02-01-2001 08:36 AM

Unfortunately, winners of historical sports betting events are not high on the priority list of people in 2036. As a thought experiment, if I did tell you who the winning horse was and you killed it before the final race, would that make me a liar or would it support my statement that our worldlines are about 2% different? Do you know who won that race 30 years ago?

02-01-2001 11:28 AM

If you could change one thing about your government right now, what would it be?
The United States is still a representative republic in 2036 but it was touch and go for a while. After the war, the U.S. had divided into 5 general areas based on their economic and defensive strengths. Many people blamed the government organization for the war and the last Constitutional Congress was held in 2020 to officially scrap the Constitution and start over. Fortunately, this exercise in anger pointed out how hard it was to come up with anything better. It was decided the document wasn't at fault. As a result, there have been a few small changes to the Constitution and the executive branch but you would easily recognize it. The average citizen is more educated about the Constitution and aware of the rights and responsibilities it gives them. Federal power has been decentralized and the focus of daily politics is in the state senates. Federal law has also been streamlined but much harder to change or make additions to.

The people who sign my paycheck told me why we needed a 5100 and sent me off to get one. I was not in a position to make alternate suggestions. As I recall, isn't the Cray a rather large system? We need something portable. The 5100 isn't required for its reliability, its needed to translate between APL, UNIX and a few obscure IBM mainframe languages.

The fishing is great and you're more than welcome to join us but the "me" here is only three. I'll have to tell him your coming.

02-02-2001

Yes, I age and my hair and nails grow at normal rates. Please keep in mind that gravity distortion does involve some dilation effects but "jumping" between worldlines are time-like trips, not space-like trips.

The air is about the same although I do smell and taste industrial odors here my parents cannot. The food in the future is grown and raised naturally inside the community structure. This is done primarily for safety reasons. I am amazed at the risks people here are willing to take with processed food. All of the food I eat here is grown and prepared by my family or myself.

Unfortunately, I do not know if we are acquainted on my worldline. Yes, love is a challenge. What's harder is knowing you could go back and correct a mistake but at the cost of the "you" on that worldline.

The questions about the president and space travel are reasonable but now we come to a conflict between physics and ethics. First, the ethics:

I have seen a television program about a man who is able to speak with the dead. When I watch the show, I am more afraid about the possibility that what he is doing is real not weather or not he is doing it. Since I will be leaving this worldline in the coming year, I could easily tell you that the President lives or dies in the next four years. In fact, I could probably find some way to even charge you for it.

When the day comes for my "prediction" to be realized it will either happen or not. If it does happen, then your ability to judge your environment is crippled by your acceptance of me as a "knower of all things" and gifted with the ability to tell the future. If I am wrong, then everything I have said that might possibly have made you think about your world in a different way is suddenly discredited. I do not want either.

Although I do have personal reasons for being here and speaking with you, the most I could hope for is that you recognize the possibility of time travel as a reality. You are able to change your worldline for better or worse just as I am. Although this will make me a far less interesting time traveler, these are the rules I personally try to hold to:

1. I will not disclose any information that will cause someone to personally gain by its knowledge. This means no stock or sports tips.

2. I will not disclose any detailed information that would allow someone to avoid death by probability. This means no earthquake or bomb information.

3. I will not disclose any information that may compromise any future actions by individual people or threaten their family and well-being. I will not disclose names or events associated with individuals.

Now for the physics: The grandfather paradox is impossible. In fact, all paradox is impossible. The Everett-Wheeler-Graham or multiple world theory is correct. All possible quantum states, events, possibilities and outcomes are real, eventual and occurring. The chances of everything happening someplace at sometime in the superverse is 100%. (For all you scientists out there, if Schrödinger's cat had a time machine, he might not be in the box at all.)

Therefore, there is a worldline where you are alive and another where you have gone back in time to kill your relative.

Differences between worldlines are measured from the perspective of the time traveler in terms of divergence percentage. The higher the divergence, the more "un-like" your destination worldline looks like compared to your worldline of origin.

Therefore, any "prediction" I might make has a slight chance of being incorrect anyway and you now have the ability to act on it based on what I've said. Can you stop the war before it gets here? Sure. Will you do it? Probably not.

As far as space travel goes, no, we are not on Mars yet but we're trying very hard so we can avoid another "Hell's Kitchen" outcome from an overpopulated Earth

02-02-2001 10:09 AM

Perhaps it would be better if you just considered me a fraud. I really don't have a problem with that. If that were the case, could we then have discussions that you were comfortable with?

If I knew someone was going to die, and there was a chance I could stop it, I have a moral obligation to do something about it.

I can think of a couple of examples.

If the Egyptians knew the Red Sea was going to drown them, do you think they would have pursued Moses?

