I read a sci-fi story years ago about time travel.

[captain queeg]

I don’t remember if a person could actually travel or if it was more of an ability to watch and hear things from the past. I think it was also limited to how far back you could go. But in the midst of the amazing discovery it quickly devolved into everyone going back a few hours or days to prove some point or spy on someone. I think of it sometimes when I see the GQP in action. I’m quite sure that would be their response.

[unblock]

1. I remember a story about time travel that I read many years from now....

[flying rabbit]

3. Whoa...

in my best Keanu. :mindblown:

[Cartoonist]

2. I know the story

It was by Asimov. You're right in that you couldn't actually travel back in time, but you could view anything and anywhen. They tried to suppress it because it meant the end of privacy.

[StatWoman]

4. "The Dead Past"

An oldie but goodie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Past

[captain queeg]

5. Thanks. Only on DU would I meet people who read some of the stuff I did

or maybe some sci-fi site I guess. I’ll go with another one that I think about sometimes. I think it was the Martian chronicals. It was lots of years ago but they nailed how humans would be able to get everything they wanted without leaving the house. Sort of like the internet and Amazon. After awhile no one would leave their house. That part wasn’t maybe so imaginative but they had figured out how to change people to martians. But the researchers would never come back. Finally someone managed to return and it turned out Martian life was so fabulous no one could bring themselves to change back so they could report. I figured maybe death is like that.

[StatWoman]

6. Ah, Bradbury . . .

. . . I think I was way too young when I tried to read his stuff. I should give it another try.

I do remember a story, I think by Clifford Simak, about how humans were changing themselves into a predominant life form on Jupiter, because it wasn't possible to visit in human bodies. They didn't come back because it was so great.

When someone finally did re-appear, most humans went off and became Jovians, leaving intelligent dogs behind. (That was a different story in the same universe.)

Yeah, it would be nice if death were like that! Many people with near death experiences report no desire whatsoever to return to their earthly lives.

So a little Googling revealed a short story called "Desertion" by Simak (I remembered correctly), and a novel called "City" which I haven't read.

[captain queeg]

7. Simak, Jupiter? That sounds right. There weren't that many authors and books back then.Simak

Bradbury, Clark, a few others. I remember going to the book store, I'd always get a book when I went backpacking. There'd be a couple shelves of sci-Fi. Now there are rows and rows. But after I read LOR I sort of switched to Fantasy mostly.

[StatWoman]

8. And, of course, Heinlein, always a favorite of mine!

I don't read fantasy or science fiction much any more; it all tends to blur together and seem the same after a while.

[DFW]

9. A few years ago, I WROTE a story about time travel. It's still available on Amazon, I think.

A few here on DU have read it, including Thom Hartmann, who even mentioned it on his show. It was fun to write, but it took quite a bit of research, some of which involved looking through one of Thom's books. I wrote it during the Cheney/Bush recession, and I haven't had that much free time on my hands since.

[Aristus]

10. Sounds a little like the 2013 film, "About Time".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/About_Time_(2013_film)