Free Time Camp Episode 1: Family Time by John Huegel

change the events that caused the war and they may succeed in changing the outcome. But without the war, the recovery would not have happened, interstellar propulsion would not have been created, and most important, time travel would not likely have been discovered. So it’s very important to the entire future timeline that bad things happen sometimes. This is one thing that you will absolutely have to believe and obey: As observers, you can’t ever tamper with outcomes!”
     
    The kids were quiet for a minute as they absorbed these ideas. Jenna said, “I guess I understand, but it will be hard to not want to try to help!”
     
    Jade said, “It is very hard to not intervene. And that’s exactly why the TimeLine sense is an important ability. It’s that extra outside warning that you are straying too close to a timeline change. So, let’s practice. We’ll need to go to recreation for this. Let’s move!”
     
    So Jade and the three Watson kids headed out of her office. She said, “We’re going to simulate an event that you are sent to observe. There’s a baseball game going on in that stadium. In the fourth inning, a line drive is going to hit a spectator in section 12, killing her. It becomes an incident that changes how baseball stadiums deal with spectator safety. Let’s go in and wander around.”
     
    They entered field 7, which was a huge outdoor space with a baseball stadium. As they walked, Jenna asked, “How did you get all of these people here, just for us?”
     
    Jade smiled and said, “It’s really an elaborate simulation. We’re the only people here now, but the stadium is real. The rest of the ‘people’ are like holograms, but they are solid. They will talk to you but they aren’t real.”
     
    “Cool!” said Andy.
     
    They entered the stadium and started walking around. The scoreboard showed bottom of the third inning. As they walked around the back edge, the green glow in their vision started to shift to yellow. “Do you see the yellow?” asked Jade. All three kids nodded.
     
    “What’s it mean?” asked Jenna.
     
    “It means that we are getting close to a critical placetime. There’s no need to react to yellow, just be aware that something is going to happen somewhere close, sometime soon. One more point: if your Timeline sense suddenly changes to red, you should freeze and backtrack, and be as inconspicuous as possible.”
     
    They continued walking around the back of the stadium, where the concessions and restrooms were built. Barely thirty seconds later, as they rounded a curve to a concession stand, their Timeline sense flashed red. Shocked, they all stopped and looked at Jade. “Just remain quiet and still and keep your eyes open,” whispered Jade. They backed up to the painted concrete block wall and watched anxiously as the red began to blink, slowly and then faster. Shortly, a man carrying a cardboard carrier with hot dogs, peanuts and two large cups of beer walked past them and headed for the stands. He wasn’t looking very carefully, and would have run into the kids had they not stopped and moved.
     
    “That’s the victim’s husband. Had we run into him, it would have delayed his return to the stands, and his wife would have come looking for him. She wouldn’t sit in the same spot when she returned, and the ball would have not hit her in the fourth inning. So you see, sometimes you have to avoid interactions with the timeline, even before events happen,” explained Jade. Immediately, their Timeline alerts went back to yellow-green.
     
    As they climbed into the stands, a touch of orange flared as they came through the stairway to section 12. Jade instructed them to turn and face the first row, and their alerts flared bright orange. Then she had them turn and face the upper stands, and the alerts flashed yellow. “That’s to help you decide how to choose your motions to stay in a safe placetime”, said Jade. The kids understood, and they climbed the