Space Time Stories » time travel

Realistic Time Travel

Sean — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 02:23:17 +0000

In the quantum mechanics or statistical mechanics sense a forbidden event is never completely impossible. Rather it is extremely improbable based upon some symmetry, entropy, or energy constraint. I propose that in most situations time travel into the past is extremely improbable.

Theorem: Time travel into the past has an exponentially increasing improbability as changes to the timeline become observable.

Corollary 1: Time travel into the past is allowed if and only if it does not disrupt the timeline.

Corollary 2: The butterfly effect is included in timeline disruptions.

Corollary 3: The butterfly effect does not apply below the level of Heisenberg uncertainty.

Sending a human backwards in time to Earth would create a sudden pressure wave as the air (or water) at that location is displaced. The butterfly effect implies this will always be a forbidden transition.

But a human could be sent to a height where the air pressure is essentially zero then gradually move downward. However it is unlikely that a human could move around and do anything useful without causing sufficient changes to prevent the trip in the first place.

Sending a tiny robot back in time is much more likely to result in no disruptions to the timeline, especially if that robot does little more than float around on air currents and observe.

A time machine will attempt to send a tiny robot back in time hundreds or millions of times per second. Attempt after attempt is rejected by the timeline, but there is a statistical chance of success. After millions or trillions of attempts a delivery vector is found resulting in an identical timeline and the robot is successfully transferred.

Would insertion of a tiny robot into a hurricane result in any changes to the timeline? The minute changes to the air currents at the arrival point could be quickly washed out by the extreme winds in a hurricane. Perhaps the target location with the highest chance of success is the Atlantic ocean during hurricane season.

And how would that robot return to our time? The same way rocks travel forward in time. The robot would find a quiet place and sit there until it is found. It doesn’t even need power for that part of its mission. Success only requires non-volatile memory and perhaps a long lived radioisotope to make it easier to find under the detritus of the centuries.

This might mean that a careful search would reveal some of these robots sitting around important places like Jerusalem or Dealey Plaza. But if we found one and decoded the stored media that would change the timeline and wouldn’t the trip have been forbidden in the first place?

Time Travel Survival Guide

Sean — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:09:44 +0000

Chuck Lasker is writing the “Time Travel Survival Guide” and soliciting contributions.

I’ve decided to deposit a penny in a bank account in the year 1789 and then transfer the gains to his name in 2188. I’ll get started on that in 2019.

An excellent time travel movie: Timecrimes

Sean — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:14:31 +0000

I watched Timecrimes on Netflix streaming video. It was excellent.

It met many of my criteria for a good time travel movie: It had a time machine and they used it several times, there was a time loop and the protagonistic had to work hard to eliminate and prevent any paradoxes.

The middle of the movie was really slow but presented a lot of details which were critical to the ending.

The movie is in Spanish, looks like there will be a new English version in 2011.

Have physicists discovered alien life?

Sean — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:13:28 +0000

Work published in 2008 from Israel claims detection of element #122. If true the implications are stunning. The only possible method of generating element 122 is by artificial nucleosynthesis, a technical feat beyond the capability of modern day humans.

While subsequent study may have disproven the theory this opens up a new method of proving the existence of aliens. Even a single atom of element 122 (or higher) would be an artifact proving the existence of alien life…

Or time travel, it’s always possible that in the future human will make the element and then send back in time either coincidentally or as an actual component of the time machine.

Regular readers of my blog know that I propose there are no aliens anywhere and never have been. So if element 122 is really discovered I claim it’s proof of time travel, not aliens.

Joe Haldeman’s Accidental Time Machine

Sean — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:00:32 +0000

Just finished listening to Joe Haldeman’s “The Accidental Time Machine” from Audible.

As a time travel story it was excellent, there was a time machine, multiple uses of that machine, time travel was a key element of the story, and there was even a time loop. The overall story dragged at many points, especially when he fell into the trap of anti-Christian ranting. Then it rushed far too quickly through the climax.

