Excerpt from Archive of Unknown Universes by Ruben Reyes, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Prologue

R,

I woke up thinking about Cuba. Do you remember the things we did as shadows danced on our shoulders?

That was only a year ago and already it feels like a lifetime has passed. Our cause, which started as musings and theory and theology, seems more important every day. It terrifies me that a war is around the corner, but I see no way of avoiding it.

Amid it all, the intensity of our relationship still rattles me. Being with you, I know I mislabeled my feelings in the past. Love is what I have for you. And I'm sorry for the moments I've failed to express it. You said once that love is a spring that wells inside you until you want to scream about it, and that your only regret is that the world doesn't want to hear it from men like us.

You're right that the world begs for our silence, pushing us into the shadows. I've shared their desires, beliefs I still cling to some lonely mornings. I know that makes you unhappy, and I'm sorry. At least I'm able to appreciate things for what they are, even if I'm not ready to shout them to the world. That also must be a sign of maturity, of growth. We're still young now, but we're no longer kids.

I miss you. The idea that people were made for one another seems melodramatic to me, and logically, it seems impossible. There are so many people on Earth and the idea that there is a perfect pair among billions is ridiculous. But sometimes, when I am missing you, I let myself believe that we were fated to meet. Made for each other.

Don't mistake my softness for weakness. I hold strong in the weeks we spend apart, even though some nights the yearning resembles physical pain. Of course, I can't continue on like this forever, but there's an end in sight. That keeps me going. I think back to Havana, and I think onward to the next time I can run my fingers along your bare back, touching the notches of your spine.

Love,

N

1984

The cautionary tales were endless. Desperate people viewed the device as a cure for their disappointments, some to the point of madness. Seeing their other lives didn't give them what they desperately desired: leadership skills, business acumen, emotional maturity, religious clarity, clairvoyance of all sorts. Thinking oneself more powerful than the All-Knowing had never worked out for man, and the issue of alternate universes was simply the latest iteration of a long line of mortal mishaps.

Ana's mother, Felicia, had echoed this warning many times, so when Ana first used the Defractor, she swallowed her shame and told herself it was for the sake of her academic work. Now, as she stared at the blue neon light that shone through a quarter-size hole on the machine's side, a pit formed in her stomach. There was no denying it: Ana was here for personal guidance.

The light shone bright as the base of a flame. Two earbud-size patches hung from the machine, just above a touch pad. Before she could lose her nerve, Ana attached them to her temples and looked into the machine.

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Excerpted from Archive of Unknown Universes by Ruben Reyes. Copyright © 2025 by Ruben Reyes. Excerpted by permission of Mariner Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.