Deities

Tag Area: Fictional Collective
Oral Tradition

महाभारतम्

  • Mahābhāratam
  • Great story
  • The Mahabharata
  • first compilation attributed to Vyasa
  • (traditional Sanskrit epic, circa 800 BC to AD 400)

Part of the Hindi epic of the Mahabharata tells of King Kakudmi and his daughter Revati who travel to see the Creator Brahma for advice on which suitor Revati should marry. Although there is no time travel, the king and his daughter do experience a slowed passage of time so that during a short time for them, 27 chatur-yugas, each of which consists of four eras, have passed on Earth. —based on Wikipedia
Watercolor of the Hindi princess Ravati with blue skin, a green dress, and two
                white flowers.
  • Religion
  • Time Phenomena
Oral Tradition

पायासिसुत्तं

  • Payasi sutta
  • Payasi teaching
  • Payasi Sutta
  • attributed to the followers of The Buddha
  • in तिपिटक (traditional Buddhist scriptures, circa 400 BC)

The Buddhist canon, called the Tipitaka in Pali, comprises categories of scriptures, the largest of which contains discourses and sermons of the Buddha and his followers. This sermon, the “Payasa Sutta”, believed to have been formulated after the Buddha’s death, tells the experience of Prince Payasi who doubted the truth of reincarnation and the principle of Karma. As he seeks guidance, the Reverend Kumara asks him to consider the Heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods, where time passes at a different rate than in our world. Not actual time travel, but it is the earliest definite mention of a related time phenomenon that we know of. —Michael Main
‘‘किञ्‍चापि भवं कस्सपो एवमाह, अथ खो एवं मे एत्थ होति – ‘इतिपि नत्थि परो लोको, नत्थि सत्ता ओपपातिका, नत्थि सुकतदुक्‍कटानं कम्मानं फलं विपाको’’’ति। ‘‘अत्थि पन, राजञ्‍ञ, परियायो …पे॰… ‘‘अत्थि, भो कस्सप, परियायो…पे॰… ``यथा कथं विय, राजञ्‍ञाति? ‘‘इध मे, भो कस्सप, मित्तामच्‍चा ञातिसालोहिता पाणातिपाता पटिविरता अदिन्‍नादाना पटिविरता कामेसुमिच्छाचारा पटिविरता मुसावादा पटिविरता सुरामेरयमज्‍जपमादट्ठाना पटिविरता, ते अपरेन समयेन आबाधिका होन्ति दुक्खिता बाळ्हगिलाना। यदाहं जानामि – ‘न दानिमे इमम्हा आबाधा वुट्ठहिस्सन्ती’ति त्याहं उपसङ्कमित्वा एवं वदामि – ‘सन्ति खो, भो, एके समणब्राह्मणा एवंवादिनो एवंदिट्ठिनो – ये ते पाणातिपाता पटिविरता अदिन्‍नादाना पटिविरता कामेसुमिच्छाचारा पटिविरता मुसावादा पटिविरता सुरामेरयमज्‍जपमादट्ठाना पटिविरता, ते कायस्स भेदा परं मरणा सुगतिं सग्गं लोकं उपपज्‍जन्ति देवानं तावतिंसानं सहब्यतन्ति। भवन्तो खो पाणातिपाता पटिविरता अदिन्‍नादाना पटिविरता कामेसुमिच्छाचारा पटिविरता मुसावादा पटिविरता सुरामेरयमज्‍जपमादट्ठाना पटिविरता। सचे तेसं भवतं समणब्राह्मणानं सच्‍चं वचनं, भवन्तो कायस्स भेदा परं मरणा सुगतिं सग्गं लोकं उपपज्‍जिस्सन्ति, देवानं तावतिंसानं सहब्यतं। सचे, भो, कायस्स भेदा परं मरणा सुगतिं सग्गं लोकं उपपज्‍जेय्याथ देवानं तावतिंसानं सहब्यतं, येन मे आगन्त्वा आरोचेय्याथ – `इतिपि अत्थि परो लोको, अत्थि सत्ता ओपपातिका, अत्थि सुकतदुक्‍कटानं कम्मानं फलं विपाकोति।
translate “Well then, chieftain, I’ll ask you about this in return, and you can answer as you like. A hundred human years are equivalent to one day and night for the gods of the Thirty-Three. Thirty such days make a month, and twelve months make a year. The gods of the Thirty Three have a lifespan of a thousand such years. Now, as to your friends who are reborn in the company of the gods of the Thirty-Three after doing good things. If they think, ‘First I’ll amuse myself for two or three days, supplied and provided with the five kinds of heavenly sensual stimulation. Then I’ll go back to Pāyāsi and tell him that there is an afterlife.’ Would they come back to tell you that there is an afterlife?”
A page of Pali characters handwritten in black ink in a gold-colored,
                accordian style book.
  • Religion
  • Time Phenomena
Novel