If you could go back in time to 1941 and tell the radar operators to take a second look at the radar screen on December 7th, would you? Before you say yes and accept that parade in your honor down Main Street, perhaps you should go forward in time and see if the U.S still had the motivation to make the A-bomb before Hitler did.

02-02-2001 10:53 AM

I fail to understand why my words generate so much conflict. I think it's far better for you to consider what I say as fantasy so there is no question of credibility. How is my credibility going to affect your life? I don't want you to believe me and it doesn't affect me in the least if you did.

I don't know any other way to tell you that I am unaware of what happens in the next week, especially in Hollywood. Just curious, that's a common question, why do you think I would know something about that?

Yes, it's very possible that what I say would spin your future off into a different direction. But since what I say is "bogus" that shouldn't be a problem.

On a philosophical level, the existence of multiple worlds implies a moral balance in the superverse. For every worldline you perform a good action, there is a worldline where you perform a bad action. There are no good and bad people, just good and bad decisions. We can only be responsible for what we do as individuals on the worldline we are on now.

So take heart! Somewhere out there is a worldline where I'm spilling all the beans on Hockey, the stock market and Hollywood and you're all off to Vegas and Wall Street making millions of dollars.

I do very much enjoy these conversations and I'm working on the other questions.

02-02-2001 11:41 AM

As far as the war goes, my best advice is to find at least 5 people within 100 miles of you that you trust with your life.

No, I haven't met any other time travelers here and although from my perspective that's highly unlikely, it's not impossible. No, I don't have any additional information concerning crop circles, ETs or UFOs. I find those subjects rather interesting myself and it's one of the reasons I was drawn to this web site.

Can you give us some personal stories of your past?
I was born in 1998 so I do share some childhood memories with all of you. I remember going to Disney World at Christmas and I remember going to the beach in Daytona. When the civil "conflict" started and got worse, people generally decided to either stay in the cities and lose most of their civil rights under the guise of security or leave the cities for more isolated and rural areas. Our home was searched once and the neighbor across the street was arrested for some unknown reason. That convinced my father to leave the city.

From the age of 8 to 12, we lived away from the cities and spent most of our time in a farm community with other families avoiding conflict with the federal police and National Guard. By that time, it was pretty clear that we were not going back to what we had and the division between the "cities" and the "country" was well defined. My father made a living by putting together 12-volt electrical systems and sailing "commodities" up and down the coast of Florida. I spent most of my time helping him.

Outright open fighting was common by then and I joined a shotgun infantry unit in 2011. I served with the "Fighting Diamondbacks" for about 4 years. (Hearing in my right ear isn't as good as I would like it). The civil war ended in 2015 when Russia attacked the U.S. cities (our enemy), China and Europe. As unusual and bad as my childhood might seem, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Africa is not a pleasant place to be in 2036 although I would characterize it as recovering.

The music you enjoy now is quite popular and available it's just not produced in anywhere near the same amount. There is a revival of "local" and classical music. Many people have learned to play their own. I personally enjoy Big Band, some Classical and interesting lyrical pieces from the 1970s and 1980s.

If time travel is possible, what does that do to the religious? If I exist on many time lines, which one is really me?
This is an excellent question that causes a great deal of controversy. Since every possible outcome, event and possibility is happening and will happen, then all good and all evil balances out in the superverse.

After the reality of multiple worlds sank into our collective thought, the one basic change to all religious dogma is the concept that good and evil does not exist as an organized force in our lives nor can it be used as a useful way to judge what God may think of a situation.

Good and evil are personal experiences that can only guide what we do as individuals and how we relate to others. This outlook also makes it impossible for me to judge any other person or event. We cannot see the entire universe as God sees it therefore we will never be Gods or be capable of judging anything outside of ourselves. My actions can only be judged as good and bad by me and my God.

There is also an area of thought that maintains all of the "yous" out there will make up the "you" that eventually returns to God. In that manner, it is frustrating to know that you are capable of and acting on all of the thoughts and ideas you have regardless of what the "you" here is doing. How good or evil do you think you can be?

There is even an idea (supported in physics apparently but I have a hard time with this one) that there is some sort of communication going on between all of the "yous" that are out there. Some people think that memories, intuition and conscious are actually attempts by one version of "you" to talk to another.

Yes, we still have football and you will easily recognize it in 2036.

I am posting here because I enjoy talking with people without having to hide who I am, it's safe for me and my family and I can gather historical information from you and the web.

Yes, I have superiors. However, from their perspective, I will only have been gone a split second. The only real risk I am taking is spending too long outside my main line and risking a probability error (dying, accident, etc.). Based on the physics of gravity displacement, I can't leave when I ever I want anyway and I do have some leeway into how I conduct my mission.

