Red Dead Redemption 2 Players Shouldn't Miss the 'Geology for Beginners' Side Mission

Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic cowboy adventure, sprawling over five US states and a Caribbean island. That makes it incredibly easy to miss some of the game's Stranger Missions - optional objectives you only obtain by meeting random people and agreeing to help them out.

However, there's one Stranger Mission that Red Dead Redemption 2 players shouldn't miss, titled 'Geology for Beginners.'

How to Find Red Dead Redemption 2's Best Stranger Mission

First thing's first, here's how to find the mission! Head to Strawberry (in the state of West Elizabeth) and head West-Northwest, staying on the left-hand side of Hawks Eye Creek. Francis Sinclair's cabin is located in the crook of the road that bends closest to the creek - get close and the game will add a hazy question mark icon in the general vicinity.

Once you meet Francis Sinclair, he'll ask you to seek out ten rock carvings spread across the map, and this is where many players end their experience, not bothering to complete the task. However, stay the course, and one of Red Dead Redemption 2's most beguiling narratives unfurls. (Or, if you're struggling, check our map below for the general locations.)

The mission becomes available as of the main story's second chapter, and if you've already found some of the carvings on your travels, they'll be counted towards your goal.

Don't Miss Red Dead Redemption 2's Time Traveler

What makes 'Geology for Beginners' an unmissable part of the game is its unique sci-fi plot. Francis Sinclair is one of the game's most unique characters, with clothing, mannerisms and idioms that aren't replicated anywhere else. That's because (the game implies) he's actually from 1930s New York, having time-traveled back to the late 1800s - the period of his own childhood.

As players investigate the carvings Francis Sinclair sends them to look for, they'll realize they depict events from long after the game's Old West setting. When the player heads back to West Elizabeth for their final meeting with Sinclair, they'll discover a mural depicting his time travel adventures and a confused woman who appears to be Francis' mother, nursing a baby with a strangely familiar birthmark.

What's particularly fun about this mission is that while the player is equipped to recognize Francis' true nature, Arthur Morgan isn't until the very end, and the game plays around with the dramatic irony of the situation.

How Does Red Dead Redemption 2's Time Travel Mission Tie into Grand Theft Auto?

RDR2 has so many mysteries that fans are still getting to the bottom of some of them, and Francis' mission remains a question mark. While players know he's almost certainly a time traveler, why exactly was he hunting for cave etchings?

Part of the answer may lie in Grand Theft Auto V's Epsilon Program. This fictional cult worships a godlike being called Kraff, whose descendants are all said to have the same birthmark seen on Francis. However, the cult still rejects those with the birthmark if they are 'Unsaveables,' with qualities including having red hair or an adherence to science.

Francis Sinclair possesses both those very specific qualities, giving him too much relation to the Epsilon Program to be a coincidence. That's where the hard info stops and the theorizing begins, with fans speculating that Sinclair may be Kraff, or that he may be an enemy of the cult who inspired the characteristics of 'Unsaveables' in the future.

Further complicating things, Red Dead Redempton 2 and Grand Theft Auto don't line up cleanly within the same timeline. GTA V includes an easter egg of a book titled 'Red Dead' written by J. Martson, however many of the major American cities in the more realistic Red Dead Redemption don't show up in GTA's parody world.

Red Dead Redemption 2's Time Traveler Leaves Fans With Exciting Questions

Of course, with time travel involved, the timeline could be actively changed, especially if Francis Sinclair is somehow bouncing around time battling the Epsilon Program.

It's possible future games will add to this larger narrative, or even that Red Dead Redemption 2 is hiding further secrets. Some fans believe that a younger version of Francis can be seen during chapter 2 as a paperboy, while one compelling theory suggests Sinclair is chasing his father through time, drawing further evidence from GTA V.

Either way, what seems like a basic treasure hunt is hiding an incredibly intriguing story, and Red Dead Redemption 2 players should make sure to seek out Francis Sinclair and draw their own conclusions.