What can go wrong in time travelling – Messing up the timeline…

Dear Traveller,

One of the most common problems a traveller might encounter is messing up the timeline (i.e. the history) and thus distorting the time-space continuum.

Examples:

• (accidentally) talking Shakespeare out of writing Romeo and Juliet
• (accidentally) meet Aspasia, she falls for you and never gets to be Pericles mistress and influence his political decisions (Pericles was a famous leader of the Athenian people in 500 a.d., did some great things – The Golden era of Pericles – and had a mistress called Aspasia who influenced and often wisely counsel him in governing Athens. Look it up…)
• (accidentally) discuss the String Theory with Einstein and give him food for thought he didn’t have in his life line…
• (accidentally) talk J.R.R. Tolkien out of writing the Lord of the Rings trilogy… or convincing him to ACTUALLY have Arwen say “If you want him, come and claim him!”…
• (accidentally) start talking to Elvis in the coffee place he used to hang out and have him miss the audition that got him discovered…
• (accidentally) go to Flemings lab and trust his research on Penicillin…
• (accidentally) convince yourself not to follow that line of work…
• (accidentally) take an object from the past, that was supposed to be there and now it’s not (cause you took it), for e.x. take Leonidas sword right before the battle of Thermopylae…
• (accidentally) meet Bill Gates as a teenager and suggest he should be an actor… and actually having him pursuit that kind of a career…

I mean… imagine what the timeline would be like if anything like the above happened… and trust me there are more examples where those came from…

An experienced traveller is much less prone to create a problem into the time-space continuum than an inexperienced one. All experienced travellers know when something went wrong (how, will be explained another time…) The first thing that needs to be done, is check the reality you came back to (your present). If even the slightest thing is different, then something went wrong. In that case, return back to your travelling destination, follow your “past” travelling self and fix whatever went wrong. Usually, this should do the trick, as long as you leave a message to yourself in the present so as your past self will go back and fix it…

Should you can’t find what you did wrong, go back in the past and convince yourself not to take that journey. You won’t have a big problem convincing your past self: it’s you from the future telling you not to do something… so you do it! Yourself is the only one you can trust the most and even more if it’s yourself from the future…

If that doesn’t work, check you handbook (pages 140- 203)… If that doesn’t work contact your mentors…
Keep in mind though, that asking them to fix your mess will be frowned upon, and will somehow end up in your record… which is not a very good thing in the long run…

Generally, mind you don’t mess the timeline. Try to be as discrete as possible and keep a low profile.

It will all be fine…

Until the next post,

Goodnight to you, “whenever” you are…
E.

Meeting Yourself … – Useful tips

Dear Traveller,

This post contains info that the “older” time travellers know, but the newbies in the “sport” would find very useful.

 

Meeting yourself is one of the perks of time travelling. There is an extensive chapter in your handbook about it (Chapter 5: Meeting yourself, pages 532-605). You can find further information about meeting yourself in the “C°ntinuum” rulebook under “Gemini” (“C°ntinuum: roleplaying in The Yet”, C. Adams, D. Fooden and B. Manui, Aetherco/Dreamcatcher).

Ok… so let’s talk about encountering yourself…

 

There are two possible ways of meeting yourself: Meeting your future self and Meeting your past self. More particularly:

Meeting your future (older) self:

We were all young once and wondering “How will I turn out in the future”. And that’s one of the best things in Time Travelling – You are actually able to see how you turned out!

The most probable thing is that your future self will be expecting you (Since you are the one that arranges the trip you are bound to know that in the future – duh!) Try to ask questions that “guide” you into decisions and not “lead” you into them. Your future self will be experienced enough so as not to provide info that can change things a lot for you…

Don’t be surprised about your future self “appearance”… You are older and you have to be prepared about seeing those grey hair, wrinkles, scars or whatever… (Piece of advice: Don’t ask about the scars, you’ll probably get no answer about that…) Don’t mind the wardrobe either (though you might like it… since technically you are the one that picked out the outfit, and you have the exact same taste as yourself! )

Generally, keep in mind that meeting yourself takes a lot out of you, both mentally and physically. Meet yourself only if there is a particular reason, not just for kicks… Your time (though infinite) is very precious… Don’t waste your time, and especially your future self’s time.

Once you do spend the time you want with your future self, and get what you want out of that meeting, return to your present and document EVERYTHING that happened in as much detail as possible so as to be able to “replay” it in the future as you being the older self and… you being the younger self…

 

CAUTION: Things need to be exactly the same, otherwise there will be consequences… and there always are…

 

Meeting your past (younger) self:

 

This is almost always fun! Meeting the guy/girl you once were brings out memories and makes you feel like a parent trying to explain to a teenager what’s good for him/her (besides, you ARE older and wiser – though this is not always the case, but that’s a different story…)

 

Before meeting your past self, make sure you study the documentation you have from your youth on that particular meeting, and do everything exactly like it happened the first time you did it (as a younger traveller).

