Perhaps you or someone else might give me the word, what everybody
around here has in mind as "historical fiction".
You are likely more correct than I on this point sir as I am the newbie
here. Indeed "Timeline" would not be 'Historical Fiction', but rather
pure fiction. I'd not call it Fantasy either, at least as how I view
fantasy. The closest thing I can relate the story to is Twilight Zone'.
Its not outer space by any means, just a very unusual story that goes
beyond where one might expect it to go. I guess I also liked it because
it started out in NM, where I live, and mentioned Sandia Labs, a major
employer in our regional city/area of 600k people.
I'd go with your thoughts on Duggan (as you posted) for what I'd
consider to be Historical Fiction.