Choose Your Weapon - Time Travel

Lee Dong Wooj in Tail of the Nine-Tailed Is the past repeating itself again?

Time Travel as a Weapon

You might think of time travel more as a mode of transportation, at least in film and literature, and you would be right. It certainly offers a way of moving characters into precarious and plot-twisting situations.

But it is also a weapon. 

If you don't believe me, read on to discover how deadly time travel can be.

In the 2016 series Travelers, future surviving humans send their consciousness back through time into people of the 21st century to change the path of humanity. Of course, they kill their hosts to do it...

Time Travel Defined

Think of time travel as a way to transport a) information (precognition as in The Minority Report) and/or b) characters forward, backward and sideways (into parallel universes). And note, even though Einstein's Relativity says time, travel or otherwise, is an illusion, quantum physics begs to differ. 

Brief Sidestep into Science

In quantum physics, we have the idea of time symmetry in that it flows both ways, forward from past to present to future, AND backward, from future, to present to past. The latter is the most common because an observer is essential to 'see' a thing for it to exist. 

As John Wheeler puts it, "...what the observer will do in the future defines what happens in the past—even in a past so remote that life did not then exist, and shows even more, that 'observership' is a prerequisite for any useful version of 'reality'."

Don't you love how 'reality' is in quotes? 

Time becomes both complex and illusory, but that doesn't stop us from using fiction to get a handle on it.

Wheel of Time depicts time with a seven-spoked wheel marking the seven Ages. The turning of this wheel and the events of each Age generate the Great Pattern, a predefined plan which defines the past, present and future -  not unlike Hindu and Buddhist representations of time.

The Sub Genres of Time Travel in Fiction

Writing time travel in fiction offers a way to weaponize a character as well as play with the time/space continuum. And the best part of this, to me, is you can cross genres like crazy to do it. TT includes multiple classes of Speculative Fiction from SF, Fantasy and alternate history to even more obscure niches. 

We have books and films ranging from Fantasy, like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and The Dragonriders of Pern, to Fairytale like Rip Van Winkle to the War subclass like The Edge of Tomorrow (adapted from Hiroshi Sakurazaka's All You Need is Kill), Alt History like Outlander, comedy as in Groundhog Day and of course SF from H. G. Wells' 1895 classic The Time Machine to comedy/SF Back to the Future. 

I played with the symmetry of time in deadly ways in the Quantum Enchantment series, specifically Arrows of Time.

Time can change the course of history.
Right, Mr. Queen?

As well, we have works across more Spec Fic subgenres like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Wheels of Time to the wonderful array of KDramas such as Lovely Runner and Mr. Queen.

Conclusions

The point is, that time travel isn't always a glitch in The Matrix. It can be used to correct the devastating collapse of humanity (Terminator), to win the battle and save the day, for example...

"By making use of time displacement equipment, agents from both sides (pro Skynet and anti Skynet) are deployed on missions designed to either ensure, alter, or eradicate the status quo as perceived by the participants at the time." - Terminator Universe 

Now that is some weapon!

On a more subtle level, there is the temporal fugue portrayed in Creatures of Light and Darkness by Roger Zelazny where our hero moves through time, adding himself to a causality loop so his 'copies' can join the fight. The possibilities here are endless!

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Do you have a favorite time travel book, film or game? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Choose Your Weapon Series 2024

Poison

The Perfect Storm

The Sword

Firearms

Ranged

Spells

Unarmed

Curses

Time Travel

Invisibility

* * *

About Kim Falconer

Kim Falconer, currently writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is working on the third book, out in 2024.

Kim can be found on  AKWilder Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Throw the bones, read your horoscopes or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site

From the Backlist - In What World

 

YUMESHIP: Photo
A Vampire Knight [ヴァンパイア 騎士]

Welcome to the Sup!

It's time again to explore our awesome backlist and I'm so glad you have joined our troupe of merry readers!

Today we are sharing another post by the bestselling author Margaret Ronald. Her thoughts on world building from May 20, 2011 are insightful for both readers and writers alike. 

Come along with us to discover the effects of adding magic to a world!

* * *

In What World...


...WORDS (have) become a sort of shorthand for setting up drama. And for me, they sum up one of the things I love about writing: finding that "in a world" moment and drawing it out into a real, complicated situation.

Say you have a fairly normal setting, only with magic/mythical creatures/mutant superpowers. (In a world where vampires roam the night...in a world where deities lurk in back alleys...) Said powers can range from outright awesome (immortality! control over electricity! telekinesis!) to just above mundane (control over all shrimp no longer than one inch! olfactory invulnerability! keeping a fridge permanently clean!). The first and most important question then becomes "why aren't these magicians/vampires/mutants in charge of everything?"

One answer is "they are, we just don't know it." Okay, then. How much energy does it take to hide something that big? And why not rule openly? Or perhaps in this world, they are already visibly in charge of everything. That's going to make a lot of changes in the governance of this world, possibly even down to who's still considered a person. If vampires are in charge, are humans cattle? If magicians rule, where's the check on their power? 

 

There are lots of fun ways to play with this character by character -- say, Mr. Electricity above can only exert his power at great personal cost, and so lives off the grid, away from civilization. Or maybe the fridge-cleaning guy works in a sterile lab, and so that just makes his life a little easier. But on a larger scale, the effects of adding magic to a world are a lot more pernicious... Read the rest of the post.

Read more about Margaret Ronald here!

And, her awesome books.

