If you’ve been paying attention to the feeds lately, you probably know what I’m talking about, but if you’ve got them muted, or don’t have an implant, here’s the situation:
As per the Timeline Integrity with regards to Migration and Emigration Act, (T.I.M.E. Act for short,) blood samples WILL be taken upon travelling to any date on or after 2113, regardless of whether or not the traveler is remaining within American borders. Anti-migrant rights groups have been campaigning for this for synced years now, and with the election of Melody Kennedy to the Presidency it was honestly only a matter of time.
Why take blood?
At first, the answer might seem simple: routine screening for eradicated/quarantined illnesses that any traveler might carry if they moved beyond restricted eras. However, provision B2 of the T.I.M.E. Act specifically requires the measurement of microplastics in human blood, a restriction previously not employed.
Why are microplastics an issue?
To put it bluntly, this is an obvious attempt to prevent emigration from restricted eras. As most are aware, microplastic levels have been rising in human (and neohuman) bloodstreams for nearly a century now. However, what is less commonly understood is that these levels can (imprecisely!) be used to “carbon-date” migrants to determine their original time period- both from eras before and after our accepted range. This is a flagrant violation of the Thirty-First Amendment, which grants anonymity to those naturalized as temporally-locked citizens of the United States.
Why should I care?
Well, first of all, you should have compassion for those who have escaped the tragedies of their times in order to seek refuge here- but, if such a thing eludes you, then you should fear for yourself, too. Microplastic measuring is far from an exact science, and the T-TSA aren’t exactly known for their training. Profiling based off of supposed microplastic levels may very easily become a reality for those who wish to travel even laterally in time.
What can I do?
There’s not much at the moment, other than spread awareness. Many expect the bill to be brought to the Supreme Court, although very few laws have been ruled unconstitutional since the 2030s. If you need to travel, do it now, before the equipment necessary to measure microplastics is installed in standard travel queues. Things might get hard for a while- look out for each other.