Even More super-cool writings from the time traveler, John Titor, from the eponymous site, JohnTitor.com -- this one is from January 2001
03 January 2001 13:47
I've been reading the last few postings with a bit of confusion. I see there is controversy over my "story" that is causing some people to ask themselves if they believe it or not. For quite a while, I have been stating that not only do I not expect anyone to believe me, it's irrelevant and in my opinion, quite dangerous. Belief implies that you accept what I say as true and real. Over the Internet, this is impossible. In fact, I have stated before, there are many people in 2036 who do not believe in time travel.
I also think that unwavering belief is dangerous. One very disturbing thing I have noticed about your society in general is your blind acceptance of what you are told. Do you really think the news industry doesn't have an agenda? Do you really think those hamburgers you stuff into your body are safe? Do you really think your government is telling you the truth? What proof do you have of any of that?
What I do want you to do is open your eyes to the events that happening around you that have nothing to do with me. Some of you have been reading for a while now about the war in 2015 and the breakthroughs in particle physics that would be coming soon. Doesn't the CIA report on 2015 and news on the z-field compression at least support what I've been saying a little bit?
I just saw another story today about the Russians moving Nukes into the Balkans to thwart any future expansion by NATO. I also haven't heard anyone take me up on my "information experiment" on the IBM 5100 or check out the information I've given you about the UNIX failure in 2038. With all due respect, I find it hard to take some of you seriously.
05 January 2001 13:46
In 2036, community life is a bit different. People are valued and judged based on their contribution and worth. Work is organized around the family and the value of that work is assessed inside of the community. Most communities range in size from 1000 to 4000 people. If a family wanted to move from one community to another or if a son or daughter wanted to move to another community, they must apply and be interviewed by the community leadership council. During this process, the family or individual is evaluated as to whether or not the work or skill they have is required or necessary to that individual community. Once accepted, the family or individual is expected to uphold their end of the work and support the community. If they don't, the community stops supporting them and they are forced to change their attitude or move away from the community.
The family work we did was picking, sorting and shipping oranges by sailboat up and down the coast of Florida. We were expected to produce a certain amount for the community and a certain amount for other communities as agreed to by our CLC. In exchange, we received power, water, a certain amount of food and other necessities that were produced inside our community.
I see this message board as a small community and I have no other way to value the contributions of others on it other than what my past experiences tell me. I have tried to answer as many questions as I can without being annoying, repetitive or inappropriate, and for some of you, entertaining. Under these conditions, I have decided to seek guidance from all of you, the other members of this community, as to whether or not my postings are of any value to the direction of these discussions. If they are getting distracting or repetitive, I will stop and continue to enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas.
Who receives the Nobel Prize for time travel? Since you claim no two worldlines are the same, this information could not hurt anything.
There are a great many people involved with the discovery of time travel. Just as I will not give "stock tips", I will not divulge their names as that may impact their lives now.
What would happen if you gave us technical information that's discovered in a year or so?
If I had any and I published them, I'm sure they may have a large impact. Unfortunately, I don't have any with me. Even if I did, I'm sure they would be scrutinized. Again we get back to the same question. If you were a time traveler, what would you do to establish your credibility?
Have any other time travelers visited your future in 2036?
No, I am not aware of time travelers visiting my worldline in 2036. However, that does not mean it can't or isn't happening. Also, the possible number of worldlines a time traveler might arrive at would place the chances of them hitting any particular one at very long odds.
What happens to (name of person asking question)? Am I involved in Time Travel? What of the (armed) resistance?
I have no idea what happens to you in your future. There was a resistance on my worldline but their goal was to maintain power and control over other people. We killed most of them by 2020.
How big is the IBM 5100?
I would say its about 20" long, 10" high and 30" long.
Timetravel-0 and I are not getting along.
I'm not aware we had a falling out. I apologize if you think that's the case.
Are there still books in 2036?
Yes, books are still published.
Are there restrictions to what you can do with the time machine?
The displacement machine is not mine but I am free to make certain decisions based on the experiences and information I gather from each worldline. I am expected back but from their perspective, I will only have been gone for a split second.
06 January 2001 13:10
What is the progress on string theory?
Who doesn't love string theory? Please forgive the next few comments, I'm trying to be cryptic and jump starting my memory at the same time. In 2036, string theory still dominates physics due to its continued "effect" of encompassing other physical properties from unrelated fields.
A great deal of the theoretical mathematics behind time travel was discovered by testing various ideas in string theory and eliminating the anomalies. As I recall, it was this original work that led to the final proof that six dimensions do indeed curl up to give us our observable universe. This in turn supported more of the theoretical math behind time travel.
It's ironic that the beauty of string theory gives future engineers the confidence to create the distortion unit even though the final proof is still unknown. You're a physics student, have you ever heard the Princeton String Quartet play?
09 January 2001 09:28
Why don't you give us more detailed information about the future so we won't be so skeptical?
I think skepticism is a good thing and no one should lose it.
Why don't you accept my challenge? What harm could it do?
I'm not sure what "challenge" you are referring to. If you mean the live chat, I have no problem with that. I do that quite often on other boards. However, I fear I have very few bread and circuses left and I fear I am becoming quite boring. Also, I'm not sure I fully understand the nature of the challenge.
You could still give us details about the future that wouldn't harm anyone and still add to your credibility.
Again, I do not seek to add to my credibility. There is no point to it. Actually, by providing information that was useful, I would be adding to your collective fear that I am real. In that case, this cycle we are in concerning "truth" only spirals and gets worse.
Why can't you name the five presidents you have in your time?
Over the past few postings, I have tried to describe the limits of what I will talk about and why. Here is a short recap list. In future postings, I will place the following number next to each question as to why I will not discuss it.
