A Paradox of Fates
Prevent the Past, Book 1
By Rebecca Hefner
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Rebecca Hefner. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute or transmit in any form or by any means.
Cover Design: Anthony O'Brien, BookCoverDesign.store
Editor: Megan McKeever
Proofreader: Bryony Leah
For every science-loving, romance-reading dork out there like me. Enjoy!
Table of Contents
Title Page and Copyright
Dedication
A Note from the Author
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Thank you!
Acknowledgments
About the Author
A Note from the Author
I have always been a huge self-proclaimed science dork. When other kids were enjoying time off in the summer, I attended Space Camp when I was fourteen and went to North Carolina Governor’s School for Physics between my junior and senior years of high school. Physics has always held special meaning for me, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I wrote a novel with a theoretical physicist female main character. Because geeky scientists deserve love too!
Physics introduced me to the theory of special relativity, which theoretically proves time travel is possible. Time travel stories have always enthralled me, from Back to the Future, to Contact (which I consider a time travel story since Ellie literally travels through time and space!), to the TV show Dark, my newest obsession.
It was important for me to research properly, so this book, even though it’s science fiction, is based on solid scientific principles. The Sphere is based upon the theories of Dr. Ronald Mallett as well as Einstein’s theories of special and general relativity. Although this novel is science-based, time travel is still, to my knowledge, impossible. Therefore, you will still find some things that make you go, “Hmmm…” and you will have to suspend reality in some instances since a reader’s imagination is always much more expansive than reality.
My hope is that this novel can combine my love of science with my love of romance novels and whisk the reader away for a few hours to a world filled with relatable characters and exciting adventure. Thanks for taking this journey with me. Happy reading!
Prologue
The order to destroy the world was given at 17:23 Eastern Standard Time in the year 2035.
From a squalid room set deep in one of the bunkers under the White House, President Randolph gave the command. Surrounded by his wife, the Vice President, and the Secretary of Defense, the president unlocked the nuclear codes and unleashed the atomic bombs. Then, he kissed his wife, lifted the revolver, placed one clean shot into each person’s brain, and turned the gun upon himself. No one truly understood his motivation—the cryptic note he left behind explained that he was attempting to save humanity from itself.
The first nuclear warhead hit Russia on a Tuesday morning, the gray light of the clouds giving way to the rush of fire. Russia’s population had reached 137 million, and almost one million Russians perished that Tuesday morning.
Many others followed in Asia and Africa. Those countries retaliated, firing warheads of their own back upon North America and Europe. For days, the power of nuclear fission transformed humans back to the stardust from whence they came.
When the smoke cleared and the rubble stopped quaking, Earth was in tatters. Sea levels began to rise as a result of Antarctica’s and Greenland’s melted glaciers. Coastal cities receded into the ocean, lost to mysticism like Atlantis in the ancient world.
A new landscape emerged, and the survivors fled to higher ground. The Appalachian Mountains formed the Eastern American Isle, while the Rockies formed the Western American Isle. Separated by the ocean, the two former landmasses might as well have been galaxies apart.
Wanting to ensure no more bombs were launched, a small group of scientists banded together on their respective isles. With urgency, they moved all the energy-harnessing and technological machinery to secure locations, staying in touch by Morse code. Once the technology was secure, they detonated the EMPs.
The Electromagnetic Pulses pulverized every last bit of technology left upon the planet, except for the machinery and knowledge that were preserved at the hubs. Humans were thrust back into the Stone Age, forced to survive on will alone. Those who possessed basic survival skills flourished. Small towns and communities began to form along the isles. Cut off from communication by phone or mail, the towns eventually became communes, protected by walls. Strangers were rarely allowed to enter, and when they did, they were expected to conform to the rules or face exile.
The wicked men who had supported President Randolph continued to crave power. These men banded together to overtake the communes and harness their food and labor. This ensured the malevolent men’s families were fed and that they could thrive in the new world. This evil enterprise was known as the New Establishment, and they systematically began to attack compounds and settlements on each isle. Not deeming the scientific hubs a threat—since they housed only a small number of people the New Establishment considered weak, irrelevant relics of the past—they left them alone, underestimating the power of science, as most power-hungry, ignorant men do.
Frustrated that their people were being forced into slavery and oppression, an opposing faction of soldiers known as the Old Rebellion banded together to fight the evil regime. Sadly, this thrust what was left of the world into a vicious, bloody war.
And so it went for many years. During these decades, the scientists continued to huddle on their bases, looking for solutions. The four scientific hubs were located in reclusive, inconspicuous locations, all on separate isles, in a bid to keep them off the radar and unengaged in war.
