Regarding the (history:)

I am using Twine 2 with Harlowe 1.2.2

In some of my passages I use the "(history:) contains" to call certain hidden text to appear later into the story.
If a player hasn't visited the passage, then the player doesn't get to see that text, and therefore sometimes certain other variables or functions aren't called because the (history:) state is false.

I'd say I use it fairly often especially with regards to preventing extra lives from being given to the player when revisiting a passage where it was given.

However, there are a smaller amount of times when it is used for other fucntions like I mentioned in the first paragraph.

That being said, I have been using the debug-startup passage/function to test certain passages. However, I can't seem to figure out a way to force the history to contain any passage history.
Is there a way?

I have something like this in the debug-startup passage:

(set: $a to true)
(set: $b to true)
(set: ((history:) contains "Passage.") to true)

But when debugging any passage to test it, it gives me an error:

"I can't put a new value into the logic value 'false'."

Which I think means it can't do what I'm asking...so to be clear...is there another way to do what I'm attempting to do?

I'd really prefer to not have to go through and set up new variables for particular passages that I later call on for these situations, but if I must, I must.

Thanks.