Why is it that smart scifi writers can’t imagine a world where Christians are heroes and live respectable lives? At least the anti-Christian stuff was relatively tame and the rest of the book was good enough to overcome it. The narrator was well casted, he sounded about 23 and exactly like a physics graduate student.

Six word Scifi stories

Sean — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:14:48 +0000

Six word scifi stories are excellent !

Mine says:

Time machine broken, dinosaurs are drooling !

Jesus in Science Fiction

Sean — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:18:00 +0000

io9 asks “Can Jesus Become Your New SF Hero?”

Readers of this blog already know the answer: YES !

If any of you are allowed to post comments on io9 I would appreciate a plug. io9 will not even respond to my requests to be given permission to add comments.

The io9 post is about a SciFi session at the Independent Christian Film Festival.

Time Travel Websites

Sean — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 01:13:35 +0000

There are a lot of other websites out there which offer a great sample of scifi. The most popular according to Google are SF Site, Scifi.com. An useful one is at www.magicdragon.com with the Ultimate Science Fiction Web Guide. The interesting thing is that this site has not been updated in 4 years yet it’s still #9 on a Google search for “science fiction”.

Gawker Media has the 800 pound gorilla with io9. The sheer quantity of searches and material on this site is overwhelming. Yet I must wonder why they won’t let me post a comment.

For help with writing Science Fiction try Jeffrey Carver at www.starrigger.net or try his blog.

I’m most interested in time travel at sites like crystalinks, or time-travel.com, and there’s even a site for time-travelling investors!

Time Travel – Galilee 4

Sean — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:33:13 +0000

All Chapters in the Galilee Stories

The next morning Frank opened my bandage and studied the cut. Using his goggles to magnify the image he gasped “What are those?” He made a short movie then shot it to my wire. I saw hundreds of nearly invisible dots, moving in and out of the wound.

“How small are they?” I asked.

“About 10 microns in length. They look almost like maggots although they’re way too small.”

“Can you take a sample?”

“Didn’t work. Looks like they evaporate as soon as I remove them.”

“Evaporate”

“They’re just gone, it’s too quick for my camera to resolve.”

“What are they, nanotechnology, bioengineered parasites, alien bugs?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it. My guess is they won’t stick around long enough for you to return home to a real lab. As soon as your wound heals sufficiently they’ll be gone. So did he say anything to you? This guy isn’t just a rabbi doctor.”

I was torn. The memories were a little blurred almost as if I had been drugged. “Well he did speak English to me.”

Frank said nothing, he just stared.

I continued “I know it sounds crazy but I’m sure it happened. He speaks fluent English.”

Frank shook his head. “No Jim he didn’t. Get that hallucination out of your head. You must have been dreaming. That’s a deep cut, you were bleeding to death, in shock, your mind was making it up.”

“So you can explain these parasites?”

“What are you saying, that Jesus is a time traveller?”

“Perhaps he’s something else, perhaps he really is…”

“What, God ? Oh please, give me a break. If he’s God then why does he need tiny bugs to cure your cut? Can’t he just snap his fingers and heal you instantly?”

I waived my hands, dismissing the conversation. After a few hours I was able to walk, that evening the cut seemed to be healed. There was no sign of infection, and as Frank had predicted there was no sign of the bugs. We stayed one more night then left. With my wound healed our mission was unchanged. We had to visit the Temple Mount, lay down a spread of the locusts, then go home.

The walk from Caphernaum to Jerusalem would take 3 days. We stayed away from other people and saw no sign of bandits or Roman soldiers. We had too much time to talk and debate. Late on the second day I noticed Frank was slumping. I was tired too but he seemed ill. I put my hand on his shoulder and asked “You OK?”

He turned towards me with a look of sheer rage and began shouting in a garbled tongue I had never heard. He moved towards me as if to attack and I pulled back staying 5-10 meters away.