It is impossible for me to change any worldline that I am not on. Nothing I do here will affect my home. The "60 year flux" is a limitation of my machine, not of physics. Jet planes can't fly into space, my machine is not reliable past a 60 + year destination.

You've been to Cedar Key? You must be aware I don't know any personal information about you. If I was going to guess, I would say it's important to avoid the rattlesnake or you might be "walking" back to shore. You may be happy to know that although the bridge is gone, Cedar Key is still there.

The computer is from 1975, Rochester MN.

Yes, the Pearl Harbor example relates to Y2K. Have you considered that I might already have accidentally screwed up your worldline?

Potential Hazard of being a Time Traveler --- Always putting things off until you can "get back" to doing them.

What's even worse is having the ability to go back and help the "you" there and you won't listen to yourself.

02-05-2001 11:28 AM

Yes, there is a log and my report and debriefing will agree with it. I have no reason to lie about where I am and why I'm here.

There are no crimes against time. However, if I were to go on some sort of a murder spree and I admitted it when I returned, then I would be held responsible for the crime of murder.

I am no more able to affect your worldline than you are. Yes, I could make the changes you suggested but you must remember that there are an infinite number of worldlines out there where I didn't and I don't. In fact, there's even a worldline out there where you're the time traveler and I'm the one writing the question.

I think the war would be good for you and your society. I don't want to stop it.

Nothing I do here will affect any other worldline. "My" original worldline will always be the same and yes I can make changes here that would make this worldline different from mine but so can you.

02-05-2001 02:09 PM

ATTENTION! The following is a secret message for all mindless robot slaves controlled by time travelers. If you are unable to read this, please disregard it. This is an emergency, can someone do me a favor and look up everything they can find on Maxwell's equations, relativity and the formulas for volts and amps. I left all my physics books back in the time machine. Remember, just because I control your mind doesn't mean I think you're an idiot. MESSAGE OVER.

Yes, there are significant advances in computer science. It's interesting how easy it is to be fixated on the "machine" itself without any curiosity about many of the support systems. This is not really big news but if / then is out and if /then /maybe is in.

Yes I am with the "me" on this worldline and he is three now. I find that fact to be rather hard for people to get along with so I don't bring it up directly. This is the second time I have "met myself".

The "machine" is owned by the military. I am part of a unit stationed in Tampa Florida. The real energy is in creating the machine, not operating it. It's interesting you should bring up the divergence percentage. You may find it entertainingly interesting to know that the divergence can be more accurate with more sensitive gravity sensors and clocks. The C206 uses 6 Cesium clocks and an active method of timing the changes in the atom.

02-06-2001 06:35 AM

We time travel to solve problems. A great deal of effort is going into repairing the environment and infrastructure.

I think there is only one God. I also think that our soul may be a combination of all the collective thoughts and actions of the infinite "yous". If that is true, it becomes very difficult to define death until all worldlines come to an end.

(1) Who wins the (sporting event) for the next 20 years?
I don't know. Even if I did, you could stop the horse(s)anyway and make it untrue.

(2) Who will be elected president for the next 20 years?
Please see number 2.

(3) Will there still be (popular motorcycle) around when you are born?
I was born in 1998.

(4) Please tell me the price of gold for the last 20 years.
I don't understand the importance of this type of information. Please tell me your opinion why this is interesting and worth remembering for 30 years.

(5) Will it still be lawful for me to own handguns?
I thought owning a handgun was legal in the United States? Yes, being familiar with firearms (along with the other responsibilities of the Constitution) becomes an important part of people's lives in thirty years.

(6) Is it possible for you to bump into yourself when you are time traveling?

Yes that is possible and there are no limitations on interacting with them. I find it interesting that there is some sort of collective negativity with the idea of doing that. Could it be that we are not really that comfortable with ourselves and therefore we cannot imagine meeting, liking or helping another one of us on another worldline?

(7) Can I go with you on your journeys through time? Anybody else want to go?

I could probably manage three people with me. However, I would have to dump a great deal of archival material to get you in. I'm not sure you would like 2036 very much.

02-06-2001 08:33 AM

Russia and China have always had a very strange relationship. Even the news I see now indicates that continued weapons deals to allies, border clashes and overpopulation will lead to hostilities. The West will become very unstable which gives China the confidence to "expand". I'm assuming you are all aware that China has millions of male soldiers right now that they know will never be able to find wives. The attack on Europe is in response to a unified European army that masses and moves East from Germany. Also, please be aware that from my viewpoint, Russia attacked my enemy who was in the U.S. cities. Yes, the U.S. did counter attack.

