 Who was talking to Jerome in the very beginning of the passage?
Yes, it'll be pretty obvious it must be a time machine. Well, I asked it after I was told, then I came back and told it to you, and I still can't help answering when you speak. I figured out once that such a universe would need some seven or eight time and space dimensions. A second later, you see me going by, mixed into a crowd that is loafing along toward a restaurant, or something like it, that is just opening. Some of them can be decoded to stationery shops, fountains, and the like. The museum's closed, but I'll be glad to let you study whatever you need for realism in your role.
 Jerome, from 30 years in the future
 Jerome, from 30 years in the past  Jerome, from 10 years in the past  Jerome, from 10 years in the future  Jerome, from 30 years in the future