“Frank what is wrong?” I shouted. Again his reply was garbled. I pulled my wire and tried to get a translation. The analysis said “ancient variant of Sumerian, no translation available”.

Suddenly he switched to Aramaic, shouting “We will kill you, we will kill you all.” He picked up a sharp rock and he moved towards me this time breaking into a run.

I ran away and realized my leg was not even throbbing. Frank had not been chosen for this assignment based upon his athletic ability so I was able to pull away from him. When I was about 100 meters ahead of him I noticed a small village ahead. Frank was running directly towards it and I felt I needed to warn the villagers. As I neared the village I noticed about 20 people sitting down near the well. One man was standing speaking to them. I began yelling “Watch out, he’s going to hurt someone.”

About 10 meters away from the crowd I stopped. I was close enough to recognize the man standing. It was Jesus. I screamed “He’s gone insane, he’s going to hurt you.”

Jesus began walking towards me. His calm Aramaic tone was soothing, “Do not be afraid. He cannot hurt you.” He got between us and Frank ran to him screaming again in some mangled language. Jesus held out his hand and said “Stop.” Frank halted but continued his rant. Again Jesus said “Stop.”

Frank calmed for a few seconds then raised his rock in a vicious stance. He screamed in Aramaic “You cannot save these insects. We will kill them all. I know who you are Jesus of Nazareth. I know where you come from.”

Jesus yelled sharply “Silence.” Frank hesitated but did not lower his weapon. They stood there at odds for minutes eyes locked, feet apart, ready for battle.

The sun was setting on a cloudy day and darkness rushed upon us. I realized there was a faint blue glow in the space between them. My eyes widened and I rubbed them. “What?” I muttered as the haze did not disappear. Frank dropped his rock, slowly cupped his hands and appeared to be kneading something.

Jesus rolled his eyes upwards and the electric blue haze began to pulse around him. Frank opened his hands with palms pointed at Jesus. A faint yellow gush suddenly shot from Frank’s hands crashing against Jesus who stood motionless. The rest of us however were blown off our feet as if by a violent wind. Dates fell from the trees and dust rose from the ground clouding our view.

Jesus raised his palm and yelled “Enough.” Frank was blown backwards 5 meters. He crashed and rolled to the ground. Jesus ran to him and held him down with one hand, he raised the other hand in the air and then chopped sharply at Frank’s chest.

The most terrible scream I could imagine came from Frank’s mouth but then came from a point above him and rose into the air. The noise was like a thousand brutally tortured men. I looked up and again saw some type of blue haze accelerating towards the sky. The scream intensified for a few seconds. I covered my ears and dropped to the ground in pain. The sound faded to a loud roar and I watched the sky as the scream flew to the heavens.

I looked down at Frank who was unconscious, then up at Jesus who said to me in English “Go home, now, tonight.” It was not a request.

Time Travel – Galilee 3

Sean — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:55:52 +0000

All chapters in the Galilee Stories

As I walked out from town a few days later I smiled. It amazed me that such a simple person could become the most important leader in human history. We had only spoken for a few hours but I felt that I had seen into his heart. He had radiated simplicity and caring. Our discussions of resurrection and salvation had rekindled a faith which I thought would never return.

My path now lay towards Jerusalem. We had identified this as the riskiest part of the assignment. Powerful forces focused on the Temple Mount and that was my final destination. I needed to leave behind a few bugs to capture some of the most important events in history.

As I meandered down the road my daydreaming distracted me to the point where a passing gang of bandits caught me by surprise. I fought them off but not before one of them had given me a deep knife wound. Even before the blood started gushing I knew I was in trouble. Before blacking out I was able to swallow a nanoprobe, a coagulant, and send a distress signal.

