Children are the best candidates for time travel
because of their adaptability to the stress of "moving between past, present and future".
Andrew Basiago speaks of this because he was one of the one hundred and forty children
recruited for DARPA's Project Pegasus, a secret US program for the exploration of time.
Today he is a lawyer in Washington State
but in 1972 at the age of nine,
young Andrew Basiago entered a lucite chamber to be transported by vortal tunnel into the past.
His mission was to observe President Lincoln delivering the famous Gettysburg address.
He was given to wear the military uniform of a Union bugle boy complete with contemporary cap.
After entering the lucite chamber he transitioned through a series of chaotic arching tunnels.
The trip was so turbulent that he lost his army headgear in the tunnel.
He stepped out onto a dirt road in Gettysburg, the fresh smell of ozone still in his nostrils.
It was November 19th and the Pennsylvania air was frigid.
He looked down.
He was wearing only one sock and he had also lost both of his shoes.
He was trained not to attract attention.
If he caused any disturbance in the space-time continuum
the Pegasus Project would not be able to extract him from the past.
He stripped off his remaining sock and tossed it into the bushes.
Walking past him was an emaciated union private in full uniform.
Basiago called out to him, "Friend, which way to Gettysburg?"
The serviceman pointed down the road, which Andrew traveled for a half hour,
walking past fields and farmhouses.
He was cold and shivering.
On reaching town he stepped up onto the wooden sidewalk.
This was the only place he saw high buildings.
A man of old age walking with a pronounced limp, saw Andrew and shouted at him,
"You will get sick!"
The man grabbed him by the arm and dragged him through the door of rustic-looking storefront.
He purchased for the boy some inexpensive second-hand clothing...
a navy blue winter parka of the Union Army, a cap, and a pair of used shoes at least five sizes too big.
Next Andrew made his way to the center of town,
where Lincoln was scheduled to deliver his address.
He could barely walk in the oversized men's shoes.
There was nobody on the dais, which was a simple flat wooden platform
constructed in front of the local cemetery.
Red and blue patriotic bunting had been strung along its edges.
Andrew had arrived in 1863 a little earlier than was planned.
He went to the very front of the platform and waited for the president to arrive.
There he saw a man who looked like his father, dressed as a farmer.
He said, "Dad why are you here?"
The man replied, "I am not your father, that I know of."
After patting him on the head, the farmer disappeared into the crowd.
Then Andrew's ill-fitting attire captured the attention of two officers of the Union army.
The junior officer questioned him, "What is your regiment boy, and where is your camp?"
When the officers burst out laughing, Basiago moved away,
to the outer perimeter of the audience, which was now approaching a total number of about one thousand.
At this point, accidentally, he became part of a picture taken at the event
by Civil War photographer Matthew Brady.
Andrew can be seen standing awkwardly in oversized shoes, striving to look inconspicuous.
He then turned around, when behind him arose an enthusiastic cheer, which gave him chills.
He saw President Lincoln dismounting a horse.
His eyes followed the bobbing head of the president, who was six foot-four in height,
as he made his way through the crowd.
Suddenly Basiago felt a tingling in his extremities and realized he was about to transition,
in an early return to his own time, just as Lincoln was climbing the steps of the dais.
Way back in 2016 there were a number of unusual candidates running for president.
One of these was the self-confessed time traveler Andrew Basiago.
He promised the voters that the minimum wage would be raised to $15 an hour,
that Social Security be protected from tampering,
and that the government be prohibited from spying on U.S. citizens.
RHIANNON: Okay, they did not cover this in training, or at least the training that I went to.
BLAISE: Look, I can fix this, all right, I just gotta get back to the "Snoof", we will press the blue button, we will be fine...
RHIANNON: Cuffs! Language scramble, Level One!
That's a little thing I like to call, "Shut up!"
BLAISE: [speaking gibberish]
RHIANNON: Yeah.
FANTHORPE: I'm a floating head, trapped outside of reality,
so there is a good chance that I did touch the...
RADIO VOICE: Well, hit the same button, again!
FANTHORPE: There is no button anymore, and I think there's a good chance that I no longer have arms.
RADIO VOICE: Look around you, what do you see?
Oh... the 70's?
RHIANNON: Get your own damn gun!
BLAISE: Look, why should I die?
RHIANNON: And you just killed Shakespeare.
BLAISE: Wow. That's good, right?
RHIANNON: It is taking every ounce of me, to not punch you in the face right now.
It's gonna happen, though. Prepare your face.