Time Travel discussion
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Re-living three days in your past?
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Kevin
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Sep 22, 2016 06:45AM
If you were given the ability to travel to three days in your past, what would they be? You only get to re-live a single day, but you get three uses. Would you go to your early childhood, early adulthood or yesterday? Re-live glory, or correct a wrong? Wedding, honeymoon or divorce? Birth of your child or conception? Best vacation or the day you hit the NY Times best seller list (or is that still in your future)? I'm very curious as to responses as this is the premise of my upcoming novel.
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There should be no reason to go back to three different days if you're correcting wrongs. Once you corrected one, the other two might never occur.Besides, wouldn't you give yourself a "guidebook" of your life and things that would happen during your life on the earliest trip?
Mod
Places:
1. a day during church camp 2000-- I made a lot of great friends that year, including a potential boyfriend. I felt beautiful and had lots of time to while away as I wished.
2. a performance of Crazy For You my junior year of high school-- This one I might change a little, although I wouldn't want to have to go back and re-learn all the lines and blocking just to re-live the experience. But I had a lot of fun and I wish I could perform "Naughty Baby" again. I loved theater.
3. a day during the first year of dating my now-husband in 2004-- I often think about the thrill of falling in love with my husband and how different we both looked and how innocent it all was. It was one of the best times of my life and it is made all the more powerfully wonderful knowing that we're now happily married with a baby boy.
Randy wrote: There should be no reason to go back to three different days if you're correcting wrongs. Once you corrected one, the other two might never occur.
And others would occur in their place. You should never alter the past unless you are omniscient.
And others would occur in their place. You should never alter the past unless you are omniscient.
Chris wrote: "You should never alter the past unless you are omniscient."We've had that discussion here before. Suffice it to say, I strongly disagree.
I do enjoy the articles where the author pleads with time travelers NOT to kill Hitler, because someone more competent would probably replace him. :)
One of my favorite plot lines comes from a bad time travel movie where they try to change as little as possible in the past. So, in order to save a particular person from getting killed in a hostage drama at a courthouse, they send back an agent to put 25 cents in his parking meter a week earlier. With no parking ticket to pay, he has no reason to be in the courthouse that day. :)
I'm just glad humans can't do this. We habitually fuck up the present, and we're currently fucking up the future. Odds on, if we could alter the past, we'd fuck that up as well.
I agree with you Chris, I also think we romanticize the past and that's it's probably not as great as we remember. And while I'm thinking about it, the future's probably not as bad as we fear.
Mod
BTW I like the idea, akin to the good ol' 3 wishes yarns of old!
Kevin, I will assume that we can relive those 3 separate days in a different way, given that one of your possible reasons was to right a wrong? However, I am not actually going to take advantage of that as my choice of 3 days would be to try investigate a mystery that still stands in present time. Mysteries that could make all the difference to someone's fate from the present knowing the real truth BUT not to change anything in the past, only to observe. Whatever my happy days were, I would prefer to leave as a lovely memory and those times when I made bad mistakes, I would leave as lessons to have learnt from. The word regret does not exist in my vocabulary as what choice I made in the past reflect who I was in the past. I would not ever want to right wrongs that I may have done. I believe in progression and evolution deriving from mistakes. After all, life evolution is based on genetic errors.
OK too much waffling there, so my 3 day picks of my own life.
My First Day
I was 4 and half years old, on holiday visiting relatives in Guyana. My Uncle had me on his lap on the veranda with other members of the family in a loud discussion with rum and beers in their hands. My attention was drawn to the quiet street below as I observed at one end a citizen walking in from the left of the street and the other end...I swear was someone in a Charlie Chaplin outfit twirling his brollie like Chaplin does, walking in from the right end of the street. I was transfixed, I knew Charlie Chaplin at that age and I was laughing. My Uncle asked my why I was laughing amidst the rowdiness but I didnt respond to him, I just continued watching Chaplin, while my Uncle happily left me be and continued to talk (very loudly) to the rest of the family. I watched Chaplin and the other citizen approaching each other about to transit each other when suddenly and rather shockingly, Chaplin raised his brollie threateningly at the other fella who was quite taken aback raising his arms in defense. Chaplin, didnt follow through with any strike, though, instead...he made his merry way past the shaken fella. I then watched Chaplin continue walking away, twirling his brollie, merrily while the other poor fella continued walking in the opposite direction constantly turning his head around in bafflement at his Chaplin disguised "attacker". This is such a distinctive memory but...was it real? Did I really see such an absurd thing? Or did I fabricate such a bizarre yet vivid memory? So I would go back to observe if what I saw was real...that's all, nothing to change any destinies, just a memory that has bugged me all my life!
