p class="MsoNormal"A calm breeze swept across an empty grass field. The sun shone brightly overhead, the rustling of leaves could be heard from the lone tree on the plain. A caterpillar inched its way down the branch, doing whatever its little caterpillar brain was telling it to do./p
p class="MsoNormal"And upon this calm peaceful plain, a lone girl dressed in a detective suit popped into existence. Who she was and where she came from was a question that no person alive could answer./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, Bubba. Down now." Amelia stooped down and let her dog jump out of her arms. Bubba leaped out of his master's arms, spun around excitedly for a bit, then stopped and looked straight at Amelia./p
p class="MsoNormal""I don't know, go chase a butterfly or something. I have to look at the Time Encyclopedia to figure out where to go. Can't be asking random people in the 1830's for directions."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bubba barked in agreement and went off to find a butterfly to chase. Presumably. Who knew what his dog brain thought she said? Well, at the very least he seemed happy./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia sat down in the shade of the lone tree and pulled out the same blue book that she was looking through before she travelled. She also took out the letter and folded it so that only the last paragraph was showing./p
p class="MsoNormal"'These pills are often eaten with hot, fried or greasy food'/p
p class="MsoNormal"At first glance, it looks like nonsense, what kind of pills are eating with specifically greasy food? It would be a separate matter if it meant some kind of dietary constraint but the line said often – that meant that as people normally eat greasy food they take this pill. This stumped Amelia for a second until she realized that pills are really just a form that substances are made in for convenience. In fact, in the present (well the present when she thought this up, now far future) there was talk about making lots of various supplements into foods to create superfoods that can be eaten on the go. Following that logic, the so-called pills may be now in a different form./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Or maybe they were pills to begin with.' Past Ame had thought./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was then that she had taken out the Time Encyclopedia. Normally she would've done a bit more research before pulling it out but she was in a hurry. It took a few searches to narrow it down she managed to find out that ketchup was once sold as a medical pill and that version of ketchup was sold in 1834./p
p class="MsoNormal"And here she was now./p
p class="MsoNormal"Admittedly in haste, she had forgotten to ask where they were sold, which apparently is incredibly crucial information in finding something, go figure. But she had told the watch to put her somewhere where no eyes would look for an hour, so no harm, no foul./p
p class="MsoNormal"Opening the book and flipping through the blank pages she stopped at one randomly. As there was no one around she felt no need to ask the book silently./p
p class="MsoNormal""Where was ketchup invented?" she asked, scrolling her index finger across the page./p
p class="MsoNormal"Underneath her finger's path, words started to appear./p
p class="MsoNormal"'China, 21.671946, 107.761274'/p
p class="MsoNormal""Really? I thought you said something about America earlier." Ame was stumped for a moment. What had happened to change the TE's answer?/p
p class="MsoNormal""Where was the first ketchup pill sold?" She asked, swiping her finger against the blank book again./p
p class="MsoNormal"The previous word faded away as a new sentence and formed under her finger's new path./p
p class="MsoNormal""America, 39.125520, -84.495114"/p
p class="MsoNormal"There we go. A definitive answer./p
p class="MsoNormal"'That's near Virginia I believe,' Amelia thought as she put the book back inside her jacket./p
p class="MsoNormal""Come on, Bubba! We're heading off!" Amelia called out to her dog who was chasing after….. was that a leaf in the wind?/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bubba stopped his antics and pelted towards Amelia; leaping into her outstretched arms./p
p class="MsoNormal"With her dog, tight in her arms, Amelia pulled out the same pocket watch from before./p
p class="MsoNormal""A second from now… 39.125520, -8495114… Safe mode… Plausible Temporal Spatial Deniability On…." Amelia muttered to herself as she fiddled with the knobs./p
p class="MsoNormal"Once she was satisfied she pressed the button at the top and disappeared./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol';"🕛🕛🕛/spanOne second laterspan style="font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol';"🕛🕛🕛/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"An 1830's man was walking down an 1830's street thinking 1830's thoughts, suddenly his 1830's walking was 1830's interrupted when he bumped into a person./p
p class="MsoNormal"This 1830's man was 1830's angry./p
