Rising Stars Blog

News Article: Task 4

There was a disturbance in downtown Atlanta today when a group of who appeared to be Cowboys walked through oncoming traffic, causing an hour-long backup and many unhappy residents. They appeared peaceful, even cooperating with law enforcement and handing over any weapons they had, but refusing to be taken into custody. Law enforcement finally convinced the men to come with them, where they were taken into custody. Upon questioning, they appeared more confused than aggressive, not knowing how they got here or where they even were. When they were told “Atlanta” they laughed, saying that Atlanta was much smaller.

When questioned, the whole group had the same consistent answers… They range from 16 to 35 in age, the year is supposed to be 1881, and they’re all from Georgia. Police say that they have no records of the men, and are currently seeking answers. It’s still unclear how long the men can be lawfully kept in custody or how and why they’re here, but the answers are promised soon by science’s top minds. It’s also unapparent if there are any criminal charges against them, aside from disturbing the peace. We interviewed one of the men, Jackson Davis, and his answers were intriguing.

“What’s your name, sir?”

“Jackson Davis, Ma’am. Nice to meet you.”

“And when were you born, what year?”

“1863.”

“Where are you from, Jackson?”

“Georgia, around a place called Stockbridge, I wonder if it’s still around?”

“It is, would you like to see it?”

“Yes ma’am, very much.”

“Well, we’ll see what we can do.”

“Thank you.”

Just from that short conversation, I could tell several things about Jackson. He’s confused, out of place, and he wants to get back. I talked to a few more of the men, and their answers were all largely similar, they’re from the 1800s, and they want to go back.

But so many questions are still unanswered…where did they come from? How did they get here? What do they want? Can they get back? In search of answers, I looked up one of America’s top scientists, Dr. Alan Hayside, who has several PHDs in Theoretical Physics, Quantum Physics, and Temporal Mechanics.

“Hello, Doctor. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine. I understand you have some questions for me.”

“Yes. I understand that you’ve researched time travel somewhat?”

“Well, it’s highly theoretical, of course, but yes, research has been done.”

“Have you found anything that may explain why the men are here?”

“Well, in short, no.”

“What do you mean, in short?”

“Well, it’s classified, and I’m not at liberty to say.”

After that, the interview ended fairly abruptly, leaving me with little to work with. In all my 15 years as a journalist, I’ve never had someone walk out on an interview. I feel that something bigger may be going on, but I’m not authorized to explore any further, unfortunately. So the world may never know what happened to these men out of time, and they may never know either.