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Curious Notions was the name of a shop the Crosstime Traffic company established in an alternate where Imperial Germany had won a shortened World War I and then conquered the United States in 1956.

Curious Notions was opened in San Francisco in the last decade of the 21st century. While the shop did a solid business selling electronics (obsolete by Crosstime Traffic's standards, but incredibly advanced by the alternate's standards), the primary reason for its existence was to supply the home timeline with various resources, including food crops.

It was while the shop was under the management of Lawrence Gomes and his son Paul that the German authorities began taking an interest in the technology the shop was selling, as the German government insured its rule by keeping all scientific advances a secret. Their occupational police, the Feldgendarmerie, began asking the Gomes questions.

The Germans were not the only interested party. The Triads, an organization that Germany had unsuccessfully attempted to destroy, also wanted to know the truth about the shop.

The Gomes tried to distract the Germans and the Triads, to no avail. Eventually, the German government shut the shop down. Lawrence Gomes was arrested, and Paul Gomes became a fugitive. Through the aid of another Crosstime Traffic employee, Sammy Wong, the Gomes were able to escape. Curious Notions was left abandoned.

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