2025-02-21 “The Calm Before” by Hannah (born 2002)

Given the amount of time since anyone has posted an update, I thought I’d take the opportunity to do so. I’m sure many of you are wondering what’s happening with Time-Travel…

So are we. The last mission was what? Route 66 in 1965? A month ago.

None of us have any idea that anything is in the making. Paul Charm said he’s had nothing revealed to him in his dreams (which is how The Agency contacts him).

Will and Tom have had no texts or emails.

So… nothing.

Meanwhile the memory merging continues. It is intrusive to say the least. 

I cannot imagine how it is for Addison and Jacob. Addison’s 1881 counterpart is a man who is sort of sideways regarding her being in a romantic relationship with a man. That it turns out to be Jacob, who also is a man back in 1881 complicates that memory merging a lot.

Anika and David are consumed by researching all of this. They have some exciting findings, none that explain how, but that confirm it is happening. But there are contradictions.

The group that we are connected to back in Virginia 1985 are still alive now, so they took DNA samples. 100% matches, which is impossible. Identical twins don’t match 100% 

However… this can’t be universally true. The two Addisons with matching DNA most certainly don’t match their 1881 MALE counterpart. Devon in 2025 is white; in 1881 he’s black. Jacob 2025 is black; in 1881 he’s black.

So, they are vexed by that with not even a theory.

Back to the merged memories. We’ve worked out something like communicating with the past versions of us. Everyone selected a token to carry around. For example, all versions of me now carry an acorn. 

When we wake up we look at the token and try to remember what each version was thinking about last time they looked at it. Then we think about things we want to pass to the consciousness of the duplicates. We know that ALL of the memories are there, in the subconscious. This lets us tap into some of them more easily.

So, there… We still have no idea what’s happening. Or why.

2025-02-14 “Valentine’s Day 2025”

Valentine’s Day 2025

Shay Ryder hosted a party at her house for Valentine's day. Devon and Liza had helped her with the arrangements. 

Meanwhile, David Gregory and Anika Rao, the physicists researching the Time-travel phenomenon, had set up controls to monitor an experiment that the Jacob from 1881 had come up with to prove that what happened in their Instant of existence, in fact, carried forward to 2025.

But it was a party, so… Naturally, Addison had come up with games!

…David Gregory

David had attended the Valentine's Day Party with great expectations. He would be more or less escorting Anika… Dr. Rao, his research partner.

Though he thought she was great company and a beautiful woman with a keen mind for physics, it was not being with her that he had looked forward to. Rather, the evening would prove that the Time Travel phenomenon was real.

From the merged memories of Jacob Brown, the version living in 1881 had conceived an experiment. On the evening of Feb. 14, 1881, the cohort there would inscribe a message on the bottom of a drawer that was part of a built-in cabinet and shelf unit in the living room.

That message would change the history of the drawer. 144 years later, the message should appear on the same drawer—where no message had been before, they expected to find one. Auditors from Price Waterhouse had vetted the experimental apparatus: a sealed glass case that held the drawer.

A similar apparatus contained a journal from 1985. Anika had already witnessed its changes as the Addison from that year wrote entries. 

Addison had planned some games for the couples. Paul Charm and Rebecca Flint were there and, like David and Anika, were not a romantic couple, so since they joined the games, David and Anika did too—up to the point when the couple was supposed to jointly eat a Twizzler, and end up lip-to-lip.

Though Paul and Rebecca played that one, David suggested he and Anika would sit that out. Anika smiled and agreed.

David was extremely underwhelmed when Jabob declared the experiment was a success. The others were moved by the message but no one was surprised to see it. David reviewed the greeting sent from the past, checked the cameras to make sure they all were still recording, then sent a message to Price Waterhouse to come validate the results.

But the night didn’t pass without one surprise. David found the company of Anika to be very, very satisfying. He was pleased with the night… even though they had sat out the Twizzler game.

…Emma Knox

I guess it would be wasteful to let our Valentine party go by without making a post. Me and Merritt an’ ever’body else gathered at Shay’s house for a real nice party.

Well, let me tell you about the drawer. Jacob back in 1881 came up with a plan and everyone worked hard to make memories about the plan so us in 2025 would know about it. David and Anika worked out a scientific method so that no one could dispute the results.

