50. ECHOES OF TIME (1)

Let’s visit Izi and Enue in San Sequoia for a bit.

Mary: Mom, come quickly, look at the news.

Presenter: We are receiving reports of a potential time traveler in the city. Rumor has it that the blue-haired newcomer is Emit Relevart.

Enue: I should check this.

Enue checked social media profiles: loves science and technology, believes in time travel, and has blue hair. The description definitely matches Emit... It’s definitely him, right? She should ask around at the newspaper, maybe others know more.

Enue: Do you know anything about this time traveler?

Sebastian: I was observing Sims at the park yesterday, and suddenly there was a loud noise, but I didn’t see anyone.

Molly: I heard someone with blue hair was at the park. Might be worth checking out. Want to take this one?

Of course, Enue took the story—this would make a great article! From the info she gathered, Emit should be at Willow Creek. A bit far from San Sequoia, but she was there by train the same day. Luckily, she found him quickly. He clearly stood out from the crowd. 

Emit: Nice to meet you! Yes, I’m Emit Relevart! A tech expert and a distinguished time traveler. I’m trying to solve a mystery, but I’m kind of stuck. Do you know if any objects have gone missing mysteriously around here? I’m trying to figure out what’s going on.

Emit: During my travels, there were some disturbances, and a few objects may have disappeared in time. Do you happen to know if anything’s gone missing?

Enue: Unfortunately, no, but I’ll ask around and let you know.

Enue: So, what do you think? Anything gone missing lately?

Barb: I don’t remember, but maybe I didn’t notice.

Mary: My alarm clock disappeared, does that count?

Izi: Now that you mention it, I remember my friend’s dress went missing.

Enue: Looks like a little investigative reporting might be needed...

Enue remembered the missing items from the Sim Archives. She had to check it out. While going through the archives, she noticed a Sim burying a time capsule... If she could find this capsule, maybe she could solve the mystery!

The coordinates suggested the capsule should be around here. Probably under this rock. And sure enough, there was something! Enue found the time capsule and couldn’t wait to open it at home.

The capsule was nearly empty, with only a debt note inside... "If you’re reading this, I don’t have time to explain everything. I’ll just say that some objects were ‘borrowed’ by me. See you later... or earlier."

Enue went to talk to Emit about the mysterious message.

Emit: It makes sense. A thief is stealing these objects! And I think he’s in the same time as us...

Enue: Don’t worry, we’ll solve this!

Emit wasn’t telling her everything though, so she decided to plant a bug on him. Couldn’t hurt...

Enue: This could be the story of the year!

Jaden: I don’t know, it feels like a scam. If time travel were possible, I’d be watching dinosaurs right now. You should probably drop it.

Enue: Drop it?! Now?! Or maybe you’re the one stealing things, and that’s why you want me to stop the investigation?

Enue: You’re all acting suspicious! What kind of journalists are you?! Unless... you’re all involved in this!

Molly: What are you talking about?! I have plenty of questions for this time traveler.

Sebastian: Enue, you’re overreacting. You’re too involved. You should cool down. Go home and rest.

Enue tried to activate the bug she planted on Emit, but surprise, it didn’t work. Either Emit found it, or something went wrong... Or maybe it’s a lot more complicated than anyone thought. But Enue would find out the truth.

A shower helped clear her mind.

Enue: So yeah, I think in order to stop the thief, I need to learn the secrets of time travel. But I’ve been talking and talking, and you’re probably really tired.

Izi: Yyyyeah, sorry, it’s been a long day at work.

Enue: Come here, I’ll give you a massage.

Izi: I love you so much.

Enue: I love you too.

Izi: Just be careful, this whole thing seems pretty dangerous.

Enue: Hey, you’re the one risking your life fighting vampires. It’s just time travel—what’s the worst that could happen? Now, let’s stop talking about it, sweetheart.

The next day, Enue went to Willow Creek, this time for a longer stay. She started her investigation by diving into the History of Time Travel at the local Archive. While reviewing the Sim Archives, she saw a strange crystal being held by the thief!

Enue: Do you have any crystals here?

Townie: The only one I know of is at our museum, just next door.

The local museum. Not too big. Even better. Enue quickly found the only notable exhibit, looking out of this time, with a glowing object inside. She discreetly took the object. 

Enue: Excuse me, do you live here? Have you ever heard of something called "the shard of time"? I came across that term in the archives.

Townie: They really exist? I remember when we were kids, we tried to find them but had no luck. Apparently, they let you travel through time!

We’ve got it! The internet has the answers to everything! Turns out, the shards are echoes of the past, and you can find them everywhere if you look closely! Since they’re everywhere, Enue might as well start searching here! Wonder why Emit didn’t mention this...

Enue started searching.

Townie: You're still here? There’s nothing interesting here. We’re just a small town from the base game!

Enue: You’d be surprised...

Enue found three fragments, but how to activate them? Ugh, time to meet up with Emit again...

Where is Emit? She’d been looking for him for hours with no luck. Finally, Enue spotted a small blue dot in the distance. She’d ask him about the shards. Wonder if he’s hiding something from her again. Shame the bug didn’t work...

Emit: Where did you get this? I thought only I knew about them. Never mind. These small echoes of the past will be useful in building the time machine. And you know what? Yes! You’ll build it, and I’ll help you. Here’s how you do it...

The Inn at Willow Creek turned out to be a very nice place. That’s good, because Enue would probably be staying there a while. Now, time for some rest—tomorrow there’s lots of work ahead before she can activate the shards and open the time-space tunnel.

First, some reading. According to Nikolai Volt, building the time machine requires Ironyum, Plathinum, an electronic component, and time essence—probably the shards. Oh, and she needs to improve her handiness and logic skills... Let’s get to work.

The time travel component is ready! Time to activate it! Oh no! What’s wrong now?! The component seems fine, but the computer is fried. It’ll need to be fixed. But first, Enue needs to eat and get some sleep. Too many thrills for one day.

Morning starts with exercise. Good thing there’s a gym here, though the trainer’s a bit too eager. Enue prefers to work out on her own. A peaceful moment on the treadmill—until the trainer returns. The computer’s fixed quickly, but she still needs to ask Emit what went wrong with the activation.

Enue: I thought I did everything right. Why did the computer get fried? I must have missed something.

Emit: The problem is you installed a powerful component without the proper computing power. You need to overclock the computer first.

Let’s go then!

And all is ready now. Time to travel through time and catch the thief! You’ve got this, you’ve got this!

Let’s check the Archives again to pinpoint the exact location and time of the thief. Found it! And we’ve got his email address. He won’t escape now.

<<<Previous chapter: 49. PROJECT SIMSTYLE: INTO THE BEAT

>>>Next chapter: 51. PROJECT SIMSTYLE: BE TRENDI