The Future of Another Timeline
by Annalee Newitz
Tess is a geologist (because, of course, geologists control the time travel of the giant
ancient machines) and a member of the Daughters of Harriet (Senator Harriet Tubman, that
is, from 19th-century Mississippi). On the surface, the Daughters are time travel
scholars, but in reality, Tess and her fellow Daughters are fighting a pitched changewar
for women’s rights against the oppressors known as the Comstockers. One more thing:
While she’s at it,Tess also hopes to also save the souls of her teenaged self and her
underground feminist punk friends in the 1990s, with a particular focus on their
vigilante killing spree and young Beth’s abortion.
— Michael Main
All five Machines had limitations, but the hardest to surmount was what travelers call
the Long Four Years. Wormholes only opened for people who remained within twenty
kilometers of a Machine for at least 1,680 days.
The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
(Tor, September 2019).