The Worm Ouroboros


For the most part, the story is a high fantasy in which three chiefs of Demonland—Lord Juss, Spitfire, and Brandoch Daha—embark on a heroic quest to rescue the fourth lord from his imprisonment in the mountains of Impland. However, at the end, Queen Sophonisba undertakes a resolution to the final problem that could well involve time travel. —Michael Main
Lord, it is an Ambassador from Witchland and his train. He craveth present audience."
A black-and-white, diamond-speckled snake with hands and teeth winds
                around itself several times and eats its own tail.
  • Fantasy
  • Debatable Time Travel
Flash Fiction

Un brillant sujet


Now that we’re in the enlightened 21st century, every self-respecting reader is intimately familiar with all the early time travel classics. Anno 7603, Paris avant les hommes,[/em] “A Tale of the Ragged Mountains,” “The Clock That Went Backward,” El Anacronópete, The Time Machine, blah blah blah. But let’s be honest and call a Morlock a Morlock: All those old tales are tales of vacuous travelers through time, none of them giving a thought to contorted paradoxes, none wondering which lover they would get back (or get revenge on) if given the chance, none fretting about what might happen should they kill their younger self, and none having impure thoughts about sleeping with their mothers or the consequences of doing so. Yep, I’d always proudly boasted that it was my generation who discovered such sauciness.

And then I stumbled upon Jacques Rigaut’s century-old gem that managed all that and more in under 1,000 words more than a century ago. —Michael Main
Divers incestes sont consommés. Palentête a quelques raisons de croire qu’il est son propre père.
translate Various incests are consummated. Skullhead has some reason to believe that he is his own father.
A yellowed title page from the 1922 publication of "Un brillant sujet."
  • Eloi Silver Medal
  • Comedy
  • Experimental
  • Definite Time Travel
Comic Book

The Monster Awakes


Av aviator in China during World War II unintentionally awakens a 100-foot tall, sadistic giant named Garaz from a centuries-long sleep. —Michael Main
Thank you for awakening me and freeing me from my prison! Wait! I will not harm you! You are my friend! You will come with me!
No image currently available.
  • Horror
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena
Feature Film

The Three Stooges Meet Hercules


Before George Pal’s version of The Time Machine hit the silver screen, actual time machines were a rarity in film. But afterwards, even Moe, Larry, and Curly could throw one together in an afternoon to take them, their pal Schuyler, and their Lady friend Diane back to ancient Greece where, among other things, they restore Ulysses to the crown, kill a pair of conjoined Cyclopes, impersonate Hercules, and attract the wrath of the real Hercules.

Side note: The trio of stooges are also the first time travelers we’ve seen in film who fret over changing the course of history. Who woulda thunk? —Michael Main
We helped the wrong army. We put a skunk on the throne of Ithaca.
Hercules drives a chariot across the sky while the stooges are up to their
                usual hijinx in the back.
  • Comedy
  • Definite Time Travel
Feature Film

Time Bandits


A boy’s bedroom is invaded by six dwarves who have stolen The Supreme Being’s map, which naturally leads both boy and dwarves on adventures through time. —Michael Main
Is it all ready? Right. Come on then. Back to creation. We mustn’t waste any more time. They’ll think I’ve lost control again and put it all down to evolution.
Head shots of the film
  • Fantasy
  • Definite Time Travel
Feature Film