p class="MsoNormal"After all, couldn't this person see that he was 1830's walking?! He 1830's looked up, ready to give this person a piece of his 1830's mind. He looked up and saw that the dastardly offender was a girl much younger than his 1830's self./p
p class="MsoNormal""Can't you see I'm walking here!" He yelled crossly. "What're'chu even doing out here? Where's your husband, eh? I ought'a give him a piece o' my mind. Gotta be compeesa'ed and whatnot." He gestured to his 1830's average clothes./p
p class="MsoNormal"The girl raised her head calmly and said, quite evenly, "Sorry"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The 1830's man was 1830's taken aback at the lady's level of confidence. He then took a second look at his offender. He appraised the clothes, which, to even his 1830's untrained eye, he could see the sheer level of difference in craftsmanship. The lady also had a dog in her arm, a breed he had never seen before, dressed in a matching getup and completely clean. The was only one 1830's explanation he could up with to explain this person./p
p class="MsoNormal"'A noble-lady,' He surmised./p
p class="MsoNormal""You know what? No need to call anybody. I'll forgive you. Make sure not to run into anyone else. He might not be as forgiving as me." The 1830's man hurried past the woman./p
p class="MsoNormal""Wait a minute." She called out./p
p class="MsoNormal"The man stopped and turned around on instinct. He instantly 1830's regretted his instincts./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Do you know where I may find those revolutionary ketchup pills?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol';"🕛🕛🕛/spanOne Hour laterspan style="font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol';"🕛🕛🕛/span/p
p class="MsoNormal""As you can see the ketchup is kept in top conditions. Doctors worldwide give their seal of approval"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia could've kicked herself. How could she have forgotten to change clothes? That's like the 21st unwritten rule of time travel (there are a lot of rules- for scale, it's above don't say your real name, and below don't bring future tech). Thank goodness that guy thought she was someone important or she would've been in hot water- maybe literally./p
p class="MsoNormal"She found the ketchup guy – Mr. Cook or something – convinced him that she bought the ketchup propaganda, and she would buy 30 gallons if she saw the storage conditions./p
p class="MsoNormal""As you can, it's perfectly clean. Now about your payment…"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes, of course. I will – By golly is that a rat!"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Mrs. Tawnos, I assure you that there is a perfectly reasonable-!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia pulled out a miniature handgun and shot the man in the back of the neck with a needle as he turned around./p
p class="MsoNormal"The man collapsed with a thud, so instantaneously that he was completely unaware that the woman had not seen the rats./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia pulled out her pocket watch and pointed at the man's body. The needle immediately flew out of the man's neck and into her outstretched arms. After a few seconds, the puncture point completely healed itself leaving no trace./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia stepped over the man completely unconcerned about the man's memory as the toxin she injected him with would make him forget about everything about the last hour and make him groggy when he woke up. Whatever conclusions he came to after that was not her problem. The universe would figure itself out./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Find the storage room of their first sale.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"This should be the place./p
p class="MsoNormal"So…. What now? Is there supposed to be a jingle? Should a:/p
p class="MsoNormal"[You did it!]/p
p class="MsoNormal"-screen pop up out of nowhere?/p
p class="MsoNormal"Her queries were soon answered as the pocketwatch she carried started glowing blue. The hands had stopped their regular oscillation and pointed towards the back of the room./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia cautiously followed the direction, anticipating the worse. Even Bubba was following slowly behind her as opposed to his usual energetic self./p
p class="MsoNormal"At the end of the invisible path lay a piece of stone./p
p class="MsoNormal""Really? That's it?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"There were markings – no doubt of some ancient/future significance that civilisations have been pondering on for eons, yadda, yadda, yadda - but Amelia had seen thousands of such artifacts before and it loses a bit of the impact when the 30th+ artifact of unknown origin shows up./p
p class="MsoNormal"Regardless, 'The Writer of the Letter' wants whatever this is assembled, and right now it's still her only clue to that person./p
p class="MsoNormal"Stowing the artifact away inside her jacket, Amelia started fiddling with her pocket watch again. There was no need to reexamine the letter or consult with the Time Encyclopedia./p
p class="MsoNormal"She knew where she had to go./p
