"She settles on a diner in a small human town"

October 30, 2021 11:11 AM

Three speculative stories about the logistical and emotional side effects of time travel and related phenomena. "Paradox" by Naomi Kritzer is heavier: "If you need to know you matter, don’t ask history, ask the people you matter to." "Cyclical" by Tanya Breshears (previously) is bittersweet and domestic: "A human's life is a rushing river: a moment, once lived, is rendered forever inaccessible, except by the poor substitute of human memory." "The Theory and Practice of Time Travel: A Syllabus" by David DeGraff is humorous: "Students will devise and perform experiments to test the nature of reality as long as there is minimal chance the experiment will destroy the universe. And no one dies. 3 credits."
posted by brainwane (6 comments total)

"We’re pretty sure JFK was shot by a time traveler, but we’re not sure why."
posted by ovvl at 12:09 PM on October 30, 2021

I’m from the future and I’ve come to visit the past because I always loved the ‘teens and ‘twenties, the golden era. The music, the fashion, the arts… Who? Oh, I never paid much attention to the politics of the period. I just liked the dance crazes

Oof.

The last one reminds me of the time travel story that was formatted like a wiki's talk page, but it's proving to be google proof.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:29 PM on October 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

make sure you have been vaccinated against the appropriate diseases, especially if you travel back before 1960, or to 2019-2025

oof

The last one reminds me of the time travel story that was formatted like a wiki's talk page, but it's proving to be google proof.

This, perhaps?
posted by Merus at 8:41 PM on October 30, 2021 [8 favorites]

This, perhaps?

That's it! TYVM
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:40 PM on October 30, 2021

What exactly is it that you think time travelers should be doing? You’re here. Why aren’t you doing it?

Oof indeed.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:53 AM on October 31, 2021 [3 favorites]

My oof was "we gave you a shot at defeating fascism by handing you a fascist who can’t even go down stairs competently. He can barely tie his own shoes. His organization leaks like a sieve. Quit your whining and take this chance. It is the best one we could offer you."

Oooof
posted by Wretch729 at 12:15 PM on October 31, 2021 [4 favorites]