I woke up back in Yeshua’s house. One of his friends had found me on the road and dragged me back to town. I looked into his eyes and saw the fear. He knew I might die. He spoke in whispered tones “You must try to survive the night. The Healer is coming tomorrow, if you still live he will heal you.”

The drugs and pain were clouding my mind or else I might have realized why this was confusing. I survived the night and saw a note on my wire that help would arrive in a few more hours. I sat quietly, conserving my strength. Something was bothering me and after a while I realized that Yeshua was supposed to be a healer, why did he need someone else’s help? Who was “the healer”?

I heard the commotion outside the window. Shouting and cheering, a few women sobbed with joy as the noisy crowd drew closer. I wanted to stand, peek out the window to watch, but soon I did not need to. The Healer entered my room.

Instantly I felt a wave of joy and calm. I looked into his eyes and nearly cried. A feeling of electricity passed between us. He opened the dressing on my wounds, closed his eyes, then sent everyone away to search for some medicinal native plants. There was now no doubt in my mind, Yeshua was just a rabbi, a wonderful and prayerful man. It was the Healer who had been eluding me these past few weeks. Somehow I had not asked the right questions, I had forgotten about the miracles, focusing on the theology. But my revelation paled to what happened next.

As soon as everyone had left the house The Healer turned to me and in perfect English said “You should not be here.”

Thinking I was hallucinating I said in Aramaic “I don’t understand.”

Again he spoke in English “Of course you understand. You must leave, you must return home. There are forces here beyond your comprehension. This world stands on a precipice, your interference could destroy it.”

“What are you saying, how can you speak English?”

“I am the Incarnate Word, I can speak all languages.”

“What, what are you? This is impossible.”

At the sound of footsteps outside he switched to Aramaic. “Your wound is deep but you will not die. It will be a few more days before you can walk from here. Then you must go home.” His eyes made it clear this was an order.

As he stood to leave I begged “Please, may I speak with him alone?” The women immediately understood and left. The men had to be asked again, but finally they did leave.

Returning to English I asked “What forces are you talking about? What is going on?”

He replied “You have the scriptures, you need nothing more. The forces of darkness led by the Fallen Angel wage war against this planet. Only through me can humanity survive and live forever.”

“But those are just myths, they aren’t real.”

“Of course they are real.”

“So where are the forces of darkness in my time, nobody on Earth is possessed, or attacked by demons in the 22nd century.”

“Nobody on Earth”, he said.

“You mean Satan wages war in outer space? Against whom?”

“Your world need not be concerned with this. You are safe for awhile longer, until they return. My death will drive them from this planet.”

“This is a fantasy, where is the proof?”

“I’m speaking English, a language which will not exist for another 1000 years. I know you were born in Albequerque, New Mexico. What other proof do you want?”

I hung my head in fear. None of my training, none of our contingency plans had allowed that core Christian teachings about Jesus might actually be true. I had never wanted to argue with him, never have substantive conversations. I just wanted to say hello, set loose the bugs, and go home to watch the video we would dig up 2100 years later.

I felt his hand on my shoulder. “James, great things are in store for you back home. Go there, stay there. A year from now you will have a son. Teach him about me. Prepare him for hardship, for everyone in his generation will suffer greatly.”

I showed him the locusts. “Will you allow me to complete my mission?”

He smiled and said “Yes, but I’ll have to make sure my cousin John doesn’t see them. He says they taste great with honey.”

I couldn’t help the laughter, it poured out of me. My wound was throbbing, my entire worldview was collapsing, but here I was laughing hysterically at a joke told by Christ himself.

That afternoon my relief arrived. Frank was surprise to see me healthy. “After that emergency call we didn’t expect to find you alive.” I briefly explained that Jesus himself had healed me. But I kept most of the encounter private. I wasn’t sure if he or anyone else would believe me.

The next day Jesus left the village. He was trailed by a small army of followers. I was strong enough to stand and wave. I have no doubts he saw me.

Space Time Stories » time travel

Realistic Time Travel

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