#temporal anomaly

Reading this fairly dry article about archaeological diagrams, I encountered one of the most science fiction phrases ever.

I'm having fun reading this stuff for my upcoming project, Dungeon Dig Site:

Source details and larger version.

Source details and larger version.

Our custom widget that checks for duplicated images suggested this unlikely pairing. See the original post for photo source details.

As determined by THIS POLL the time loop is 2-3 days long.

You have a few days warning and can do some reasonable prep before the loop starts.

You can start the loop on any day of the week, any time in the year.

You're going to be in the time loop for about a hundred years from your point of view.

Randomness is minimized, so while there's some butterfly effect stuff for the most part things you don't deliberately mess with will happen the same way every time.

You may suffer some mental effects over time due to a time loop being a very strange thing to go through, but the loop resetting magically helps you recover from trauma (may take multiple loops). So if you die a bunch it won't leave you with a pile of phobias and stuff, but dying is still traumatic in the short term so killing yourself to reset isn't a thing you would want to do often.

When the time loop ends, the items below lose all special properties.

The Laptop: It's a top of the line laptop. Its 1TB hard drive, which only functions in this laptop, is indestructible and persists across loops.

The Mailbox: This mailbox allows you to send and receive letters with with two other people who are in their own distinct time loops in the same geographical area as you. There are regular versions of these people in YOUR time loop, but they're not looping. Likewise, they could go and find the version of you in THEIR time loops but you'd never know. These people are strangers to you but guaranteed to be generally decent people that you would get along with.

The Ring: Whoever is wearing this ring at the end of the loop also loops with you - but they can't wear it two loops in a row. They are automatically aware of the fact that this version of themselves will cease to exist at the end of the next loop and feel a very mild but persistent feeling of dread about it.

The Eraser: Each loop you can use the Eraser once, to remove something from the loop forever (So if you erase your pillow, when the loop restarts that pillow is still gone). If used on something that was alive at the start of the loop it will be fine once normal time resumes, otherwise you can decide when you erase it if you want it to still be gone after you are totally free from the time loop.

The Wallet: Every time you open this wallet, it contains any amount of money you want that could reasonably fit inside. This can be in any currently valid currency. Once per loop the wallet can also generate an ID with a picture of you. This ID can be a passport, state ID, military ID, etc. but does not magically insert credentials anywhere else; so if there's a magnetic stripe on the back or something it won't work since you're not in their database.

The Dagger: If you kill someone with this dagger, you start the next loop as them (the normal 'you' is missing entirely). If you would need to know a normal everyday thing (password, where they leave the keys, how to drive to their job / where their desk is, where they parked, etc.) this knowledge will come to you as needed and then immediately fade away again once used.

The Star: This star-shaped candy grants whoever eats it the ability to avoid all harm for the next five minutes. If you eat it and then drive at a hundred miles an hour the wrong way on the freeway, you will miraculously not crash - though others might. If you jump off a building you'll somehow land unharmed. There may still be other consequences after the five minutes are up (freaked out people, police after you, etc.). The candy is back in your pocket at the start of the next loop.

The VIP Pass: Waving this VIP pass at people will make them think you're supposed to be wherever you are, allowing you to walk right past bouncers, guards, and busybodies. This only works when they are not already in a heightened state of alert. This has no ability to bypass non-human security.

You have a few days warning and can do some reasonable prep before the loop starts.

You can start the loop on any day of the week, any time in the year.

You're going to be in the time loop for about a hundred years from your point of view, regardless of how long or short the loop is.

Randomness is minimized, so while there's some butterfly effect stuff for the most part everything will happen the same way every time even on a longer loop.

You may suffer some mental effects over time due to a time loop being a very strange thing to go through, but the loop resetting magically helps you recover from trauma (may take multiple loops). So if you die a bunch it won't leave you with a pile of phobias and stuff, but dying is still traumatic in the short term so killing yourself to reset isn't a thing you would want to do often.

The longest option on the poll is the longest you can do, otherwise choose the closest one to what you would want.

Benefit of shorter loops: Makes it easier to plan, means that the prep you do ahead of time can guarantee you're set up well for the whole loop. If you mess up and end up badly injured or in jail you don't have to tough it out for long. You can actually do the classic time loop thing of learning when little things will happen around town. If you want to do something crazy that will take multiple tries, you can pull it off easier. If you have a menstrual cycle you can make sure that just doesn't come up while in the loop. Never have to do laundry (or some other chores) again. Put off shit you don't want to deal with until just after the loop and you'll never have to deal with it.