Although I would like to travel through time, the theories of what could or could not happen when you return are endless. Time paradoxes here and there shouldn't do much. Right?The concept of time travel is not new. Theorists have played with the concept for centuries, but none have ever truly been known for actually traveling through time. That's where fiction comes in.
A good TV example I can think of is of the original series of Star Trek, where a few episodes depict Captain Kirk and Spock in an alternate time line. Their persona is different and nothing like the one we know. Ever since, time travel has become regular in the Star Trek universe.
Perhaps the wildest imagination I've seen devoted to alternate history is writer Harry Turtledove, whose works have made me a theorist of the implications of time travel. He has a multitude of series devoted entirely to "what if?" scenarios in which the timeline is dramatically changed because of one factor. I will briefly tell you about one of Turtledove's series: Timeline 191.
Timeline 191 is a fifteen novel series which follows the United States from the Civil War to the end of World War Two. There's only one catch: the southern Confederate States of America (CSA) gains independence at the end of the civil war. This timeline is interesting as it is agonizingly complex; some events are just impossible to imagine as feasible.
To give a quick summary of major deviations: The CSA is never dissolved. Lincoln never signs the Emanipation Proclamation. In WW1, US president Theodore Roosevelt joins the Central Powers against Woodrow Wilson of the CSA. In WW2, Allied powers of the US, Germany, Canada, fight against the Axis powers of the CSA, France, Britain, and Russia. At the series conclusion, the CSA loses and is absorbed into the Union, ending their 83 years of independence. Confused yet?
One last example I'd love to mention is the video game Metal Gear Solid 3, which is a prequel to the entire series. I decided to see what would happen if I killed off one of the vital characters of the series:
Maybe one day I'll create a time machine to change humanity. Or something like that.
Wanna talk about a time paradox? How 'bout THIS:
ReplyDeleteWe only experience time in a linear way because we're wired to perceive it as such, as we've wired our civilization up to operate on "clocks." But that's not really TIME when you stop and think about it. So what IS time then, and what would it mean to travel through it?
There. That oughta keep you busy and off the streets for a while. ;^)