A Step Into the Unknown
by Edward Douglass Patterson
Copyright© 2026 by Edward Douglass Patterson
Science Fiction Story: Stanford twins Ben and Linda Tohe set out to prove a dead professor’s Adjacent World Theory—and step into a night forest beneath three moons. Their discovery draws them into telepathy, Life-Mates, hidden worlds, the Maclaren family, and a destiny far larger than a dissertation.
Student Apartments
Stanford University
Palo Alto, California, USA
Friday, May 21, 1999
Ben Tohe had wondered why he felt driven to do an internet search of Professor Maclaren. She hadn’t published anything or talked to the press since she had presented her Adjacent World Theory in Brisbane two summers before. Had she had a stroke, and that was the reason that her presentation had only confused, not explained, the theory? Not that anyone who had read her report should have had to have it explained to them. It was almost as if she had done it on purpose, he had realized this morning. That was why he did the search, he realized. Subconsciously, he had known that there was a reason that she had presented her theory so no one would believe.
He had been searching for more information about what she had done, but that was before he found out that she was dead. Now he would never know why, and the world would forget her Adjacent World Theory. He could still do his dissertation on the implications of the theory, but how would he get anyone but Dr. White to take him seriously? No, he would have to have proof.
Both of his parents’ people had similar stories about a world adjacent to ours. If the Denai and Kinh had stories that spoke of a world that you could enter without going into space, there must be something behind it. Or was it just an obvious story idea? Professor Maclaren’s Adjacent World Theory offered an explanation.
When he was still an undergraduate, he had been looking for a topic for his doctorate dissertation. Doctor White had suggested a number of papers to read. When he had read Professor Maclaren’s Adjacent World Theory, he had seen how it would explain the stories his parents had told them as children. He, his brother Elvis, and his twin sister Linda had often talked of one day exploring that world together.
That is what he would have to do. He and Linda would explore that world. Once they brought back evidence, Professor Maclaren would be vindicated. When Linda got home from work, he would talk with her about going exploring.
Ben had spent the afternoon considering how they would get to the adjacent world. When he searched the internet to see if there were more versions of this story that they had loved as children, he found that the Denai and the Kinh weren’t the only ones with such stories. From the different stories, he developed an idea on how to step into this other world.
He had dinner ready when his twin sister got home from work. Linda had known that he had something important to tell her even before she got home. He opened the door for her as she reached the top of the stairs to their apartment. They always knew when the other got home, but they tried not to show it after Sherry, one of their neighbors, had noticed.
“Ben, who died?”
“Dame Professor Alice Farwell Maclaren.”
“She’s the one whose theory you are doing your dissertation on.” Linda knew that Ben was excited as well as sad. “How does this affect your work?”
“We are going to prove her Adjacent World Theory.”
“We? I’m a medical student.”
“Yes, you and me. I don’t want to wait for Elvis to get leave, so we will have to wait for later to take him to the adjacent world.”
“So, it is real. He is going to be upset that we didn’t wait for him. Should we go home so that Nancy can join us?” She paused. “No. Remember when she was four. She told us that we would be the first but that she and Elvis would go with us later.”
“Yes, she was so sure of that. I had forgotten all about it.” They smiled, then both twins said as one. “She had a vision!”
Their father, Nantai Tohe, was an artist who made a living painting. What only his family knew was that many of his paintings were of visions that he had. Their younger sister, Nancy, also had learned to capture her visions in paintings.
“You are definitely on the right track. All we have to figure out is how to do it. Later on, we can have Elvis and Nancy join us on a trip there.” Linda was excited.
“I will also need to tell Sol.” Doctor Solomon White was Ben’s advisor at Stanford. He was the only scientist who had written supporting Professor Maclaren’s Adjacent World Theory. “We will need to take the camera to record our visit to the adjacent world.”
Their discussion about how to enter the adjacent world started over dinner and continued until late in the evening. Linda helped Ben refine his idea about how to proceed. They took similarities among the different stories and built their plan. Some similarities were in most of the stories, more were in only three or four stories. They used the meditation techniques that their parents had taught them as the foundation for what they needed to do.