On the Eastern American Isle’s hub, in the year 2037, a girl was born. Possessing the DNA of two trained scientists, she was destined to be a wisdom-warrior in the battle against the New Establishment. Bred to save the world, she grew up looking to the stars, observing the desecration of her tiny planet, and wondering if anyone was looking back.
When she turned twelve and had learned all she could from her mother, a former college physics and calculus professor, she began to study with her father. Formerly a world-renowned scientist, the girl’s father was an expert in many fields. He cultivated his progeny into a diligent and determined scientist, hoping she could save them all.
Dr. Lewis Randolph dedicated his life to training his daughter Elaine to comprehend the complexities and mysteries of the scientific realm, for his father, President Edward James Randolph, had destroyed the world, and Lewis was convinced Elaine would be their savior. Before Lewis passed away on a cold day in January 2070, he sputtered a message to his daughter as he c
oughed upon the bed.
“We’re so close, Lainey,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Don’t give up.”
“I won’t, Dad,” she said, clutching his hand as she sat upon the soft bedspread. “I promise, I’ll figure it out. There’s no other option.”
“That’s my strong girl,” Lewis said, his chapped lips curving into a hint of a smile.
“Tell God I said ‘hi,’” Lainey said, bringing their clenched hands to rest upon her cheek. “I think she’ll be happy to see you.”
“There is no God, sweet girl. I thought my cold, scientific heart raised you to be an atheist.”
Lainey swallowed, her throat tight. “I was until I realized I had to let you go. Now, all I want is for Her to take care of you.” Tears streamed down her cheeks, running over the wrinkled skin of her father’s hand.
“See you in 2035, my darling girl.”
“See you in 2035,” she whispered.
Lewis inhaled a sizeable breath, his body quivering, and exhaled a large gasp. Unseeing eyes stared at Lainey, and she knew he was gone. Placing a kiss upon his forehead, she stood, feeling her nostrils flare.
“I swear to you, Dad,” she vowed, fists clenched at her sides, “I’ll never stop until I succeed.” Straightening her spine, she called out for the nurse, who shuffled into the room. “He’s gone,” Lainey said. “Cremate the body. We’ll have a funeral later today and then get back to work. I won’t squander time for grief. He’d expect no less of me.”
Striding from the room, her sneakers squeaked on the linoleum floor. Dr. Elaine Randolph was going to master the one thing that had eluded them so far. Every ounce of her energy and tick of the second hand would be spent discerning that which had thwarted them for so many decades: the scientific theorem known as time travel.
And then, she was going to transport back to 2035 and prevent her grandfather from destroying humanity.
Chapter 1
Five and a Half Years Later…
Lainey awoke, drowsy, in her double bed, the mattress firm against her back as she preferred. A soft mattress would invite the possibility of relaxing back into the cool sheets, allowing her to daydream for a while. Daydreams had no place in the post-apocalyptic world her grandfather had created.
Tossing the comforter aside, she sat up and touched her feet to the worn rug atop the concrete floor. Groaning, she maneuvered her neck around her shoulders, circling while the bones creaked and popped. Thirty-eight wasn’t doing her any favors, and she morosely wondered what forty would look like. Good grief, she might as well have Sara start manufacturing the arthritis medication now.
Sighing, she stood and padded into the small bathroom. After a quick shower, Lainey gathered her thick, wavy mahogany hair into a bun atop her head. It would dry that way, ensuring rings of curls fell down her shoulders whenever she chose to release the bun. Probably not until later that evening, when she would be alone in her room once again.
Staring at her amber eyes in the mirror, she absently rubbed lotion over her face and skin. Grimacing at the stretch marks across her hips and the slight pooch under her navel, she told herself to silence the inner critic. She tried to take walks with Cyrus around the compound each day, as much to exercise as to ensure they weren’t being surveilled, and those walks kept the space above her navel relatively flat and smooth. Below her navel? Well, she’d just attribute that little slice of flab to the fact she had other priorities in life besides winning beauty contests.
No, there were a few other things to accomplish, for Dr. Elaine Randolph had been born and bred for the sole purpose of saving the world.
In her mind, that sounded quite dramatic, and Lainey was sure her parents hadn’t intended to blaze the path of her life in such a systematic and determined manner. But it had happened anyway, and once she was a teenager, Lainey understood her place in their dystopian world. Whereas many other children were tucked away in the communes that now comprised their deadened ecosphere, Lainey had been raised by her parents on the scientific hub. This had afforded her both extravagances and disadvantages other children would never know.
Lainey had never known starvation, nor had she known true despair as others on the planet did now. She’d been sheltered on their commune, safe from danger, with access to the electricity and education so many other humans craved. She’d understood the equivalent of a high school senior by age twelve, a college graduate by fourteen, and enough to be bestowed a Ph.D. in theoretical physics, calculus, and mathematics by seventeen. In her early twenties, Lainey realized she’d surpassed her father when she solved an equation in three days that he’d been trying to elucidate for years. Lewis had looked upon her with such reverence as he held the solved equation in his hands, tears glistening in his eyes.
