Time Travel discussion

If you could travel in time, when and where would you go, and why?

I would visit the Elizabethan era to meet Queen Elizabeth.

I would also love to visit Woodstock :)

I have two immediate answers to this question, every time I think about it. The trouble is that they both break the "rules" of time travel, in that I could be changing history in either a big or small way.

1. I would like to visit some of the people who have been the leaders in the most horrendous events in history, and try to talk some humanitarian sense into them before they wreak havoc. Adolf Hitler, Ghengis Khan, Atilla the Hun, Osama bin Laden........

Surely, a pot of Earl Grey and few hours of balanced conversation would make all the difference!

I know: I am kidding myself.

2. I would really like to go back and meet myself early on in my life, and talk about a lot of things which could save me some heartache later on in my life. For example, I could tell the seven year old me that Bison is not to be trusted, no matter how special he makes me feel. See my Goodreads writings, if you want to find out what that is about.

There are many other useful bits of advice that I could give to my young self, but I realise that almost everyone in the world thinks, at some time in their life, "If only I'd known then what I know now!"

My answer depends on what I'm reading at the time. When Eden's Outcasts was in hand, I wanted to go to 19th century New England and meet up with the Trancendentalists. Ellis Peters and Brother Cadfael move me to choose 12th century Shrewsbury, England. But, Lance, I would NOT want to go back to 1950s-60s St. Louis, Missouri, and run into my younger self. I wouldn't know what to make of her, nor she of me.

That is a very fair point Kathy, and I can completely understand it.
And I agree with you about your interest in 12th century Shrewsbury, especially if you are an avid Ellis Peters fan. She brings it to life, doesn't she? And I suspect that there is a heavy helping of truth in those Brother Cadfael stories. At least I like to think so.
Have you read any Nigel Tranter?

I'd be hopelessly shallow, and go back to beat up some kids who terrorised me in High School (hmm, actually, on second thoughts that doesn't sound too healthy, now does it?). I'd definitely avoid meeting myself, as that would be just TOO weird.

I'm tempted to say the future rather than the past, but what if it turned out to be disappointing, or if I was confronted with a seemingly inevitable tragedy? Hmmm... Future, past, future, past? If I got to see shiny spaceships, definitely the future!

Justin wrote: "I'd be hopelessly shallow, and go back to beat up some kids who terrorised me in High School (hmm, actually, on second thoughts that doesn't sound too healthy, now does it?). I'd definitely avoid ..."

Justin - you're obviously thinking about it. Keep going! I am sure that you are going to come up with something absolutely fantastic!

Ancient Greece and/or ancient Egypt. I want to talk with Socrates, and know how they built the pyramids!

Lance, wouldn't we all like to have that chance, LOL!

Time travel is great fun to write!

Great question, Lance, I'm sure everyone has thought about this at some point. It's great to hear you would like to visit the leaders that caused so many atrocities but, you know what, I don't think they would listen. In the same way I don't believe you could stop one of this type today, next year or in a hundred years.
The history books prove over and over again that humankind NEVER learns from its past mistakes.
OK, that's my heavy answer. My fun answer would be to go back and meet Laurel and Hardy.

You are right, Graham. I would be unlikely to convince any despots that they were wrong. That's why I say that I know that I am kidding myself. However, you never know. The magic of a pot of Earl Grey can be very powerful. Maybe I'd take some scones, strawberry jame and clotted cream allong to the meeting too!

Anyway, another trip I'd like to make woul be to take my dear, departed Mum to New Orleans in, say, the sixties, to do a duet with Louis Armstrong. She played jazz (and classical) piano, brialliantly. Oh what a dream date that would be!

Excellent question. As for the "when," that is easy. I would go back to the late 1800s during the era in American history know as the Wild West. The question of "where" is a little more difficult. It would definitely be the Western United States, perhaps Missouri, Colorado or New Mexico.

In my book I sent my characters back to Jack the Ripper in 1888.

I love pirates and anything to do with pirates, so In my YA novel I sent my characters to 18th century Bahamas via an oceanic vortex. In the second book they'll be headed to China to confront the notorious Mrs Cheng.The Pirate Vortex: Elizabeth Latimer, Pirate Hunter

If I could survive it, I would travel back 13.7 billion years to catch the terrorist who blew up that poor little point of nothing into a cosmic vacuum filled with strange elements.

I would then travel into the very far future to see what happens to this universe then return back to the present to tell everyone what we need to do to ecscape the end of everything. History cannot and must not die!

