlfriend Susan Kwan have been dating for two years and still haven't had sex because Susan is religious and believes in saving herself for marriage. Ted agrees to wait, despite not sharing her beliefs, because he thinks she's worth it, and also because he hopes she might change her mind.
- Meet the In-Laws: When Ted first met Susan's parents, her father told him the story of how his grandfather converted to Christianity in Taiwan despite Christianity being illegal at the time, and said that he strongly disapproved of her decision to date an atheist but would never prevent her from making her own choices.
- Middle Name Basis:
- A member of Ted's atheist group goes by her middle name, Delilah, because it symbolizes a beautiful woman bringing down powerful men.
- Ted's middle name is Christian, which is why his alternate self agrees to go by Chris.
- Missing Mom: After Ted's parents split up when he was in eighth grade, his mom became practically absent from his life, leaving him alone with his tyrannical fundamentalist father.
- Oblivious to Love: Chris's social skills are a lot worse than Ted's. When a woman blatantly hits on Past Chris, Chris doesn't even notice until Ted points it out. Chris is mortified, especially because he actually was attracted to her and would have happily gone out with her if he'd known how she felt.
- Parent with New Paramour:
- Ted's mom eventually left him and his father for Steve. Ted realized years after the fact that they were having an affair, but Chris didn't realize until Ted told him.
- In Chris's timeline, his father remarried a woman named Heather. Chris likes her and thinks she's perfect for his dad.
- Sensory Overload: Ted and Chris's remotes can play events from both of their universes at once, and have buttons for turning the sound on and off. When Chris turns on the sound from both their timelines, Ted falls to the ground with his hands over his ears, overwhelmed by two sets of sights, smells, and sounds at once.
- Waving Signs Around: Chris and Ted witness a protest outside an abortion clinic that Past Ted attended. People on one side of the street wave signs that say things like "Choose Life, Stop Abortion Now" or "Park Street Women's Clinic is a Death Camp." People on the other side wave signs that say things like "Keep Abortion Safe and Legal" or "Keep Your Theology Out Of My Biology."
