From the day
Perspective: The Future Historian · Sight
Snowflakes drift past the gas lamps, catching the flickering light as men in heavy wool overcoats huddle over the morning papers, their breath hitching at news of the scandal surrounding Dr. Nichols. I watch the silhouettes of long, dark skirts sweep across the cobblestones, moving with a Victorian stiffness that belies the technological shifts simmering just beneath the surface. A carriage driver scowls at a nearby sign, grumbling that only a chump would pay **$0.10** for a single gallon of gas when a horse asks for nothing but oats. From a shop window, the very first stuffed Teddy Bears stare out with button eyes, unaware that they are witnessing the birth of a century that will trade steam for steel.