Bill & Ted II

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey


Two Evil Robots from the future are out to destroy Bill & Ted and their babes. After all that, the Two Great Ones begin a journey that starts with Death and ends with Two Little Ones. —Michael Main
Look, after we get away from this guy, we use the booth. We time travel back to before the concert and set up the things we need to get him now.
Alex Winter (A K A Bill) and Keanu Reeves (A K A Ted) pressed up against a pane
                of glasss in this pre-release poster.
  • Science Fiction
  • Comedy
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Definite Time Travel
TV Episode

Teen Angel (s01e07)

One Dog Night


The final part of ABC’s Friday night crossover took Salem the cat to Teen Angel’s house where he transports Teen Angel and the family back to the time of disco and, apparently, altered the course of the 1976 presidential election. —Michael Main
Oh, honey, you can go any time. Disco’s gonna last forever.
Closing title card Episode 7 of Teen Angel, with a logo for abc dot com and
                Melissa Joan Hart (as Sabrina) talking with Mike Damus (as the Teen Angel).
  • Fantasy
  • Comedy
  • Audience: Families
  • Debatable Time Travel
Flash Fiction

The Egg

  • by Andy Weir
  • in Creative Writings of Andy Weir (Galactanet, added 15 August 2009) [ongoing e-collection] [Based on data at archive.org, we believe the e-collection version was posted on the same date (15 August 2009) as the Kindle release date given at the ISFDB, but we don’t know for sure, and we have listed the Kindle as the debut.]

After a man dies, he meets God, upon which he doesn’t find out the meaning of life, but he does discover something about time and the meaning of the universe.
translate Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?
An blue-green egg shape, criss-crossed by electric charges beneath a title
                reading "The Egg by Andy Weir".
  • Science Fiction
  • Definite Time Travel
Short Film

Aether

  • written and directed by Jerry Brown, Jr.
  • (Youtube: SuperEpic Channel, 2 April 2018)

At the moment when the speedometer on the Aether spaceship clicked over from .999999c to 1.00000c, a collective cheer erupted up in the ITTDB Citadel. Was it a jaw-dropping dramatic moment? Seems unlikely, but we were looking for something to cheer for in this cryptic story of three men who headed to the future via relativistic time travel, only to find themselves trapped in post-apocalyptic outer space and quantum technobabble. —Michael Main
It nullifies Gödel’s theorem.
Drawing of three astronauts with an abstract background of clouds, outspace,
                and the word "Aether" in a red, star-filled circle.
  • Science Fiction
  • Debatable Time Travel
TV Season

The Umbrella Academy, Season 1

  • by multiple writers and directors
  • 10 episodes (Netflix, USA, 15 February 2019)

Of the 43 children born 1 October 1989 with no gestation period, the eccentric and sometimes cruel billionaire Reginald Hargreeves brought up seven of them and turned them into the super-powered group called the Umbrella Academy when they developed powers. Nearly thirty years later, after Hargreeves dies, the five surviving members of the group gather at their family home. Oh, and: Number Six died some time ago and only Number Four can see him; Number Five disappeared about seventeen years ago, but he’s back (and in his 13-year-old body) after living 45 years in a post-apocalyptic future that’s scheduled to start in eight days. —Michael Main
As far as I could tell, I was the last person left alive. I never figured out what killed the human race. I did find something else: the date it happens. . . . The world ends in eight days, and I have no idea how to stop it.
The six living siblings of the Umbrella Academy gather in colorful garb under a
                black umbrella held by Luthor.
  • Eloi Silver Medal
  • Superhero
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Definite Time Travel
Novel

The Midnight Library

  • by Matt Haig
  • (Canongate Books, August 2020)

After thirty-something Nora Seed kills herself, she arrives as a possibly metaphorical library with an infinite number of books containing her possible lives, each one of which she may try out, always starting on the night of her suicide.