Tej wrote: "If I could survive it, I would travel back 13.7 billion years to catch the terrorist who blew up that poor little point of nothing into a cosmic vacuum filled with strange elements..."

Interesting thought, Tej. So what would happen if you went back 13.8 billion years ago before this cataclysmic event? Would you cease to exist or would your presence be the catalyst for a new and earlier "Big Bang?"

John wrote: "Interesting thought, Tej. So what would happen if you went back 13.8 billion years ago before this cataclysmic event? Would you cease to exist or would your presence be the catalyst for a new and earlier "Big Bang?" ."
..."

Digging the twist there, so you're saying the culprit would be me that cause the Big Bang in the first place? lol. Wait...that would make me the creator! This universe is man made after all. Good thing I dont have a time machine, huh?

@Tej & John: Ha. Clever.

Everyone wants to travel to the past, but I'd want to see the future. Our lives are so short that it's like reading a book or watching a movie without ever getting to see the end. What becomes our children's children's children's children's children? What technological advances are there? How much of a fish out of water would I be? How would the English language have changed and could I even understand it or be understood? How have natural disasters shaped the earth? Who's the world power? Have we lapsed into a world like the movie "Idiocracy" (oh gosh, how could I forget THAT movie?!?), are we more technologically advanced, or are we back to living as cave men?

I can always "time travel" into the past by reading books about history, but nobody knows the future. That's why I find it so intriguing. There's no telling what in the world we would find there.

Deborah wrote: "I love pirates and anything to do with pirates, so In my YA novel I sent my characters to 18th century Bahamas via an oceanic vortex. In the second book they'll be headed to China to confront the n..."

Have you ever read the "Swallows and Amazons" books by Arthur Ransome? From waht you say about your own YA, I am sure that you would enjoy them, especially Missee Lee: The Swallows and Amazons in the China Seas.

I've always been fascinated (okay, obsessed) with Ancient Egypt. I would love to travel back to, say, the reign of Queen Hatshepsut (my favorite pharaoh), and see for myself what life was really like. I think it would be amazing to see all the temples and pyramids (even though the pyramids were already ancient by then) in all their original, colorful glory.

I'd also like to see Pompeii, but definitely BEFORE Mt. Vesuvius erupts. ;)

Another bit of history I'm obsessed with is the Titanic, but there's no way to go back to that without dealing with the tragic ending. (My novel, Destined, time-travels back to the ship, so I think that's the closest I'd like to come to doing it myself. Much safer to do it through a book!)

11 or 12th century, preferably viking times would be an experience

Allison, I agree that Ancient Egypt would be a fasitating place to visit. You mention both Pompei and the Titanic. Do I sense a fascination with tragedies?

Jason, I recently read a short story about a modern soldier who finds himself among the Vikings. He finds that all his knowledge about technology and modern warfare is worthless. I will have to see if I can find the name of it for you.

Found it. Jason, the story I was thinking of is called "The Man Who Came Early" by Poul Anderson. It is in a collection called The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century.

John, I do seem to be drawn to those, don't I? I've always wondered if that should concern me. ;)

Thought I bump this up after a similar question was posed in another thread, it has been buried for over a year now!

I agree with an earlier poster. I'd go back to myself at about age 16 and have a good long talk with me. I'd give the best advice from my experiences over the next 40+ years and hope that I'd take that advice and change my life accordingly. Then I'd return to the present and hope that it would be a better one!

Diane. Perhaps you already did, but found that when you returned to the present everything was exactly the same. As a sixteen year old girl, do you think you would have listened to an older you?! My sister, Diana, certainly would not!

Lance Greenfield wrote: "Diane. Perhaps you already did, but found that when you returned to the present everything was exactly the same. As a sixteen year old girl, do you think you would have listened to an older you?! M..."

I first read "The House on the Strand" when I was a teenager and one of my all-time favorite books is "Re-Birth" by John Wyndham (not a time travel, but a warning shot about a man-made Apocalypse). I think I would have been receptive to a visitor from the future. On the bad side, knowing in advance some of the things that would happen to me and my loved ones would be highly traumatic. I hope that if I travelled back in time, I'd be as tactful as possible about events yet to come.

I hate to admit it, but my initial use of time travel would be entirely selfish. I would travel back and do my best to avert a family tragedy.

