The Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin is a piece of cloth believed by some to depict Jesus of Nazareth, a messianic figure in several religions.

In the real world, most scientists agree that the Shroud is a fake dating to the late 1300s—more than a millennia after the death of Jesus. In the Earth 668 and Earth 669 iterations of reality however, the Shroud was indeed the cloth wrapped around the historical Jesus Christ after his death by crucifixion.

In the Earth 668 iteration of reality, the Mitchell Genetics corporation used a DNA sample taken from the Shroud to clone Christ. This “Jesus 2.0” was born on December 25, 2002 and ushered in Mitchell Genetics’ plan for “a world without sin.” That plan backfired spectacularly in the year 2030, as chronicled in the short story “Revelation” (from Those Little Bastards). And, to add insult to injury—at least for the not-so-fine folks at Mitchell Genetics—the sacrifice made by an ordinary citizen in that short story inspired a woman called Emily Henderson to travel through time and reset history. This resulted in the current Earth 669 iteration of reality, where Mitchell Genetics was never able to complete their plan.

In this Earth 669 iteration, an “unstuck in time” Henderson convinced Mitchell Genetics employee Jeremy Bassett to sabotage plans for the cloning project in the year 2000. As it turned out, the DNA that was to be extracted from the Shroud came from a piece held in private hands for centuries—apart from the main artifact held in the Cathedral of Turin. And the private hands it was held by belonged to Jeremy Bassett, and his ancestors before him. All it took to change history was Emily Henderson convincing one man.

But that kind of change is not without its consequences. Henderson was soon lost in time again and Bassett was killed by a team of mercenaries hired by Mitchell Genetics to seek retribution.