“I think this will work. I’ll call Dr. White in the morning and tell him what we plan to do. He may want to join us.” Ben felt very confident with the plan they had developed.
“I’m looking forward to going to this world, but since Nancy’s vision was us going there, I don’t think I will have any trouble sleeping tonight.”
Ben smiled at his sister. “Neither do I. I’m heading to bed. I want to be well rested.”
“Good night.” Linda thought of calling their older brother Elvis, who was a Marine stationed in Hawaii. No, we will wait until we have evidence.
Student Apartments
Stanford University
Palo Alto, California, USA
Saturday, May 22, 1999
Ben had meditated on the plans that he and Linda had made for seeking the other world. Their father had taught them to do this so that they could reflect on what they had done as well as make plans for the future. It had helped them in their decision to come to Stanford. The National Merit Scholarships that both of them had earned had allowed them to go anywhere they wished. That they were half Navaho and half Vietnamese had made them as sought after by universities as any athlete. Stanford had offered them programs so that they could take postgraduate courses early. When they had met Doctor White, who was Black, his wife, Professor Mei-Lei White, who was Chinese, and their family, they had found advisors at Stanford who understood their mixed heritage. Even before meditating on their choices, they had known that they were going to Stanford.
When he awoke, Ben more surely knew that what Linda and he had planned was the right course to take. He also knew that it was going to be very important to him. He didn’t know how or why, but he knew that it would change his life more than just by being the first modern man to cross to an adjacent world. Ben dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt, and boots. These were the same clothes he wore when visiting family on the reservation. He wanted something sturdy for exploring. When he entered the kitchen where Linda had started breakfast, he saw that she was dressed the same as him.
“I thought that a big breakfast would be good before we went exploring. Make toast. I will start the eggs.”
“You also feel that our trip to the adjacent world is a good decision.”
“Yes. It’s important for not only us but for Elvis and especially for Nancy. I wonder if it has to do with those visions which she only discussed with Mom and Dad.”
“Now that you mention it, I have the same feeling, but that this will be a really important day for me is an even stronger feeling.”
After breakfast, they cleaned up and gathered what they would take with them. Ben had been unable to reach Doctor White, so he had left a message. Linda had the camera, while Ben had binoculars. Both had the knives they wore when hunting on the reservation, but their rifles were at home in Scottsdale, Arizona. They wore hats and jackets in case it was raining on the other world. Having grown up in the desert, they carried plenty of water.
“If we run into anyone or a large animal, we return at the first sign of a threat. I don’t see the need to go anywhere. Just look around and take pictures to show that we were there. Fifteen or twenty minutes should do.” Ben hung the binoculars around his neck.
“That will get us back so that we won’t miss any of the memorial service. Claire Clarke is supposed to speak.”
“She has certainly grown up since we met her.” They had met Claire when her father, President Clarke, had presented their father the National Medal of Arts. “She was very concerned that you were injured.” Linda laughed, remembering how her brother had faked an injury to get the football recruiters to stop bothering him. “Do you have a crush on her?” Linda teased.
“No, I think she’s going to be a politician, but she did understand Dad’s paintings better than anyone other than family. She may have been drawn to the famous athlete.” Ben laughed also as he remembered the trip to Washington and the reporters that had swarmed him about whether he would be playing for Stanford. He had been one of the top high school football players in the country. When he mentioned that he had a mishap with his skateboard and that he wouldn’t be playing college football, they had made the wrong assumption, which was what he had wanted.
“I think you misunderstood the Clarkes. They really care for people. Remember when President Clarke had found out that we both had full academic scholarships to Stanford, he said that we were the future of the country.”
“No, I want someone who understands science, likes hunting and camping, and will understand how important my twin is to me.” Ben grinned at his sister.
“Lots of luck finding that at Stanford. Maybe you should teach at NAU.”