From the Backlist - eBooks in a Changing World

Amazon Kindles

Hello Everyone!

It's time to check in on the #backlist at the Supernatural Underground! 

Today we are highlighting a post made in April 2011 on a topic as relevant as it was over a decade ago.

So dive right in to Joss Ware's, (one of the pen names of Colleen Gleason) the international best-selling author), post on eBooks. Don't skip the comments either! So intriguing.

* * *

A Rapidly Changing World

by Joss Ware (now writing as Colleen Gleason)

 

eBooks, hypertext links, SMS - What's Next?

 

... eBook sales and popularity are exploding, heralds are crying that "print is dead!" and we authors are wondering if we'll ever have reason to do a booksigning again!

We're spending a lot of time as authors thinking about the future, but I'd like to get some perspective from those of you who enjoy our books, but who aren't in the thick of the industry.

So, today, I'm hoping our readers here on Supernatural Underground will weigh in on the following questions for us. We'd love to know what's going on in your mind!

1. Do you have an ereader or do you read ebooks?
2. What percentage of print books versus ebooks are you currently buying?
3. If you have an ereader and only or mostly download books to read, would you find a booksigning worth attending? If so, why?
4. Do you have any suggestions for us authors as far as how to sign/promote books for those of you who buy them electronically? (I've been asked to sign a Kindle and a nook more than once...the actual devices!)

...and any other thoughts or observations you might have!

Thanks so much for being our readers and let us know what you think. 

To explore the many comments already made, continue reading here... and visit Joss (Colleen Gleason) on her spectacular website.

* * *

Where fiction makes the heart beat faster...

Choose Your Weapon - The Sword

The Netflix Witcher based on novels by Andrezej Sapkowski

Welcome to the third instalment in the series Choose Your Weapon. Today we are talking about the mighty sword, an implement used in human history for thousands of years. But no matter how long the blade has been with us, it can't compare to the glorification it receives in novels, films, graphics and the gaming industry. 

There is nothing like it in real life!

From the mythos of Excaliber to the wonders of Sting, Glamdring and even the Witcher's Zireael,  Fantasy swords are often written with an elaborate history and purpose. They are literally characters themselves. 

Consider Andúril, the Flame of the West. This is the broken sword that Aragorn carries, the very one that is eventually reforged from the shards of Narsil in Rivendell. Andúril, even when broken, is the mark of the heir of Isildur, but isn't it interesting we know more about it than the history of hobbits?

Why the Popularity in Fantasy?

The Fantasy genre, especially the subclass of Swords and Sorcery, initially derived from life in the Middle Ages, a time when carrying a sword was a sign of power and command. This holds true in Eastern stories of the samurai, depicted in Anime for their prowess, skill, grace and mastery in sword fighting.

Jin and Mugen from Samurai Champloo - CBR 2022

We can say that writers like David Eddings, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Anne McCaffery, C L Moore, Tanith Lee, Terry Goodkind, Marsaru Gotsubo, Kazuo Koike and our own Helen Lowe and yours truly, helped to and continue to help fix this weapon firmly in the Fantasy genre. But why this weapon in particular?

The Archetype of Truth

As said, the sword symbolizes power, protection, authority, strength, and courage. The connection is obvious, but metaphysically, it also represents truth, discrimination and the penetrating power of the intellect. Take the Suit of Swords in the Tarot (Tarocchi) deck, a metaphorical card 'game' with us since the 15th century.

Keywords for the suit of swords from http://learntarot.com/less3.htm -  

The Swords are the suit of intellect, thought and reason. They are concerned with justice, truth and ethical principles. Swords are associated with the element Air. A cloudless sky, open and light-filled, is a symbol of the mental clarity that is the sword's ideal. This suit is also associated with states that lead to disharmony and unhappiness. Our intellect is a valuable asset, but as an agent of ego, it can lead us astray if it is not infused with the wisdom of our Inner Guide...

Writing Sword Scenes Successfully

I've shared my struggles with sword fighting scenes early on in my career, but will summarize again here, especially for writers just starting out.

From The Way of the Sword – Voyager Blog.

... (twenty-five) years ago, I showed my first manuscript (The Spell of Rosette), to an author friend who was also a weapons black belt. She came back a week later saying Brilliant story Kim but you don’t know shit about the sword.

Oh boy... as if form-rejection letters weren't demoralizing enough.

But hang on! I thought I knew plenty about the sword. I’d watched ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ at least ten times and saw Kill Bill on the big screen twice. Could my sword scenes really be that bad? 

She assured me they were. She also invited me to join her Iaido (ee-eye-doh) classes and learn the ancient Japanese art of the samurai. 

Over years of training, I became fluent with techniques against single and multiple attackers, against spears and armour, and horsed riders. Sure enough, my fight scenes improved as I choreographed each one from scratch and when I finally found a publisher for the series (Stephnie Smith as HarperCollins Voyager), her first comment was "Great sword fighting scenes, Kim."

Truth is, it's one thing to slip poison into a cup, or even brew a magical spell to control the weather, but you just can't fake a sword fight.

Do you have a favorite Fantasy story that includes a swordfight or two? We'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Happy reading and writing!

xxKim

Choose Your Weapon Series 2024

Poison

The Perfect Storm

The Sword

Firearms

Ranged

Spells

Unarmed

Curses

Time Travel

Invisibility

***

About Kim Falconer

Kim Falconer, currently writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is working on the third book, out in 2024.

Kim can be found on  AKWilder Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Throw the bones, read your horoscopes or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site