Today is Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1880. After dinner, Merritt, Hannah, Devon, and I gathered in the parlor to write out a journal entry that would organize some of our conclusions.
I’d like to start by saying Devon is finding it hard to feel a part of our social circle. I’ll illustrate with an example.
I’ve been helping him learn to read and write, and he has been very grateful, and at one point, he said, “If you wudn’t a white woman, I’d give you a good hug.”
“You can hug me anyway, if you want to.”
“No thank y’ ma’am,” he said. “I ain’t interested in gittin’ my neck stretched in a lynching. Ain’t no telling if someone would take notice, but…”
All the same, we include him in meals. Hannah and I help cook, and he sees that as strange. Merritt helps clean up the dishes. Devon does not understand, but defers to his employer.
There’s not a lot to do in 1880, so we have spent a lot of time trying to sort out what has happened. Based on the dreams we’ve shared and our own experiences, this is what we think.
We know of three people who have time-shifted. Us. We have adopted identifying them by name and date they shifted from.
In Memphis in 1880 are Emma 1984, Hannah 1984, and Merritt 2024.
In New York in 2024 are Emma 1880, Merritt 1984, and Hannah 2024.
Clearly there are 1880 versions of all three of us. Hannah 1880 finished schooling as a doctor, and came to Memphis where she was denied a job because they thought she was a man. Emma 1880 set out for Memphis to find work. Merritt 1880 graduated from UT Knoxville as an engineer and came here to work on the new sewer system.
We only know where Emma ended up—2024 NYC.
We know of two 2024 versions. 2024 Merritt, after graduating from Georgia as an engineer, was driving a car around Vancouever when he ended up on a train in 1880, while 1984 Merritt was driving around Atlanta and shifted to Canada, then went on to NYC as planned.
2024 Hannah didn’t time shift. She is an engineer who graduated from Syracuse, just like 1984 Hannah did.
We can account for all three 1984 versions of us. Merritt is in 2024 NYC, and Hannah and I are in 1880 Memphis.
Merritt, Hannah, Devon, and I have discussed this a lot. It seems like symmetry would mean there were three versions of each of us from each of the three time-shift years.
So, who is missing?
So far, there is nothing on 2024 Emma, 1880 Hannah, or 1880 Merritt. If symmetry is indeed at work, they should all be in 1984.
That would suggest that 1880 Hannah went to bed in the boarding house and woke up in a dorm in Syracuse. 2024 Emma had hitch-hiked a ride with a trucker, but would have woken up in a Memphis bus terminal with notes about a job interview at FedEx. 1880 Merritt would have been riding on a train and, passing through a yellow and green cloud, ended up behind the wheel of a Toyota north of Atlanta.
Now, 1984 Hannah and 1984 Merritt were both on their way to jobs with NYC SysOps. But 1984 Emma was hoping for work at FedEx.
Acknowledged, all this is very, very confusing, so I’ll try to sum it up.
In 1880, Emma 1984, Hannah 1984, and Merritt 2024 are in Memphis. Us.
In 2024, Emma 1880, Hannah 2024, and Merritt 1984 are in NYC.
And if there are actually three other versions (which we think there are) then Emma 2024, Hannah 1880, and Merritt 1880 are… somewhere.
We’ve also discussed if we are all in the same universe or in parallel universes. This makes things even more confusing, and someone will share our thoughts about that later.
For now, I’ll close with one more try at summing it up:
In 1880 in Memphis
• Emma 1984
• Hannah 1984
• Merritt 2024
In 2024 in NYC
• Emma 1880
• Hannah 2024
• Merritt 1984
In 1984… somewhere
• Emma 2024
• Hannah 1880
• Merritt 1880
NOTE: There is a 2024 version of someone after each shift.
No comments:
Post a Comment