“It will happen when it happens. Let’s get going. I’m also interested in hearing what Claire has to say. Her kidnapping and the killings will have shaken her up, but I think that she’ll be more concerned for her friends. I agree that she really cares for people, but she still will become a politician.” Ben held his right hand out to his sister, who took it in her left. They looked into each other’s eyes and started the meditation upon which they had agreed. As usual, they worked completely in sync without having to say a word. When they reached the calmness of the meditative state, they thought of the world that they would visit.
Suddenly they were in the dark and could feel a breeze on their faces.
“It’s night here.” Linda laughed, for they hadn’t even considered that the time would be different. “We’re in the woods. You can see the top of the trees against the stars.” She scanned the sky. “And the moons.” Linda let go of Ben’s hand and turned around in a circle. “Three moons.” She raised the camera and took pictures of each moon. “That will prove we were on another world. We will need to come back during the day here to get pictures of our surroundings.”
Ben had also turned and looked around in a circle, but his attention hadn’t been on the sky. “I cannot hear or see any sign of civilization. It feels as remote as any place on the reservation. No signs of planes in the sky. Even on the reservation, we see those.”
They stood and looked at their surroundings for ten minutes but discovered nothing else significant. They only had their initial impressions reinforced.
“Let us go home. From the light on the moons, it is several hours until dawn. I will call Sol and tell him about what we found. He can join us when we return this afternoon.”
They returned to the living room of their student apartment. Ben went to his room to call Professor White, while Linda turned on the television so that they could watch the memorial service.
Ben returned a few minutes later. “Sol has gone to Washington to meet President Clarke. Mei-Lei went with him. He wasn’t told what the meeting was about.”
“Ben, the people who rescued Claire, their name is Maclaren. Claire and Robert Maclaren have been seen together in a number of places. He and his sisters will be at the memorial service, but they are Australian.”
On the television was a picture of Claire and Robert Maclaren that a photographer had taken as they left a hospital where one of Claire’s classmates was recovering from injuries from the attack.
“He looks like a younger version of Jess Maclaren, Dame Alice’s husband, but they have only two daughters.”
“It appears that Claire Clarke found romance when Robert Maclaren, along with his family, including relatives from Maryland and Edinburgh, rescued her from her kidnappers. The Maclarens were here to tell Doctor Kimberly Maclaren Reynolds about the death of her mother, Alice, on Monday.” The news anchor’s comment caused the twins to look at each other.
“Robert must be related to Dame Alice. He must be a nephew.”
The video switched to a live shot of a building in the distance with DC police and FBI agents surrounding it. “The standoff at the Jordanian embassy continues. The State Department is in discussion with the Jordanian government about what is to be done. Since the embassy is Jordanian territory, the police and FBI are restricted from entering without Jordanian permission. Negotiations with the kidnappers so far have resulted in no concessions on either side since the release of embassy personnel early in the siege. The exact number of hostages and kidnappers is unknown. Washington, D.C. remains on a high state of alert. The FBI suspects that additional terrorists are at large in the metropolitan area. We are switching you back to the memorial service and Lisa Saunders.”
The video switched to a scene outside of the high school where the memorial service was being held. The scene showed Claire Clarke walking and talking to the crowd while Robert Maclaren and his sisters scanned the crowd.
“They make the Secret Service agents look friendly.” Linda was surprised by the intensity and competence that the three Maclarens showed.
“He looks like he could be a linebacker. Look at how he takes everything in. Do you see how those guys are pulling back out of the way to let them pass? He looks about Nancy’s age.” Ben wondered why he thought of his younger sister when he looked at Robert.
“Do you see how Claire is handling the crowd? They are hanging on her every word and gesture. You were right. She is a natural politician.”
Suddenly, just as they reached the door, something changed, and the four young people surged forward. The Secret Service detail that was supposed to protect them hurried to catch up.
“What happened?” Linda looked to her brother.
Ben shook his head. “They all four stopped, then they hurried forward. The Secret Service agents only reacted to them.”