As planned, in the middle of the evening, the message those back in 1881 wrote showed up on the bottom of the drawer. What they did back then changed the history of that drawer and we could see the change.

They wrote a real sweet note:

“May all those who read these words in the future find the kind of love shared by those of us who write this message.”

And they signed it in pairs. Merritt and Emma, Hannah and Kent, and Shay and Devon.

So, what with me being born naturally into that era, I was keen to notice that Shay and Devon signed together. That version of Jacob is a former slave. A black man. For him to sign with Shay makes it look like they have feelings for each other just like their duplicates in 2025 have. That wouldn’t go over well in 1881. Not anywhere I know of.

I had a minute to ask Devon about it. He said the merged memories went both ways. The Devon in 1881 has the same memories as him, including remembering how Devon in 2025 feels about Shay in 2025.

Same for both Shays. The two back in 1881 can’t help but have feelings, so Devon said.

Now, I certainly now what it means to have feelings of one of the other versions. I’ve mentioned before about having married memories from the 1985 Off-line Moment… That Emma and that Merritt are already married, so I have those memories. And with memories come feelings.

Well, along those lines, we had this Valentine’s Day party. Addison planned games for us, and we all laughed a lot. So, my first Valentine’s Day with Merritt turned out to be really wonderful.

I’m out of room now, so I guess I’ll say bye.

…Hannah Madison

It’s Valentine’s Day, so I’ll just focus on things of the heart. My heart, to be specific.

Kent and I couldn’t be happier without getting married. That’s a thing on both our minds largely… or to some degree at least… due to having the memories of the already-married Kent and Hannah in the 1985 Off-line Moment.

Tonight, we all gathered at Shay’s house. Sixteen of us. Part of the evening was dedicated to checking the results of an experiment Jacob back in 1881 came up with. David and Anika were here partly for that, but it looked like they enjoyed the evening, too.

Paul Charm also came with a woman named Rebecca Flint. Paul told us that she, like him, is a Translocated Time Traveler. Born in 1922… She seems nice, but maybe a little serious. She and Paul play along with…

You guessed it! Addison had party games planned.

David and Anika played most of them, too.

The night was really nice, bringing me back to my and Kent’s “matters of the heart.” Tonight felt so natural and complete. There was nothing nervous about things. Nothing awkward. 

I had a friend once who, talking about her fiance, said, “I just can’t not think of him as the one for me!”

I’d say it like this about Kent. “I can’t think of him as not the one.”

In my mind, getting married is not a question of “if” but rather “when.”

And, yes, we’ve talked about it. And, yes, he feels the same.

…Addison Magee

It’s Valentine’s Day, 2025, and I simply cannot imagine myself happier. I have great friends and an amazing boyfriend!

Shay invited everyone to her house for a party tonight, so naturally, it was a great night! I had a few silly games that made everyone laugh. I was really happy that they liked them.

But, more than anything, I was proud of Jacob. His duplicate back in 1881 came up with a plan to do an experiment, and Anika and David got real busy to make sure it would be irrefutable.

With the merged memories, that Jacob and my Jacob were able to essentially prove that what happens in the past affects the present. Pretty much like Paul Charm said it would.

In case you missed a chapter or two, the duplicates in 1881 all moved back to New York, back into this very house. So… as I like to think of it considering the merged memories… the Jacobs came up with a plan.

The versions of us in 1881 wrote a lovely note on the bottom of the drawer, dated it, and signed it. Everything agreed that there was nothing there. Because the note didn’t get written until Valentine’s night. 

It was a brilliant idea, and I’m so happy that Jacob had a part in it.

Well, he and I are really happy together. We took the advice of Addison in Sag Harbor and decided we’d follow our hearts. The Addison and Jacob back in 1881 (both men) still struggle with our shared memories, just as I still struggle with his. But, it’s working out.

We are happy and they are coping.

Tonight was so much fun. I hope we can do more things like this over time.

I guess I should add that no one has heard anything from The Agency in months, but that really doesn’t fit with the mood of tonight. So… I’ll leave that for another time.

…Paul Charm

Paul Charm, on a whim, agreed to go to the Time Traveler’s Valentine’s Day party at Shay Ryder’s townhouse. He was very interested in seeing how the experiment the Jacobs came up with would turn out. He was sure he knew, but he figured it would be a good idea to actually be there.