My Second Day
My second day would, again be a mystery, and again when I was a child, probably 5-ish. Mum and I, were living in a one room apartment (plus kitchen/bathroom/toilet), temporarily while we waited to move into a new council home. I was riding my tricycle in the room where mum was sitting on the chair watching a tv show. I cycled outside of the room into the corridor and then moments later, I cycled back in...only to find my mother was gone and the TV was off. I went into the kitchen and bathroom/toilet, called out for mum but no response. I got off my tricycle and ran out the corridor then back in. Despairingly, I knocked on my neighbour's door (lived a mother and child of similar age to me, and were friends to my mum). I told her, my mum was gone so my neighbour went into our apartment to investigate. My mum wasnt anywhere. She came out with me back into the corridor, told me to stick with her. After a few moments thought, she opened the door to our apartment again...and bloody hell, there was my mum, sitting on the chair...watching the TV which was now on again. Although puzzled, I was so happy I ran to my mum, my mum look startled as if what's all the commotion and noticed our neighbour, whom I swear had a concerned (or was it what the hell just happened look?) and then both mothers started chatting. But I never knew what the hell happened...how did my mum just disappear like that, then re-appear as if she was there all the time? Again, this is something I need to revisit, to know whether my 4-5 year old mind was completely insane or did it really happen...but then why...maybe I dont want to know! But again its a mystery that makes for the only reason I would want to apply going back in the past for :)
My Third Day
OK, I was in Junior School (UK, not sure what US equivalent is, I was about 12 years old, I think). I wrote an absolutely brilliant comic book piece about Santa Claus and his pending big day. My story covered, rather comically, Santa trying to prep himself, and his lazy reindeers, having to overcome all sorts of obstacles. The drawings were brilliant, the story was so good, my class enjoyed it (well those, who weren't jealous!) and the teacher was impressed and even had the idea to have one of our drama lessons re-enact the story I wrote.
Sadly, that story is lost. The school shut down and I never thought to try seek my out my "masterpiece" :) BUT I dont actually want to revisit that day for the glory or to even read the story again (even though I'd love to read what I wrote). No, because there is a MYSTERY. And that mystery is...How the hell did I have any brains to write such a story! I was a dumb dunce kid. No way, I could have had...
...WAIT, OMG...IT CANT BE...It wasnt me, was it??? It was my future self, using one of the 3 day back to past wishes, possessing my 12 year old mind, and wrote that bloody story...oh man, so Kevin, those powers are for real, huh...wow ;)
My Thoughts on the whole Concept of reliving past days of oneself
I think time travel authors should consider that when reliving a day in the past with a whole future lifetime knowledge, that would change the timeline from the immediate point of entering the past. Because the actions of that person on that day will be that of an older self (who might as well be a completely different person, simply due to the added life experience).
Also, what happens to the that past self, on the next day when future self leaves the past self body? Will his/her memory of the previous day be blank due to the "unwelcome" possession of the future self inhabiting past self body?!? That past self will be conflicted as to what the hell happened, for sure. An issue never addressed in films like Peggy Sue Got Married, Days of Future Past, Quantum Leap etc. Perhaps Kevin, you might address such a thing...or perhaps not...As it did not stop Peggy Sue or Quantum Leap from being entertaining :)
Good luck with your book, Kevin. I hope our answers help in some way. Thanks for posting this awesome question which I think is a fun general question for members to participate in its own right, I certainly enjoyed answering that :)
Mod
https://www.viddsee.com/video/3-coins...
Its pretty much the same concept but not quite exactly using the "relive" the past day but I reckon the film could have easily adapted that method and tell the same story!
