Timecachers is a high-tech adventure story that transports present-day characters to the Cherokee Indian Removal of 1838. Not intended as a fast-paced thriller, the story is visually descriptive and historically detailed. It was written with a young audience in mind, although it will appeal to anyone who wishes to learn more about Cherokee culture and the Trail of Tears. The title "Timecachers" is a reference to the game of geocaching noted by the characters. Adam Hill, is the owner-engineer of Overhill Engineering, an independent product testing company. He and his three employees, Alice Delvecci, Tom Woody, and wisecracking Salvador Lolliman, have accepted a contract to test a revolutionary navigation device--a handheld unit similar to a GPS receiver that can provide extremely precise navigational information without the need of a supporting satellite system. During field testing in the remote wilderness of northwest Georgia, they follow the device to a tiny, hidden valley where they meet John Carter, a Cherokee Indian who informs them they are now in 1838. Their initial shock and disbelief diminishes as they encounter indisputable evidence that they truly have been transported to the nineteenth century. The Timecachers are introduced to several Cherokee families and individuals who, other than exhibiting remarkably little astonishment at meeting travelers from another time, are considerably more similar to themselves than they had imagined. The Cherokee people of 1838 are highly intelligent, eloquent, sincere, and exceedingly sociable people, in contrast to the typical Hollywood portrayal of them.The Timecachers are introduced to the Tsalagi Nation, a well-organized community of cultured, spiritual people who are frustrated by the relentless encroachment of white settlers on their lands and the broken promises of the U.S. government. Despite the Cherokees attempts to accommodate the settler's lust for their land and adapt their own government and social structure to be more acceptable to the whites, the state of Georgia portrays them as feckless, uncivilized savages and insists on the complete removal of all Native Americans from its borders. The state is prepared to enforce those demands forcibly with its militia, backed by the immense power of federal armed forces, leaving the Cherokee little choice but to leave behind their beloved ancestral homeland. As the story progresses, the team must put aside the shock of time-travel to deal with the dangerous situation they now face, the Cherokee roundup and the beginning of the Trail of Tears.
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