When time travel was legalized and regulated in 2395, it was widely considered a frivolous political stunt: good for building support from science fiction fans and conspiracy theorists, but otherwise a waste of time and resources. As such, the small auditorium in downtown London (supposedly near the site of HG Wells’ original publishing house, though there is some debate on that point) proved woefully inadequate when May 7, 2395 EST (Earth Standard Time) turned out to be the most important date in the history of the universe.
Though the text would be quickly amended, the first version of the Time Traveler’s Treaty was a simple, one sentence declaration: “From this moment forward, time travel shall be legalized on the planet Earth.” The second that the 21st President of the World lifted their pen from the paper, finishing their signature in front of the few dozen politicians and newspapers that deemed the event worthy of their time, a thunderous uproar of applause shook the entire city as millions of time travelers from the entire history of mankind appeared on the spot.
With them, they brought time traveling technology, and the revised draft of the Time Traveler’s Treaty, which had already been written tomorrow. And nothing has been the same since. As a time traveling historian, this was always Jaelys Winstead’s favorite story.
But it was not his story.
His story would be much darker.