Based on what I know about the 5100 (IBM computer), it has a few very interesting and worthwhile properties that make it worthwhile for a time traveler to recover. Also, please keep in mind that civilization is recovering from a war. Yes, we do have the technology but many of the tools were lost.

As you are probably aware, UNIX will have a timeout error in 2038 and many of the mainframe systems that ran a large part of the infrastructure were based on very old IBM computer code. The 5100 has the ability to easily translate between the old IBM code, APL, BASIC and (with a few tweaks in 1975) UNIX. This may seem insignificant but the fact that the 5100 is portable means I can easily take it back to 2036. I do expect they will create some sort of emulation system to use in multiple locations.

When I arrived, I approached my father and was easily able to prove to him who I was. I am currently with my parents and the "me" who is three. They are very aware of what I am doing, why I am here and when I will be leaving. It may interest you to know that my father still does not truly believe the machine works even after touching and seeing it. Yes, education is still taught in a classroom but the entire focus and system looks nothing like what you have now. Don't worry, you won't miss it.

I still don't buy your story.

I understand your viewpoint and I respect it. However, I am confused by a twist in the way the language is used. Another fellow who posted earlier was a bit upset over what I was saying because he thought I was soon going to ask for money by selling something. Since I don't have anything to sell I am curious why, "I…don't buy your story", is the natural way to say what you did. I am aware that it's off the cuff to say but wouldn't it be better to say I don't believe your story? Why is the other way so common?

02-08-2001 09:40

I would characterize world politics as two boxers who have just gone multiple rounds and they're both pretty beat up. I'm sure someone out there wants to kill us but no one is very organized yet. There is a great deal of fear over rogue groups coming across un-launched missile systems, 55-gallon drums of Anthrax or portable nuclear weapons.

Korea United?
I guess you could say that. Taiwan, Japan and Korea were all "forcefully annexed" before N Day.

I don't remember a great deal about media coverage during the civil conflicts. I would probably characterize it the same way you see coverage of Waco, Ruby Ridge and Elian Gonzalez.

From my viewpoint, yes, this is an alternate timeline. From your viewpoint, no.

I have thought again about how to revel information that would make me more believable but I always come across the following problems:

1. All of you become much less interesting as sheep. I can't talk to you if you're not skeptical.

2. Anything I say could be acted on beforehand and changed anyway.

3. All the really interesting information is months or years away and I'd be gone when it happens.

4. I find it morally wrong to assist someone with anything where they might gain and someone else would lose or die.

5. There's a slim chance your worldline is just different enough my "prediction" won't happen.

6. I simply don't know.

Consider that you are a time traveler who goes back in time to the first week of February 1970 and you are confronted with the same problem. What do you remember right now about the second week of February 1970?

Naturally, the conflict in Vietnam and the Middle East come up but as someone has already stated here, "that's old news". I suppose I could predict the failure of Apollo 13 spacecraft but since time travel is ridiculous, I would be blamed for sabotage. I might even decide to tell you about an earthquake in Peru but then people that would have died by chance will now live and vice versa.

All I can think of is to make something up. So here goes: The space shuttle mission may or may not have a problem connecting the new lab to the space station.

How was that?

02-08-2001 01:18 PM

I enjoy the conversation and I will respond.

The "pattern" of exchange in the war will not be a surprise. Many people will perish as a result of starvation and disease. I would also submit that you already know if you're safe or not. The trick is to not turn off your fear when you'll need it the most.

Australia is sort of interesting in what is unknown. After the war, they were not very cooperative or friendly (can't blame them really). It is known they did repulse a Chinese invasion and most of their cities were hit. They have a trading relationship with the U.S. but I would characterize them as reclusive and ticked off.

When people use phrases like "See what I mean", "You're not hearing what I'm saying" or "Something smells fishy", they are indicating the primary sense they use to process information about a situation. I find it interesting that my credibility and the phrases that describe it hinge on economic terms and whether or not I have something to sell. I don't. I also don't know how to clarify my position any better so I would suggest that if what I say angers you, it might be best to just consider it fiction. Soon you'll get bored and I will leave in a few months. Either way, it won't be an issue.

The "enemy" that was attacked by Russia in the U.S. was the forces of the government you live under right now.

I think you are just some guy who likes to mislead people.

I do not seek followers to mislead. I seek safety, animosity (did he mean anonymity) and good conversation.

(2). To me it would seem obvious that we both have a very different perspective on what's important right now in 2001. I would think that's what makes our interaction interesting. Would I be anymore believable if I told you I had just stopped a horrible event and you won't hear about it because it didn't happen? Again, this is the second time it has come up and I am very curious. Why would you expect a time traveler to know or care about what happens in Hollywood or some individual companies profits? You seem to think I have tomorrow's paper in front of me. Is that what time travel means to you?

