As we mentioned in part 2, the conversation with Franklin isn't like, for instance, the conversation with Hancock. Let's see how that works.

Getting Bernard and Laverne to the past

To bring Laverne to the past, first you need to make Washington take the tree down so you can switch to Laverne. Then, as Hoagie, talk to Franklin until you only get two possible dialog options. The fastest known way to do so is to ask "Shouldn't you say the DISCOVERER of Electricity?" and then "I wonder what Red would say about that". Then keep asking questions about Red until there are only two options left.

You can now press "3" to switch to Laverne and say "Well, see ya". The camera will go back to Hoagie and Franklin. Click on the outhouses, and Laverne will get there. The getting Laverne to the past video shows this conversation.

Bringing Bernard to the past is a bit harder, and as far as I know, it can only be done the first time you talk to Franklin. Start by asking "Shouldn't you say the DISCOVERER of Electricity?", then say "I could use a little power myself", then "You are truly whacked, Ben", and then "When you're all-powerful, will you need a number-two guy?".

At this point, you'll have to choose every answer except "Will you need anyone to help with the kite?". The easiest way to do so is positioning the mouse cursor on the first option and start clicking with the mouse while you hold the "period" key. After you've done so seven times, "Will you need anyone to help with the kite?" will be the only option left.

Now you can press "2" to switch to Bernard and choose the "kite" option. The camera will go back to Hoagie and Franklin. When that happens, do not end the conversation yet. If you do so, the outhouses won't be on the screen, so you won't be able to get there with Bernard. Instead, choose "How exactly are you going to do that power-luring?" and hold period until you see the cutscene with the kite. It's important that you don't press Esc before the cutscene with the kite - if you do so, once again the outhouses won't be on the screen when you end the conversation.

Skip the cutscene with the kite, and end the conversation by saying "Well, I'm going to back away now, just in case". The camera will scroll to the left, and you'll be able to click on the outhouses and get Bernard there.

You can see the whole process in the getting Bernard to the past video.

Getting Bernard and Laverne to the past is only possible before you wash the carriage. Once you do that and give the raincoat to Franklin, you can still switch to another character when talking to him, but the camera won't go back to Hoagie, and you won't be able to get to the outhouses.

So now that you've managed to get characters to the past, what can you do with them? That'll be explained in part 4: quantum-swapping items.

Under the hood: controlling a character who isn't in the room

Back in part 1, we said that most of these glitches were about executing a room script when you're not supposed to. This in an exception. Franklin's conversation won't run any room scripts. But we can take advantage of the camera movement.

After choosing certain options, the camera focuses on Hoagie. Not on the character you're currently controlling; on Hoagie. The game kind of assumes you're controlling Hoagie, but as we learned in part 2, that isn't necessarily the case.

So, when the camera focuses on Hoagie, you're still controlling Laverne (or Bernard), even though they are not in the room. You can notice the inventory doesn't contain Hoagie's items, but Laverne's (or Bernard's). When that happens, Laverne (or Bernard) can interact with anything shown on the screen.

The behavior is exactly the same one you get when you look at the monitor after pushing Edna down the stairs. Here you see all the controls in the monitor, and no matter which button you click on, you immediately interact with it. You can also click somewhere in order to leave the screen, and you'll leave immediately. Bernard doesn't have to move to the exit, but will instantly get there.

That's because Bernard is not in the monitor. He's in Edna's room, watching the monitor. But he can still interact with the monitor.

Going back to Ben's conversation, when the camera focuses on Hoagie, you're controlling Laverne (or Bernard), and they're in a different room, kind of watching Hoagie and Ben. And, just like Bernard could immediately leave the monitor to go back to Edna's room, you can click on the outhouses to immediately get there.

Just for fun, try this. Get to the point where the camera focuses on Hoagie and Ben, and you're still controlling Laverne. Then, press "3" before clicking on the outhouses. You'll see how Laverne hasn't left her original position yet. She didn't go to Hoagie's screen; she was just watching, from a different place.