The secret origin story of How To Live Safely In A Science
Fictional UniverseS  To celebrate the paperback release of
Charles Yu's incredible novel How To Live Safely In A Science
Fictional Universe, we're running an exclusive, never-before-
seen-by-humans story that Yu wrote about the origin of the
strange world where his time-traveling main character lives.  If
you haven't had a chance to read Yu's book yet, this tale will
give you a taste of his style and humor. It won't spoil you for
the novel, either.  You can read our review of the novel here,
and pick up the paperback on Amazon or at your local bookstore.
(a Universe 31-A story)  (a New Angeles/Lost-Tokyo story)  (an
alt-Charles Yu story)  I turned fourteen the summer the world
fell apart. I was taking an early morning physics course at the
junior college that got out every day at eleven. Afterward, I'd
swing by the park and pick up my kid brother and we would walk
over to the community pool and jump in, just as the day was
turning hot. We'd race end