(3) I never said I was a scientist. If this is about economics somehow and you hope to "buy" my story, then what do I gain by "selling" it?

(5) You already know that cars are dangerous and planes crash. I'm very confident you are capable of killing yourselves without my intervention. Actually, my moral obligation has nothing to do with you, it's between me and God.

Deception? Exactly what standard do you use to measure the truth around you? I have seen other threads with amazing and potentially real experiences on them. Why am I more threatening?

I have no memory of meeting an older me as a three year old. The events between worldlines are isolated and nothing I do here will affect my worldline. Yes, my parents are alive in 2036 but they have no experience with a time traveling "me" in their 2001 either.

02-08-2001 06:59 PM

For all of you interested in coming back with me to 2036, perhaps we should discuss the trip. Please be aware, the displacement unit moves through time, not space. First, we will be driving the current vehicle (Chevy truck) with the displacement unit in it to Tampa Florida. From there, we will go back to my arrival date on this worldline. Then we will have to drive to Minnesota, sell the current vehicle and get another one that would have been around in 1975.

We will then move the displacement unit (500 lbs or so) into the new vehicle and go back to 1975. Once in 1975, we'll drive back to Tampa and make the final hop to 2036. If you'd like to stay in 1975, you're welcome to do that. It can also get quite hot and stuffy during the trip and you'll be subjected to a 1.5 to 2 G force the entire time. You'll also need some sort of a re-breather system or oxygen supply.

I have found that many misunderstandings and arguments are based on the differences in understanding over a single word. Two different cultures can have a drastic impact on the meaning of words like "proof", "trust" and "credibility". My frustration is in understanding the use of the words. I am trying to follow the logic of all of the comments.

After reading the questions, I want to paint a picture that may help with the general theme of our collective experience in 2036. The war had very profound affects on people and how they relate to each other. As individuals, almost everyone in 2036 is very familiar with death. We all have stories of loved ones that have died from disease, war or acts of inhumanity. Most of us have even taken part in dishing the same thing out to the other side. As a result, we have become far more compassionate to the ones we love but mush less forgiving to those who don't pull their weight. We are more accepting of other's differences in our community because we depend on them to survive. We are also more conservative with our resources and closer to God because for a period, life on Earth was Hell.

The other major difference is in the concept of good and evil. With multiple worlds come multiple decisions and outcomes. For every good act, there is an equal and possible bad act on another worldline. Taken to the extreme, this must mean that in God's eyes, there is no total good and total bad in the superverse. It balances itself out to infinity. I believe we are judged on the decisions we make as individuals and the good/evil I see on my worldline is an illusion that has no worth to God. My reaction to it is what's important to God. Although this may seem rather heartless, it does allow me to see past the evil that people do and acknowledge the core of potential goodness inside them.

2. I am currently based in Tamp Florida in Hillsborough County.

3. Yes I am free but I have obligations as a citizen. Everyone is required to have basic military training and provide a period of time for community service. It is very much like a type of mandatory National Guard service + Peace Corps.

4. Yes civil liberties are more important. You will feel the same after having your house searched a couple of times.

5. We do not live in a racist society but definitely a prejudice one. Everyone carries their own water.

6. Our government looks very much like yours. It is a representative republic.

7. My definition of a patriot is anyone who defends the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

8. Religion has become far less centralized. Extremes tend to bring you closer to God so I would characterize religion and spirituality as a much more of a personal institution.

9. I do not know what happens when we die. However, I don't think it will be easy. There may be some very difficult decisions we have to make when we die that we are totally unprepared for.

10. It's difficult to define the most predominant religion. Christianity has fragmented into many groups and people with different beliefs speak mush more openly with others who have different outlooks and opinions. I would imagine there are large groups of Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims but I have not come across them personally.

11. No, Jesus did not come back. At least not that I'm aware of. If or when Jesus returns, do you think he'll be a lamb or a lion?

12. No mission to Mars but we are working on it. There is a group working on the idea of gravity displacement to get into space but the calculations and error rate are very large obstacles to overcome.

13. We don't know what's on Mars yet.

14. We're not on the moon yet either. A great deal of technical effort is going into cleaning the planet up.

15. I'm not aware of any "mind control" devices being used on you now. However, there are a great many "non lethal" weapon systems in development that turn out to be quite lethal. Sometimes I watch your television programs that show SWAT teams using new non-lethal weapons. They usually start out with, "In the future, the army and police will fight its enemies with new weapons systems…" When they use the word "enemy", they're talking about YOU! You don't really think the Marines are going to jump out of helicopters overseas with sticky goop, pepper spray and seizure lights, do you?

