The Origin Index: A Parallel-World Thriller of Three True Histories

By Jonah Arlen

Three histories. One name. Every document is genuine-and the story they appear to tell is false.

At Rill Works, a suppressed industrial warning ended in catastrophe. In one world, Mara Vey was murdered before the disaster. In another, she survived to tell what happened. In a third, two people who might have become her parents went on to lead separate lives.

When examiner Ellis receives records from all three histories under a single witness heading, he has reason to investigate. The documents carry authentic source marks. The identity claimed by the file does not. Then a phrase buried in the surviving witness's account echoes something from Ellis's own childhood, drawing him toward a connection he cannot explain.

His inquiry takes him into a parallel world whose people protect their evidence under rules he does not control. A carefully monitored experiment moves Ellis one hour forward while the world around him continues. The missing hour is real-but it cannot tell him everything he wants to know about a damaged original, a witness's intentions, or his own part in the investigation.

As a disputed account travels back toward the institutions that trust his signature, Ellis must confront the difference between an accurate piece of evidence and a truthful conclusion. Beyond the file are families, workers, and survivors who will have to live with the consequences.

The Origin Index is a standalone science fiction thriller about conflicting histories, a convincing lie, and the cost of what one investigator chooses to certify.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HP8X1LV4
• ISBN13: 9798165386909
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 236 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"