if you had a working time machine

gomp

Junior Member
Messages
61
if you had a working time machine

Ok most of us know what the first thing we would do with a time machine would be.
But after the initial trips to talk to what ever famouse person of the past or off to save who ever from a horrible accident, then what? would you stuff your time machine into your garage and let it collect dust? or would all the possibilaties that would open up to you be to tempting to pass up?

Now winning the lotto in every state all in one week would be fun, but after that I dont know what I would do. there is a huge temptation to take a full auto machine gun back to the civial or revolutionary wars, or even back to roman times and just take over. Now along the same lines of thought, it would be really tempting to travel into the future and "borrow" a flying car or a personell space craft, preferably some thing with force feilds, and some crazy space aged laser wepons, come back to now and take over the earth.

So what would you guys do with your time machine once you got board with chatting with Jesus or Einstien every other afternoon?
 

August

Junior Member
Messages
146
if you had a working time machine

gomp,

What lengths would you go to in order to make sure the other guy does not get "some crazy space aged laser weapons, come back to now and take over the earth"? Would you kill him to make sure he does not? How many other guys are out there?

Also, if an evil fellow takes a time machine to the future to get some super powerful weapons and returns to the present to take over the earth, he will have a very difficult time. Because now he has changed from being an evil fellow to being an evil fellow who is a large physical threat.

Before he showed up with his big laser cannon, he was just an evil guy with a time machine in the garage. Now he is an evil guy with his picture in the paper. Who will make him a sandwich while he is zapping F-14 Tomcats? If he comes back with a thousand phaser cannons or a fleet of spacecraft, how will he hand them out? "WANTED: T-plasmogen cannon operators; must be able to withstand worldwide wrath and contempt; quick learners desired; minimum five years combat experience; disconnected ego a plus; salary plus benefits, dental."

Besides, when he comes back with a better way to scare people and kill people, he will be faced with a 30,000 year old problem: supply chain management.

So I have decided against taking over the earth.

My house was built during John Adams' Presidency, about 1798. When I go into the attic, I can see rough-hewn chestnut timbers held together with wooden pegs. The workmanship is excellent. The pegs still have the marks of the last hit of the carpenter's hammer.

I would travel back to my house being built. I would offer my services as a simple porter. I would carry their tools, bring them water. Listen to their conversations, their hopes for the new nation. In many ways I have already done this, no?

Besides, I would not understand Jesus. Einstein would not have time for me.
 

gomp

Junior Member
Messages
61
if you had a working time machine

Good answer
But you dont have to be "evil" to want to take over the world
 

August

Junior Member
Messages
146
if you had a working time machine

True. Your intention may be good. But the many things you will need to do will be seen as evil. Out of 4.2 billion people, how many will want you to go ahead and take over the world? What will you do with rest?
 

CaryP

Senior Member
Messages
1,432
if you had a working time machine

Gomp,

You'd better recruit a lot of bloodthirsty "future" soldiers. Those in power won't go easily into the good night as Whitman wrote. You by yourself would be no match for the current day armies, unless you brought back some "nation killing" weapon. Who would you trust? Who would line up with you?

Doesn't sound like a good idea. As the old saw goes, power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Your "good intentions" would soon be replaced with "bad" ones.

Cary
 

StarLord

Senior Member
Messages
3,187
Re: if you had a working time machine

If it was me, I'd have the time machines made to resemble cheap digital watches with two wires attached to them, go on the internet and sell them for 1.5 million.

Then I'd get a good stop watch, activate it and see how many seconds it would take for life as we know it to just vanish.
 

CaryP

Senior Member
Messages
1,432
Re: if you had a working time machine

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(\"StarLord\")</div>
If it was me, I'd have the time machines made to resemble cheap digital watches with two wires attached to them, go on the internet and sell them for 1.5 million.

Then I'd get a good stop watch, activate it and see how many seconds it would take for life as we know it to just vanish.[/b]

ROTFLMAO! Oh God, that was funny. What was the goober's name that tried that here? Didn't he raise the price to $2 million on his last attempt? Thanks for the laugh StarLord.

Cary
 

Lucidus

Member
Messages
256
Re: if you had a working time machine

Its a good thing that I cannot time travel because honestly, the temptation to play with cause and effect and try to intentionally create paradoxes( or is it paradoxen, or paradoxi?) would be way, way more than I could possibly resist. :)
 

StarLord

Senior Member
Messages
3,187
Re: if you had a working time machine

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(\"lucidus\")</div>
Its a good thing that I cannot time travel because honestly, the temptation to play with cause and effect and try to intentionally create paradoxes( or is it paradoxen, or paradoxi?) would be way, way more than I could possibly resist. :)[/b]

There is a way to do this in reverse. Go out of your way to play with your own Karma. Of course, that takes much longer but is just as mysterious trying to figgure out which particular cause created the present 'cowpie' in the fan, and breathtakingly exciting untill you get tired of paying the piper.
 

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