16. I'm not familiar with the term Psionics. I'll look it up and see if we just have another word for it.

17. Yes, Europe is a mess.

18. Yes, I think the New World Order idea tried to establish itself. I would consider them the combination of the old U.S. federal system, Europe, Canada and Australia.

19. When you say "teleportation", I assume you mean public transportation. Yes, we have a basic high-speed system.

20. I don't know if the government created AIDS. I tend to think yes but controlling it escaped them as it mutated. You can't have conspiracy to limit the population with a disease without the cure.

21. Yes, homosexuals are in the army. You tend to look past the individual differences of people when their job is to protect your life.

22. Yes, there are "gay" people in 2036.

23. I am a white male.

24. Yes, there is an entertainment industry. Again, it is very decentralized. The technology to express yourself with video is so readily available that many people do it all by themselves or in small groups. Much of the distribution is over the web. I would compare it theater here.

25. I don't know what you mean by VR?

26. The average lifespan is about 60 but I expect that will improve as we get things cleaned up.

27. Yes, paper money is still widely used.

28. The 21st century has awhile to go but the most significant person in my opinion is the farmer-general who led us to victory.

29. Even for you, Tesla technology can be found in appliances, motors and generators. I would have to say we have come a long way on Tesla's foundation but we don't have electricity rays that cause earthquakes.

30. Getting back to my exact worldline of origin is impossible but it depends on how you define the correct worldline. I can get close enough so neither I nor anyone there would know the difference. It relates to the classic example of cutting a distance in half to reach it. You can always get closer but never there. It also has a lot do with neighboring universes on Penrose diagrams but that requires more math.

31. Yes, we have the death penalty. We also have public punishment.

32. The most common crime is theft.

33. I don't understand what you mean by "race mixing".

34. Cloning is not common. However, altering the sperm and egg cell are common. It is very difficult to have children in 2036 for environmental reasons.

35. It's hard to say what the exact racial make up of the U.S. is. I would say it's probably the same minus 130 million people or so.

36. No, there is no segregation.

37. The education system is very similar to yours but the organization and implementation is controlled on a community and county level. Various communities also specialize in certain disciplines.

38-39. My comments on equal rights and "women's roles" could be quite lengthy and controversial. I wish to discuss that separately. However, women do fight in the military just as the men do but their role on the community level is very conservative.

40. Having children is such a serious issue in 2036 that birth control is almost unheard of. It is very difficult and precious to have and raise children. Again, this is an issue I will be happy to go into later.

41. Yes, there are same sex marriages but it's not very common. Again, people have lived through so much hardship that if what someone else is doing does not affect them or harm the community, it's not a big issue.

42. South America went relatively unharmed. However, there is still a great deal of internal conflict with conventional arms.

43. Yes, people use drugs that alter consciousness but they are not very common.

44. Yes, I know who the Beatles are. Old music and other entertainment is available on the web.

45. There is another Pope but I do not know his name.

I do believe that "you're" UNIX will also have a problem in 2038. I don't think that's a secret but maybe someone should put a 5100 aside for thirty years or so.

John

02-09-2001 02:02 PM

Waco, Ruby Ridge and Elian exist in your news archives. Telling you about impending plane crashes or other disasters (provided I could give you exact dates and times) may save lives at one point but cause cascading changes that take others at a later point.

I enjoy the posts because it's very hard to remain safe and have a conversation. I have often seen the classic question, "why don't time travelers revel themselves'? That's easy, if you believe us, you'll drug us into oblivion and put us in a small dark cell while men in white lab coats take a Phillips head screw driver to the magnetic lock on the singularity drive housing.

I will examine the web site you mentioned. I believe the 5100 is unique in its ability to run assembler language on the 360-machine platform and still be portable. I'm not sure if that fact was ever made public so it's the best "proof" I have. I would like to examine the software you mentioned; perhaps I can further justify my side-trip.

Yes, EMP took out a great number of electronic devices. That's one of the reasons why we don't have reliable technology laying around. However, in the opening hours of N Day, the Russians did not launch any high altitude detonations. They knew we would most likely clean up after them so they wanted everyone outside the cities to be able to communicate. Most of the warheads that hit the cities came in threes and exploded close to the ground. The heavy EMP damage was isolated to those areas.

Actually, you will probably be quite impressed with our Internet. It's based on a series of independent, self-powered nodes that are mobile and can be put up anywhere. It looks a great deal like your current cell phone system.

02-10-2001 09:49 AM

Thank you for the information. I will visit the site and I expect I will have some questions.

