Pretend time travel is possible. Would you travel backwards or forwards? Would you try to change anything? Do you think changing the past could somehow mess up the future? In my books, Travelers and Settlers, the characters do time travel and they ask similar questions.
Why do people like the concept of time travel? I have many reasons why I like the idea. One of those is my desire to see history in person. Reading about the past isn’t the same as experiencing it. The only problem is I would be tempted to change the wrongs that have occurred. There’s a TV show called Timeless I enjoy. The “heroes” are chasing a man who wants to destroy those responsible for the death of his family. In the process he changes history. The protagonists occasionally return to the present to discover something is different like one of their sisters no longer exists. Moving forward or backwards isn’t a new concept. There are ancient myths and older books written about it: Memoirs of the Twentieth Century (1733), Rip Van Winkle (1819), Christmas Carol (1843), Looking Backward (1888), When the Sleeper Awakes (1899), Time Machine (1895). This isn’t even the complete list written on the topic, because so many people are fascinated by the notion of seeing the past or the future. Newer stories have been written on this. Ever heard of Back to the Future or The Time Traveler's Wife? Even the creators of Star Trek based the newest movies on the plot twist that their ship ended up in an alternate destiny. Now Kirk and Spock are trekking a new path with unwritten stories left to be told. There are complicated theories and philosophies out there about time travel and its possibilities. If you have the ability or desire to understand concepts like Quantum physics, then I suggest this blog will be beneath your intelligence. About 95% of my writing is to entertain and 5% is to inform. I also throw in some ethics and encouragement, but entertainment is the main ingredient in my books. When I was a teacher, I tried to make learning fun. I can’t totally leave out any lessons, but I mask them in fantasy and sci-fi to make them seem more like a movie than school. Here are a few things to mull over: If you could travel anywhere where would you go and what era would you visit? Would you be tempted to see your own future or change something you messed up in the past? Do you think the past can be fixed with a time travel device? I think the paths we have already traversed with their rough spots, heartaches, joys and the in-betweens were meant to make us who we are now. Even though it may be tempting to repair the past, I don’t believe time travel would make our lives better. Good or bad many of the outcomes are about your perspective more than the actual event. Is your life about the destination or the journey?
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December 2023
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