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End Of Eternity And Time Travel

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Tim Bruening

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Aug 25, 2006, 3:58:58 AM8/25/06
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In Eternity, which is a big temporal field outside Reality in which the
Eternals live and work, time passes, and the people grow older. This
passage of time is known as "physiotime". Andrew Harlan has spent two
physioyears teaching Cooper Primitive History, and the project to sent
Cooper back to the 24th century to invent time travel seems to have
taken several physiodecades. Early in Eternity's history in physiotime,
Eternity had painstakingly built up several hundred Sections when it
obtain a matter duplicator which it used to duplicate Sections all the
way to the end of the world.

What would happen if Eternity built a time kettle to travel back in
Eternity's physiotime to an earlier physiotime?

tsbr...@dcn.davis.ca.us

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Sep 4, 2006, 4:31:39 AM9/4/06
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David Johnston wrote:
> Nothing. You can't travel through the time it takes to travel through
> time.

What if the Eternals generated a Temporal Field inside the Eternity
Temporal Field? Would that enable them to travel back to an
earlier physiotime?

ah

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Sep 4, 2006, 9:59:03 AM9/4/06
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Epistemology is proscribed in demon.local

Please see the FAQ. It's a good idea to read a while before posting.
--
ah

ah

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Sep 4, 2006, 8:43:06 PM9/4/06
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colone...@yahoo.com wrote:
> You do realize you posted this to three other groups too?
> Checking your headers is a good idea too.
>
> 3ch

>
> On Mon, 4 Sep 2006, ah wrote:
>>
>> Epistemology is proscribed in demon.local
>>
>> Please see the FAQ. It's a good idea to read a while before posting.
>> --
>> ah
>>
>

Golly. Thanks.
--
ah

Tim Bruening

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Sep 5, 2006, 3:22:05 AM9/5/06
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ah wrote:

I just reread the FAQ and found no indication of any ban on Epistemology. Below
is The Official demon.local FAQ as posted on 3 Apr 2006 20:00:06 GMT by Usenet
FAQ Poster <fa...@lies.damn.lies>

The Official FAQ


Welcome to the demon.local FAQ. It's only a brief guide to the newsgroup
demon.local -- if there's something you want to see here, or something
you do see here that you want to take issue with, then please post your
comments in the newsgroup.

[1] What is demon.local?

[2] What's on topic there?

[3] What's off topic there?

[4] Are there any rules?

[5] What's it like there?

[6] Who posts there?

[7] Can I post there?

[8] What's this stuff about .sigs that I keep seeing?

[9] Why do some people call it a 'robust' group?

[10] I've just been sworn at -- what should I do?

[11] I've just been vilely abused -- what should I do?

[12] Who made this FAQ?

[13] Is Mabbettry allowed?

[14] Is Craig Oldfield fat?

[15] Is James Follett a lying fuckface?

So...


[1] What is demon.local?
========================

It's a newsgroup a bit like any other, except that it belongs to the demon
hierarchy rather than any of the big Usenet ones. It's a place to come and
chat about anything and everything, almost.

[2] What's on topic there?
==========================

Anything and everything, almost. We don't have a charter, and this is the
nearest thing we have to an official FAQ. Being 'on topic' is not difficult
to achieve. Strictly, discussion of .sigs (see below) belongs elsewhere,
though for historical reasons a bit of this nonsense still continues here.

[3] What's off topic there?
===========================

Anything that's not on topic -- see above.

[4] Are there any rules?
========================

No -- other than the usual ones pertaining to binaries and html.

[5] What's it like there?
=========================

It's an interesting place. Sometimes it's very friendly, other times it's
cold and forbidding. It doesn't have any of that 'cosy' rubbish that you
get in some places ('Come in and pull up a chair', 'Have a biccie', or
other such crap). If that's your thing you'd be better off elsewhere: this
is a 'robust' group (see below).

[6] Who posts there?
====================

We have a considerable mixture, socially, intellectually, and in terms of
knowledge and experience, right through the whole imaginable range. There
is a good number of people who are technically knowledgeable about
computing, Usenet, the Internet etc; several PhDs; at least three published
authors; students; several media types; plenty of musical types;
housewives; idiots; foreign people; complete thickos; the young and the
geriatric... you name it, we've got it.

[7] Can I post there?
=====================

Yes, of course you can! There are no membership criteria, and you are
welcome even if you don't know an apostrophe from an apocalypse, unless
you happen to be called Keith.

[8] What's this stuff about .sigs that I keep seeing?
=====================================================

Although it's not really on topic here, discussion of .sigs has a bit of a
history, stemming from the time when a bunch of puritan hooligans attempted
a group takeover with the intention of forcing people (through abuse) to
conform to an ideal sig-format. Feel free to ignore this stuff.

