Fire Watch

by Connie Willis

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Oxford Time Travel Historians 0.1

Fire Watch

by Connie Willis

“Fire Watch” by Connie Willis, in Isaac Asimovs Science Fiction Magazine, February 1982.

The Oxford Time-Traveling Historians

In the first short story of the series, an Oxford graduate student travels back to the World War II bombing of St. Paul’s for his history practicum. This launched a series of novels, the first of which has Kivrin Engle being sent to 14th century England, but when she arrives, she can’t remember where and when her pickup will be. The second book incorporated more comedy, and the last two returned to World War II.

“But I’m not ready,” I’d said. “Look, it too me four years to get ready to travel with St Paul. St Paul. Not St Paul’s. You can’t expect me to get ready for London in the Blitz in two days.”

by Connie Willis, in Asimov’s Science Fiction, 15 February 1982.

Lincoln’s Dreams

by Connie Willis

Lincoln’s Dreams by Connie Willis (Bantam Spectra, May 1987).

Oxford Historians 1

Doomsday Book

by Connie Willis

We may never know just how young Kivrin Engle wrangled her academic advisor and the powers-that-be at the University of Oxford into sending her to previously off-limits, 14th-century England, but her timing was not ideal given that she’dd just been exposed to a recently re-emerged influenza virus. Oh, and the inexperience tech who also got hit with the virus with the virus after the drop may have sent Kivrin to the wrong year.

— Ruthie Mariner

You know what he said when I told him he should run at least one unmanned? He said, “If something unfortunate does happen, we can go back in time and pull Miss Engle out before it happens, can’t we?” The man has no notion of how the net works, no notion of the paradoxes, no notion that Kivrin is there, and what happens to her is real and irrevocable.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (Bantam Spectra, July 1992).