A civil war across centuries over the right to change history
In short: What happens when the future decides the past is a playground? In the fictional suburb of Stony Stream, four 12-year-old paper girls are caught in a violent temporal conflict. They aren't just delivering newspapers; they are collateral damage in a war between those who want to preserve history and those who want to rewrite it.
The conflict, known as 'The Battle of the Ages,' pits two distinct factions of time travelers against one another. The 'Old-Timers' (alternatively called WATCH) represent the initial cohort born after time travel was created. As rigorous conservationists, they maintain that the primary timeline should stay unaltered. They are led by a figure known as 'Grand Father' and possess the ability to erase or alter memories through a sub-sect called Restorers.
They speak a modified version of English that mirrors Old English in style. Opposing them are descendants from the 71st century—a group of teenagers who believe history can and should be altered. These teenagers lack the Old-Timers' restrictions, possess the ability to clone humans, and use translation gadgets to communicate in a futuristic language. To gain an edge, they often seek out 'locals' in the present day to gather intelligence.
The war is centered on the fundamental moral and mechanical question of whether the past should be subject to the whims of those living in the future. The war reaches a climax when the girls are scattered across various eras, including 11,706 BCE, the 19th century, and 2171 AD. The conflict concludes not through total conquest, but through a negotiated truce. After the girls help Jahpo—the current Grand Father—realize the truth of his origins and the dangers of their technology, he agrees to a permanent ban on time travel. To ensure the timeline remains stable, the girls' memories of the intervention are wiped, returning them to the morning of November 1, 1988.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Paper Girls
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