[9] Why do some people call it a 'robust' group?
================================================

Because they like to swear, of course! But also because it's not a place
you should linger in if you are easily offended by strong opinions.

[10] I've just been sworn at -- what should I do?
=================================================

Why would you want to do anything?

[11] I've just been vilely abused -- what should I do?
======================================================

Ask someone else -- that's outside my field.

[12] Who made this FAQ?
=======================

It's the result of collaboration by a representative sample of demon.local
regulars. If you don't like it or don't find it useful, please say so in
the group.

[13] Is Mabbettry allowed?
==========================

Absolutely and unequivocally not.

[14] Is Craig Oldfield fat?
===========================

Why not post and ask him?

[15] Is James Follett a lying fuckface?
=======================================

It's all a question of spin. What is "truth"?

ah

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Sep 7, 2006, 8:12:23 PM9/7/06
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That's the Expurgated Version.
--
ah

Tim Bruening

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Jun 18, 2007, 1:19:03 AM6/18/07
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Richard Schultz

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Jun 18, 2007, 5:00:29 AM6/18/07
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In alt.books.isaac-asimov Tim Bruening <tsbr...@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us> wrote:

: What would happen if Eternity built a time kettle to travel back in


: Eternity's physiotime to an earlier physiotime?

According to the novel, that's not possible -- Eternity exists outside
of the passage of time in the regular universe, but physiotime is not
reversible.

-----
Richard Schultz sch...@mail.biu.ac.il
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University
-----
"Logic is a wreath of pretty flowers which smell bad."

dwight...@gmail.com

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Jun 18, 2007, 8:41:10 AM6/18/07
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On Jun 18, 4:00 am, schu...@mail.biu.ack.il (Richard Schultz) wrote:

> In alt.books.isaac-asimov Tim Bruening <tsbru...@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us> wrote:
>
> : What would happen if Eternity built a time kettle to travel back in
> : Eternity's physiotime to an earlier physiotime?
>
> According to the novel, that's not possible -- Eternity exists outside
> of the passage of time in the regular universe, but physiotime is not
> reversible.

At one point, Harlan almost encounters a later version of himself (and
of course, he later on almost encounters an earlier version.) Suppose
they step into into Eternity together at the same time; where will
they go? Either one will end up in an earlier physiotime, or one will
end up in a later physiotime.

Richard Schultz

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Jun 18, 2007, 12:31:26 PM6/18/07
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In alt.books.isaac-asimov dwight...@gmail.com <dwight...@gmail.com> wrote:

:> : What would happen if Eternity built a time kettle to travel back in
:> : Eternity's physiotime to an earlier physiotime?

:> According to the novel, that's not possible -- Eternity exists outside
:> of the passage of time in the regular universe, but physiotime is not
:> reversible.

: At one point, Harlan almost encounters a later version of himself (and
: of course, he later on almost encounters an earlier version.) Suppose
: they step into into Eternity together at the same time; where will
: they go? Either one will end up in an earlier physiotime, or one will
: end up in a later physiotime.

No, each will end up in Eternity at the physiotime appropriate to the
physiotime he is currently experiencing. If they were to meet and then
leave Time simultaneously, they would no longer be together when they
got into Eternity. It's like two people waiting at a bank of elevators.
If they get into two different elevators simultaneously, they will end up
on different floors even though each one got on his elevator at the same
time as the other. This is why I have said that _The End of Eternity_ makes
my brain hurt.

dwight...@gmail.com

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Jun 18, 2007, 1:09:26 PM6/18/07
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On Jun 18, 11:31 am, schu...@mail.biu.ack.il (Richard Schultz) wrote:

> In alt.books.isaac-asimov dwight.thi...@gmail.com <dwight.thi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> :> : What would happen if Eternity built a time kettle to travel back in
> :> : Eternity's physiotime to an earlier physiotime?
>
> :> According to the novel, that's not possible -- Eternity exists outside
> :> of the passage of time in the regular universe, but physiotime is not
> :> reversible.
>
> : At one point, Harlan almost encounters a later version of himself (and
> : of course, he later on almost encounters an earlier version.) Suppose
> : they step into into Eternity together at the same time; where will
> : they go? Either one will end up in an earlier physiotime, or one will
> : end up in a later physiotime.
>
> No, each will end up in Eternity at the physiotime appropriate to the
> physiotime he is currently experiencing. If they were to meet and then
> leave Time simultaneously, they would no longer be together when they
> got into Eternity. It's like two people waiting at a bank of elevators.
> If they get into two different elevators simultaneously, they will end up
> on different floors even though each one got on his elevator at the same
> time as the other. This is why I have said that _The End of Eternity_ makes
> my brain hurt.