 

Since you know what has already happened in that meeting, you can guide the conversation and when it gets out of track you can say something like “You are not asking the right questions…” or “Are you sure this is what you want to know?…”

 

Since you are the experienced traveller, you know that in order for your younger self to arrange this meeting, he probably needs something from you and might be in distress. So… make your younger self feel comfortable about it… Cook yourself something to eat (you know what you like… ). Talk about your favourite places, pictures, songs, movies… you’re are the only one that have the exact same tastes as.. you (you are bound to find a common ground to stand on).

 

Try not to laugh at your younger self… The big hair, the tight pants, the cowboy boots, the big belts and weird makeup used to be cool back in those days… And if you don’t like what you see, at least you KNOW you grew out of it…

 

Most important thing you need to keep in mind: DON’T LECTURE your younger self. It’s true you’re older and wiser but, if you haven’t made the mistakes you had, you wouldn’t be the you you are now (or then). Some piece of advice is encouraged, and some information is definitely off limits and shouldn’t be available for your own sake…

 

Concluding, I would like to remind you that you need to be very careful, especially when you meet your past self to keep the meeting strictly as you remember it to be. If things happen in a different way than you remember, somebody (meaning you – both past and future) will definitely be in trouble. So avoid changing stuff…

Try to avoid meeting yourself during the time you didn’t time travel. This can cause serious SERIOUS SERIOUOUOUOUS problems. For the both of you… and the person you least want to hurt, both mentally and physically is you…

As a general note, though, I have to say that meeting yourself, both past and future, is a very cool experience, and you should definitely try it. I know I had fun with it every time and on the both sides I was. So, don’t delay it… go meet yourself. Isn’t that what all the teachers, parents, feel-good books always told you?… So, take their advice literally and… GO MEET YOURSELF!!!

 

Until the next time,

 

Goodnight to you, whenever you are…

E.

What can go wrong in time travelling – food related issues

Dear Traveller,

One of the best things in travelling (both in time and in space) is tasting the food cooked at your destination (wherever and whenever you might go).

One of the first things any traveller (and any human being for that matter) needs to know, is their own self (“Know thy self”). More particularly, know your own stomach… Avoid everything that might cause you gastric problems… General try to be conservative in what you buy from marketplaces, agoras etc…

Some time-travellers I know choose to take something of their own to eat while travelling in order to avoid annoying problems… This is too much, but should you think you have no alternative you can do it… If you do, there are two rules to remember: (Check your handbook, pages 205-207)

•  NEVER (and I do mean NE-VEEEEER) let any of the local people living in the past take a glimpse of your cereal bar of muffin… They get questions, and then they start getting ideas… and the whole time-space continuum things gets messy… and trust me you don’t want to go there…

 

• If you do bring food from the present back to the past… make sure it kind of looks like something they had back there… no raising suspicions, no problems! And please… please, don’t let the locals taste it… (read the bullet above…)

 

Generally though, I would suggest tasting the food… Some amazing flavors have been lost in the course of time, and you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to tasting them… even maybe getting the recipe from a local cook…

Good times to travel for expanding your cooking horizons:

• Ancient Greece: Definitely a good destination… Make sure you have some pork cooked in wine… and some sweets… their sweet taste is due to the honey in them… and I doubt you’ve even tasted a better honey… Make sure you don’t insult them about the wine; the Greek tended to put water in it, so as to stay as much sober as possible.

 

• Rome: The empire years… The general Lukulus is famous for his feasts (and orgies, but that a different story). Rumor has it that the food that was served in just one of his feast was of great variety and enough to feed a whole city… Lukulus was also the one that brought cherries into Rome… and most of the sweets served in his feasts included cherries (yam-yam..)

 

• The Machu Pichu: at the age of the Mayan civilization. Beverages of coffee beans and pure chocolate… Meat cooked with chocolate… Sweets made of chocolate… Body paint of chocolate… chocolate… chocolate… chocolaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate….

Places to avoid… hmmm, that’s tricky… best to avoid medieval Europe… and Australia… China, unless you like sushi… and the south of Africa… France, is definitely out of the question!!! You might think “Why is she telling as not to go to these places? The have amazing food”… Not back then, my friends… not back then…

Other than that… Try to keep an open mind… Try to keep a low profile… and make sure you enjoy yourselves!

Good day to you… “Wherever” you are…

 

E.

 

Travel money – Useful tips

One of the most important aspects of The Travel, is the desire to procure unique items to remind us of our journeys.

