Does the Time Patrol make mistakes, learn from them, then leave those mistakes unaltered as part of its own history? In the Danellian Era, the entire million-year history of the Patrol is known. The history includes agents departing to and returning from deleted timelines which are not part of the history although memories and records of them are. For anyone who remains in the Danellian Era, that history remains unaltered. However, anyone living in that Era who visits the past and returns to his present might return to an altered version of that present and therefore have to take steps to rectify it. Either he fails or he now remembers an altered Patrol history. Give me some time and there will be a bit more on this.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I think many mistakes made by Time Patrol agents like Carl Farness would be remedied by them taking corrective action of the kind we see Carl doing.
A Danellian time traveler returning from a visit to the past to find his home milieu had changed would have to find a Denellian who had the authority to order action be taken by the Patrol (unless he himself had that authority). Then lower ranking agents be ordered to take actions of the kind seen "In The Only Game In Town."
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
But the returned Danellian might find himself in a timeline where the Danellians and therefore also the Time Patrol do not exist.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Then that Danellian would have to go pastward of the disruptive event to begin taking corrective action.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Indeed. If it could be done. The odd thing about the Time Patrol universe is that this can happen any time a traveler returns from past to present.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And we do see that being done, in stories like "Delenda Est," where I remember Everard's exasperation at how difficult it was to plan and organize that corrective action.
Yes, there is a constant risk by time travelers of coming back to their home periods and discovering it had CHANGED.
Ad astra! Sean
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