A Smell of Jet Fuel
- Eloi Honorable Mention
- by Andrew Dana Hudson
- Short Story
- Science Fiction
- Adults
- Definite Time Travel
- English
- “A Smell of Jet Fuel” by Andrew Dana Hudson, in Lightspeed 134, July 2021 [Webzine accessed at https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/issues/july-2021-issue-134/ on 28 July 2021.].
On the 107th floor of the South Tower on 9/11, time travel tour guide Brad Eckelson meets Sitra Velasco, a woman who couldn’t possibly be there.
—Michael Main
Well, she wasn’t a contemporary, that much was clear.
Tags
(10)
- Time Periods
- Circa AD 2000 to 2099
- Circa AD 2100 to 2199: The tourists come from the 22nd century, some year after 2140.
- Timeline Models
- Branching Timelines: Each tour seems to create a new branch, since there are many tours that don’t meet each other. But it’s not explained. Also, there may be many other timelines where Sitra does not seek asylum since Brad asks, “Why now? I’ve led this same tour dozens of times, and you never came before. Why are you suddenly here now?”
- Fragile Timeline: Something Sitra’s family did made a vastly altered future.
- Time Travel Methods
- Time Vehicles (motorized): The machine appears to be a city bus.
- Themes
- Escape through Time: Sitra’s mother
- Time Cops: Government time regulators are mentioned.
- Time Travel Agencies, Safaris, and Tourists: Time Tours, Inc.
- Real-World Tags
- Groupings
Variants
(1)
- “A Smell of Jet Fuel” by Andrew Dana Hudson, in Lightspeed 134, July 2021 [Webzine accessed at https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/issues/july-2021-issue-134/ on 28 July 2021.].