p class="MsoNormal"Beckoning Bubba to jump into her arms, (by now Bubba had realized that they weren't settled down anytime soon) she pressed the button on the pocketwatch and once again went sailing off to the year 1692./p
p class="MsoNormal"And upon this calm peaceful plain, a lone girl dressed in a detective suit popped into existence. Who she was and where she came from was a question that no person alive could answer./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, Bubba. Down now." Amelia stooped down and let her dog jump out of her arms. Bubba leaped out of his master's arms, spun around excitedly for a bit, then stopped and looked straight at Amelia./p
p class="MsoNormal""I don't know, go chase a butterfly or something. I have to look at the Time Encyclopedia to figure out where to go. Can't be asking random people in the 1830's for directions."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bubba barked in agreement and went off to find a butterfly to chase. Presumably. Who knew what his dog brain thought she said? Well, at the very least he seemed happy./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia sat down in the shade of the lone tree and pulled out the same blue book that she was looking through before she travelled. She also took out the letter and folded it so that only the last paragraph was showing./p
p class="MsoNormal"'These pills are often eaten with hot, fried or greasy food'/p
p class="MsoNormal"At first glance, it looks like nonsense, what kind of pills are eating with specifically greasy food? It would be a separate matter if it meant some kind of dietary constraint but the line said often – that meant that as people normally eat greasy food they take this pill. This stumped Amelia for a second until she realized that pills are really just a form that substances are made in for convenience. In fact, in the present (well the present when she thought this up, now far future) there was talk about making lots of various supplements into foods to create superfoods that can be eaten on the go. Following that logic, the so-called pills may be now in a different form./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Or maybe they were pills to begin with.' Past Ame had thought./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was then that she had taken out the Time Encyclopedia. Normally she would've done a bit more research before pulling it out but she was in a hurry. It took a few searches to narrow it down she managed to find out that ketchup was once sold as a medical pill and that version of ketchup was sold in 1834./p
p class="MsoNormal"And here she was now./p
p class="MsoNormal"Admittedly in haste, she had forgotten to ask where they were sold, which apparently is incredibly crucial information in finding something, go figure. But she had told the watch to put her somewhere where no eyes would look for an hour, so no harm, no foul./p
p class="MsoNormal"Opening the book and flipping through the blank pages she stopped at one randomly. As there was no one around she felt no need to ask the book silently./p
p class="MsoNormal""Where was ketchup invented?" she asked, scrolling her index finger across the page./p
p class="MsoNormal"Underneath her finger's path, words started to appear./p
p class="MsoNormal"'China, 21.671946, 107.761274'/p
p class="MsoNormal""Really? I thought you said something about America earlier." Ame was stumped for a moment. What had happened to change the TE's answer?/p
p class="MsoNormal""Where was the first ketchup pill sold?" She asked, swiping her finger against the blank book again./p
p class="MsoNormal"The previous word faded away as a new sentence and formed under her finger's new path./p
p class="MsoNormal""America, 39.125520, -84.495114"/p
p class="MsoNormal"There we go. A definitive answer./p
p class="MsoNormal"'That's near Virginia I believe,' Amelia thought as she put the book back inside her jacket./p
p class="MsoNormal""Come on, Bubba! We're heading off!" Amelia called out to her dog who was chasing after….. was that a leaf in the wind?/p
p class="MsoNormal"Bubba stopped his antics and pelted towards Amelia; leaping into her outstretched arms./p
p class="MsoNormal"With her dog, tight in her arms, Amelia pulled out the same pocket watch from before./p
p class="MsoNormal""A second from now… 39.125520, -8495114… Safe mode… Plausible Temporal Spatial Deniability On…." Amelia muttered to herself as she fiddled with the knobs./p
p class="MsoNormal"Once she was satisfied she pressed the button at the top and disappeared./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol';"🕛🕛🕛/spanOne second laterspan style="font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol';"🕛🕛🕛/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"An 1830's man was walking down an 1830's street thinking 1830's thoughts, suddenly his 1830's walking was 1830's interrupted when he bumped into a person./p
p class="MsoNormal"This 1830's man was 1830's angry./p
p class="MsoNormal"After all, couldn't this person see that he was 1830's walking?! He 1830's looked up, ready to give this person a piece of his 1830's mind. He looked up and saw that the dastardly offender was a girl much younger than his 1830's self./p