Giving into a second whim, he invited Rebecca Flint to accompany him.

“I do say, Paul Charm, I’m flattered!” Rebecca pretended to be unsure as to the answer she’d give. “I suppose a refined English man would pass for good company, and what kind of woman wants to spend Valentine’s night alone?”

Since their first meeting, they had bonded over the fact that they both were six decades out of their normal time. They shared the marvel of things everyone (except Emma) took for granted.

Microwave ovens and Keurig coffee makers topped both of their lists. Never mind the Internet and AI… Hot food and fast coffee? They agreed those were marvels that changed the world.

Addison, as was her way, had planned a long list of games. Paul and Rebecca had joined them. They had shared a lot of laughs. The games had required them to hold hands or clutch each other’s arms. Hands to the waist came up a few times.

The evening passed quickly. No one was actually surprised by the message appearing on the bottom of the drawer from the built-in cabinets and shelves. That affirmation almost passed without remark, barring the comments about how sweet the message was.

Paul left the party with but one regret. He and Rebecca had been too slow playing the Twizzler game for him to win the special prize.

…Liza and Caleb

Liza and Caleb had won the last round of the most recent of Addison’s Valentine’s Night games. Given three balloons, they had to pop them by hugging. It was definitely a game that definitely didn’t favor couples with girls built like Addison, Tia, and Rebecca.

After the game ended, Jacob noticed that the experiment with the drawer had, as he said, “Yielded the expected results.”

While the Time Travelers talked about the sweet message, Liza and Caleb sat down and watched.

Then, in the flash of a moment, LIza realized something was happening that had never happened before. It had nothing to do with the drawer, nor anything at all to do with Time Travel.

For the first time in her life, Liza was at a party—not just any party, but a Valentine’s Day part—with a boyfriend.

She was very happy.

…Tia and Eric

Tia pulled Eric to the side of the living room as the Time Travelers gathered around the glass case in which was a drawer from the built-in cabinets and shelves. They both found it incomprehensible to understand.

Eric was the head of Shay’s private security team. She’d told him and he’d told Tia some of the struggles she faced as her memories merged daily with those of another version of herself who lived simultaneously 144 years in the past.

But for Tia and Eric, it was the present that occupied their thoughts. And to some degree, the future.

Tia had accepted the job as project manager for the Plant and Process department at the hospital. She and Eric had been seeing each other regularly, and everything was going great.

They hadn’t used the “m” word yet. But it was lurking in the background of Tia’s thoughts. And, she was pretty sure, Eric’s also.

Together they watched as the Time Travelers and the physicists discussed the words that had appeared on the bottom of the drawer. It was surreal. 

Nothing had been there. But, somehow time was flowing in lockstep with other Instants of time, so when the versions of the Time Travelers living in 1881 wrote a note on the drawer, all of history associated with that drawer changed.

A bigger surprise to Tia and Eric was that no one seemed particularly surprised by the words appearing. Mostly, they were talking about the note the group from 1881 wrote.

…Shay and Devon

Devon took Shay into his arms as Hannah and Kent looked back and waved as they left the party. They were right on the heels of Emma and Merritt. Liza and Caleb had called a Lyft and gone for coffee, so Shay and Devon were alone.

Having Devon live on the otherwise unused third floor had been wonderful. She had transformed in her mind the living room into the “lobby” and the kitchen had become, by her reckoning, a common kitchen like shared in a dorm. The living arrangement had in no way compromised decorum.

It had changed how much time she spent in the… lobby.

The Valentine’s party had been extremely fun. Addison always brought with her wherever she went a carefree air of joy. The party had been no exception.

Shay had enjoyed watching everyone play the games. Safe in the solace of Devon’s care and attention, the crowded room hadn’t bothered her. He, her oasis of calm, let her relax, and she really didn’t think she had done anything overtly strange or awkward. Sitting back and letting Addison run the show had made things easier.

“Well,” Devon said as the door closed behind Kent, “this was really fun… for us…”

“For us?” Shay looked up at Devon.

Devon cast his glance to the drawer on which the message from the past had appeared. “I can’t help but wonder what memories from 1881 we’ll get about tonight. How much affection could a black man show a white woman in 1881, even among friends?”

