At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements ;)
Last week I pulled a question from the last three episodes of this season's Legends of Tomorrow. (If you weren't here last week, make sure to check that out first.) The setup had me shaking my head and yelling at the TV. But it was their bad choice that leads to this week's question.
Even though they had a time machine, the heroes chose to brave a battlefield in the middle of a battle (during World War I) to dig up... Well, what they needed is rather irrelevant to this discussion. They somehow managed to get to the item, blasted the area (they had no time to dig), and made off with the item only to have a stray bullet hit it and destroy it.
This MacGuffin was the only one of its kind. Bad guys win, right? Or...
What if the item you went back in time to retrieve got destroyed in the retrieval? Is it gone, or can you think of another way to get at it? (And keep in mind, you've already gone to get it, so your past self must find something.)
Well maybe the past self could get in the time machine and go back to before it was buried? I don't know.....haha...my head is hurting now.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I thought they should do. Alas...
DeleteEssentially what needs to be done here is open a window into another dimension at this point you speak of by triggering a loop in time to repeat itself. Now heres where it gets tricky.The effect will continue as long as the "time travel" window is kept open. In order to retrieve the item you'll probably need a engineer well versed in time distortions, because once you step hrought the "doorway" there'll be more than one of you to retrieve the item, avoid the bullet and escape before the distortions cease. The only question is which one of you is the real deal, in any case you have the item wherever you end up and is intact.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm just confused. lol
ReplyDeleteSeriously. This was a yell at the TV moment.
DeleteOK...that is kind of dumb to go back during a battle of WW1 when they could have just gone back before the battle and get the object without the bullets flying. As for getting back....I need a Star Trek writer to figure this out so i am going with Spacer guy
ReplyDeleteWell, yeah, that was the obvious choice. It's what they didn't do, however.
DeleteEasy. Build a replica and then go further back in time and replace it. Or create a paradox and rewrite history.
ReplyDeleteDo I really NEED this item? Is it a big deal that it got destroyed? :P If not, I'd just give up on it.
ReplyDeleteWell... They need this item to destroy the sword of destiny that ended up rewriting reality (and putting our heroes in a terrible situation), so yeah, they kind of need it or else they'd spend the rest of their lives miserable.
DeleteGo back and have Wonder Woman help instead. (Tee hee hee.)
ReplyDeleteWorks for me.
DeleteSome thing is just better leave in the past...Like the ole say let sleeping dog lye.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Unfortunately, they kind of need this to fix the mess that the villains made of the world.
DeleteAnother round of margaritas for me, I guess! ;)
ReplyDeletePerhaps watching this show drunk might have helped ;)
DeleteWell, if the object would still exist in time prior to being destroyed in this thread. So, I say go back to an earlier point and you will have a second chance at retrieval.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Barbara said. That's what I was thinking as a possibility. Trying to retrieve it, if possible, from a time before.
ReplyDeletebetty
But if you get it from a time before, you've created another timeline. One where it doesn't get destroyed as opposed to one where it does. Doesn't sound like a good idea but I guess taking anything or doing any time travel at all will result in that.
ReplyDeleteI'd go back to bed. ~grin~ I'm really good at denial.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, your reality will then be changed to something you probably won't like ;)
DeleteI think I would just jump to another dimension to get the same item that hasn't been destroyed. ;)
ReplyDeleteTruly depends on what theory of time travel you prescribe to. Some believe that you will simply cause another timeline...some believe all past has already happened no matter the efforts.
ReplyDeleteUnder the presumption of potential alteration capability: Leave a facsimile. We know it's going to be destroyed, so there's no harm in its destruction. Go further into the past, retrieve it, and leave a falsehood in its place.
And that is exactly what I thought while watching the show. Of course, that is not what the writers came up with...
DeleteI think that would have me yelling at the tv, too! lol Can they not just time travel again?
ReplyDelete