Temporal Security Agency
Encyclopedia
The Temporal Security Agency (or Annex) is a fictional organization
from Presto Studios
's Journeyman Project series.
The fictional Temporal Security Annex was created in the early 24th century, shortly after the invention of the first time machine
, in order to preserve the space-time continuum from the rightly feared power of the device. Theirs was to be the only legitimate use of the technology.
The TSA proved its worth when the rogue inventor of time travel briefly converted the Earth into a militaristic, xenophobic world that the multi-species Symbiotry of Peaceful Beings would pass by. These changes were undone and humanity joined the Symbiotry without incident. The TSA became public knowledge, changed its name to Agency and took on some historical research purposes. However, the other races of the Symbiotry shared the distrust of such power - to say nothing of leaving it in the hands of humans - so that a decade later several diplomatic efforts were made to have it shared or banned. When the TSA's own agent Michelle Visard committed malicious use of time travel, slightly unhinged after missions to such places as Auschwitz and Hiroshima
, she dealt a deathblow to the efforts to preserve the technology. The TSA had just shut down when a very fortuitous (for them) interstellar invasion gave its remaining employees a chance to strong-arm themselves back into operation, and with its worlds-saving efforts the agency justified its existence.
As the leader in its field, the Agency develops and uses cutting-edge devices throughout the Journeyman Project series. Each game presents a new method of time travel.
background, a professional knowledge of history, or both. (In their private lives, they tend towards being history "geek
s".) After the latter's establishment, they're divided into the Security Unit and the slightly smaller Research Unit. Agents operate alone; even at its peak, the TSA fields no more than ten.
The data they gathered would be used to add to mankind's knowledge of history, a worthy goal in itself. Their fieldwork also helped the Security division by increasing knowledge so the TSA could be more certain of the context of any historical revisions.
Commissioner Jack Baldwin is the highest authority within the TSA. He handpicked all of his agents, including Agent 3.
- well before any likely meddling. The agent would then return to the changed present day, compare the changed history to the uncorrupted backup record, then use Pegasus to visit the moment of alteration and restore history to its proper course.
Humanity's membership in the Symbiotry gave it access to extraterrestrial technology. The later days of the TSA saw the creation of the Jumpsuits, powered armor capable of independent time travel. The Pegasus was then rendered obsolete and dismantled while the scanners remained in operation. A Jumpsuit can travel at will, without a need to return to the present, detect time-alien things in its proximity, become optically cloaked when immobile (a dire necessity for the Deep Time Unit), function underwater or in space and store items in its "null-space field" as a magic satchel
. On the other hand, it offers little to no actual physical protection, has a very limited internal air supply and no propulsion systems
. The TSA maintains a suit for each agent, every one biometrically
keyed to its owner (agent Blackwood was able to use a loophole inherent in this system: with time travel, there need not be only one of each individual.) The scanners became sophisticated enough to pinpoint the moment of alteration by themselves.
At the time of the final game, the prototypical next step was the Chameleon Jumpsuit, which can record and assume the appearance of any person. If the single existing suit has a cloak, it was never shown. This was used in ancient cities immediately before their destruction, when events both past and contemporary forced the TSA to override its principle of strict noninterference.
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
from Presto Studios
Presto Studios
Presto Studios was a computer game development company of the 1990s, especially famous for its award-winning The Journeyman Project series and the 2001 sequel to Cyan's hit Myst series, Myst III: Exile....
's Journeyman Project series.
The fictional Temporal Security Annex was created in the early 24th century, shortly after the invention of the first time machine
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
, in order to preserve the space-time continuum from the rightly feared power of the device. Theirs was to be the only legitimate use of the technology.
The TSA proved its worth when the rogue inventor of time travel briefly converted the Earth into a militaristic, xenophobic world that the multi-species Symbiotry of Peaceful Beings would pass by. These changes were undone and humanity joined the Symbiotry without incident. The TSA became public knowledge, changed its name to Agency and took on some historical research purposes. However, the other races of the Symbiotry shared the distrust of such power - to say nothing of leaving it in the hands of humans - so that a decade later several diplomatic efforts were made to have it shared or banned. When the TSA's own agent Michelle Visard committed malicious use of time travel, slightly unhinged after missions to such places as Auschwitz and Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
, she dealt a deathblow to the efforts to preserve the technology. The TSA had just shut down when a very fortuitous (for them) interstellar invasion gave its remaining employees a chance to strong-arm themselves back into operation, and with its worlds-saving efforts the agency justified its existence.