Shay squeezed Devon close to her. “My heart breaks a little… They know how the future will someday be. They know how we feel for each other…”

Devon nodded. “And we know they feel the same… We… are… becoming one… soul… in a way.”

“I know… And… I think your and my scheme is a good one… We need a bit more research.”

Devon smiled. “Well, at least Hannah, Kent, Merritt, and Emma understand. And they support them.”

Shay nodded her head and pulled herself into Devon’s chest. “I like our scheme. We’ll get them to dredge up our memories of it somehow.”

2025-02-12 “Seeking Evidence” for Anika (born 1998)

Not one course in quantum mechanics from her PhD work at MIT had prepared Anika Rao for the research she was doing for NYC SysCo. No accepted models for time applied—to be sure, speculative fiction was riff with time travel, but not science.

So far, she and her research partner, David Gregory, had recorded numerous experiences reported by the 8 Time Travelers. They had visited duplicates of five of them who were living in 2025, but whose memories from 1985 were daily merging with the memories of their duplicates who were born 40 years after them.

And Anika used the word duplicate to its full meaning.

DNA tests for the 5 born in the late 50s and early 60s were exact matches to the 5 duplicates born 40 years later. Exact.

Within the capacity of the testing—and retesting, and follow up testing, and re-follow up testing—the matches were 100%. The DNA lab had dispatched its own scientists to (after signing NYC SysCo’s non-disclosure agreement) collect their own samples.

The partners at NYC SysCo had convened. Lawyers were involved. A policy on how to handle the growing interest in the Time Travelers was in the works. All 15 of the known time travelers were being contacted.

NYC SysCo’s agenda seemed relatively pure. Collect information, preserve the dignity of the Time Travelers, and maintain on-going operations of the firm without unnecessary disruption. David had said they wanted to stop a feeding frenzy.

Efforts to hire a psychologist to study the memory phenomenon were underway and a final few candidates were being interviewed. And David and Anika’s research was ongoing.

The next opportunity to uncover… something… would happen on Valentine’s day. Anika and David had just under 60 hours to wait.

At the forefront of the research opportunity was a drawer from Shay Ryder’s townhouse. Additionally, there was Addison’s journal. Jacob Brown from 1881 came up with an experiment based on knowledge and experiences from the memories of Jacob from 2025. The cohort from 1881 had moved back into the Bank Street townhouse where Shay, Devon, and Liza lived in 2025. Jacob’s plan was simple. The townhouse had a builtin with drawers and shelves. The plan was to document the bottom of the drawer before Feb 14, 2025. On Feb 14, 1881, just after sunset, the group from that time period would write their names and put the date and a note about sharing Valentine’s day together. There was nothing on the bottom of the drawer. Yet. The experiment had the potential to prove that what was happening in 1881 was linked to 2025. The merged memories had created a link from the future to the past, and those memories were changing the course of the future. Since the events of Feb 14, 1881 hadn’t happened yet, the future had not been changed. The future would change when those in 1881 changed the past. So, the drawer was examined, photographed, and documented. Auditors from Price Waterhouse oversaw the process and vetted the data. A glass case was constructed and the drawer was sealed inside.. The same thing was done for Addison’s journal. Already, blank pages were being transformed, inscribed by Addison’s notes from 1985.

The implications were mind boggling. While they offered no explanation of how the Instants in time were connected or why they existed simultaneously but separated, the experiments were on the verge of proving that the phenomenon was real. Anika had no doubts—not after seeing the journal write itself—about the results of the experiment. But she did have one concern. A slight one. The gathering on Friday would be all of the Time Travelers, some of their friends, plus her and David. She and David would be the only not-couple present to celebrate… Valentine’s Day night. She expected some awkwardness, but… she thought it would be okay in the long run.

2025-02-10 “Not Alone” for Devon (born 2002)

Devon was on his way to the office of NYC SysCo for a quick meeting before his 10:00 class at Columbia when Shay came bouncing down the stairs into the living room.

“Oh! I’m glad I caught you…”

“Good morning…” Devon smiled.

“Something… came to me when I was in the bathroom.”

“What’s up?”

“Devon, The other Shay… She’s trying to send me a message… Us… Something’s about to happen. Devon, look at the built-in… Do you have any memories about that middle drawer from 1881?”

