Well, the government of any society that has time travel has the right to make laws about how it should be used. However, this law is enforced not by any government agency but by the Time Patrol which is independent of governments, can act against them in the interests of history and is not answerable to any human being. On the other hand, the Patrol, which operates in secret before the discovery of time travel, can function and recruit openly after that date. It will then liaise with governments for as long as such institutions continue to exist.
We might think that time criminals, like any time travelers, must originate after 19352 and indeed the Neldorian time bandits are from the 204,000's. However, all that any time criminal needs is access to a temporal vehicle and, by their very nature, such devices are to be found before their invention. We know of four cases of such vehicles being stolen or misused at earlier dates:
Rozher Schtein from 2987 steals an Ing time shuttle, then tries to change events in post-Roman Britain;
Charles Whitcomb from 1947 retrieves the shuttle but uses it to try to change events in World War II Britain;
a Conquistador from 1533 steals a timecycle in1610 and tries to change the history of the Conquest;
the Exaltationists, said to be from a period before the development of time machines, steal several timecycles and become dangerous time criminals.
However, since the Exaltationists are said to be from the 30,000's, we have a contradiction. I suggest that time travel was discovered in 19352 but that its existence was not made public until some time during or after the 31st millennium.
5 comments:
Hi, Paul!
I think you missed an obvious point. The "government" to which the Time Patrol answers to is not whatever regime is ruling Earth at any period after the discovery of time travel. Rather, the Patrol answers to the DANELLIANS. It was the Danellians, from the remoter future, who intervened when time travel was discovered and ordained the founding of the Time Patrol. The Patrol ultimately takes its orders from the Danellians and not from the authorities of any pre Danellian society where time travel was openly known and used.
Hmmm, I can speculate about how such a situation might have caused resentment in the governments of societies where time travel was known. They might have felt themselves to be at the mercy of the Danellians. This too might have been a rich source of Time Patrol stories, conflict between the Patrol/Danellians and some societies knowing about their existence.
Sean
Sean,
I did acknowledge, though, that the Patrol is independent of governments, might even work against them and is answerable to no human being.
I am struggling to keep this lap top working properly so the blog might have its version of a Long Night shortly.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
Noted, what you said about the Time Patrol being independent of all pre Danellian human beings and governments. But, I still wonder if there had been (will be) conflict between the Patrol/Danellians on the one hand and at least some pre Danellian societies which knew of time travel on the other.
I'm sorry about your lap top very likely to soon go the way of all flesh!! Hope you soon get a good replacement. How about using a table top computer?
Sean
Sean,
Anderson says somewhere that societies with time travel vet their time travelers thoroughly. Presumably they know of the Patrol. Or maybe not? But, if so, I can see serious grounds for suspicion and conflict.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
I would still say that after about AD 30,000 time traveling was generally known. And one reason for authorities to be watchful about who goes time traveling would be fear some of their own citizens would try to change their own history! And, of course, you know I think at least some pre Danellian societies with time travel with regard the Patrol/Danellians with dislike and suspicion.
Sean
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