Initial Arrival 29

Day 4
1 October 1956
Yakutsk, Siberia, USSR

“Good. Let's begin with the basics.” He opened his notebook and got ready to write. “Name?”

“Jennifer Miller”

“Date of birth?”

Jennifer had done the calculation before, but was still uncertain, and scared. She hated to lie and was embarrassed to even try. Her discomfort was obvious. I need to do this. There is no other choice. This is the believable answer. But her uncertainty made her doubt her answer. “Um … April 12th, 1931?”

Ivan was almost laughing at this. “You are a terrible liar.”

What else am I supposed to say? Jennifer responded noticeably stronger, insistent, although still frightened. “I am 25 years old. I was born in April, April 12th. There isn't another possibility.”

She paused, panicking, trying to figure out what to say. If I can't even get him to believe something which needs to be true, how am I going to get him to believe anything about me? Jennifer eventually continued weakly, pleading with him to believe her. “You know this age is at least close to correct, based on physical appearance and medical exams. My birthday is written on my passport. I know you have it because you have my name.”

“What you refer to as your passport isn't real. It doesn't look anything like American passports, and it lists your birthday as the 12th of April in 1988. Since it is currently 1956, this wouldn't even be possible.”

“I am sorry. I don't have anything else. You have my only possessions here.” I think I am supposed to come up with some excuse for why it is fake. We had a game, a LARP, futuristic like Shadowrun, maybe. But Jennifer didn't say anything else before Ivan moved on.

“Alright. Let's move on. Can you tell me your current residence?”

“I don't currently have one.” She knew her answer wasn't what he wanted, but it was technically true and avoided the question. She figured that she should try to answer the question properly. She went to try to say something but didn't know what to say. I have no home. How can I even expect that I could convince him I belong here. The situation became too overwhelming and Jennifer started to cry, burrowing her head in her hands.

“Can you at least tell me your citizenship? You are American, right?”

She recited, weakly, but almost methodically, “I was born and raised in the US. My parents were born and raised in the US. My grandparents were … ” Jennifer paused, recognizing the time difference, and therefore the issue with the next statement. She continued, “My mother's side has been in the US since before the revolution. Her mother is involved with the DAR.” Realizing Ivan may not know what that meant, she added, “Daughters of the American Revolution.”

Ivan closed his notebook. “Perhaps we should take a break.”