The field of quantum physics was never a widely pursued field when I was young. Most people, when asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, were likely to say, "a doctor," or, "a police officer." There was nothing wrong with those aspirations in 2014, and there still isn't anything wrong with those aspirations now - there is a basic human urge to want to help others, but in a world of doctors and police officers, people were literally forced to really expand their horizons.
"That is one small step for man, and one giant leap for mankind," were the words that inspired a generation of young men and women to be astronauts. It was only logical. An opportunity to discover and explore an unexplored frontier... But who would ever expect the words, "Holy moly, I think we just created an alternate universe," over a live broadcast to cause followed the roaring cheer of millions around the world to be the reason for a sudden boom in the field that once few would want to wander in to. One sun and one sunset turned into two suns and two sunsets, and onwards from there.
The field of parallel realities was quite untested at first, and humanity came close to ending itself with the new technology on several occasions, however by 2100, it was literally a science. High schools and colleges around the globe began requiring quantum physics in their general education because it was a surefire field for humanity. A truly new and unexplored frontier for humans to discover. Alternate universes began to come like gold. Any scientist could study gold, and do a multitude of experiments with gold, but only the rich and powerful would have access to gold for jewelry.
By year 2175, and after great scientific advance, a second version of the United States was created. Located at Alpha 2 Bravo 2, the second version of the US existed alone in a fourth dimension below the planes that the first occurs on. In a time of religious backfire and immense protesting, the world stood still as President Riley M. Francis broadcast a press conference.