Time

Both Poul Anderson and James Blish wrote a futuristic sf novel in which messages are received from further futures. Time is necessary for any experience but how different might our experience of it be? For comparisons of time with a telescope, see the section on CS Lewis here.

If there is a hereafter, its temporal dimension might be more or other than a mere continuation of time as experienced by the living. SM Stirling's Chuck Barstow dies before his wife but finds her waiting in the Summerland. She says:

"'Time's different here. You came first, but I've been waiting.'"
-The Scourge Of God, Chapter Thirteen, p. 342.

- echoing CS Lewis:

"'Time does not work that way once ye have left the Earth.'"
-The Great Divorce (London, 1982), p. 114.

When Chuck asks whether there will be gardens, Judy replies, "'There's everything.'" (ibid.)

That recalled a line of dialogue that I imagined years ago for an sf story:

"Do you mean that there is a purpose in the universe?"
"I mean that there is everything in the multiverse."

Addendum: "'I call all times soon,' said Aslan." (See here.)

Addendum: For another view of time, which I do not accept, search the Personal and Literary Reflections blog here for discussion of Alan Moore's Jerusalem.