On what do you base this assertion? Is there some way Eternity tags
elementary particles so that they 'know' when they came from? If
Harlan II gets the drop on Harlan I, knocks him out, and lugs him off
to Eternity, Harlan I will not cross into the same physiotime? What
about items like books? If Harlan I drops off a book from his
physiotime into Noys' apartment, can Harlan II retrieve it can carry
it back into his own physiotime?

Suppose Harlan II changes clothes with Harlan I in the hopes of
impersonating his earlier double. Does Harlan II arrive naked?

Tim Bruening

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Jun 18, 2007, 2:19:18 PM6/18/07
to

Richard Schultz wrote:

> In alt.books.isaac-asimov dwight...@gmail.com <dwight...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> :> : What would happen if Eternity built a time kettle to travel back in
> :> : Eternity's physiotime to an earlier physiotime?
>
> :> According to the novel, that's not possible -- Eternity exists outside
> :> of the passage of time in the regular universe, but physiotime is not
> :> reversible.
>
> : At one point, Harlan almost encounters a later version of himself (and
> : of course, he later on almost encounters an earlier version.) Suppose
> : they step into into Eternity together at the same time; where will
> : they go? Either one will end up in an earlier physiotime, or one will
> : end up in a later physiotime.
>
> No, each will end up in Eternity at the physiotime appropriate to the
> physiotime he is currently experiencing. If they were to meet and then
> leave Time simultaneously, they would no longer be together when they
> got into Eternity. It's like two people waiting at a bank of elevators.
> If they get into two different elevators simultaneously, they will end up
> on different floors even though each one got on his elevator at the same
> time as the other. This is why I have said that _The End of Eternity_ makes
> my brain hurt.

What if the earlier Harlan grabs hold of the later Harlan and then activates the
"return to Eternity" device?

Wayne Throop

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Jun 18, 2007, 2:43:08 PM6/18/07
to
: "dwight...@gmail.com" <dwight...@gmail.com>
: Is there some way Eternity tags

: elementary particles so that they 'know' when they came from? If
: Harlan II gets the drop on Harlan I, knocks him out, and lugs him off
: to Eternity, Harlan I will not cross into the same physiotime? What
: about items like books? If Harlan I drops off a book from his
: physiotime into Noys' apartment, can Harlan II retrieve it can carry
: it back into his own physiotime?
:
: Suppose Harlan II changes clothes with Harlan I in the hopes of
: impersonating his earlier double. Does Harlan II arrive naked?

If Harlan II ate a meal Harlan I brought...


Wayne Throop thr...@sheol.org http://sheol.org/throopw

Tim Bruening

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Mar 22, 2008, 3:09:36 AM3/22/08
to
In Eternity, which is a big temporal field outside Reality in which the
Eternals live and work, time passes, and the people grow older. This
passage of time is known as "physiotime". Andrew Harlan has spent two
physioyears teaching Cooper Primitive History, and the project to sent
Cooper back to the 24th century to invent time travel seems to have
taken several physiodecades. Early in Eternity's history in physiotime,
Eternity had painstakingly built up several hundred Sections when it
obtained a matter duplicator which it used to duplicate Sections all the

Tim Bruening

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Nov 1, 2008, 4:17:34 PM11/1/08
to
In Eternity, which is a big temporal field outside Reality in which the
Eternals live and work, time passes, and the people grow older. This
passage of time is known as "physiotime". Andrew Harlan has spent two
physioyears teaching Cooper Primitive History, and the project to sent
Cooper back to the 24th century to invent time travel seems to have
taken several physiodecades. Early in Eternity's history in physiotime,
Eternity had painstakingly built up several hundred Sections when it
obtained a matter duplicator which it used to duplicate Sections all the

Dorothy J Heydt

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Nov 1, 2008, 3:52:27 PM11/1/08
to
In article <490CB95E...@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us>,

Dunno, but Fritz Leiber's _The Big Time specifies that you can't
set up a secondary time-travel field inside a primary one. "Or,
as Gertie Stein might have put it, you can't time travel through
the time you travel in when you time travel."

Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djh...@kithrup.com

Tim Bruening

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Nov 1, 2008, 7:37:19 PM11/1/08
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Dorothy J Heydt wrote:

Why should Isaac Asimov be bound by Fritz Leiber's rules?

Dorothy J Heydt

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Nov 1, 2008, 6:48:52 PM11/1/08
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In article <490CE82F...@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us>,

No reason. But when you consider that both forms of time travel
are fictional, one guess is as good as another.

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