In your own words, how would you describe your work?

I work for the Department for Continuity, monitoring incidents of time portals opening across the UK. Portals open pretty regularly but most chrono-displaced people find their way back to their era of origin within 24 hours, carrying no memory of their brief holiday in the future. Things get complicated when someone (or someones) from a previous era remain in the present day for an extended period of time. Portals typically only remain open for a matter of days or weeks, so if we don’t help these chrono-displaced persons return safely, it can seriously affect our own timeline continuity. 

The Department used to operate in secrecy, but staffed at a much higher level than today. I worked (undercover!) in the field, as an active agent helping resolve any time spill issues without the public becoming aware. Since the restructuring took place (a result of cuts in funding) I now work remotely (i.e. from my small flat!) on multiple cases across the country, and I rely on enlisting support from local communities to resolve each timespill.

Can you tell us more?

The Department only went public last year but it has been actively solving these cases since 1895. I’m working on different ways to reach people in affected areas so that they can help us resolve any issues related to time travellers stranded in the current era. It’s a whole new way of working, and we rely on tip-offs and sightings from local people. I’m trying anything to raise awareness since we’ve been operating in total secrecy for so long – in fact, this is my very first time being interviewed!

How did you get into this line of work?

I was quietly recruited into the Department shortly after joining the Civil Service at the age of 22 – that now feels like a distant era. The job has changed a lot since then, mainly due to all the funding cuts. I used to love working as an active agent but I’m discovering a new passion for talking on the phone now.

What's the process for resolving these cases?

It used to be case going out to wherever the timespill was, hunting down the time travellers and guiding them back to the portal – all without them, or us, being spotted. But now that we no longer have agents in the field, we raise awareness by putting up public information posters in areas where we suspect a time portal has opened. When local people get in touch with us – often because they’ve seen something anachronistic, like someone wearing old-style clothes, or a vintage bicycle – we arrange a short phonecall to discuss with them what they’ve seen, explain the Department’s work, and consider whether there’s something going on there. After that we ask the public to keep reporting sightings and interactions with any visitors from the past (we’re quite good at predicting when they will appear on local thoroughfares – often on weekends, as it happens).

What does a typical day look like to you?

It’s an extremely active time at the moment. In addition to Gravesend and Northfleet I’m investigating two confirmed time spills, and reports are emerging this morning of possible Luddites in Leicestershire. I’ll be on the phone and poring over maps all day. I drink a lot of tea. Since the department was downsized I rarely leave the flat but if I have a spare moment I might go for a quick walk to clear my head.

What have you learned most about yourself in recent times?

Enjoy your successes and don’t let the disappointments get you down.  Believe in yourself and don’t spread yourself too thin, you only have so much energy.

Do you have any advice for concerned citizens who may want to help?

I urge residents of Gravesend and Northfleet to stay alert for possible chronological-displaced persons in your area. They may be dressed as though from another age, or perhaps will speak in a slightly outdated way. Of course, they’re also prone to holding certain views which we may now find unpalatable and you can only imagine what might happen if such a person were to remain in our present era and rise to a position of power – within government, say. If you spot anything unusual, please contact us NOW at contact@depcon.uk and together we’ll solve the case.

What is on your mind right now?

The same thing that’s always on my mind: the terrifying consequences of what might happen to the fabric of our timeline if we fail to help these people safely return to their eras of origin.