Yes, there are a great many people who think that Revelations has come to pass. However, the new fear is that Christ has returned, he's not telling us and he's very angry. I am not familiar with the Fatima Prophesies but I am aware of the term. I was not sent here to change anything. Since it would not affect my home anyway, it would be rather pointless.
I am here because of my family and the interaction I had with them in 1975. I understand the question about the Antichrist but I must admit I hadn't given it much thought. My initial reaction is to consider how the Antichrist would affect my life if I could identify him/her. If your life became a sort of "Hell" anyway, would it matter if the Antichrist was real?

I became aware of this bulletin board through my various archiving work through the web. We do enjoy "talk programs" but they are distributed over the web. I don't have additional information about UFOs and I find the subject quite interesting myself. I have often wondered if they aren't time travelers with very sophisticated machines. Based on what I know about the nature of time I find this difficult to believe but nothing is impossible.

Yes, handmade items and the skills to make them are quite prevalent and people take a great deal of pride in their work. People with the skills to make clothing, work with leather and wood or cultivate a garden have become quite valuable. Please do not think your questions are unimportant. I enjoy the conversation.

Fiji? I've noticed that when most Americans think about Canada in this time, they think about pine trees, chooks and back-bacon. It may interest you to know that most Canadians in 2036 are some of the most efficient, ruthless and dangerous people I know. God help Quebec.

Within limits, I'm confident my anonymity is secure. The various email and web accounts I have do not have a big sign that says "Time Machine This Way". In order to be at risk I would have to be believed. In my experience, evil may be powerful, but they aren't very bright.

You couldn't even answer one simple question about music?
Unfortunately, your question is rather difficult for me. Any personal experience I might have with your worldline at a specific moment is limited to my viewpoint and age. I can't tell you what music is popular in the next few years because the "me" here is only three years old. In addition, how does someone decide what the most popular music trend is? It would seem rather subjective to me. Thinking about it now I sort of wonder what it would be like to be a teenager now and know the answer to that question. When I was thirteen I used to worry about which shotgun slug would take a door handle off and whether or not I had any dry socks. Current fallout estimates are accurate but a bit exaggerated.

Your example of what people would do based on something I might say is accurate. However, my concern would be the potential actions of a single person, not the masses. In 1963, if I suggested that someone should watch the book depository windows as the President went by, the actions of a single person might have a huge impact on history. You also asked if I've visited my "past" family. That's where I am now.

Once a micro-singularity is produced and placed in a magnetic field, what is the approximate strength of that field. How is the magnetic field produced? What would happen if that field failed?

These are excellent questions that I probably won't answer to your satisfaction but let me make a couple of points first. Although I am familiar with the general manufacture of the unit, I am not a physicist or a scientist. My background is in history and I had the correct profile to accomplish my given task in 1975. I doubt that most jet fighter pilots are aeronautical engineers and I'll bet most of you couldn't give me the formula for horsepower, yet you drive a car every day.

The second point I can illustrate with an interesting story. In the opening phases of WWI, one of the largest problems early fighter pilots had was how to shoot a machine gun through the propeller blades without chopping it to bits. The problem was very straightforward. When the engine was off, the blades took up only a small percentage of the total arch but with the engine on, there was seemingly no way to know when it was safe to shoot through them. This problem lasted for quite a while until a very smart person came up with a very simple solution. By using a small lobed cam on the propeller shaft that controlled a switch on the machine gun, it was possible to stop the gun from firing only when the cam turned off the switch at the point a bullet might hit the blade. It was so simple in fact the other side only caught on to the idea after one of the planes crashed and they were able to take it apart.

My point is; seemingly very complicated problems often have very simple and ingenious solutions using technology that is already available. The distortion unit is not magic and no alien technology was required to make it work. If you could see it, the "smarts" that went into designing it will amaze you more than the technology. Heck, the really interesting technology is in the computer.

The magnetic field does not require the fantastic energies you might imagine. The field is "created" and captures the singularity inside a very large and powerful specially designed particle accelerator. If the magnetic system failed (which has numerous backups including a system that would remove it from this worldline), the singularity would evaporate. Although it is smaller than an electron, it would still be quite undesirable.

Why do you keep telling us about the war? How do you know that will even happen in our worldline? Something may have already changed and it won't happen at all

Yes, you are correct! However, I am not confident things are different enough for you to avoid the conflict. You may also consider the possibility that a world with no war is far less desirable in the long run. In response to your other point, your assumptions about causality are correct but my personal morality still comes into play. I won't deviate from my three rules because of the way I would feel about myself.

The singularities do not create Tipler cylinders they create the same physical environment without all the mass. The same math works for both. There are two singularities. Their mass and spin is altered in order to adjust the size of the ergosphere and cause the event horizons to interact and create the gravity sinusoid. I have a basic home schooling education (k-12) and a bachelor's degree in history.

I will get to the remaining questions soon.

