Time Patrol
- by Poul Anderson
- Novelette
- Science Fiction
- Adults
- Definite Time Travel
- English
- “Time Patrol” by Poul Anderson, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1955.
In the first of a long series of hallowed stories, former military engineer (and noncomformist) Manse Everard is recruited by the Time Patrol to prevent time travelers from making major changes to history. (Don’t worry, history bounces back from the small stuff.)
—Michael Main
If you went back to, I would guess, 1946, and worked to prevent your parents’ marriage in 1947, you would still have existed in that year; you would not go out of existence just because you had influenced events. The same would apply even if you had only been in 1946 one microsecond before shooting the man who would otherwise have become your father.
Tags
(26)
- Time Periods
- Pre-Human Age of Mammals (66 Ma to 3.4 Ma: Cenozoic/Paleogene/Neogene): the Academy in the Oligocene
- Ancient History (3000 BC to AD 476: Bronze/Iron Ages): near the end of the Roman Empire in AD 461–464
- Circa AD 1800 to 1899: London’s Victorian office
- Circa AD 1940 to 1949: Everard goes after Whitcomb.
- Circa AD 1950 to 1959: Everard’s starting time period
- Near Future, AD 2300 and Beyond: Stane’s time (not shown) in AD 2987 and the invention of time travel in AD 19,352 (not shown)
- Far Future: and the Danillians from AD 1,000,000+ (not shown)
- Timeline Models
- Foretold or Seen Future Is Not Set in Stone: Even though the Victorians know about Everard and Whitcomb’s success, it appears that it might still be altered if they don’t follow through. And please do not take success for granted merely because history records it. Time is not rigid; man has free will. If you fail, history will change and will not ever have recorded your success; I will not have told you about it.
- Multiple Naive Timelines: Certainly there are known timelines, and time travelers of various ilks are responsible for creating them. But there is no deeper thought given to any underlying model of how the timelines connect, branch, etc.
- Resilient Timeline
- Sensing Unfamiliar Timelines: Patrolmen remember past timelines where they have been, and they even know of other timelines that they will later be responsible for creating! And please do not take success for granted merely because history records it. Time is not rigid; man has free will. If you fail, history will change and will not ever have recorded your success; I will not have told you about it.
- Time Travel Methods
- Time Fliers: A two-seater, flying time hopper. It was reminiscent of a motorcycle without wheels or handlebars. There were two saddles and an antigravity propulsion unit.
- Themes
- Classified Ad: Adventurers Wanted: MEN WANTED 21-40, pref. single, mil. or tech. exp., good physique, for high-pay work with foreign travel. Engineering Studies Co., 305 E.45, 9-12 2-6.
- Intertemporal Communication Systems between Time Travel Agents/Offices/etc.: Intertemporal memos fly all over the place.
- Language Difficulties: Not to worry: Languages can be quickly acquired via a hypnotic educator.
- Save “Lois”!: Save Mary Nelson!
- Time Cops: The Patrol is more of an enforcement unit (time cops) than an academic unit ([Error: Missing ']]' tag for wikilink]
- Traveler Becomes a God, Royalty, Wizard, etc.: Stane
- Real-World Tags
- Roman Empire: near its end
- Victorian Era
- Groupings
Variants
(2)
- “Time Patrol” by Poul Anderson, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1955.
- audio reading.
“Time Patrol” by Poul Anderson (Tantor Audio, March 2020) [audio].
Translations
(20)
- Czech.
“Stráž času” by Poul Anderson, in Stráž času (Talpress, 1997). - Dutch.
“De tijdpatrouille” by Poul Anderson, in Avontuur in het verleden (Het Spectrum, 1966). - French.
“La patrouille du temps” by Poul Anderson, Fiction, March 1956. - French: revised translation.
“La patrouille du temps” by Poul Anderson, in La patrouille du temps ( Le Bélial, February 2005). - German.
“Die Zeitpolizei” by Poul Anderson, in Die Zeitpolizei, edited by René Oth (Luchterhand, August 1985). - German.
“Zeitpatrouille” by Poul Anderson, in Die Chroniken der Zeitpatrouille (Heyne, 1997). - Hungarian.
“Idő-őrjárat” by Poul Anderson, in Időjárőr (Valhalla Páholy, 1994). - Italian.
“Everard cronodetective” by Poul Anderson, 3-part serial, Urania #252–254, 26 March to 23 April 1961. - Korean.
“타임 패트롤” by Poul Anderson, in 타임 패트롤 (시공사, November 1995). - Lithuanian.
“Laiko patrulis” by Poul Anderson, in Laiko patrulis (Eridanas, 1995). - Portuguese.
“A patrulha do tempo” by Poul Anderson, in Os guardiães do tempo (Francisco Alves, 1984). - Romanian.
“Patrula timpului” by Poul Anderson, in Almanah Anticipația 1987, edited by Ioan Albescu and Viorica Podină (Știință & Tehnică, 1986). - Romanian.
“Patrula timpului” by Poul Anderson, in Păzitorii timpului (Editura Nemira, 1999). - Russian.
“На страже времён,” as by Пол Андерсон, in Звезда #8, 1981 [citation data from https://fantlab.ru/work5848]. - Russian.
“Патруль Времени,” as by Пол Андерсон, in Короли ночи (Новое Время, 1993) [citation data from https://fantlab.ru/edition24746]. - Russian.
“Патруль Времени,” as by Пол Андерсон, in Патруль времени (Александр Корженевский, 1995) [citation data from https://fantlab.ru/edition18995]. - Serbian.
“Vremenska Patrola” by Poul Anderson, in Čuvari vremena (Jugoslavija, 1977). - Spanish.
“La patrulla del tiempo” by Poul Anderson, in Guardians of Time (E.D.H.A.S.A., 1964). - Spanish.
“Patrulla del tiempo” by Poul Anderson, in La patrulla del tiempo (Ediciones B, July 2000). - Ukranian.
“Патруль часу,” as by Пол Андерсон, in Патруль часу (Видавництво Жупанського, November 2020).
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