Fortunately or not, in most instances you will have to acquire these items through a very common exchange of local-time currency. So, it’s best to be prepared!

When knowing exactly the time and place to visit, be sure to obtain the correct currency. Unfortunately, it will always be costly to find and exchange old money and even more so, the further back you will have to go. In some instances it might also be illegal (antique/archaic pieces for example) or just plain impossible.

Some travellers will enter societies using forms of value such as beads, ingots, ivory, various forms of weapons, heavy stones, variously shaped metals, livestock, ochre, other earth oxides and so on.

The above eventualities may lead to worrisome and complicated situations but don’t worry; there are solutions for the well-equipped individual.

Silver and gold have, since antiquity, proved to be excellent trading minerals in all forms and sizes. Even if you have already meticulously planned your destination and gathered the appropriate monetary units, we would suggest that you also pack a little of the above, for any emergency or occasion.

Carrying always on your person silver/gold rings or sticks (refrain from being too obvious please!) is essential for any circumstance. Be sure to use plain, unremarkable shapes (no ornaments) so as not to draw attention to yourself and/or disrupt your timeline. Another nice item to serve the same purpose would be a necklace or bracelet with a modular shape, consisting of several pieces that could be separated at will and traded on their own. Use your imagination for this and if you come up with a better alternative, send it in.

That’s my tip for the day,

Stay safe, travel light and spend wisely!

What can go wrong in time travelling – falling in love…

Dear Traveller,
In this list of “misfortunes” that can happen to you while time travelling around the universe, falling in love with inappropriate people may be more tricky that one might think…

And since Valentine’s Day is upon us, today’s subject will be about that… I was never a big fan of this particular day, and always believed that everyday should be Valentine’s day. Of course, for time-travellers it actually CAN be everyday…

Falling in love…

Aaaaah… the first time you lay eyes on her/him… What a wonderful moment right? WRONG! Meeting strangers from different life lines can affect history in the most strange and unorthodox way… Chaos my friends…

Let me elaborate…

1. Never underestimate the cultural differences… he says tomAto, she says tomAAAAAto…

2. “When” would you live? Past?… Future?… and there are those of us who were actually tempted to stay back in the timeline, but, my friends… i have a couple of words for you… toilet paper… if you catch my drift…

3. What would you do if you stay back there?… There can only be a number of “wizards”,”inventors”, “science officers”, “princes/ princesses”… and if you bring your significant other back to the present… what will they do?… The present (and the past, for that matter…) does things to your head… now the future… well, that’s a different story…

4. How positive are you that your significant other is NOT of your bloodline, and that by messing up with them, you might be putting your whole existence into jeopardy?… Think about that when you’re walking down the isle with them…

5. Most people from the past tend to react really, really, really, RE-HE-ally badly when you tell them that you’re not from their time… Unless you want to lose them once and for all, tell them you’re… I don’t know… pick a profession that travels a lot and keep coming back to them… ONLY when you’re sure you’re not messing with history…. (Check your travelling rules about that – pages 352-468 of your handbook)
Just keep in mind, that “tourism” is far from “interfering” with the locals…

Have to go now… my significant other is waiting for me a few years back in time to celebrate the day…

Goodnight to you… “whenever” you are…

E.

What can go wrong in time travelling – getting lost

Hey there!

Hope you’re well wherever and “whenever” you are.

This post will not be about suggesting times and places to visit.This post is about all the things that can go wrong in a journey and how you can deal with it as smoothly as possible.

Here are a few suggestions:

You get lost…

If you don’t recognize your surroundings, nor the era, make sure to keep quiet! Check if anyone sees you and quickly hide. If somebody sees you and talks to you don’t reply unless you’re absolutely sure, you know the language and the dialect (this may give you a hint of where you are and WHEN you are).

Once you roughly know your whereabouts, you should try to find out “when” you are. Look for a newspaper (it works in the movies so it can’t actually be that bad… ) If news papers are not available at the time you can probably say you’re somewhere before 1650’s, which narrows it a bit, but not a lot…

Usually when going in the far past, it’s difficult to find the exact time you’re in (not all people are comfortable with the concept of time…) Once you’re able to leave, leave and retry. The shorter time you stay in a place you don’t recognize and for which you’re not prepared for, the better (i.e. the least damage you can cause…)

The main thing to remember is this:

DON’T PANIC!

(most eloquently put by Douglas Adams… and in big friendly letters!)

Stay calm and somehow everything will turn out fine… Besides, you’re bound to make a mistake at some point (haven’t we all…) Just try to go through it as painlessly as possible…

That’s it for now… stay logged in for other things that may go wrong…

Next post… A tribute to Valentine’s Day: Falling in love when travelling (and what can go wrong with that…)

Good day to you… “whenever” you are…
E.