Sunday, February 10, 2013

Why Time Travel Is Illegal

Let's say that, for your birthday, you get a laser rifle and a time machine.

Well, it's pretty obvious what most of us would do, right?


But people never think past that first step...



Well, still, he died saving millions, right?

Uh-oh...



D'oh!!!

Fortunately...

So now someone else gets to be the hero by killing you...

Except, of course, it becomes a never ending chain...





There was an awful big pile of future bodies backstage at the Nuhremberg Rally...

Time Travel: leave it to the professionals, OK, kids?

From Mystery In Space #114 (1980), by Gerry Conway & Tom Yeates

8 comments:

Martin Gray said...

I must have read that, but can't remember it at all. And it's a cracker.

Erich said...

Loman: Proof that you can travel through time and still be an idiot. Publicly assassinating Hitler at the height of his political career? No, what you do is go back to World War I, when he was just a lowly soldier, and shoot him during a battle before he has a chance to develop any influence at all.

Besides, I think killing Goebbels and derailing the propaganda machine would probably be more effective at keeping the Nazis out of power...

312B said...

Even killing Adolf in World War 1 won't fly. In Stephen Fry's MAKING HISTORY two people do that, only to find someone smarter replace hitler who wages war peacefully and grows the empire, eliminates the jews - thats the casual loop effect.

Waljamada said...

I just purchased the original art pages for this complete story. I love it too while it has its flaws it packs some cool concepts into 7 pages.

Bill the Butcher said...

Interesting concept that Hitler was "history's greatest murderer". I assume that people like "King" Leopold I of Belgium, who only mass murdered non whites, don't count.

Bill the Butcher said...

Or George W Shrub, for that matter.

Nyerguds said...

Erich wrote:
> Publicly assassinating Hitler at the height of his political career? No, what you do is go back to World War I, when he was just a lowly soldier, and shoot him during a battle before he has a chance to develop any influence at all.

You clearly never player Command & Conquer: Red Alert.

Rob said...

Just read "Making History" by Stephen Fry. The basic point is that killing Hitler, even baby Hitler, doesn't guarantee a happy ending.

I'm not sure what would. Negotiating a better Treaty of Versailles? Killing the German leadership during WW I or WW II? It's hard to say what would do the trick.