[^^Fleeding home page] [HYPER-SPACE (mfa)] [SUB-SPACE (ma)]
ma: Futurist x Futurist
See also: [L/D] [S/D]
See also: [af/art3/pkda2001 - pizoig gaming projects]
(please page down if needed)
x-product: Futurist x Futurist ()
Jump down to: {Abs} {Art} {Frc} {Fut} {Hum} {Jazz} {Sci} {Spi}
Futurist x Absurdist
Futurist x Absurdist (time) ---> {Time Travel}
Jump randomly to: {x-product} {Abs} {Art} {Frc} {Fut} {Hum} {Jazz} {Sci} {Spi}
Fut x Abs (time) --> time travel
-^_6
See also: -[time]- (futurist pespective)
-[time]- (scientist perspective)
-[time]- (spiritualist perspective)
-[Time Travel]- via: Fut x Abs (time)
-[sf (general) time]-
-[sf time file]-
Note: There is NO absurdist, artistic, fractalist, humanist,
or jazzist perspective of time; everything is "just" is;
that is, "is is"
-- (commonly refered to as "the is that is now").
-[(map entry)]-
-^_6
In this section: {Intro}
{Chaning the Future}
{Paradoxes}
{Parallel Worlds}
{Alternate Time Steams}
{x}
{x}
{x}
{x}
Intro
NOTE: As always, i am always interested in ANY tales of time travel.
If you know of something that might fit here, please feel free
to email me via:
Frank, via: fleeding AT hotmail DOT com
One of eariliest references to time travel is of course the idea
of "traveling in time" either in dreams or in a story or altering
one's perception of "the here and now". Additionally, many religions
and philsophies consider the idea of "transmutation" following death
from one form to another achieving either immortality or transcendence.
The gaist philosophy considers that since all of the Earth is an
interconnected system, that the "death" of one thing is reflected
by new birth of some other system; as such, a perpetual now occurs
and time (although existing) can be transcended physically without
recourse to religion.
Next was the idea of "sleeping through" the present; eg, the story
of "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving who falls asleep for 20
years and then wonders/wanders around the places that he had found
familar but seem quite strage to him "now".
As it turns out (with the advent of Einstein's General Theory of
Relativity), time trips such as Rip Van Winkles are possible by
either dodging close to a black hole and/or traveling close to
the speed of light. -[scientist entry here]-
A more "practical" form of traveling to the future was given by
author/poet Edgar Alan Poe in his story "??title?? wherein
two Egyptologists encounter a particularly well preserved
Egyptian mummy. They are able to revive the person and converse
via Egyptian (the person comments on the strangeness of their
speech).
The author/historian/futurist H.G. Welles is generally credited with
having written the first the first "time travel" story (in the
modern sense).
An important aspect is the MEANS of time travel as well. In Irving's
story, Rip Van Winkle drinks a potion. Most stories (from Welles
onward) postulate the use of a "time machine". Few writers deter
from that path. A notable exception is the cartoonist/director
Terry Gilliam "Time Bandits" where "time doors" open and you
simply step through. Other authors use the idea of a "book of
time" that whatever is written in the book is what happens. Thus,
events in time are created/altered by what is written in the book.
The idea of "time visions" is treated in the -[spiritualist]-
As well as the role of the "healer/shaman/guide/etc" is trated in -[humnaist]-
Note that the idea of the time traveler as having more knowledge
than we can have is important as well. This allows them to try
and influence (or not) things/events/people around them. We look
at "changing the future" in the next section. \
Changing the Future
Philosophically in terms of history, ones actions in the present
shape/change/create/destroy/etc the future.
An important and often overlooked aspect of time travel and changing
the past is the effect on the time traveler themselves. The classic
case is of course H.G. Welles' traveler (who bares no name; like
Diderot's nameless master in "Jaceuqes the Servant and his master",
we never even learn his name). In this case, the time traveler returns
to the future to change it - note the difference between the book
itself and the two film versions.
