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First Time Machine

by Fredric Brown
A short-short, 1950s version of the grandfather paradox with a resolution that’s not quite satisfying (branching universes, I think, but it’s unclear).

The story was reprinted in the 1958 collection, Honeymoon in Hell, which features a cover by Hieronymus Bosch (indexer Grzegorz’s favorite painter) with an owl in the background (Grzegorz’s favorite bird)!

What would have happened if you’d rushed to the door and kicked yourself in the seat of the pants?
DEBUT
“First Time Machine,” in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, September 1955.
VARIANTS
1 English variant
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