Archive Mode - Timeband Origins, #1

Archive Mode is the first book in a new series, Timeband Origins, that continues the story begun in The Traveler Saga. Twelve extraordinary individuals, led by Ruthie Terwilliger, possess timebands, mysterious artifacts that allow them to travel through time. Together they have safeguarded the orderly progression of history and kept humanity on a path toward a bright future among the stars. The timebands allow the wearers to literally rewrite history -- yet the origin of these fantastic devices has remained a mystery.
Now, unexpectedly, the original timeline where the timebands came from is revealed. The team discovers the method to enter "archive mode", where long-vanished timelines still exist. When the team enters "archive mode", they are invisible phantoms, able to see and hear everything, but unable to interact with their surroundings or alter events. They find "Portal Zero", which leads to the original timeline, a world much different than our own.
Here the empire established by an ancient conquerer never fell, and thousands of years later still encompasses the globe. Now it continues as a world-wide high-tech theocracy, ruled by the living avatars of a pantheon of ancient gods. A brilliant inventor challenges the social order, ready to rebel against the authority that has declared research into time travel illegal. In the Timeband Origins series, Ruthie and her time-traveling friends will meet new allies and new enemies -- and at least one old enemy, thought to be forever vanquished, will reappear.
For fans of alternate history, a startling alternate present is explored, one which diverged from our history long before the modern era. Archive Mode begins a series with the same character-driven adventure and suspense that readers of The Traveler Saga have come to expect. Following Archive Mode, Timeband Origins will continue with Crossed Timelines, coming soon.