Devon and Shay turned to the built-in shelves along the wall of the living room, and he suddenly was aware of something that had happened the past week.

“Jacob was here… Everyone… They’re going to do an experiment…”

Shay nodded. “I’ve already texted Jacob… our version… And Anika.”

Devon smiled. “Guess this will be a Valentine's Day party that will go down in history… right?”

Shay turned to Devon and shook her head. “Wow! How did you think that up so fast?”

Devon leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I didn’t. 1881 Devon did… Back on Friday when they were planning their Valentines day party, except it was Monday for them.”

“1881 Jacob insisted no one touch the drawer until Anika and David can set up a proper experiment… but…”

“Yeah, we haven’t touched it… ever… Now, I’m dying to look at the bottom!”

“Anika said they’d get here ASAP. I already texted Dexter that I need to stay home. He said he’d call Kent if anything on a worksite needed attention… So…”

“So, you wait and I go to work and school totally dying to look at the bottom of the drawer!”

Shay then turned and looked around. “Yeah… well, while you do that, I’ll be here… and…”

Devon looked at her. “And alone?”

“Yeah… except the six others who are here with me bumping around in the same space 144 years ago. Our instants are happening at the same time… so… it’s kinda like they are here…”

Devon looked at here… “Oh… wow… that’s something to think about…”

Shay looked at a clock on the mantle. “Go… we have plenty of time to think about that later… Get to your meeting…”

2025-02-06 “Hot Shower” by Hannah (born 2002)

Never before have I so resonated with the expression “waiting for the other shoe to drop.” It has been two weeks or so since anyone has had any sense that The Agency is… out there. 

And so, I stand under the stream of hot water preparing for my day at work, wondering if it will be today that we are sent to the sofa to “focus” in support of another Translocation mission. Or will it be just another day at the office. It is the not-knowing what’s next about this that eats away at me.

To be sure, the continual merging of memories is going on.

The group in 1985 Virginia are getting on well, going through their jobs, and enjoying life together. That Hannah and Kent had a long talk about getting married. Like me and my Kent, the “married memories” from the 1985 Off-line Moment (Hannah and Kent as well as Merritt and Emma, in that instance are already married) create certain… wishes. And, yes, my Kent and I have acknowledged that we are experiencing “married memories.”

The 1985 Off-line Moment (the ones that are married) are frustrated by all this not-doing, too. They have started running and going to the gym, since they don’t know what to expect and have time to do that. The sprint from the high school left them more winded than they would have wanted, and sore in the days that followed. 

I should add that the idea of my actual body zipping across time and space (that’s what happens to them) is utterly shocking. The physics behind that… Anika and David are debating ideas.

The 1881 versions of us are settling into the house in Manhattan (Addison and Jacob rented rooms in a boarding house nearby). That Devon (like the one in 2025) started classes at Columbia. That Hannah has some thoughts about the 1881 versions of Devon and Shay in part because of what I know about the 2025 versions.

Anyway… looking at all that… it looks like a number soup dumped over a name salad. And I tried to organize it on paper. Sometimes, I think it’s worse in my head.

Hot shower, do your magic!

2025-02-03 “Coping With Change” by Emma (born 1861)

Well, you can see me an’ Hannah are in the kitchen. She’s about to go to work. Naturally, I go later, so she took the bathroom first.

We know it’s been a while since we posted regular. We wanted to post today so you know we are doing alright. 

And truth told, alright is about as good as it gets, these days.

There’s a few things on our minds—us 8 Time Travelers. Well, I guess it’s 9 counting Paul Charm.

First off, is not being able to plan. The Agency don’t ask if it's convenient to shift us or put us in a Focus. And even though it’s been only a few times, it always seems like it could be any second.

‘Nother thing is the physicist always asking questions. Now, Anika an’ David are real nice and smart, an’ it’s important so Hannah and Merritt can keep their jobs, but it sure is worrisome.

But mostly it’s the memories coming in all the time from the other versions of us. We got it figured that, if we think about it, we can access the other of us’s memories after two sleeps. Best we can tell when we sleep our memories sync, so its like one day I put my memories in the merge and the next day the other Emma gets ‘em out. Me, David, and Emma in Virginia beach worked that out.

But for instance, I woke up yesterday thinking I needed to hurry to the store and get the hat I talked myself into buying before it got sold. Well, I was using the toilet ‘fore I realized it was 2005-Emma back in 1881 what that wanted the hat.