Another concept is time travel as "cautionary tale" - this parallels
the fact that traveling to the past with future knowledge is equivalent
to the idea of having access to ESP (Extra Sensory Percetpion), alien
technology, or even just an "infinite computer". The idea of the traveler
(in the end) learning their lesson is exemplified by the rathe violent
film "The ButterFly Effect" in which Evan finds that in order to save
the future, he in the end must give up his dream and thus (as with the
hero's journey) finds his way in a world not entirely to his desire,
but preferable to alternatives.
In the case of Dr. Who, for the most part he has few regrets. Later
in the series (eg, "Remembrance of Dahleks"), he does contemplate
the consequences of his action. On the DVD version a deleted scene
has him debating the question with a black man (Joseph Marcell) at
the cafe who sez, "If this sugar business hadn't of started, my
grandfather wouldn't have been kidnapped and sold into slavery in
Kingston; i'd be an African" - not an exact quote. I think that this
refelects a maturation of the writing rather than an inherrent
assumption in the "universe" of Dr. Who.
In the case of Star Trek, the travelers in time remember their actions
(in classic Trek), but not in the later series - with the exception
of Guinan (Whoopy Goldberg) whom we are told has "a different sense
of time" - not an exact quote.
Similarly in the superbly classic film "Cyborg 2087" the cyborg (Michael
Rennie - of "Day the Earth Stood Still Fame) is sent to the past to
change the future. But, unlike the terminator he is not programed, but
consciously undertakes the journey that will result in his own anhilation.
The -[grandfather paradox"]-
is avoided by the fact that the cyborg brings the professor from our time
into the future to see how his research creates the police state and
in turn the paradoxes themselves.
Another aspect is the way that time itself (technically consequent
events, not time as such) is changed (ie, events). This has been
explored in Science Fiction by the so-called "alternate futures" stories.
One excellent exacmple (it won sf's highest honor, "A Hugho Award")
is the story "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick) -[sf (general) entry]-
Herein a fact in OUR universe is used to create an alternate present.
Had this rather minor (in our universe) KEY event been altered every
so slightly, the course of time would have been DRASTICALLY (from our
point of view) been changed. In this case, the Nazi's would have won
the Second World War).
Before moving on, let us point out the example of the philosopher
Hegel when asked to speak to two different groups of soldiers
in two (pre World War I) countries about the philosophy of history
and such. War was averted. Thus, words changed history -- applied
like a lever at just the right point.
There are several ways to change the future.
1. Travel to the future with past experience and wisdom. Sharing
this "distant" POV is then used to change the future. In
Welles' "Time Machine" (at least in the first movie) *** need to re-read!!!!
the traveler returns to the present and then armed with several books
returns to the future to save it.
2. Travel to the future, observe it, and return to the present and
alter actions here and now, thus changing the course of history.
3. A visitor from the future comes to the present, and alters the
actions of people in the present and thus, alters the course of
the future. An excellent example of this is in the film "Cyborg 2087"
with Michael Rene (of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" fame) playing
the role of "the cyborg".
4. A council of "time lords" in the future "trim and modify" the
present to "tweek the future. This is explored in Isaac Asimov's
"The Gods Themselves".
5. A council of "time lords" from a different planet, control/modify
the time stream of the Earth (or other planet). This has been
extensively and quite successfully (for over 25 years) been explored
by the "Dr. Who" TV series and films. Another excellent example is
the story, "The Crime and Glory of Commander Suzdahl" ??sp?? by the
author/political scientist Paul Linebarger (writing as "Cordwainer Smith").
In this case the "time lords" stand outside of time, and as such can
not alter their own history/time.
6. Time travel is used for various reasons:
Fun/recreation. Ray Bradbury's "The Sound of Thunder" is a clasic.
Profit: See Cliford D. Simak's "Project Mastadon" as well as
Robert Sheckly's "Double Indemnity",
Escape. This is a reoccuring theme in future distopia stories
where people escape into our "dismal" reality, because
the future is much worse. An example of this is Dick's "Time Out of
Joint".
Research Tool for Historians. Refer to Asimov's "The Dead Past".
7. A group of extra terrestrials alter time for their own amusement or
as purely inteelectural exercises with little regard for the results
or by explorig ALL possible results. This is explored in the story
"The Game of Blood and Dust" by ??author??.
An important point is the problem of accidentally changing the future
in a way that isn't optimal and then going back and trying to "fix"
things. Again, a common theme; see esp: "The ButterFly Effect".
