[ WP ] After stepping out of the time machine , the first thing you notice is that the American flag has 50 stars .

Pete stepped out of the time machine with his eyes closed, his fists clenched, and a sour pit of dread in his stomach. 
 
 *Alright. * He took a deep breath and relaxed his hands. *You've got this. It's only a few years. This'll be easy. Just count the stars, right? * 
 
 He eased his eyes open slowly, afraid that going too fast might change something, might be the one trigger that set off some catastrophic chain of events. He was alone, surrounded by the dusty walls of an open garage. A tattered American flag hung limply on a rusted pole. 
 
 Heart hammering, Pete reached out to the flag and put a fingertip to the faded cloth. He took it from its stand and laid it on the ground, tugging at the corners and running his hands over the folds until it lay smooth. He pressed his hands into his lap and leaned over the flag, face scrunched up with concentration. 
 
 `` Alright, let's see,'' he muttered. `` One, two, three... five... and ten... that's fifty. That's fifty, right?'' The last question turned into a shout, demanding answers from a nonexistent audience. 
 
 He let out a frustrated breath and left the garage. Outside, a few voices chattered in the distance, a rough breeze shook the trees. 
 
 Pete knocked gently at the closest door and drummed his fingers along the rail as he awaited a response. 
 
 `` Hello?'' A young woman, too nondescript to justify including any details about her appearance, opened the door and looked expectantly at him. `` Oh, sorry, are you... Um, I was n't expecting anyone.'' 
 
 `` Oh. Okay. You do n't know me. I, uh, just had a question. If that's alright.'' She blinked at him and did n't move from the doorway. `` Yes. Okay. What, uh, what's the date today?'' 
 
 `` It's the twenty-fifth.'' 
 
 `` No, I mean, like, the whole date. With the year and everything.'' 
 
 `` August 25th. It's 2013.'' 
 
 `` Okay! Thank you. That's... there are 50 stars on the flag, right?'' 
 
 `` Yeah.'' 
 
 `` Okay. Good. That's, uh, exactly how I expected it to be, and is not concerning or unusual to me in the slightest. I am a good American citizen. Yes. I am very glad that this is a thing that all Americans know, and not something that was considered inconsequential and not worth recording even though future historians would probably think it was interesting and want to know maybe when there were fewer states. Your knowledge is reassuring to me, a proud modern patriot. So, what was the last state that was added?'' 
 
 `` I do n't know. Why?'' 
 
 `` No reason! Just wondering. That's cool. Alright! You have a good day, then. Ma'am.'' 
 
 She stared at him for a solid two seconds, then abruptly closed the door.
