Back From the Future

It
is refreshing that even a jaded, inveterate science fiction fan like
the Dowbrigade can still come across ideas so simple and profound that
they make us sit up an think "Why didn’t WE think of that?"

Such a moment transpired this morning as we were driving to Dim Sum
with some of the Berkman crew. On a nameless news station they were
interviewing a physicist from Berkeley University. The subject was time
travel. Dr.
Know-it-all was saying that according to our present scientific view
of the universe, according to the ground rules laid down by Albert Einstein
100 years ago, time travel is not only possible, but inevitable.

He went on to say that all that is necessary is either VERY high speeds
(like 99.9% of C) or else VERY high gravitational fields, like in the
middle of a black hole, and that while these may be beyond our present
technological limitations there
is no
reason not to assume they will eventually be reached. As an example,
he said if we got into space ship that could go 99% of the speed of light
and went OUT for a year, turned around and came BACK at the same speed,
1,000 or 10,000 years would have passed here on earth. This would be
traveling into the future, although one would hope he could be a bit
more exact with the dates before booking the trip.

He went on to aver that in his opinion, it was also theoretically possible
to travel into the past as well. However, it was noted at this point
that the interviewer noted that were it possible to travel into the
past, then wouldn’t the present be
full
of thrill seekers from the future back for a look-see?

It was here that the Doctors elegant logic left us in awe. The problem,
he explained, is that one can only go back as far as the moment when
the first successful time machine was activated.  Look for one in
your neighborhood soon.