From a purely absurdist POV, it may be that irreversable changes that
are effected might at best be "patched". The result might be "ok". This
is explored superbly in story "The Lathe of Heaven" by Ursula K. Le Guin.
It was made into a classic, low-budget tv (PBS) film with excellent
results and faitfulness to the original book.
Alternatively, catastrophic changes have been explored by many authors
as either being tragic (rather common), as well as absurdist
(see, pde: sf: stories) which is rather rare. A classic example
(although using genetic alteration instead of time-stream-changes)
is given by Philip K. Dick's "Oh, to be a blobbel!".
Time travel: Cusps
One way that irreversible changes are different for time is the idea
of "cusps" (taken from the ideas in both catastrophy theory as well
as differential geometry; in the case of DE, a cusp is NOT something
that you want. See Scienctif AMerican: HOw to Turn A Spahre Inside out.
Let us say that the original time sequence is given by:
a b c d e f g
At e, we travel backward in time change c to get
a b c' d f g
e
Now, e is "outside of time". (We assume that causality is not
carried forward and so therefore do NOT have to worry about
paradoxes -- this is more like Douglas Noel Adams' view of time.)
Since c is changed, d is changed as well.
a b c' d' e f' g'
(e returns to "their present time" (the future of c/d as well as
the new future of c'/d'). e observes the change and decides to go
back again and make another slight change. They go back to c'.
Note that they could go back in time and talk themselves out of
changing c to c' (a common theme) and then either "leave well
enough alone", or:
a b c" d? f? g?
e
again returning to the "future" (e's original present) we get
a b c" d" e f" g"
note that the environment of e is different in each case (only e
as "the time traverler" is aware of the changes).
Let us say that e travels again to the past, but this time to b:
a b' c? d? f? g?
e
Let's say that the results might give the following:
a b' c''' d''' e f''' g'''
Again to the past to c, to produce:
a b' c? d? f? g?
e
Finally, e effects a change and returns to their present:
a b' c d'''' e g'''''
A cusp has occured. c is now in the unchanged state even though its
past (b) has been altered to b' and that as a consequence, d and g are
in a toally new states and f has not occured at all. The cusp is that
c remains unaffected entirely. This is of course just one example of
a cusp. Note that only e knows what has happened. Of course, they
may return and tell the poeple of g'''' the whole story. Whether
the poeple of the new world (g''''' and the as yet un-written
chapters of h,i,j ) will understand or believe is another matter entirely.
Probably ojne of the finest examples of a cusp in sf literature is
the case of "Baylon Squared" in the sries "Babylone 5" by J. Michale
Stryzinski ??sp??. Notice the way that Zathras "appears out of no
where" and "Who is running around in a Blue Space Suit?" change in
each trip back through time.
Paradoxes
Inherent with travel to the past is the possibility of a paradox.
The classic is that the time traveler travels to the past, kills
their grandfather when he was a child. By the "laws of causality",
the time traveler is never born. And thus of course can't travel
back to the past. The "normal" past and subsequent future are
restored. But, then the traveler exists and so, travels to the
past to kill their grandfather, and thus....
This paradox is avoided by some authors or embraced and/or deinied
by others. THe late, great Douglas Noel Adams in his 5-part trilioy
"The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" avoids this by stating that
time is a large puzzle and what appears as change is really just a
different configurations of the so-far solved bits of the puzzle.
The film trilogy "Back to the Future" explores the "grandfather
paradox" as well as alternate futures in a delightful and succinct
manner.
We could create a phyologeny of the grandfather paradox as follows:
Strong: You simply can't go back and murder your grandfather.
Events will conspire to prevent you from doing that.
Medium: You can, but then the consequences will illiminate you
as well, but NOT create a paradox.
Weak: You can go back, but when you return to the future, it is
"split off" new time line - this is the one modeled in
"Back to the Future".
Parallel Worlds
See also: -[spirituality (Quantum Relity)]-
Note for simplification purposes, i have separated off the
"alternate/parllel" problem into two disticnt categores:
Parallel Worlds
Alternate Time Streams (the next section)
There are of course probably infinite number of ways of
combinding these.