“The student has now become the teacher,” he’d said softly. “You’ll save us all, Lainey. I’m so proud of you.”
Elation had filled Lainey as she’d clutched her father in a strong hug, for her greatest wish was to please him. Her father’s approval was the driving force of every decision in her life.
Even now, although Lewis had passed away over five years ago, Lainey ached to gratify him. To achieve success with the time machine and travel back to 2035, to prevent her grandfather from detonating the atomic bombs that had set off the events resulting in the death and destruction of so many lives.
It was all she cared about; all she’d ever craved.
She would seek that outcome until her dying breath exited her lungs.
Rolling her eyes as she dressed, Lainey reminded herself not to be a drama queen. Emotion had no place in the sphere of science and was wasted within the walls of their hub. Donning a brown sweater, jeans, and sneakers, she rubbed some salve on her chapped lips and headed to the morning meeting with her staff.
They had a small crew at the compound. Some were scientists, some were former soldiers and drifters. All had been extremely loyal to Lewis. Now, they were unwavering in their devotion to Lainey. Their support filled her with a quiet strength, and saving them helped drive her. She longed to create a new thread of space-time for them all, where they didn’t have to live on the squalid hub, searching for answers every day. They were her family, and she wanted so much for them to be happy.
As she entered the conference room, she observed the members of her team already situated at the long wooden table. Zach, the coding genius and overall computer whiz, sat beside Claire, smiling politely as she talked his ear off. Claire had purple hair atop her heart-shaped face, which made her look younger than twenty-nine. She’d figured out how to combine lemon, beets and the dark violet flowers that grew on the outskirts of the nearby forest to die her hair, and it was usually tinted some shade of indigo or red. Lainey knew Zach had been in love with her since he’d come to the hub several years ago, but to her knowledge, he’d never acted on it.
This could be due to the fact Lainey had a strict “no dating” policy for her staff. Their work was too important, and mouths were too hard to feed in their post-apocalyptic world. Although Marie did a great job with the animals and garden, she had other responsibilities that required her time and labor.
At nearly eighty years old, Marie was the mother figure for the hub and seemed perfectly thrilled to have more people to care for every time a new member entered their ranks. She had a never-ending stream of energy that Lainey envied. Lainey had tried to get her to slow down, now that arthritis had overtaken her joints, but Marie wouldn’t hear of it and stayed active on the compound. Tending the livestock, cultivating the garden, cooking and mending—nothing was off-limits to the kind woman who wanted to contribute to their success.
Lainey loved her dearly.
Cyrus stalked in and sat at the opposite head of the long table, as he always did in their meetings. Clad in the ever-present black tactical gear that clung to his two-hundred-thirty-pound frame, his face was a mask of steely-eyed determination. He’d always been as resolute to succeed in their mission as she.
Lainey gave
him a nod, and his broad lips formed a faint smile under his brown eyes, their color almost the same as his skin. He was like a brother to her, probably her closest confidant in her small world. As head of security at the hub, his job was extremely important. His two recruits, die-hard soldiers from the Old Rebellion whom Alora had met in her travels and Cyrus had vetted extensively, were now part of their team and helped Cyrus maintain their safety.
Sara and Luke breezed through the doorway, holding hands as they sat beside each other. Even with Lainey’s best-laid intentions, the compound’s nurse and the kind man had fallen in love. This was why Lainey instructed Sara to keep the infirmary stocked with condoms and had them on recurring order when Alora delivered their rations. If anyone was going to shack up against her mandate, they’d better wear a damn condom. Raising a child was one responsibility the hub just couldn’t afford.
“Good morning,” Lainey said, addressing her team from her standing position at the head of the table. “As you all know, I revamped the equations yesterday, and Zach tested them. Theoretically, they work.”
Zach gave an affirmative nod with his dirty-blond head. “I ran them through the computer model, and they look good. I think we can plug them into the Sphere and give it a go with an apple.”
The Sphere was Lainey’s masterpiece: the circular machine made of lasers and whirling metal bars that comprised her time machine. It was her life’s purpose and a marvel of science and technology. Oh, and it didn’t work at all. Yet.
Pushing away her self-doubt, she nodded. “Good. Let’s go with the apple, and if that works, we’ll try one of the garden cats.”
“Or we could try one of the birds that always caw outside my window each morning,” Claire suggested, her expression pleading to Lainey not to put the felines in jeopardy.
“We can’t use anything that has the ability to fly, Claire, and you know it. We’ll just have to get it right so we don’t harm Puss in Boots or Garfield,” she said, referring to the names Claire had bestowed upon the little beasts that chased the chickens behind the compound.
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