A Touch of Petulance
- Eloi Honorable Mention
- by Ray Bradbury
- Short Story
- Fantasy, Horror
- Adults
- Definite Time Travel
- English
- “A Touch of Petulance” by Ray Bradbury, in Dark Forces, edited by Kirby McCauley (The Viking Press, August 1980).
On his way home on the train, Jonathan Hughes meets Jonathan Hughes + 20 years and receives a warning that his marriage to a lovely young bride will end in murder.
—Michael Main
Me, thought the young man. Why, that old man is . . . me.
Tags
(7)
- Time Periods
- Circa AD 1970 to 1999: Old Hughes travels from 1999 to circa 1979.
- Time Travel Methods
- Wish Travel: There are hints that old Hughes wished himself into his past: “You drew me, then. Your youngness, your innocence, your good hours, your fine life still untouched, was the machine that seized me down the track.”
- Themes
- Ex Nihilo Obects and People: Perhaps the revolver is an ex nihilo object that young Hughes will keep until old Hughes uses it years in the future.
- Fix Your Own Past!
- Save “Lois”!
- Self-Defeating Acts: If old Hughes succeeds in convincing young Hughes to change, then there would be no reason for old Hughes to come back in the first place.
- Wisdom or Consolation to Your Younger Self
Variants
(1)
- “A Touch of Petulance” by Ray Bradbury, in Dark Forces, edited by Kirby McCauley (The Viking Press, August 1980).
Derived Works
(1)
- “Touch of Petulance” by Ray Bradbury, directed by John Laing (12 October 1990).