If pigs had wings...

... would they be kosher?

Dear Thomas,

I hope you'll forgive the indirect ribbing.

non nobis

[...]

Dear Enrico,

It occurred to me recently that several fabulists have pondered the potential consequences of history-changing time travel. I don't myself believe it possible any more than the many-worlds interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. Goodness knows there's enough weirdness that just comes from classical dynamics in at-least three dimensions! (anyone up for a game of chaos?) In any case, lots of people have wondered about that, and the general consensus seems to be that it's a bad idea to try playing with, as everyone's attempts to fix various things that have gone wrong in our personal lives or politics or S.T. Colleridge's kite-high poetry... but I digress... they all invariably go wrong and produce something much worse.

At the same time it occurred to me that many people also agree that the 20th Century has been one of the Worst Times Ever. Sure, we all live in obscene comfort now (only, we don't all ...) and now is (as ever) one of the best times to be alive, also some of the most horrendous things have been done almost as soon as they got sufficiently easier to do. And that's easier just from a technological point of view.

So, many agree that Time Travel to Change History will lead to Bad Things, and also the Recent History is full of Bad Things. So, to answer your question "where are they all?" if there were any, (ok, not space aliens, but time tourists) I'd suggest they're probably at odd moments between 1910 and 1978, give or take, with plenty of arbitrariness thrown-in.

luke skywalker