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Termyn8or -> Time travel (1/15/2009 6:47:47 PM)
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OK, I put this in stupidity because it is not only fictional, but also suppositional, and might even fall short of theoretical. However I don't seek stupidity, I shall explain. I firmly believe on certain principles that time travel is totally impossible in reality. I think Einstein was interpreted incorretly and a few other things which are not the subject right now, nor is the fact that the reason I believe time travel to impossible is because they just aren't thinking of it the right way.
In spite, or possibly even because of my belief, the ramifications of time travel have always intrigued me. Fictional scifi on screen or dead trees is of interest, possibly as an escape from reality for me.
The first piece that really stuck to my gray matter was the Star Trek episode - Gateway To Forever I believe. In this, Bones gets a syringe full of a psychoactive stimulant intended for another, but way too much of it, which apparently would cause insanity. Meantime there is this planet with some wierd emanations, and thereon they find like an arch, which one could actually step through and go to the past. I guess the bright idea was to take Bones back to just before the accident to cure him, otherwise he would not have been on the planet I think, either that or he got there first. No matter, everything was gone, Federation, Enterprise, all of it because he changed history. Turns out he saved one Edith Keeler who somehow changed history by delaying the US's entry into WW2. So they give you the drama that she must die but of course Captain Kirk is in love with her so they have their moment and life then goes on of course.
There were a couple more episodes involving the subject in TOS, and most of the other Star Trek series' had an episode or two at least about it. In fact a finale/premiere combo was on the Voyager series. Also the fourth movie was dependent upon it as a main course of the theme.
Not to dwell on Trek though, there was also a movie and series "Timecop" which was quite interesting. Mind you I believe it to be impossible. In that, a politician was found to have been going into the past, commiting robberies and hiding the gold where it would not be found for a couple hundred years. All he had to do was pick it up.
Now there's something reckless, becaue without meticulous research of course he might have killed someone upon who his very existence depended. Therefore there were timecops I guess, and the fact that it is an unfair advantage, which of course should only be available to the government.
As much as I believe that true time travel is impossible, I wrote a book that relies on it heavily for plot. It's not that good, but some people liked it. It is published on the web if anyone's interested but a recap may suffice. In my story a guy is somehow in suspended animation for four hundred years. When he first was awoken he found the world had changed, and in time they prepared him for it and he became a productive member of society, which I painted as near utopian, but after a long hard struggle to get it that way. For example The US population was about ten million perhaps. Land was fairly cheap, lots of local business, very few quarrels. People were living well.
Unaware that time travel was possible the main character got educated in all the new technology and did quite well for himself, had a family and everything, two adorable Wives and so forth. He joins this group of other scientists, which I guess we would have to refer to as rogue in nature, but not amoral. The main character was the point Man, and what they did was to initially send him back in time to meet with their former selves and bring advanced technology to the past. In that way they artificially (that IS the wrong word though) advanced science about 500 years in the matter of a decade. The US was now invincible and they worked hand in hand with government, actually a good government for a change.
Well our main character keeps on remembering his old girlfriend and eventually gets a bug up his ass to go tell her that he is not coming back, that he has built a new life and there is no turning back. She says to him "I wish you would've told me this twenty years ago". So he decided to do it again, but literally go back twenty years fyrther and tell her then.
Nobody knew where he had went, but she tried to wait for him to come back. After the second "incursion" she did hook up with another guy, but he turned out to be abusive and left her crippled for life.
This is a very kinky story, something that is not for everyone, but I can provide a link if anyone asks. The only less than positive review or comment I have ever gotten on it is that it wasn't personal enough, something like that. Indeed since I like fast moving reading material, that is how I wrote it, up until I ran out of timeline. Within eight or nine short chapters I had the guy retired with all the kids moved out and on vacation. If I ever decide to rewrite it using the original as an outline, it will be a labor of love I guess, because it is really so kinky that it is never going to be mainstream, I mean the light from mainstream takes an hour to reach this thing.
However that is not the main topic, thinking of the ramifications of actual time travel is intriguing to me. No matter what my beliefs it is is fiction today. However the ability to do so would bring up plenty of moral questions.
For example if the descentants of the Hatfields went back in time and destroyed the McCoys of the past, they might find that there ain't no Auntie Thelma, because her Grasndfather married a thirty-third cousin of the nephew of that low down ........ somewhere along the line. The other question is whether they would actually be aware of the change. What if they weren't ? Making refernces to people who don't exist and not recognizing ones that do, who they may have known their entire life. They would be considered mentally ill I would guess.
Oh, and I need not even mention the Terminator movies. No that is not how I got the name, but I liked it. Of course without time travel there would be no plot.
Also, let's say some rebels find a way, I mean southerners who have the rebel spirit. They are out there. If they were to go back and fix it so the south won the civil war. Think of that, most likely the US would have nothing to do with WW2. The Russians would still have beat Hitler I think, but things would have turned out differently.
Like in "Gateway To Forever", they never said there was no space travel in the "new future", but of course noone would be in the same place at the same time in the present.
So consider this, at some "time" take your mind out of the Huffington post, the BBC, the BBS, who said what and who does what and just loosen your grip on reality to explore what is beyond. There are no provables or disprovables here, it is all supposition.
It's an escape like any other, the sane Man knows if he does drugs or drinks to escape everything will be there in the morning. But it is his time to log off so to speak and just forget about it for a time. Might even say the saner Man knows that the world will be just fine without him for a short time.
Thinking about bullshit like this is probably better than most intoxicants, IMO.
So think about it. As you do remember certain things, there are limitations, it is not established whether you can take superior weaponry back in time. Money is a big nono, try to pass one of today's bills a hundred years ago and it just ain't gonna fly.
For the sake of being "realistic" let's say that you get into a chamber like a small closet to go back, and it is not very large, and your body must be in personal contact with any item you wish to bring. So that rules out, for example, nuking Iraq four hundred years ago and stuff like that. Be reasonable.
T
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