Last, I wanna say I started classes at Kingsborough Community College. Well, I guess I should add that Jacob, an’ Liza started, too. An’ Devon is going to Columbia now. But I guess one good thing about the merged memories is good.

Emma-2005 had a lot better schooling than I did back in the 1880s! So having her memories sure does help! Sometimes, I wish I had merged memories with Hannah, on account she’s already finished college.

On second thought, I take that back, just in caseThe Agency is reading this. It’s hard enough as it is.

 

2025-02-02 “What Do You Know?” for Paul (born 1910)

The after-show coffee meeting the night before had started off tensely, but quickly settled down with some mutual sharing.

Rebecca had been born in 1932 and translocated starting in 1952—by her experiences, the previous summer. Paul had been born in 1910 and had translocated first in 1945—by his experiences the previous fall.

Rebecca briefly introduced him to The New Order. “So, there’s somebody out there that doesn’t want The Agency to be successful.”

That conversation had spiraled to no conclusion as Rebecca told Paul about her missions… and why she quit.

Paul had replied, “Well, now, if you ask me, I wouldn’t bring that one up to Sag Harbor Addison.”

Rebecca teared up as he explained why.

By then, the coffee shop was ready to close. Paul overcame an impulse to take her to the apartments and introduce her to Merritt, Kent, and the others. He thought there could be some unseen danger, though she seemed to be honest about everything. Instead, he talked her into meeting at a diner the next morning.

Paul began the conversation only indirectly connected to Time Travel. “I do say, it is quite refreshing to know someone nearly as old as me. While I do like the… conveniences of technology, there was something charming about having lunch at the drugstore dining counter. Things were a notch slower.”

“To be sure. I’ve had quite the struggle accepting that a cup of coffee can cost 5… 10… dollars.”

Paul held up his cup and nodded. “Oh, but that Keurig is a fine invention! And the microwave!”

Rebecca nodded, then shifted the direction of things. “Paul, who are these people… The New Order… The Agency? The New Order said The Agency was only indirectly doing good deeds. They claimed that The Agency was self-serving and… ultimately a danger to humanity.”

“Miss Flint, all I can say is, tempted with a chance to make things right, I jumped into the unknown. But, at least I was invited. The others…”

Rebecca nodded. “They had no choice at all…”

 

2025-02-01 “When Are You Off?” for Paul (born 1910)

Paul Charm ended his show to a satisfying round of applause. Then he saw her across the way, once more at the Mississippi Delta Reconstruction stage. Where Emma and Addison performed.

Paul was sure he’d seen her three times. And Emma had mentioned a conversation with a blonde woman. Paul figured it was time to find out who she was and what she was up to.

He didn’t mind the fact that the beautiful, buxom blonde looked like she’d just stepped off a Hollywood movie post from… 

“It’s the hair…” Paul muttered to himself as he walked up quietly behind her. “Old Hollywood glam… There’s no way…”

Paul dredged his memories for the name of the woman Emma had mentioned talking to. “Rebecca Flint…”

Paul was ready. He approached quietly from behind as Rebecca watched Emma going on about how churning butter worked.

“Now, it ain’t a’ ever’day thing on account you have to have milk, an’ it wuddn’t always thar when you wanted it…”

Paul was in place. He leaned forward, nearly brushing her hair with the rim of his fedora. "I could swear I've seen you in this joint before… I'd say you've quite the knack for blending in, don't you?"

If Rebecca was startled, she steeled herself and didn’t show it.

“I like it here. Emma… she’s good at what she’s doing.”

“She is.”

Rebecca turned her head slightly. “Too bad she can’t act.”

Paul felt himself surprised, but Rebecca let him off quickly. “I’ve read her Instagram.”

“Have you, then?”

Rebecca turned and faced him. Her smile was confident and Paul was sure she knew something he didn’t know.

“Paul… a game? You guess my birthday and I’ll guess yours?”

“Birthday?” Paul was thinking 1945 Hollywood movie posters again.

“Hold that thought… What do you know about… The Agency?”

Paul tried not to look surprised. “What do you know about the Agency?”

Rebecca smiled. “Meet me across the street at the coffee shop when you get out of costume and I’ll tell you.”