“The response of the crowd to Claire Clarke was amazing. It reminded me of her father, President David Clarke, when he is campaigning. I expect we may one day see Claire in the same office her father holds.” Lisa Saunders continued to comment until the scene abruptly shifted to the room where the memorial was to be held. Claire and Robert are seen advancing to the front of the stage flanked by his sisters, who are obviously identical twins. Their gaze was intensely fixed on four people in the front row: two men, a woman, and a young girl. Robert said something in Arabic.
The men reacted by jumping up and reaching under their jackets. The twins were much faster. Each raised her hand and shot the man in front of her twice. The young girl screamed, and the woman started to reach for her, then stopped. She then held out her hand away from the girl. Suddenly, Robert and Claire shot. Their shots were too quick to count, but the camera showed the woman’s wrist had been hit and the hand hanging loose from it before she collapsed.
The twins jumped off the stage in front of the woman. One had a knife, and she cut into the woman’s cloth. The other reached in and, a couple of seconds later, turned and handed Robert something with wire dangling from it.
Robert held it aloft and announced that it was explosives. When the camera zoomed in, viewers who knew explosives could see that there were enough explosives to kill most of the people in the room. Claire directed one of the sisters to take the young girl to a teenager and her mother, who Claire obviously knew. They were dressed in Middle Eastern dress.
“Who is she?” Ben was staring at the screen when Linda turned to her brother. She had never expected to see such a look on his face. She realized that he was smitten by the Maclaren twins, then she realized that it was only one of them. How can he tell them apart? Linda kept glancing back and forth between the television and her brother.
Ben’s attention didn’t waver from the television. Claire spoke to the audience both in the room and the much, much larger audience watching on television. She introduced her companions.
“Mary, Mary Maclaren.” Ben was smiling. When the four left the stage, Ben returned to normal except for the smile on his face.
“Ben, we now know why this day is important to you. How are you going to meet her?”
The smile vanished from her face for several seconds, but when it returned, it was much smaller and a look of desperation clouded it. “I will get ahold of Sol. When he talks to President Clarke, he can ask him if Claire can ask Mary for her number.”
Linda burst into laughter. She couldn’t remember Ben ever having such muddled thinking. When she saw the look on Ben’s face, her laughter stopped. The smile was gone and desperation alone remained. She went over and put her arm around her brother. “You will call Claire later. You will tell her you need to talk to Mary because you have proven Professor Maclaren’s Adjacent World Theory.”
“We did, didn’t we?”
“No, you did. I just helped. You figured out what to do because you believed in the theory.” She looked into Ben’s eyes. “You will be famous. Much more than you ever could have with football. Mary or any other woman would be a fool not to want to meet you. Once she does, you just have to sweep her off her feet as you did with any other woman with whom you have gone out.”
“That was dates. I want to spend the rest of my life with Mary.”
“How do you know? All you have done is seen her once on TV. How can you even tell her and her sister apart?” Linda was confused about Ben’s fixation on one of the two identical Maclaren twins.
“I just know about her. Not like Dad’s vision, I just know facts about her and her family. Mary is the second-born. She is into the physical sciences. Brenda is going to be a doctor. Her father and Professor Maclaren’s husband are cousins, but they are as close as twins. Mary has worked closely with him and Professor Maclaren to prove her theory.” He smiled. “I will talk to her about how I proved the theory.”
They started to discuss Ben’s knowledge and how he would use it to meet Mary, but their attention was drawn back to the television. Lisa Saunders was interviewing Claire and Robert. They were confused by what they were seeing.
“That is not right. Claire isn’t that empty-headed and Robert sure didn’t act that way before.” Linda remarked.
“They are playing a part. Mary is amused and still is concerned about what will happen. The Jordanian embassy. They are playing to the kidnappers. They would have been watching the memorial service to see Claire blown up. When they turned the tables on the bombers, the kidnappers would have been furious at them. Now they are a pair of empty-headed young lovers. The kidnappers will be watching them trying to understand. It’ll make no sense to them. They are diverting them while the FBI moves in.”
“How do you know all that?” Linda stared at her twin.
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