Tej and Samantha thank you very much. Both of your responses were interesting and thought provoking. I wish I had asked this question more broadly before I wrote my novel, rather than at the end. Tej, I think most people (me included) have some mysterious memories that would warrant a second look (and that has rich storytelling possibilities). I don't really resolve what happens to the past self after the 'lost day'. I leave it as a vague, confused day where they have long-term memory, but no short-term recollection.
Finally, Tej, one of the central theme's of my novel is around personal evolution though conflict/tragedy. The thought that people actually need conflict to grow and learn in their life.
Anyway, thanks for the responses. I'm now going to travel back one year ago and use this thinking in the first draft of my novel!
Kevin wrote: "If you were given the ability to travel to three days in your past, what would they be? You only get to re-live a single day, but you get three uses. Would you go to your early childhood, early adu..."Well, reliving glory days or happy days is tempting, but I think I would choose to relive days that would have made someone happier or relieved their pain on that day. I don't think the days I am thinking of would change anyone's future, but they would have made a few moments in time better for someone.
Day 1. A day when my dad was deep in Alzheimer's and he was at my house for a visit. My sons (high school and college age) were there too and so were some of their friends. We were having a cookout. My dad reached his hand into a bowl of salad and grabbed a handful and shoved it in his mouth. He also had a bathroom accident and once he started to cry. My sons were embarrassed that all of this was happening in front of their friends. I ended his visit and brought him back to Assisted Living early. I have always felt badly about that day. He looked so sad when I brought him back. It still breaks my heart.
Day 2. My college roommates and I were having a reunion. The 5 of got together every 5 years or so since graduating in 1970. Once of us had become very obese and had significant health problems that she did not share with us prior to our last reunion in 2014. She was unable to get up from a chair by herself and was incontinent. She didn't let us know that once seated she would need two of us to get her up. Things went from bad to worse in terms of her hygiene and care needs and we were unprepared. She had to sleep on a sofa because she could not walk up the stairs to the bedrooms. Short story, I had to replace the sofa.....I'll spare you the details. We drove her back to her home a day early and discovered that she had a home health aide who usually took care of her and all sorts of special devices to enable her mobility. She was very hurt and angry that we were brought her home. We were baffled and angry that she had not told us her situation. It was the last time I saw her. She died this summer and I went to her funeral.
Day 3. In Paris, walking on the Champs d'Elysees late at night, my husband and I passed a woman who was dirty, probably hungry and seemed to have a leg injury of some sort, I wanted to take her to a hospital. My husband said we should not get involved. I gave her $10 and we continued walking. If I had it to do again, I would get a taxi and take her to a hospital.
3 days where I could have reacted more kindly and compassionately. I really would like to have another chance with those 3 days.
Paul wrote: "I'd relive the worst day of my life 3 times over - the day when my youngest daughter fell of a climbing frame, hit her stomach on the way down and stopped breathing.Time both froze and zoomed by ..."
I am glad your daughter was okay. Lots of scary moments in parenthood!
The movie is "Frequency", Paul; btw, this movie is turning into a series now in the next October.
Hello everybody! I have an idea for a time travel short story that I would like to share with you; in fact, whoever is willing to put this plot into practice, feel free to do it -- that would make me very happy and honored! I would just like to know who would write the story and I would also love to read the finished story, and also receive the due credit for the original idea.The plot goes like this:
A person wakes up any given day and, for one reason or another, realizes that it is the day it should be, but ... from last year! And the story goes like this: every day that our protagonist wakes up, it is always the same day, but from the previous year. The character then spends an entire day in the year in question, until, overcome by tiredness, (s)he ends up going to sleep; when (s)he wakes up on the next morning, it's the same day of the month, but from the previous year. And so it goes, until (s)he reaches the year (s)he was born. Well, what happens when (s)he arrives at the year of her/his birth, I didn't even think about it, nor what happens during the unusual trip (but, so and so, that's exactly why I made contact with you, right?!). I had this idea last night, when I went to spend the night with my mother, who lives alone after the death of one of my sisters; she still lives (always lived) in the house where my brothers and I grew up, and I wondered what it would be like to revisit the house during the years of my youth and childhood ... What shocked me was to realize that, in my case, I would take 47 days to revisit one day from each year of my life! More than a month and a half! But it would be a very interesting vacation...
