-4° | anywhen (text)

[catchacold]

We're already in some magical land that makes our dreams come true - mostly the bad ones - so let's think about the impossible some more.

[Leonard may be calling it "impossible" mostly to heckle one specific Brit, given he's travelled through time himself, but maybe it will also flush out other time travellers. May be interesting.]

If you could travel to any point in history, where and when would you go, and why?

Also, if you could travel to any point in your own personal history, your lifetime... Same questions.

Would you try to change anything?

[He has experience with trying and the resulting failure too.]

Comments

[tobelieve]

There are a few things, but our pasts are too tightly weaved to be changeable.

[catchacold]

Oh, they are very changeable. The tight weaving just means that any change can mangle things up you're not expecting.

Not much science to it, no matter what anyone tries to tell you.

[tobelieve]

You've managed to alter your own history?

[catchacold]

Not significantly. Gave it a try. Turns out that my old man was stubbornly incompetent, he got arrested anyway.

[tobelieve]

That's more of a success than I managed.

[catchacold]

Yeah?

What happened with you?

[tobelieve]

Absolutely nothing.

( It's a big can of worms that Helena may wish she hadn't touched )

The time travel was successful but I was unable to alter the events that followed.

[catchacold]

The pricks who used to be in charge of time travel and watching over time back where I was from told us that some things are meant to happen. Set in stone.

[tobelieve]

Perhaps for your world.

( There's a little anger to her tone now and Helena takes a few seconds before speaking again, reining it in. It isn't his fault -- they're not his rules, just some stupid thing )

There weren't any rules for me, considering no one had ever done it before.

[catchacold]

Wasn't true for my world either, as it turns out. I blew that preconception up.

[Literally.]

There were a lot of rules for us. We broke them all. So, how did you do it?

[tobelieve]

I sent my consciousness back -- not to my own body but someone else's.

( There's a smile now at his admission )

I imagine that you must have pissed a lot of people off.

[catchacold]

Huh. How does that work? Just any random body? What happens with the other consciousness, does it wind up in your body for that time?

[He'll smirk back. She's definitely not wrong about that.]

I'd say pissing people off is one of my many talents.

[tobelieve]

No, they're simply unconscious. It's likely why there's a limit on how long uou can go back for.

( It's the only theory she has, anyway )

It's interesting to find another here familiar with actual time travel. I've never met another who even believed it possible.

[catchacold]

Would be even more invasive otherwise, yeah. You get to choose who you take over?

[An unsettling concept, but definitely fascinating.]

I didn't think it was possible until a while ago. The pro at it from my world is Rip Hunter. Strange name, but he's the one who recruited me.

[tobelieve]

Recruited for what?

[catchacold]

To defeat an immortal, megalomaniac dictator.

So, you know. Nothing unusual.

[tobelieve]

Only the methods you used. ( Though she's also used to unusual methods herself ) What were they doing?

[catchacold]

Starting wars, spreading discontent, outfitting people with weapons, advising others, developing viruses.

Being immortal gives you a lot of time to prepare your ascent.

[tobelieve]

It does.

( Immortal, encased in bronze... )

Though it may not have taken much time at all.

[catchacold]

True, people probably don't need that much of a nudge. Sometimes not even that.

Well, this has been nice and depressing. Maybe next time we talk, we'll actually have fun together.

[tobelieve]

If you wanted fun you should have said.

[catchacold]

Hey, I'm not blaming you, I asked for this.

Just saying. Has to be fun ways for time travellers to bond too, right?

[tobelieve]

I could think of a few ways.

[catchacold]

Yeah?

I can hardly wait.