p class="MsoNormal""Can't you see I'm walking here!" He yelled crossly. "What're'chu even doing out here? Where's your husband, eh? I ought'a give him a piece o' my mind. Gotta be compeesa'ed and whatnot." He gestured to his 1830's average clothes./p
p class="MsoNormal"The girl raised her head calmly and said, quite evenly, "Sorry"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The 1830's man was 1830's taken aback at the lady's level of confidence. He then took a second look at his offender. He appraised the clothes, which, to even his 1830's untrained eye, he could see the sheer level of difference in craftsmanship. The lady also had a dog in her arm, a breed he had never seen before, dressed in a matching getup and completely clean. The was only one 1830's explanation he could up with to explain this person./p
p class="MsoNormal"'A noble-lady,' He surmised./p
p class="MsoNormal""You know what? No need to call anybody. I'll forgive you. Make sure not to run into anyone else. He might not be as forgiving as me." The 1830's man hurried past the woman./p
p class="MsoNormal""Wait a minute." She called out./p
p class="MsoNormal"The man stopped and turned around on instinct. He instantly 1830's regretted his instincts./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Do you know where I may find those revolutionary ketchup pills?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol';"🕛🕛🕛/spanOne Hour laterspan style="font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI Symbol';"🕛🕛🕛/span/p
p class="MsoNormal""As you can see the ketchup is kept in top conditions. Doctors worldwide give their seal of approval"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia could've kicked herself. How could she have forgotten to change clothes? That's like the 21st unwritten rule of time travel (there are a lot of rules- for scale, it's above don't say your real name, and below don't bring future tech). Thank goodness that guy thought she was someone important or she would've been in hot water- maybe literally./p
p class="MsoNormal"She found the ketchup guy – Mr. Cook or something – convinced him that she bought the ketchup propaganda, and she would buy 30 gallons if she saw the storage conditions./p
p class="MsoNormal""As you can, it's perfectly clean. Now about your payment…"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes, of course. I will – By golly is that a rat!"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Mrs. Tawnos, I assure you that there is a perfectly reasonable-!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia pulled out a miniature handgun and shot the man in the back of the neck with a needle as he turned around./p
p class="MsoNormal"The man collapsed with a thud, so instantaneously that he was completely unaware that the woman had not seen the rats./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia pulled out her pocket watch and pointed at the man's body. The needle immediately flew out of the man's neck and into her outstretched arms. After a few seconds, the puncture point completely healed itself leaving no trace./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia stepped over the man completely unconcerned about the man's memory as the toxin she injected him with would make him forget about everything about the last hour and make him groggy when he woke up. Whatever conclusions he came to after that was not her problem. The universe would figure itself out./p
p class="MsoNormal"'Find the storage room of their first sale.'/p
p class="MsoNormal"This should be the place./p
p class="MsoNormal"So…. What now? Is there supposed to be a jingle? Should a:/p
p class="MsoNormal"[You did it!]/p
p class="MsoNormal"-screen pop up out of nowhere?/p
p class="MsoNormal"Her queries were soon answered as the pocketwatch she carried started glowing blue. The hands had stopped their regular oscillation and pointed towards the back of the room./p
p class="MsoNormal"Amelia cautiously followed the direction, anticipating the worse. Even Bubba was following slowly behind her as opposed to his usual energetic self./p
p class="MsoNormal"At the end of the invisible path lay a piece of stone./p
p class="MsoNormal""Really? That's it?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"There were markings – no doubt of some ancient/future significance that civilisations have been pondering on for eons, yadda, yadda, yadda - but Amelia had seen thousands of such artifacts before and it loses a bit of the impact when the 30th+ artifact of unknown origin shows up./p
p class="MsoNormal"Regardless, 'The Writer of the Letter' wants whatever this is assembled, and right now it's still her only clue to that person./p
p class="MsoNormal"Stowing the artifact away inside her jacket, Amelia started fiddling with her pocket watch again. There was no need to reexamine the letter or consult with the Time Encyclopedia./p
p class="MsoNormal"She knew where she had to go./p
p class="MsoNormal"Beckoning Bubba to jump into her arms, (by now Bubba had realized that they weren't settled down anytime soon) she pressed the button on the pocketwatch and once again went sailing off to the year 1692./p