John

11 February 2001 18:43

Greetings everyone! I've missed you all too. As I'm sure (name from forum) can tell you, my email system is made up of quite a few addresses, locations and computers. Some of them work better than others and for a period of time, I have been unable (in my own way) to get to this site.

It appears I've come back at just the right moment. I see you're all asking yourselves questions about who I really am, what I want and why I'm here. Frankly, I really can't blame you but perhaps it's a bit easier now to understand why I not only didn't expect you to believe me and I didn't want you to. As far as my credibility, I thought we had reached some sort of happy medium and we could call each other friend.

I see however that may not be the case and I must admit I'm a bit disappointed. It seems that unless I follow your expectations of what a time traveler should be doing, thinking or feeling than I must be a fraud. Or is it just safer to keep telling yourself that?

I think it was a terrible idea for John to have told us anything about his story.

Where was this sentiment and concern for my safety as I was telling my "story"?

John was always telling us he has nothing to prove. Why come to a time travel forum and talk at all then?

Is it really that hard to believe that plain old human interaction has it's own merits?

Although John is creative, his declarations on quantum theories have already been proven to be wrong.

Which quantum theories are you talking about? Please forgive me but if I missed a question or if there was something else to go into I would have been happy to do so.

02-12-2001 08:54 PM

Why would a time traveler reveal himself? In John's mission, these actions have no purpose.

I still fail to see why this is a problem. If you can think of another way where I can interact with people I would very much like to hear your suggestions. Why isn't the mere act of speaking with other people an end in itself? Personally, I find the unit interesting and I like talking about it. There must be something in your life like that.

John talks about a civil war being started between the Democrats and Republicans. Later, this escalates into WW3 and he mentions that it is a good thing for us.

I don't believe I ever said the war was between Democrats and Republicans. If I am incorrect, please point that out. It doesn't exactly escalate as much as it opens the door for other aggression. Yes, I think the war would be good for society and I would be happy to debate that with you.

John tells us to buy a gun, find 5 friends, and get a bicycle. This conflicts with his comments about killing us all off.

If you could point out how this violates the three guidelines I stated earlier, I would give it considerable thought. Perhaps you are correct and that was a mistake. Again, I don't believe I said I want to kill you. Personally, I think murder is wrong. You seem to be pretty good at that yourself.

John mentions that he has no idea what GINGER is but he mentions media hype and alludes to IT not amounting to much.
Again, I don't believe I said that either. My point in that conversation was about feeling manipulated by hype. Since they ARE asking you to buy something, I would be very interested in your lengthy and critical postings about ITS credibility. If you could post that link I would very much like to see it.

John mentions the war was between the cities of America, Russia, China, etc.

Hmm, are you familiar with the Russian partisan movement in WWII?

John says the civil war leads to the world war in 2015. The civil war lasts for ten years?

It's 2004. I apologize for a missed key (very observant - we all need good critics). Perhaps our definition of war is different. I would define it as a conflict where organized groups engage in maneuver and armed conflict. The first U.S. civil war lasted 4 years and the English civil war lasted 6. How long is too long?

John says the mechanical typewriter is a major machine again in the future and the Internet still exists and is widely used.
Actually, what I said was, ".you may be surprised at how many people use typewriters." I don't understand the conflict. What's wrong with typewriters? At least you don't have to plug them in.

Thanks for the patience. I'm getting to the other questions.

02-12-2001 11:51 PM

Have you ever been on any other time traveling missions?

Yes, but they were all training missions. There is a great deal of psychological profiling and testing and one of the training missions involved choosing a time in your life (within two years) where you wish you would have done something different and then going back to convince yourself to do it.

The idea is to become familiar with the possibility of meeting yourself, which can be rather difficult. It is quite odd to look at "yourself" and have a conversation. Since any "you" on another worldline would not be a mirror image, you get a slightly distorted feeling while seeing yourself, let alone the concept of speaking to yourself

Could you post a link to the images of your time machine?

I would be happy to do that.

If you have any pictures of the computer you were supposed to get?

I'm pretty sure there must be something on the web now about the IBM 5100.

I looked up the name 'Titor' and couldn't find any. Is your family not listed in the phone book?

I guess it depends when you look.

Can I contact you through any other means?

I've tried talking online before and found it quite enjoyable but I find the questions and comments come so rapidly it's hard to keep up.

What is the exact date that the war starts? If you can't remember, can you tell us the month?

I remember the exact date. When it comes, it will not be a surprise.

What is the speed of the average computer in the future?

GHz is not a useful measurement. Computers are no longer measured by their speed as much as the number of variables (not calculations) they can handle per second.

Can you time travel whenever you want? How much does it cost? Can you make stops along the way back to 2036?