The Time Patrol And The Temporal Bureau II

Copied from the Logic of Time Travel blog.

The Temporal Bureau exists so that Robert Heinlein can tell a single circular causality short story whereas the Time Patrol exists so that Poul Anderson can present a series of stories of different lengths and even novels about interventions in historical periods. Thus, "'- All You Zombies -'" cannot have a sequel whereas the Time Patrol was eventually expanded to a considerably greater length than its original four stories.

Both organizations close causal circles although the Patrol sometimes does this in order to prevent causality violations which are impossible in the Temporal Bureau timeline.

The Patrol operates from prehuman geological epochs at least until the time of its post-human founders a million years hence. We know that at least one Bureau operative has been in pre-Christian Crete but the organization's headquarters seem to be under the Rockies in 1992. There is no indication that the Bureau operates any later than the twentieth century.

One of the Bureau's "By-laws of Time" is: "Ancestors Are Just People," which is relevant to the Patrol agent, Carl Farness.