h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

1) As a fellow author, I applaud your brilliant plot lines.
2) However, actual time travel works under set rules. Ultimate destruction of the universe is always possible, just not probable.
3) The postulates of temporal travel, while somewhat unstable, clearly state that history can be changed. It may change what you know about the present, but history can (and will) change. Sure, paradoxes may happen, but history will change.
4) Sorry about my criticism. I'm just a very mean person. Sorry.
5) I'm working on fixing rule #4.

about #3... er, no. that's not true. at least, in my experience, it can't be true. History can't be changed. I'm not really sure how exactly to explain it, it takes some geometrical analogies and such theoretical stuff that my brain is not able to deal with at this semi-late hour.

You don't seem like a very mean person... but I hope to never have that view of you.

Hey, thanks for being optimistic! Well, history can change. Very few know exactly what happens then, but this is what I've discovered:

Postulate #1-some extremely powerful naturally occuring temporal phenomena create a 'protective temporal bubble' around the temporal travelers. Thus, no matter how history is changed, they are not changed, and there memories are not changed.

Postulate #2-When using a TRC device, the changes of history will affect the traveler, but only after they have travelled forward in time to the point at which they originally went back.

Postulate #3-When using a TAM device, any change in history will instantly change the time traveler, and the memories of the time travler.

However, I don't recommend testing these things. Overlapping black holes can be bad. Plus, well, you know, the Universe, and I don't want to be responsible.

I have to agree with all three postulates you put forth here. There is a possibility that one three, all or none of them are right. But... I heard it stated this way on some other forum...

Ok. Let's say you go back in time to the 30's when Hitler was beginning to get into power so you can kill him and never have World War Two happen. Let's say you do succeed, and come back to the present. One of two things happens: 1, the world is nothing like what it was before-- is it possible the balance of power would be the same? 2, you never left. This last one seems more likely, because, if you killed Hitler, then you would have no reason to go back in the first place.

Now, the problem (and the paradox): do number 2, and you obviously never had any reason to leave your time. Therefore, Hitler was never killed and you... went... back? Yeah, that's the problem. Um, yeah. This leads me (not everyone) to believe that history cannot be changed. It seems to me to be more likely that one could cause a piece of history to happen, but not change it. But that's predestination and a lot of people don't like that idea.

But I don't reccomend trying to test any of my theories any more than yours... Time and the Universe are very finicky things, and I wouldn't reccomend tampering with either. Now time traveling to the future... that's another story. and I'm not sure if that's possible either. (I think I need to change some of my rules now, don't I?)

Well, that all depends. Travelling to the future would be more likely, but when you go to the present (in the past) you cause the difficulty in changing history. Here, this is not as serious, but if you manage to cause another temporal paradox, no one will really ever notice until you get to the point of history at which you first arrived. For instance, when travelling to the future, are you there? In the past you left, so it is possible that history recorded you as being gone. However, you plan on going back anyway, and you would think that time could figure it out.

Anyway, I think that you won't have to change your rules very much, as long as you just add this footnote:
"These rules are subject to change at any time, place, or temperature, without your notice or consent. Please, use temporal mechanics responsively.*

As long as you add that, then it doesn't matter which rules/postulates/axioms/theorems you believe.

Interesting point you made about travelling to the future. If you consider that all of Time is happening simultaneously to someone outside the fourth dimension (our fourth dimension, that is), then everything is past, present and future. Then, time, as you put it, would figure it out. Ever read the book "Dragonflight" by Anne McCaffrey? That has a very good application of what you described as it's main plot problem.

I like that phrase... As soon as I get a few free moments to goof around (ie, not answer forums), I will have to add that. It *is* a very nice way of getting around all the sticky situations.

Anyhoo... All for now.

My theory is that if you went back to kill Hitler, you would find it impossible, for example you tried to shoot him and you missed, or you never managed to get near him. This has already been done in history but "not quite managing to kill Hitler" is a minor role in history, and you wouldn't be remembered for it.

Seeing as we can't really go back in time, it's near impossible to tell how altering the past would work. For those of you familiar with Schroedinger's Cat, you should know that the very act of observing changes that which you are observing. So, by travelling to the past, you would change the future (by which I mean, your present), unless, of course, you were there anyway and history hadn't recorded it in any books, so if you stay out of history's way, you can easily say that history didn't change, even if you altered it.

Did I say that? I think so...

or maybe I just thought it and it didn't quite make it into the forum. I dunno....

If you give that description of Schrodingers (yes, that's not how you spell it) cat, it sounds like you can alter the future to be the way you want it. I know of a way that is supposed to work, but it hasn't worked for me yet. Anyone like to know any more?

You can alter the future. The only problem is, you can't always know how you change future until the future is the present. Had you not made that last post, I doubt my current post would be written like this.

Some people believe that you can, I'm still not sure...