slyc_willie
Captain Crash
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2006
- Posts
- 17,732
WELCOME TO THE TEMPORAL MANAGEMENT AGENCY
In the mid-1990s, Dr. Andrej Turgenyev succeeded in proving that time travel was not only possible, but probable and even practical. Following decades of research, the former soviet scientist, then employed by the US Department of Defense, oversaw the construction of the Temporal probability/redundancy field generator (TPRFG), which became quickly known as the "Tap."
Originally intended to only "look" into the past, the Tap went on line June 7th, 1997. Turgenyev's dream resulted in a completely new understanding of history. For the first time, modern man could actually watch events as they occured, decades, centuries, even millenia in the past.
The true potential of the Tap, however, was yet to be realized. It took Dr. Phineas Jasper, an unconventional theorist, to realize what many hoped: that the Tap could actually send matter backward through time, and return it to the present.
The idea was tested with inorganic matter at first, then organic. Early results were disturbing, but eventually, a system was more or less perfected. But success brought with it a powerful moral quandry: the hypothesis of sending a man or woman back through time was replaced with the question of: "Should we?"
If not for "The Event," the Tap might very well have remained the most powerful historical tool ever devised by man. Very few actually know what this "event" was, but it galvanized the DOD into action. Beginning on November 4, 1997, missions into the past were conducted. The Temporal Management Agency was born.
By 2004, the existence of the TMA became known to various world leaders, and the US was forced to share it existence. The TMA is now under UN control, but as the United States remains its largest financial backer, the headquarters of the TMA still lies upon American soil.
Agents of the TMA are highly trained, culled from various walks of life. Many are former law enforcement or military personnel; others are scientists, or even adventurers. There seems to be little method to the selection of an agent; admittedly, the process is as eccentric and unpredictable as Spacetime itself.
The TMA is a small, secretive agency, loosely run but very well organized. Headquarted in a missile silo in Nebraska, near the small town of Discovery (pop. 3,207), the Temporal Management Agency oversees the fabric of time, insuring that events that have happened in the past remain as they were.
The antithesis of the TMA is a shadowy organization known simply as the Rectifiers. Their leadership and motives remain unknown, but their goal, apparently, is to disturb the timestream by altering past events. They are believed to conduct their operations from some point in the near future; estimates as to the era of their existence vary between 25 and 100 years beyond the current time.
The activities of the Rectifiers are nearly always detected instantly by the Tap, which is able to pinpoint what was changed. When this happens, a mission is formulated to send an agent back to return the timeline to its original state.
While some alterations to the timeline can result in catastrophic consequences, the facility of the TMA, which technically exists outside the conventional realm of Spacetime, always remains unaffected. But only for a period of thirteen days, at which time the TMA will be shunted back into reality. For this reason, missions to the past never last longer than 13 days (or, technically, 312 hours).
It is curious to note that, once a particular moment in time has been visited by an agent, that same agent can never again return to that moment, or any moment within thirteen days proceeding or following it. And, since the Tap can only maintain the presence of a certain amount of matter (222 kilograms at most) in the past at any one time, each mission has attached to it a sense of urgency to get the job done right the first time.
Do you have what it takes to be an agent of the TMA?
* * * *
Technical Information:
The TMA is built within an old, refurbished ICBM silo in the midst of a Nebraska corn field, about half a mile from the town of Discovery. The cap of the silo is sealed over with titanium-reinforced concrete. Around the bottom of the shaft has been built the offices and quarters of those who live and work at the Agency.
Command: This room is dominated by a long oval table that can comfortably seat twelve. The room is filled with the various flags of the UN member nations that have a vested interest in the TMA. In this room, briefings and debriefings are conducted under the auspices of the Director. The eastern wall of the command room is a large window that looks out onto the Tap Chamber.
Tap Chamber: A circular room ten meters in diameter, the Tap Chamber is where agents go to be sent into the past. The walls are dark, the floor always kept clean and uncluttered. Four large, glowing nodes are set equidistantly about the room; when the Tap is activated, electricity arcs from these nodes to a central point, where a portal to the past is opened.
The Looking Glass Chamber: This is the room in which TMA technicians are able to look into the past. Looking Glass is also where any changes to the timeline are detected.
Tap Central: These laboratories are where scientists and technicians spend the majority of their time, where experiments are run, where the rare piece of captured Rectifier technology is studied.
Gallery: Occasionally, objects from the past are brought to the future, where they are studied via the Tap to insure that their removal does not interrupt the timeline. The most unique art gallery in the world, some of the most amazing artefacts from the past are found here.
Barracks and private quarters: The TMA is a small organization, employing only 220 technicians, scientists, and agents. Most are housed within small barracks of four beds each; Agents and those in command, however, have private quarters.
Office of the Director: This office is located adjacent to the Command Room.
Other facilities include scattered latrines, a mess hall and kitchen, a rec room, brig, and small armory.
Personnel:
The Director: Following the short tenure of Director James Brady (who had been seen an odd choice for the job), leadership of the TMA was assumed by Radha Naveen. Of Indian heritage, Dr. Naveen has experience with the British military and MI-5. She speaks numerous languages and is an excellent diplomat. 38 years old, Radha is an attractive woman with long black hair and very dark skin.
Head of Technical Operations: Dr. Andrej Turgenyev. 66 years old, the TPRFG was Turgenyev's dream made reality. He is a smallish man with salt and pepper hair, who walks with a cane due to an old injury.
Head of Philosophical Applications: Dr. Phineas Jasper. A tall, very slender man with short, snow-white hair, Jasper has an eccentric, boisterous way about him. He seems the epitome of the 'mad scientist.'
* * * *
Okay, so who's up for it?
The idea behind this chain story is to present a common background -- the history of the TMA and what it does, the existence of the Rectifiers, and so forth -- and then let participants have their way with it. Unlike some chain stories, not all the tales of the TMA will follow the same plot. Crossovers between writers and characters are encouraged, of course, but not necessary.
All characters introduced by participants in the chain will remain proprietary to the author. Characters may not be used except with express permission from that author.
The following post will list who is involved, as well as posting dates for stories. Both this and the second post will be updated periodically as characters are introduced and more is learned about the TMA.
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