Page 106 of The Paradox Club

“A little less than a tenth of a second.”

“A tenth of a second! Harry! Why are you wasting my time for a tenth of a second?”

“If you were traveling at half the speed of light, from my point of view you’d have plenty of time to waste.”

“Let’s talk about something else tomorrow. When I will be exactly one day older.”

THE CASE FOR RETURN

“You have to send me back,” said Tess. “You have to send me back to my universe. I can feel it calling me. That’s why my anxiety and OCD got so much worse, isn’t it? And that’s why the island was puling me. Because my universe was approaching. I don’t belong here. I’ve never fit in here and I’m potentially a danger to the human race. You have to send me back.”

“It’s too dangerous,” said Vivian.

“You don’t know what this is like,” said Tess. “And now I finally understand why. I understand why my own mother hates me. I understand why I never made friends at boarding school or adjusted to college. I understand why everything about this universe stresses me out or depresses me and why a string of therapists so long I’ve lost count of them haven’t been able to help me. You have to send me back. Back to where I belong. Where my biggest worry is tapping doorknobs or stacking catalogs. Where my mother might actually welcome me with open arms. Where Harry—”

“Don’t even dare to think it,” said Vivian.

“Where Harry might still be alive,” said Tess. “Please. You know how, Aunt Vivian, because you were there the last time, and you know what Harry did wrong. And the alignment is just a few hours away. The timing is perfect.”

“It’s too dangerous,” said Richard.

“If you aren’t going to send me back, then why did you even agree to come here?” said Tess.

“Because it’s safe,” said Richard. “Vivian and Marie are the only people in the world who know where this island is, Harry made sure of that. Pilgrim 3 will never find you here.”

“Why would Pilgrim 3 want to find me?” asked Tess.

“The purpose of the Paradox Club,” said Richard, “even its very existence, has always been, by careful design, a secret. But Pilgrim 3 wants to change all that. She wants to go down in history as the person who made contact with another universe, with high schools, institutions, hell, even awards named for her.”

“She doesn’t just want to use UFOs to make contact with our sister universe, she wants to do it in a very public manner,” said Vivian.

“And she knows her best chance of success lies with the two most powerful, most connected UFOs in our universe,” said Richard.

“One of them she’s known about for years, but she only just discovered where it was hidden,” said Vivian.

“The radio,” said Richard. “When you turned it on the big board at the club lit up like a Christmas tree.”

“And what about the other powerful UFO?” asked Tess. “Where is that?”

“Pilgrim 3 just learned about the other one,” said Richard. “The most powerful, most connected UFO anyone at the Paradox Club has ever known, and likely the only one that could guarantee contact with our sister universe.”

“What is it?” said Tess.

“You,” said Vivian. “Which is why we need to stay here and lie low.”

“Oh my God,” said Tess. “I see it now. I see why you brought me to the island. It’s not just to hide from Pilgrim 3. This is my quarantine, isn’t it?”

“It’s a bit late for that,” said Richard.

“Though I did keep you isolated for the first few weeks you were here,” said Vivian. “That’s why you missed Harry’s funeral.”

“You expect me to live out my life on this island,” said Tess, ignoring Vivian, “so I won’t be a danger to humankind.”

“We only want to protect you from Pilgrim 3,” said Vivian. “Now that she knows you’re still alive, she will always be a threat.”

“And staying on the island isn’t the worst idea,” said Richard.

“It is the worst idea!” said Tess. “Have you ever been here in the winter? There’s not enough firewood in the world to keep this place warm. Besides the house is gone, in case you hadn’t noticed. And what about supplies? Am I supposed to live on fish and blueberries?”