The time machine has spun and your characters become dizzy, lightheaded, and their stomachs twist. All around them, lights and sounds buzz and whirl until everything comes to a standstill. The time machine has three doorways that appeared on the wall where the exit is, when a few moments ago, there had only been one that had once led to and from the Museum. Each door leads to three different periods of the earliest prehistoric times.

- Dinosaurs - all of the dinosaur time periods (you may use the scientific or the creationists view on this, or use all dinosaur time periods at once since I know some cool ones were in different ones).

- Ice Age - the time when the entire world was covered in ice.

- Early humans - whatever you believe, this is when the first humans walked the earth (feel free to do either Biblical or nonbiblical beliefs on this one).

Your characters each must choose one door to enter through together. Only one door, which means only one period of history listed above. Choose wisely.

In order to restore history that has begun disappear, you must help ensure that its prehistory is safe. Events may have changed, but its up to you to keep things back on track (keep in mind what information your characters may or may not have). History depends on you.

Whatever period you choose (dinosaurs, ice age, or early humans), Kenneth's agents going back in time has caused something to go wrong or be different and it's up to your characters to figure out what and save the historic timeline for prehistory. Be creative!

You can start your entries in the Museum and show the lead up to this situation, or you may start inside the time machine with the doorway scene, or after they've exited the time machine into one of these time periods. It's up to you.

To refresh everyone's memory:

In the story, your characters are trying to fill your historical database with information in order to help save history. This means that you as a writer have three ways of filling your Historical Database. Throughout the competition gaining either Artifacts, details about the Timeline, or Historical Events will give you Knowledge Points that will fill up your Historical Database. At the end, we'll calculate how many Knowledge Points everyone has in their Historical Database and that person will be the Historical Winner, on top of the normal AG History winner. In the story itself, the more your Historical Database is filled (the more information on history your characters find and the more artifacts they find aka the more clues you guess right), the more of history they save. Remember though that this Historical Database stuff is all optional and just for fun. Here are Artifacts, Timeline, and Historical Events are broken down.

1) Artifacts - Listed below are three clues, one for each time period included in this task. Whichever one you choose your characters to go to, is the clue you can try to answer correctly. If you guess correctly, you win 5 Knowledge Points.

2) Timeline - Filling out your Historical Timeline is easy. Including details that are specific names, dates, or locations that pertain to the time you chose to go to (example, naming a specific type of dinosaur if you chose it) will fill out your Timeline and thus, your Historical Database. Each detail is worth 1 Knowledge Point and you can include as many as you want, but remember I will be looking for historically accurate ones and will only count them if they're correct.

3) Historical Events - If your entry is based on a famous event from history and you portray it correctly, then you will receive 10 Knowledge Points for these.

Remember these three things - filling your Historical Database - is just for fun and completely optional but I hope you guys decide to do it.

Below are the clues for this round for the artifacts. List them in your entry below the deaths and ballots. You may research for the answers but please don't share them with everyone. They will be kept private and I will inform you if you guessed the clue right or wrong. Remember to answer the clue for the time that you chose (dinosaurs, ice age, or early humans)

Clues:

When is the first dinosaur thought to have lived (how many years ago)? If you guess this correctly, along with the 5 Knowledge Points you gain, then your characters will find a dinosaur bone in your next entry, before they head to the next time.

True or false: There has been more than once Ice Age? If you guess this correctly, along with the 5 Knowledge Points you gain, then your characters will find a Mammoth tusk in your next entry, before they head to the next time.

In the Bible, the first two humans ever to live were named what? If you guess this correctly, then along with 5 Knowledge Points you gain, then your characters will find a lock of hair from the first human in your next entry before you head to the next time.

Due date:

November 25, Sunday, 6pm central. This gives you a week and four days because of the holidays.

Word count:

2,000

If you wish to go back and write the events that led up to this, such as the characters finding out that history was messed up and going into the time machine to save it, whether they did it on their own or Kenneth ordered them to, you have an extra 500 words to show that and if you want to show interactions in the Museum between your characters or other writers', you have an extra 500 on top of that.

Awards:

Descriptive Artist - Whoever wins this award will have mind-blowing artistic descriptions in their writing that really set the scene visually. Anyone who wins this will receive unlimited word count for Task Two.

Archaeologist - Whoever wins this award will have a detailed and historically accurate entry. Anyone who wins this will have an extra 24 hours to hand in their Task Two entry.

Paleontologist - Whoever wins this award will show me how much of a dinosaur expert they are. Literally, make me feel Jurassic Park or any other great dino-movie! Anyone who wins this will be able to pick an extra time period for Task Two from the list!

Ice Ager - Whoever wins this award will show me what the ice age might have been like! Whoever wins this award will be allowed to answer an extra clue for Task Two - whichever they choose.

First Feels - Whoever wins this award will give me feels for the first humans! Whoever wins this award will be able to choose an extra time period for Task Two that isn't on the list (so long as it stays within the required timeline).

Historical Twist - Whoever wins this award will add in a historical theory that might possibly be true but no one knows for sure, while still staying historically accurate with their entry. Whoever wins this award will receive an extra 3 Knowledge Points.

Deaths:

If you want, you may include other writers' characters in your entries and if you choose to, you may kill off 3 of them, but they all must be from different writers. This is optional and you don't have to do it.

Ballots:

If you want to challenge yourself or another writer, you may ballot yourself or another writer to have a fun little challenge for Task Two! You have three ballots to use if you choose to. This is optional and you don't have to.

Remember:

At the bottom of your entry, please list out your exact word count, any ballots you may have, any deaths, any awards you went for, the answer to the clue you may want to try for, and the extra details that you attempted to include, as well as any historical events you may have included. So that your email body will look like: 

To: authorgames316

Subject: Task One - your username

This is where your entry goes. PLEASE copy and paste it directly to the email and do not use word documents (I use a chromebook with google docs so word makes everything difficult). At the end of your entry, list: 

***

Word count

Deaths

Ballots

Awards you went for

Answer to the clue

Extra details you included

Historical events you included

ALSO: 

Because I have twelve writers for sure, Tasks One and Task Two WILL have eliminations! So the 2 writers who score the lowest will be up for voting when Task One is over. CrazyMeifwaGirl if you hand in your characters today or tomorrow, then you can still have a spot and still hand in task one and be in the competition; the same with anyone else who can hand in their character forms and Task One by the deadline (November 25th).

I can't wait to read what you guys write! :) Have fun!