As the leader in its field, the Agency develops and uses cutting-edge devices throughout the Journeyman Project series. Each game presents a new method of time travel.
Structure
At the TSA's core are its agents, who do the actual time-jumping, assisted by assorted technical and administration personnel. Most agents have a special forcesSpecial forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
background, a professional knowledge of history, or both. (In their private lives, they tend towards being history "geek
Geek
The word geek is a slang term, with different meanings ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to...
s".) After the latter's establishment, they're divided into the Security Unit and the slightly smaller Research Unit. Agents operate alone; even at its peak, the TSA fields no more than ten.
Deep Time Research Unit
Time travel allowed the study of history by actually studying it, but the opportunity was never used before the formation of the Deep Time Unit because of the dangers of accidentally or intentionally altering history. The Deep Time Unit consisted of experienced and dedicated agents who would not meddle with history, and would be able to record it impartially, among them Agent 5 (Gage Blackwood) and Agent 3 (Michelle Visard).The data they gathered would be used to add to mankind's knowledge of history, a worthy goal in itself. Their fieldwork also helped the Security division by increasing knowledge so the TSA could be more certain of the context of any historical revisions.
Administration and Support
Dr. William Daughton is the main technical support for the TSA. Using newly-gained alien technology, he designed the Jumpsuits which the agents use to travel through time from the second game onwards.Commissioner Jack Baldwin is the highest authority within the TSA. He handpicked all of his agents, including Agent 3.
Procedures and tech
The Annex was built around its first time machine, the gargantuan "Pegasus", which could propel a single person to a fairly arbitrary point in time and space. Its historical preservation duties were dependent on the "scanners", automated machines which search history for any alterations. Any substantial change would trigger a temporal distortion wave as it propagated through time, which in turn would send an agent scrambling to a hidden backup record of history from the late CretaceousCretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
- well before any likely meddling. The agent would then return to the changed present day, compare the changed history to the uncorrupted backup record, then use Pegasus to visit the moment of alteration and restore history to its proper course.
Humanity's membership in the Symbiotry gave it access to extraterrestrial technology. The later days of the TSA saw the creation of the Jumpsuits, powered armor capable of independent time travel. The Pegasus was then rendered obsolete and dismantled while the scanners remained in operation. A Jumpsuit can travel at will, without a need to return to the present, detect time-alien things in its proximity, become optically cloaked when immobile (a dire necessity for the Deep Time Unit), function underwater or in space and store items in its "null-space field" as a magic satchel
Magic satchel
Magic satchel is a term often used in reference to computer role-playing games. It refers to the use of a character's inventory in the game, which can often contain more items than is physically possible for the character to carry without any visible means to hold or transport them.A similar...
. On the other hand, it offers little to no actual physical protection, has a very limited internal air supply and no propulsion systems
Spacecraft propulsion
Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. There are many different methods. Each method has drawbacks and advantages, and spacecraft propulsion is an active area of research. However, most spacecraft today are propelled by forcing a gas from the...
. The TSA maintains a suit for each agent, every one biometrically
Biometrics
Biometrics As Jain & Ross point out, "the term biometric authentication is perhaps more appropriate than biometrics since the latter has been historically used in the field of statistics to refer to the analysis of biological data [36]" . consists of methods...
keyed to its owner (agent Blackwood was able to use a loophole inherent in this system: with time travel, there need not be only one of each individual.) The scanners became sophisticated enough to pinpoint the moment of alteration by themselves.
At the time of the final game, the prototypical next step was the Chameleon Jumpsuit, which can record and assume the appearance of any person. If the single existing suit has a cloak, it was never shown. This was used in ancient cities immediately before their destruction, when events both past and contemporary forced the TSA to override its principle of strict noninterference.
Sources
- Internet Movie Database (IMDB), Journeyman Project 2)
- The Journeyman Project 2
- The Journeyman Project 3The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of TimeThe Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time is a computer game developed by Presto Studios and is a sequel to The Journeyman Project and The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time.- Overview :...
manual - Presto/Tommy Yune website, http://presto.tommyyune.com/