Next Stop 1901

Tyson Cavitt strode through the canyons of Manhattan, his bespoke suit and air of arrogant entitlement parting the waves of pedestrians like a luxury yacht cutting through choppy seas. As a wildly successful stock trader on Wall Street, he had long since shed any semblance of humility, his wealth and privilege a suit of armor against the rabble. On this fateful morning, his carefully choreographed routine went awry when his car service failed to arrive. Left with no other option, the impeccably dressed man was forced to descend into the gritty underbelly of the city - the subway. As he strode onto the eerily deserted platform at 42nd Street and Broadway, a chill ran down his spine. Not a single soul lingered, nor within the solitary train with its doors flung open in an unsettling invitation. Perplexed yet undeterred by the strangeness, Tyson boarded the strange conveyance. No sooner had the doors hissed shut than the train lurched violently into reverse, gathering speed at a terrifying, unnatural pace. The windows turned into streaks of blackness as it hurtled backwards at 30 times its normal velocity through an inky void. Just as panic began to set in, the conveyance gradually decelerated, flickering lights heralding its arrival at an unknown destination. The doors parted to reveal an empty platform devoid of any identifying markers. Heart pounding, Tyson ascended the stairs and pushed through an antiquated wooden door, emerging into a world he scarcely recognized. Cobblestone streets stretched before him, horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping as pedestrians outfitted in archaic fashions milled about. A newsboy's cry announcing the date - April 12th, 1901 - confirmed his worst fear: he had tumbled through the very fabric of time itself. In this alien era over a century before his own, Tyson's finely tailored suit had been transmuted into clothing befitting the period, from his high collar and cravat down to his leather boots and pocket watch. Seeking any semblance of the familiar, he inquired after the location of Wall Street, determined to find his office and regain his bearings. But the grand edifice of stone and mortar he arrived at bore little resemblance to its sleek modern counterpart, leaving him adrift in a sea of confusion and disbelief. As the harsh reality of his predicament set in, Tyson couldn't shake the peculiarity of his arrival in this bygone age. Had his missed car service been some cosmic harbinger, paving the way for this temporal displacement? And what unforeseen purpose did it serve? The answer soon manifested in the form of Carl Cavitt, a man blessed with the same arrogant affluence as Tyson, yet sharing an even more profound connection - he was Tyson's great-grandfather. In this mirror image, Tyson recognized the roots of his own moral bankruptcy, a legacy of greed and selfishness stretching back generations. It gradually became clear that the only path back to the present lay in reforming Carl's avaricious ways, steering him towards compassion and philanthropy. A daunting challenge, but one Tyson was compelled to undertake lest he be forever marooned in the unrelenting past. Through a series of cunning maneuvers and hard-learned lessons, he slowly chipped away at Carl's miserly exterior, revealing the kernel of decency buried beneath. Each charitable act, each sacrifice of personal gain in service of the greater good, brought Tyson closer to the ultimate goal of breaking the cycle of avarice that had ensnared his family line.