Ian Stewart

writer
Essay

The Real Physics of Time Travel


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  • Science Fiction
  • Definite Time Travel
Short Story

Environmental Friendship Fossle


A contract investigator who tracks down crimes against endangered species finds a mammoth tusk that’s only 30 years old according to radiocarbon dating.
“Mammoth ivory,” the old man said, as if it was a proposition put up for debate. “I have hunt mammoth.”
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  • Science Fiction
  • Definite Time Travel
Short Story

Grandfather Paradox


I didn’t understand the logic of this short story, which is part of Nature’s Futures series of short, short sf stories. The grandfather, Hubert, is traveling forward in time, begging his grandson to kill him so that he won’t invent a time machine that he’s already invented—but I can’t see how killing him after the fact will do any good. Please explain it to me!

In any case, thank you to the kind librarian at the Norlin Library who made an electronic copy for me when we couldn’ttrack down a hard copy of the journal.
With its logical basis wrecked, the Universe would resolve the paradox by excising the time machine, and snap back to a consistent history in which Hubert married Rosie, with all of its consequences.
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  • Science Fiction
  • Definite Time Travel