Unsound Variations
by George R. R. Martin
Peter Norten and his wife Kathy already had a rocky marriage before heading up to Bruce
Bunnish’s Colorado mansion for a ten-year reunion with Bruce and two other members of
the Northwestern University B Team that Peter captained to a near-win at the North
American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship. But will Peter and Kathy’s marriage
survive the trip, and just how did Bruce end up as the only member of the team to go on
to success?
— Michael Main
Time is said to be the fourth dimension, but it differs from the other three in one
conspicuous way—our consciousness moves along it. From past to present only, alas. Time
itselfdoes not flow, no more than, say, width can flow. Our minds flicker from one
instant of time to the next. This analogy was my starting point. I reasoned that if
consciousness can move in one direction, it can move in the other direction as well. It
took me fifty years to work out the details, however, and make what I call a flashback possible.
“Unsound Variations” by George R. R. Martin, in
Amazing Science Fiction Stories, January 1982.