This metapuzzle has a number of the steps. The most straightforward place to start is with the enumerated clues on the final page. The answers to these clues are each titles of fictional works which involve time travel. There are 26 titles, and the underlined parts of the enumerations give title fragments which each start with a unique letter of the alphabet.
Clue | Title | Underline |
---|---|---|
Hermione Granger is allowed to take an extra-heavy course load | HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN | AZKABAN |
John Cleese plays Robin Hood | TIME BANDITS | BANDITS |
Three ghosts show a miser the error of his ways | A CHRISTMAS CAROL | CHRISTMASCAROL |
Film adaptation of W. P. Kinsella's novel Shoeless Joe | FIELD OF DREAMS | DREAMS |
Novel in which Technicians operate kettles for Eternals | THE END OF ETERNITY | ENDOFETERNITY |
The Enterprise crew pays a visit to Zefram Cochrane | STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT | FIRSTCONTACT |
Bill Murray repeats the same events over and over again | GROUNDHOG DAY | GROUNDHOGDAY |
Marisa Tomei falls in love with a man who is trying to change her life in this 2000 film | HAPPY ACCIDENTS | HAPPYACCIDENTS |
1973 science fiction film directed by Peter Fonda | IDAHO TRANSFER | IDAHOTRANSFER |
First film appearance of the liquid metal T-1000 | TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY | JUDGMENTDAY |
Martin Lawrence becomes a medieval warrior | BLACK KNIGHT | KNIGHT |
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis play the same person | LOOPER | LOOPER |
Bruce Willis tries to stop the spread of a deadly virus | 12 MONKEYS | MONKEYS |
The 29th Discworld novel | NIGHT WATCH | NIGHTWATCH |
2000 novel co-authored by Stephen Baxter & Arthur C. Clarke | THE LIGHT OF OTHER DAYS | OTHERDAYS |
A retired tailor develops telepathic abilities in this novel by Isaac Asimov | PEBBLE IN THE SKY | PEBBLEINTHESKY |
Scott Bakula puts right what once went wrong | QUANTUM LEAP | QUANTUMLEAP |
2007 Disney animated film about an orphaned young inventor | MEET THE ROBINSONS | ROBINSONS |
Billy Pilgrim is abducted by Tralfamadorians | SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE | SLAUGHTERHOUSEFIVE |
John Cusack, Rob Corddry, and Craig Robinson visit an old ski lodge | HOT TUB TIME MACHINE | TUBTIMEMACHINE |
Douglas Adams demonstrates the value of compound interest | THE RESTAURANT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE | UNIVERSE |
The Enterprise crew saves the whales | STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME | VOYAGEHOME |
1881 short story by Edward Page Mitchell | THE CLOCK THAT WENT BACKWARD | WENTBACKWARD |
A group of mutants must save themselves in this 2014 film | X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST | XMENDAYSOFFUTUREPAST |
A man from New England tries to modernize a famous ruler's land | A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT | YANKEEINKINGARTHURSCOURT |
TV series hosted by Rod Serling | THE TWILIGHT ZONE | ZONE |
Fill these answers into the criss-cross on the second page. The matching left-right and top-bottom edges indicate that words "wrap" around. Here is a PDF of the filled in grid.
When you've filled in the clues, you should notice that the "A" answer is in row/column 1, the "B" answer is in row/column 2, etc. This effectively defines a set of coordinates on this grid.
As you solve the main minihunt puzzles, fill your answers into the circle on the first page. Put the first letter of the answer in the heavy box with the symbol matching the "bullet" of that puzzle in the main puzzle list. Write the remainder of the letters clockwise in the boxes that contain the same symbol, padding with "X"s as instructed.
The operators and numbers in the circles indicate alphabetic shifts (chosen to minimize the absolute value of the shift, so in the range -12 to 13). Shift the letters in the circle and write them on the outer lines. Note the commas between these lines. One now has 22 ordered pairs of letters. Here is a PDF of the filled in circle.
Treat these ordered pairs as coordinates on the filled-in rectangular grid. Reading clockwise gives the final answer REPHASE THE TEMPORAL LOBE.