Previously titled Paradox Twins
Was Riley the first human to leave our solar system?
Dr. Scott Freelin isn't sure. A young woman claims she came home to find she had already arrived, facing an exact copy of herself. Same memories, same life. She describes her search for answers as moving through time, space, and other dimensions, with a few murders along the way. New York, Tibet, Mexico, Russia, and beyond. Either she's both nuts or this really happened. This book was previously published under the title Paradox TwinsCHAPTER 1
19 May 2165
Patient file: Riley Patterson
Reporting: Scott Freelin, Ph.D.
I saw a very unusual young woman in my office today. She is a resident here at the Henderson Foundation. While she is not legally required to stay here, she has made no request or attempts to leave. Her physicians and psychiatrist tell me she has no harmful psychosis and is not a danger to herself or to others.
The patient reported her name as Riley Patterson. She appears to be in her late twenties, intelligent, educated, and well-spoken. When she's impatient or irritated, her dialog becomes a bit rough at the edges. She has some interesting anachronistic patterns in her speech and word selection.
There was a woman, with the name Riley Patterson, associated with the Foundation back in 2019. Those records simply indicate she was employed. Of course, she isn't the same woman. Before she is discharged, I have been asked to conduct and record a thorough interview.
Okay, doctor. Get your machine running, and I'll tell you the story as it happened. you'll get a first-hand account of the events leading up to the Great Shift of '28. That's 2028 to you. Yeah, I know it was a hundred and twenty-seven years ago. I was thirty-four at the time, but it all started when I was twenty-five, I mean when we were twenty-five, but I skipped a few years coming here.
I was born in Plattsville, New York, on June 10th, 1994, so I should be a hundred and seventy years old next month. I skipped quite a few years coming here. It started as a typical day, a workday for me. But one of me shouldn't have been there. Let me start from the beginning, or at least what the beginning was for us. After we finish, ask the doctors how soon I will be released. Can this thing figure out the proper tense as I talk? I'll be throwing some future-perfect-past tense at it. Make sure it keeps up, book boy.
