[ WP ] Every time-traveler is given a single timeline that is their personal playground . Show me a group of time-travelers talking about what they 've done with history in the same way we 'd talk about what we 've done playing open world games .

“ So I killed Hitler last night, ” Steven said as he sat down to eat his breakfast with his roommates. 
 
 “ Dude, ” Vin said in mock disbelief, barely looking up from his coffee and toast. 
 
 “ Amateur hour over here, ” Bryan said, glancing up from his Sports Center blog only briefly to acknowledge Steven ’ s presence. 
 
 Steven munched on his cereal for a moment, mildly upset with the mocking tone of his roommates. “ Oh, and I suppose y ’ all know exactly what goes wrong? ” 
 
 Bryan and Vin looked at each other. “ Stalin took over Europe for me, what about you, Vin? ” Bryan said. 
 
 “ Germany, ” Vin said while studying the bubbles in his coffee. 
 
 Steven and Bryan both looked at Vin. “ Even without Hitler? ” Bryan asked. 
 
 Vin nodded, “ Goebbels was apparently very influential in my timeline. Formed an alliance with the U.S., fabricated some evidence, and boom, two superpowers; Germany with Eurasia, and the U.S. with the American continents. ” 
 
 Steven hung his head and muttered to himself, “ So you mean to tell me I ’ ve fucked everything up? ” 
 
 Bryan laughed, “ Naw man, you just have to find another way to take care of Hitler if that ’ s what you want to do. Seriously, I spent months working out how to do it. ” Vin nodded his head in agreement. 
 
 “ So how did you do it, ” Steven asked. 
 
 “ Jewish wife, ” Bryan said with a shit-eating grin. 
 
 Vin and Steven both stared in surprise at Bryan, “ How in the hell did you do that? ” Steven asked. 
 
 Bryan performed a mock bow, “ A master never reveals his secrets. ” 
 
 “ So how many dictators does this make now? ” Steven asked with a heavy frown. 
 
 Bryan looked at the ceiling for a few moments and counted slowly on his fingers, “ Eight. I ’ ve gotten democratically elected officials in 6 of those countries, and managed to prevent the Vietnam War. ” 
 
 “ I ’ m still running my post-Hitler timeline, ” Vin said partially to himself, and partially to the group. 
 
 “ How ’ s that working out for you? ” Steven asked. 
 
 “ Badly, ” Vin shrugged, “ But World War 3 is looking to be interesting. Communism is also looking like it might make a comeback. ” He looked up from the table, “ What about you, Steven? Other than killing Hitler that is. ” 
 
 Steven frowned for a few minutes, “ Mostly I ’ ve just been dicking around. I went around for several hundred years stealing peoples left socks and pens, and then buried them all in a mass grave. I ’ m going to drop some hints on the location soon and see what comes up. ” 
 
 Bryan laughed and Vin chuckled. “ Yea, we all go through the ‘ dick around ’ phases. I keep trying to change the clothing styles to some of the most ridiculous trends you could think of, ” Bryan said. 
 
 Vin smiled, “ The aluminum foil was the best one so far. ” 
 
 Steven nodded in agreement, “ Still don ’ t know how you pulled that one off. ” 
 
 “ So what about this sock and pen graveyard? Any future plans with it? ” Bryan asked. 
 
 Steven nodded, “ The V ’ Laxxan Contact is a fixed point right? ” 
 
 “ 2284, ” Vin said. 
 
 “ I ’ m going to leave a stone marker in their language overtop saying, “ Look upon my works ye mighty, and despair, ” Steven said with a grin. 
 
 Bryan whistled and Vin nodded his head in approval. “ The long con, eh? ” Bryan said. “ What do you plan to do once the invasion happens? ” 
 
 Steven smiled, “ Not change a thing. I just want to see their pompous politicians explain it. ” 
 
 “ Get a recording of that and show it to me, that will be hilarious, ” Bryan said. 
 
 “ I once buried a Bible so that it would date to before Jesus was born, ” Vin said. 
 
 Steven and Bryan looked at each other than at Vin, “ What the hell happened after that? ” 
 
 Vin smiled, “ Christianity collapsed. Completely. The Communist Revolution actually happened, and the Russian-Chinese alliance ended up ruling the world. ” 
 
 “ How long did that take? ” Steven asked. 
 
 Vin scratched his chin for a moment, “ About 50 years After Bible, as I started calling it. ” 
 
 Bryan looked at his watch, “ Shit, guys, I got ta go. Steven, you want some advice on the Hitler thing? ” 
 
 Steven shrugged, “ Sure? ” 
 
 “ Don ’ t go with Art School unless you want some really good fireworks. Later! ” and he left. 
 
 Steven looked at his watch, “ Well I ’ ve got 2 hours before class, guess I ’ ll go dick around some. Later, Vin. ” 
 
 Vin, finally left alone, actually concentrated on eating his toast and drinking his coffee rather than simply attempting to will them into his mouth. “ I wonder what would happen if I eliminated the coffee bean… ” he mused to himself.
