Thursday 6 October 2016

The Ultimate Antagonist

Manse Everard deduces that, in the Carthaginian timeline, the Scipios died at the Battle of Ticinus. Van Sarawak comments:

"'Somebody must have knocked them off...Some time traveler. It could only have been that.'" (Time Patrol, p. 219)

Everard replies:

"'Well, it seems probable, anyhow. We'll see.'" (ibid.)

Probable? When we read that, extra-temporal intervention was the only explanation that we knew of for a causality violation. And indeed the killing of the Scipios at Ticinus does turn out to have been the work of two Neldorian time criminals.

Therefore, it came as a total revelation when, three and a half decades later, Poul Anderson explained the untimely death of King Roger at the Battle of Rignano by writing:

"...no time traveler, no human blunder or madness or vaunting ambition brought this about. The fluctuation was in space-time-energy itself, a quantum leap, a senseless randomness." (The Shield Of Time, p. 344)

When I read that, I thought that it was an original concept, comparable to James Blish imagining the demons winning Armageddon. This is what Guion meant when he said that, beyond the tracking down of the last of the Exaltationist time criminals, there was:

"'...a larger meaning, a direction and an ending -'" (The Shield..., p. 8)

There is no longer any lone time criminal or gang of conspirators to track down. On the other hand, one individual's world-line intersects with so many others that small chance variations in his life affect the entire future. He is like the ultimate time criminal without even knowing it and Everard must indeed fight to the death with this personal causal nexus. Therefore, the ascending hierarchy of the Time Patrol's antagonists comprises:

individual time criminals;
Neldorians;
Exaltationists;
temporal chaos;
chaos channeled through the novel concept of a personal causal nexus.

8 comments:

David Birr said...

Paul:
It just struck me that a story could be written based on the notion that this business of chaos rather than human intervention causing changes meant that God Himself was opposing the Time Patrol. The author needn't portray it as TRUE, but imagine a religiously devout Patrolman who has a mental breakdown and decides that by opposing the changes which involved no human agency, he's been fighting the will of the Almighty ... and thus the Danellians must be Satan. Can he sway other Patrol personnel to this theory? How much damage could these insiders do?

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, David!

Now why didn't I think of that? I like your idea and I think Poul Anderson would have if anyone had suggested it to him. I'm green with envy! (Smiles)

Sean

Jim Baerg said...

And someone believing a religion with Zoroastrian/Manichean elements could be wondering if these changes without human time travellers intervening are from Ahura Mazda or from Ahriman.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor. Jim!

And of all the non-Jewish/Christian faiths I have the most respect for Zoroastrianism.

Ad astra! Sean

Jim Baerg said...

Doesn't Zoroastrianism look to have less of an issue with the 'Problem of Evil' than Christianity? It has an actual powerful evil god to explain that. Christianity doesn't.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Jim!

I would need to check more thoroughly to be sure if that is how Zoroastrians think about the problem of evil. But, if so, that would be one of the points where I have to disagree with them.

But Zoroastrians don't APPROVE of evil. Ahriman might be a god rivaling the good god Ahura Mazda, but they don't believe it's right to worship the evil god.

Ad astra! Sean

Jim Baerg said...

"But Zoroastrians don't APPROVE of evil."
That is certainly my understanding too.
IINM they think Ahura Maxda needs to have enough humans on the good side to make sure Ahriman is defeated.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Jim!

Another point I would need to check up on.

And this discussion is reminding me of Harry Turtledove's "Legion of Videssos" series (and its prequels), set in an alternate world where the religion of an analog of the Eastern Roman Empire was a dualistic faith reminiscent of Zoroastrianism. The Videssians worshiped the good god Phos--who was opposed by the evil god Skotos. They also believed, however long the struggle between them lasted, Phos would triumph in the end.

Ad astra! Sean