Trying to put as altruistic a spin on it as possible, I guess I could say that attempting to do so would provide valuable information on time travel. I can think of three possible outcomes. One would be that it worked - nothing happens, life goes on, tragedy averted. This would imply that you can indeed change the past, at least for some events.

Another would be that the event I prevented didn't happen, but something else happened to lead to the same ultimate outcome. That would imply that you can change minor details, but when it comes to more significant events, history is self-correcting.

Another would be that no matter what I did, things unfolded exactly as they had, implying that the past cannot be changed at all.

Vickie - Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could avert that family tragedy and return to a much happier world. I would celebrate with you.

Perhaps another possibility would be that you'd create a split into parallel universes. But would you be able to control which one you returned to; the happy or the tragic?

Good point, Lance. If I created an alternate universe, then the me of that universe, and my family, would go merrily on our way never knowing what might have happened.

But, I guess the me of this universe would still have the memory of the event, since I hadn't actually changed it in my past.

I wonder, though, when I climbed back into my time machine and tried to go back to my own time, where I would end up? By creating the alternate universe, have I trapped myself in that reality or is my time machine not only a time machine, but a machine for traveling between alternate universes?

Although, if that theory that says every possible alternate universe already exists is true, then that alternate reality already existed, so did I really create it or did I just jump from one reality to another?

And this is the point in the discussion where, like Captain Janeway from Star Trek Voyager, I start to get a headache. :-)

Vickie wrote: "Good point, Lance. If I created an alternate universe, then the me of that universe, and my family, would go merrily on our way never knowing what might have happened.

But, I guess the me of this ..."

Michael Crichton's "Timeline" touched on this but didn't go into depth on the possibility. I would also like to avert a tragedy, but what actually occurred had so Shakespearian a tone, I'm not sure it would have been possible. As you noted, some other events would have come to pass, resulting in the same outcome.

Diane & Lance, there is another view.

There always is when you speak of paradox.

When you go back & therefore change the future, then that's the NEW future.

In other words, there's still only one new future, now just changed.

Depends on your point of reference:

Is time like a loaf of bread, with one slice of present just following another, or is it like a roadmap, with multiple futures beyond every turn?

As I say, both are plausable & while I prefer the 1st example, if well done I'll always enjoy the 2nd one, too.

Who knows what the Future will hold?

I say bring em both on.

Howard - Perhaps Vickie and I are on our way to co-writing our first published novel, based on imaginary reality. Or should that be genuine virtuality?! Or real fantasy?!

Lance, I hope so & still say bring it on for twice the reason.

Inner-dimensional travel is always great & can, by definition, go anywhere & as time is only one of the six known dimensions, the possibilities are endless.

That's always good, in my estimation.

And as to the other point you were discussing, see my post, #48 on this month's 'monthly read' thread.

Howard wrote: "Diane & Lance, there is another view.

There always is when you speak of paradox.

When you go back & therefore change the future, then that's the NEW future.

In other words, there's still only on..."

Wish I could remember title/author, but I once read a great short story in which a professor is giving a lecture in the present about time travel and his adventures...and in the pre-pre-prehistoric past, he trips and squashes a bug...and in the present, the lecture continues, except he's waving flippers and interjecting "Breathe air! Breathe air!" every other sentence. THAT was a TERRIFIC view of things!

Diane wrote: 'he trips and squashes a bug'

Diane, that's a common devise, the so-called 'butterfly effect' & it has had many variations the gist of which is unexpected consequences.

In most renditions, the plot involves correcting the original Timeline in order to avert these unforeseen calamities.

I use this device but there have been no bugs killed in the process.

Howard, using the "loaf of bread" theory, do you think the person who changed history would remember the old history, or would the new history become his history, too? (I'm getting this mental image of steering the Titanic south of the iceberg fields, thus saving the ship, and then standing on the bridge of the ship scratching my head wondering why I chose to go back in time to take an entirely uneventful transatlantic cruise.)

Lance, I'm afraid I have neither the imagination nor the attention span to write fiction. I'm one heck of an editor, though. Maybe you can write and I can edit. :-)

Vickie asked: 'Howard...do you think?'

Vickie, as I've said, because of the potential of paradox, it could be argued either way & there is therefore no definite answer.

But, my view is that if history is changed by someone ‘outside’ of the Timeline, then they would be aware that the ‘new’ history is now different.

At any rate, this is the device I’ve always used & such is the premise of those TT plot lines involving 'correcting' flaws in Time.

Great Question Lance! To difficult to decide however, need a time machine to go wherever and whenever, based on my mood.