For me, the depiction of Nora’s suicidal ideation and eventual killing of herself were dismissive of those who face depression every day, and the outcome was fictionally romanticized in a way that may induce suicide rather than showing understanding and encouragement to seek out help when life is dark. I don’t see this as intentional by the author. —Michael Main
“Every life contains many millions of decisions. Some big, some small. But every time one decision is taken over another, the outcomes differ. An irreversible variation occurs, which in turn leads to further variations. These books are portals to all the lives you could be living.”
A stylized, four-story, white library with a silhouette of a cat and text to
                the side stating, "One library. Infinite lives."
  • Fantasy
  • Debatable Time Travel
Novelette

The Shadows of Alexandrium


Up in the Citadel, we polled eight Librarians on whether this story should be included in the database. The results? Nobody thought it should be excluded, nobody thought it should be included, and eleven were certain it wasn’t a story. Probably. So with that mandate along with the fact that at one point in the narrative neither space nor time exist and at another point outside the narrative David Gerrold annouced this was an homage to Douglas Adams and Doctor Who, we hereby present the official indexing of “The Shadows of Alexandrium.” —Michael Main
If we had the time—well, actually, we do, because there isn’t any time here, just like there isn’t any space, except what we’ve been creating by being here, all this staring around—that’s making nothing into something.
A complex spaceship approaches a swirling cloud of colorful, electrified
                stellar gas.
  • Science Fiction
  • Comedy
  • Time Phenomena
Feature Film

Flashback


After high-powered lawyer Charlie Leroy gets her client cleared from a rape charge by claiming that the accuser’s lacy underwear was consent to have sex, Charlie finds herself transported by a divine cabdriver to historical moments that were key for women’s rights. —Michael Main
Attends . . . si maman n'épouse pas papa, je vais pas naître. Je viens de me tuer.
translate Wait . . . if Mom never marries Dad, I won’t be born. I just killed myself.
Issa Doumbia (as cabdriver Hubert) leans on a cab in front of Caroline Vigneaux
                (as Charlie), who is surrounded by lots of people from history.
  • Eloi Honorable Mention
  • Comedy
  • Definite Time Travel
TV Season

The Umbrella Academy, Season 3

  • 0
  • (Netflix, 22 June 2022)

After stopping the JFK-induced apocalypse in Season 2, the six Umbrella siblings return to 2019 where they no longer exist and their still-living father has founded The Sparrow Academy in their stead. —Michael Main
Well, someone killed our mothers, so we shouldn’t exist, but clearly we do exist, and the universe can’t handle it, which is a problem.
The six living siblings of the Umbrella Academy gather in colorful garb on a
                luggage rack along with their dead brother and new friend from 1963.
  • Superhero
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Definite Time Travel
TV Episode

Time Bandits, s01e01

Kevin Haddock


After stealing the Map of the Universe from the Supreme Being, a band of dissatisfied new bandits pops through the time portal in Kevin’s bedroom—and the adventures begin! —Michael Main
Dad was right. It is just a pile of stones with a gift shop.
A pirate ship, bits of earth torn from the ground, and the cast of Time Bandits
                float in front of colorful clouds.
  • Fantasy
  • Comedy
  • Audience: Families
  • Definite Time Travel
TV Episode

Time Bandits, s01e02

Mayan


Even though Kevin seems (mostly) helpful to the bandits, Penelope still tries to dump him in the Ice Age and Maya times. —Michael Main
I’m not cut out to be a time traveling bandit.
Young Kal-El Tuk (as Kevin) stands boldly, wearing his glasses, knight tunic,
                and translation helmet.
  • Fantasy
  • Audience: Families
  • Definite Time Travel
TV Episode

Time Bandits, s01e03

Medieval


With the aid of a triceritops skull that Kevin nabbed in the Cretaceous, the gang tries to pass itself off as dragon slayers in medieval Nottingham. And then, just when you’re starting to think this story might be too slim for an entire series, we get sister Saffron coming after Kevin. —Michael Main
We don’t know if we can change time or effect it at all.”
Lisa Kudrow (as Penelope) sits on a log in a forest, addressing a group of
                people offscreen.
  • Undetermined
  • Audience: Families
  • Definite Time Travel