Testing the Limits of Time

Chapter 3: formulating a plan

After their incredible adventure at House#1776, Skylar and her friends observed the present with a sense of urgency and paranoia. The minor but unmistakable discrepancies around them piqued their curiosities. At this point, they realized that understanding the rules and mechanisms of this perplexing phenomenon was no longer a thrilling pursuit but a moral obligation.
It was already evening by the time they collected themselves and decided to head home. But they couldn't resist the urge to explore another house on Time Street. As they walked on, they spotted a dilapidated house with a straw roof, named 1950. The house honestly looked like a quarter where slaves were kept.
"Do you guys want to check this one out too?" Skylar asked her friends.
"Do you?" Kody asked, turning towards Jamie.
"I don't know, what about you?" Jamie replied, facing Tyler.
"I don't know," Tyler shrugged his shoulders.
"Same," Jamie agreed with a tightened smile.
"I'll take that as a yes. Let's go!" Skylar grinned.

And so, with little hesitation, they decided to take another risk and stepped inside this house. Within an instant, they found themselves in a new atmosphere.
Greeted by a bustling 1950s New Orleans, they found themselves on a busy street lined with storefronts displaying vibrant signs advertising everything from ice cream to haircuts, amongst women wearing full skirts and pearls, the men sporting fedoras and ties, car engines, chatter, and jazz music playing in the distance.
Wise men say
Only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
As they passed by a newly opened cafe across the street playing Elvis, Kody looked at Jamie with a smile, hoping she noticed him for once. However, Jamie was too busy living in the moment. But for Kody, Jamie was the moment.
But so much more was happening than this short-lived moment. The brutal reality of time became evident as they walked on and became more intently aware of their surroundings.
To their left were two distinct entrances to the cafe, one marked "Only Whites" and the other "Colored." Skylar's heart fell when she noticed that a long queue of African Americans was waiting to be served after the white customers had been attended to in a separate line.
"Look at that," said Tyler, pointing to a sign that read, "Seats for Whites Only," that was posted at a nearby bus stop.
There was a crowded area at the back of the bus where African American passengers stood, with an apparent and completely justified discomfort defining their faces.
As they walked on, they saw a guard stop a mother and her young daughter from entering a park by pointing to a sign that said in bold and red, "No Blacks Allowed." The poor mother had no choice but to turn away, her face a mask of resignation and sorrow. Grabbing her daughter's hand who was equally shown no sympathy, the mother and daughter left disappointedly.
"This is so bad," reacted Skylar, a knot beginning in her stomach, "How could people treat each other like this?"
"I know right? It's depressing!" Jamie agreed, shaking her head in disappointment.
Walking on further, they came across two signs: one labeled "Colored" on a water fountain and "Whites Only" on the one next to it. A small child, eight years old at most, looked around anxiously as if he were worried about getting in trouble before he finally drank from the "Colored" fountain.
Just when they decided that they had had enough of this racial injustice and agreed to make their exit, something felt odd suddenly. The cafe they had passed by earlier now had a big banner saying, "Grand Opening Next Week."

Skylar raised an eyebrow, wondering if their presence was changing the course of events again.
"Are you thinking what I am thinking?" Jamie asked, observing Skylar's look. "I remember that we had already passed by this cafe and it was playing a song by Elvis Presley."
"Yes, I believe we should be more careful. Our little visits are making an uncalled-for difference," Skylar said.
"Should we continue?" Tyler asked, nervously glancing around him.
"We have to." Skylar inhaled deeply, "We must fully understand what is going on in this set of circumstances. Together, let's make an effort not to draw more attention to ourselves but pay closer attention to our surroundings. "
Returning to their neighborhood after their insightful trip to House#1950, Skylar and her friends had their minds abuzz with theories and questions.
"What we witnessed still amazes me," Jamie remarked, pacing back and forth. "But I am yet to fathom how these houses operate."
"I've been observing," Tyler began, taking out a hand-drawn map and holding it stretched between his hands. "Every home we visit seems to take us back in time to a monumental occasion. It can't be a sporadic occurrence of events, no! It definitely serves a purpose!"
"I think the only way to figure out how this weird mechanism works is to explore each house on Time Street systematically," Skylar said, her voice steady and determined, as the group walked back home. "We need to track and trace these changes."
Tyler nodded, "Personally, I don't even think it is right to ignore this. If stepping through these doors messes with history, we need to know the what's, why's and how's behind this."
Jamie, skeptical but intrigued, leaned over the map, tracing her finger along the street, and added, "Maybe the addresses hold the key. Look, each house is marked with a specific year. 1776, 1950... It's like they're gateways to those times."
Kody chimed in, "But why? Why would these houses exist? And who built them?"
"I don't know yet. But I think we need a base of operations," Skylar sighed, looking thoughtful.
She paused and then after pondering more for a couple of minutes, suggested, "Let's use one of the houses on Time Street as our headquarters, what do you guys say? We have already agreed to arrange and bring research tools including a logbook to keep track of everything. We should leave these records here instead of bringing them home because that might invite risk."

The friends agreed. The next day they got together in Skylar's living room and started piecing together the peculiar characteristics of the Time Street residences.
Within a few days, they returned to Time Street, choosing a random house as their base camp, one that had no name. The house was quaint, with an old-world charm that made it the perfect spot for their base.
"This place feels like it was waiting for us," Jamie said, looking around the cozy living room as they set up their equipment.
They brought in old maps to help them navigate their routes, encyclopedias, laptops, and anything else they thought might be useful in understanding the houses' bizarre properties. They meticulously documented their observations and any factual inconsistencies they discovered.
One evening, while sorting through some dusty papers left behind in one of the houses, Tyler stumbled upon something interesting. "Guys, look at this," he called out, holding up a bundle of weathered paper. "Looks like someone left this behind."
The note was written in an old-fashioned script and mentioned something about "preserving the true timeline" and "countering the influence of The Revisionists."
"ERASE. CORRECT. REWRITE.," Skylar read aloud from another note.
"Who are The Revisionists?" Jamie asked, peering over Skylar's shoulder.
Kody frowned, "Sounds like another group of time travelers. Maybe we aren't alone, after all."
Skylar added, "If that's true, then we have a mission. We need to maintain historical integrity and stop whoever is messing with the timeline."
The group fell silent for a moment, as the weight of their newfound responsibility sank in. They had stumbled upon something far larger than they had ever imagined. With a renewed sense of purpose, they set out to investigate each house on Time Street, determined to uncover its secrets and defend history from The Revisionists.
Their journey was just beginning, and they knew it would be fraught with difficulties. But, together, they were determined to navigate the complexities of time travel and preserve the past for the future.
As their research progressed, they began to speculate on the origins and mechanics of time travel. The historical significance of the addresses revealed some information. Each house seemed to correspond to a watershed moment in history, implying a greater purpose than mere coincidence.

Kody frowned. "That seems like trouble. Who knows what kind of damage they might be causing if they mess with history?"
Skylar nodded; her expression serious. "We ought to stop them. Our mission is to retain past and present integrity. If we allow them to continue, the consequences could be disastrous.
The friends spent the next few hours preparing their base and stocking it with everything they needed for their mission. They pinned maps and historical documents to the walls, set up a computer for research, and kept logbooks to record their findings.
"This is it," Skylar said, surveying their makeshift headquarters. "We are officially time guardians now."