Relativity Of Simultaneity

Whether one tree is to the left of, to the right of, in front of or behind another is entirely a matter of the direction from which they are observed. Similarly, and within certain light-speed limits, whether one event is earlier than, simultaneous with or later than another is a matter of the velocity and direction of motion of the observer. This relativity of simultaneity holds in the Technic History universe even when multiple quantum jumps of a spaceship break the relativistic light-speed barrier. Thus, Adzel cannot tell van Rijn what Falkayn and Chee Lan are likely to be doing now. "Now" is relative. During a long section of Satan's World, van Rijn and Adzel are active in one region of interstellar space while Falkayn and Chee Lan are active in another although there is no one-to-one simultaneity between any of their activities. Similarly, in the Chronology, several stories "overlap." The instalments are not all related linearly. We are invited to imagine a volume of space in which different events occur in different places and with relativity of simultaneity.