Blogging about Poul Anderson's works, I must go where the stories lead. I did not expect that either the twelve year old time traveler of "The Little Monster" or the anachronisms of "The Nest" would point back towards a consideration of the Time Patrol series. Instead, I expected to reread other stories in Past Times and have in fact reread "The Light" without posting about it yet.
However, "Monster" and "Nest" each present a coherent hard sf time travel scenario and there is a direct conceptual link from these one-off works back to the much more detailed Time Patrol series.
And an early question in the opening story, "Time Patrol," is: are we really dealing with time travel? A Patrol Academy trainer from 3890 says that Babylonian recruits to the Patrol had to be given a battle-of-the-gods routine because:
"'...time travel just wasn't in their world-picture.'"
- Time Patrol (New York, 2006), p. 14.
Charlie Whitcomb asks, "'What routine are you giving us?'" and is told, "'The truth...As much of it as you can take?'" (ibid.)
That raises two questions:
What is the part of the truth that two mid-twentieth century men cannot take?
Is it really possible that the truth is as far from time travel as time travel is from battle-of-the-gods?
Everard's guide in Hiram's Tyre deduces:
"'I think...my lord intends to do battle, in a strange realm where wizards are his foes.'" (p. 320)
- and Everard can only wonder:
"Am I that transparent to him?" (ibid.)
Allowing for Pum's pre-scientific worldview, he has deduced exactly what is happening.
Eventually, Everard learns that:
"'In a reality forever liable to chaos, the Patrol is the stabilizing element, holding time to a single course.'"
- The Shield Of Time (New York, 1991), p. 435.
And this role would be necessary even if there were no distressed time travelers to help or time criminals to apprehend.
A lesser question is: why did the trainer from 3890 need to instruct any ancient Babylonians since his specialism was spaceships?
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