NOTE: This idea doesn't necessary depend upon time travel, btw.
The idea of parallel worlds is that "next to" ours. This idea arises
from several sources (see Quantum Reality ref above). Mainly, the
idea is the concept of "parallel dimensions" that occupy the same
space, only separated by a slight "twist"; eg, a phase difference,
The concept of phase difference is derrived from the fact that two
waves (that might have the same characteristics) that start out at
different times, may occupy the same "carrier" (space, wire, etc)
and in some cases will NOT interact at all.
A common example, is given by a "slinky" metal coil. If we stretch
it out straight we can bunch up a bit of it and let that
*compression* wave travel along the length of the slinky. We
assume a zero-friction surfaceso that the slinky doesn't lose
energy when it is moving. Oddly enough this (almost never
observed or examined) property of the slinky is the primary
property that allows it to "walk down stairs".
Alternatively, we can take one of the slinky that is stretched
out and quickly move our hand perpendicular to the spot and back
again. That is, if the slinky is streched out left to right, we
move our hand forward backward -- moving our hand left-to-right
produces the motion just previously discussed. This "sea wave"
moion is completely independent (in an ideal case) of the first
motion. In theory we can "superimpose" the two motions and neither
will "be aware of" (interact) with the other. This is the same
principle that allows multiple cable channels (about 200 or more)
to be sent over just TWO wires without interfering with each other.
Thus, the theory of parallel worlds. In most cases, the authors
use a "parallel" earth idea. An excellent example of this is
explored in Cliford D. Simak's classic story "City". Obviously,
there are several ways to interact with such a world:
1. Friendly contact. The same as with exploring planets within
our own universe. This of course brings up all of the standard
issues of "first contact" and "peaceful co-existence", etc.
2. Exploitation. Having ruined the earth, we then proceed to
populate the alternate earth.
3. Resettlement. This is where one group of people wants to
leave regular Earth behind. Note that this is equivalent
to going to another planet wihtout all of the "distance"
invovled. No telling how you "cross over" from one world to
its parallel.
4. Stepping stones. If our world leads to antother. Then its
possible that it leads to yet another and possibly quite
different alternate world.
5. Multiplicity. Very nice film of the same name, btw. In one of
my short stories (fan fic, based on Douglas Noel Adams' series
"The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy"), a large battle was needed
to be fought, so an army was needed. No army was available; just
one person. But via a "few" parallel worlds, that person joined
the others to forma an army of 10_000 of themself:
"The Night of the 10,000 Trillians". There were of course artist
Trillians (some 50), realtor/sales Trillian's (65 of those),
over 120 Lee's well versed in forms of comabat, martial arts,
and/or other forms of comflict), and so forth. Unfortunately,
as the battle progressed the ONE type of "Trillian" that they
didn't happen to exist was what was needed. Oop, wait a minute who's
that who's just arrived? YOu get the idea. Oddly enough, every
sigle Trillian was gifted in both Astrophysics and Maths -- neither
of which skills were necessary for their "day job".
Alternate Time Streams
Note: For simplification purposes, i have spearated off
the "alternate/parallel" problem into two distinct categories:
Parallel Worlds (previous seciton)
Alternate Time Streams
THese of course can probably be combined in an infinite
number of different ways. This is often explained by the "fact"
that each time we make any decision, a separate thread of time
is created from that moment to create thread dependent upon that
decsion (yes/no, or etc). Multiply this time all of the people,
times all of the decisions. This is explored succinctly in
the short story by Larry Niven, "All the Myriad Ways".
weaving (picking and choosing) from various time streams to create
one new stream. This was explored by Philip K. Dick in his novel
"The Penultimate Truth" as well as Sheckly in his short story ??title??.
In this case, various bit from various time streams can be woven
together to form a single thread of time.
Also, the idea of time streams "passing each other" is another
possibility in which two time streams -- NOT connected briefly
become connected and then pass on; a classic example is in the
TV series "Red Dwarf".
Again, almost all of these possibilities do not necessarily exclude
each other.
x
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Futurist x Artist
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Futurist x Fractalist
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Futurist x Futurist
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Futurist x Humanist
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Futurist x Jazzist
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Futurist x Scientist
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Futurist x Spiritualist
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