In Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series, would it be possible to enter and return from a "deleted" timeline? In certain circumstances, it might be. We know that there are not only open timecycles but also large, enclosed time shuttles. Suppose that it is known that one such shuttle, carrying many passengers, entered and did not return from the Carthaginian timeline. Everard can travel by timecycle to a time before the departure of that shuttle, enter the shuttle and thus enter the deleted timeline. Further, he could smuggle a timecycle into the shuttle with him. When he wants to leave the deleted timeline, he can mount the timecycle, travel into the past to a time earlier than the point of divergence, then travel forward into the Danellian timeline.
On reflection, this would not work on my theory that all deleted timelines exist in the inaccessible past of a second temporal dimension but then that theory does not account for the sequence of events that is described in "Star of the Sea," in any case. See the discussion in some
previous posts. Anderson's variable reality raises permanently unanswerable questions.
Tomorrow and Sunday will be spent mostly out of Lancaster and away from a computer and the day after that is the end of the month.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
This kind of analysis, speculation, and thinking certainly justifies Stirling's oft stated view that trying to make sense of time traveling hurts one's head! (Smiles)
Ad astra! Sean
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