"The Time Traveller (for so it will be convenient to speak of him) was expounding a recondite matter to us."
-HG Wells, The Time Machine (London, 1973), 1, p. 7.
"'The work is, you understand, somewhat unusual,' said Mr. Gordon."
-Poul Anderson, "Time Patrol" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 1-53 AT 1, p. 1.
Thus begin two major works of time travel fiction. The Time Traveller discusses a philosophical question whereas Mr. Gordon discusses the vacancy that he is interviewing Manse Everard for. I skipped to the first line of dialogue which is preceded by the advertisement:
"MEN WANTED - 21-40, pref. single, mil. or tech. exp., good physique, for high-pay work with foreign travel. Engineering Studies Co.,305 E. 9-12 & 2-6." (ibid.)
Someone pointed out that the ad does not tell the reader how to contact Engineering Studies.
The Time Traveller has to argue that Time is a direction along which we extend, then, contradicting himself, along which we move. Mr. Gordon represents a future civilization that has solved all these problems and that therefore is able to employ time travellers. We have come a long way from Wells' Time Traveller in London to Anderson's Mr. Gordon in New York.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
That other person was right. I never thought of it before now, but that Engineering Studies ad should have included a telephone number. So prospective employees could make appointments.
Ad astra! Sean
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