1. I will not disclose any information that will cause someone to personally gain by its knowledge. This means no stock or sports tips.
2. I will not disclose any detailed information that would allow someone to avoid death by probability. This means no earthquake or bombing information.
3. I will not disclose any information that may compromise any future actions by individual people or threaten their family and well-being.
On my worldline, we are no longer afraid of the "NWO". Are you afraid of Nazis?
The reason the job of President was split into an office of 5 has 4 main reasons. With 5 (presidents), foreign policy is more consistent, power shifting between parties has less of an impact on the overall government, individual strengths between presidents add to the strength of the overall office, and one president is elected for each major area in the United States.
What is the extent of Presidential power in 2036?
The office of President is far more diluted and decentralized than it is here. The powers of the national government are more defined and reside more at the county and state level.
What is the new government like in 2036 compared to the current one?
I think the new government is good. However, since the concept of nationally subsidized welfare is gone, most people here may not appreciate it.
Where is the new US capitol?
The new US capitol is in Omaha Nebraska.
How do the 5 presidents take power?
The voting for individual candidates is on a rotating schedule.
What are the other time traveler's destinations, and missions?
I am not aware of the details of other missions. Of the seven, three had already left before I did. I suspect they are on similar missions.
Are any other time travelers on our current worldline?
No, the chances of that are very slim.
Are you in contact with other time travelers?
No, although I would suspect that is not impossible I have no idea how you would do that.
Is it possible to send a message through time?
Unless the information physically travels with the person; none that I'm aware of.
09 January 2001 12:24
I apologize for being unable to respond faster. I looked back and couldn't find any questions but I may be mistaken.
I also see that you seem to have a great deal of anger directed at me. If you knew where I was and how to get the distortion unit, what would you do? What judgment and punishment should be passed upon me?
On this and many other discussion boards are people who are genuinely interested in and hoping to experience or discover time travel. What punishment would you apply to them if the succeed? I see that you too have had time travel experience. What punishment do you deserve?
When time travel was discovered, there were many people who were against its development. However, once the true nature of time was realized, the resistance faded. Even if one worldline was able to ban, kill and stop all time travel, it will continue on another.
However, the corollary is also true. Take heart, on some worldline, you have succeeded and all time travelers are dead by the hand of your followers and thinking or talking about it is a crime.
Perhaps we should all agree what we mean when we use the phrase "time travel". We are all moving forward in time just by existing and the effects of acceleration and gravity do "slow" time down for the observer so the rest of the world seems to speed up around them.
If we call this natural time travel (time-like trips on a single worldline) then perhaps its really controlled time travel that you are after (space-like trips on a single worldline or traveling to alternate worldlines).
January 10, 2001
With that, it may then be useful to separate the concept of controlled time travel into theory and practice. In theory, time travel was taken seriously by mainstream science when it discovered that Einstein's equations do indeed support the possibility of controlled time travel under special relativity. Since special relativity (under its current limitations) has been proved useful and accurate in predicting other physical phenomena, it is widely believed that controlled time travel is also possible.
Nearly all of the solutions that allow time travel in special relativity also have the annoying problem of crushing the time traveler in a wake of radiation and gravity.
In my experience, there is only one safe way to obtain controlled time travel and that involves the "safe" properties of a Kerr singularity (black hole). However, I do not discount the possibility of other methods either physical or metaphysical. I'm just not sure I would bet my life on them without any math to back them up.
10 January 2001 01:13
E(8) x E(8)?
10 January 2001 23:10
You mentioned a divergence percentage between time lines. How is it possible to measure divergence?
The measurement for worldline divergence is an observation variable isolated to the distortion unit. An effective analogy would be a "gravity radar". The unit's sensors take a "snapshot" of the local gravity around the unit before a flight. During travel, this baseline is periodically checked to make sure there are no major changes in the environment that would cause a catastrophic mass failure (brick wall appearing from nowhere). The percentage of VGL divergence from one worldline to another is a calculated guess by the three computers that control the unit based on its starting point. It is useless in describing characteristics of individual worldlines.
There is a bit of folklore about the first distortion driver who reaches a destination with a zero divergence. This would mean they had traveled on a space-like trip to their own worldline of origin. This paradox is quite possible although highly unlikely. I wonder if anyone out there can take current string theory and make that one work on paper?
You said 6 curled up dimensions. The current string theory suggests that there should be at least 7.
I may be mistaken but I thought it was pretty well established now that (N-10) was on track.
11 January 2001 09:04
I must admit (forum name), you have succeeded in confusing me. The more I read your postings, the more I question my understanding and local use of social interaction, courtesy and logic. However, I also believe that all viewpoints have some inherent value even if it's not apparent.
I take it you won't answer my last post?
I took a look at your last posting and didn't see any questions. However, I now realize that I may be mistaken in assuming much of what you wrote was rhetorical. In may be helpful if you add some indication that you are asking a question you wish someone to comment on.
If you're from the future, than you should know what happens to (personal names of people on forum)? Am I involved in time travel?
This is the only question I found from your postings that you could be referring to. Again, I have no knowledge of you in any possible future nor would I comment on it if I did. As far as the photograph of me in a uniform, I'm not sure what that would prove even if I had one.
If you speak to me anymore, I will probably discredit your claims of being a time traveler.
I do not seek credit for anything. The most I hope for (for the most part) is to be at least interesting and engaging.
If you want meet my challenge (to talk online), I await your answer.
Perhaps I was unclear before. I did provide the web link earlier that does have a chat room set up for time travel. My schedule is a bit more flexible right now at least for the next week or so. Please take a look and let me know when you will be there (open to anyone of course). Since there really is nothing to be gained or lost, I look at this not as a challenge but more of an opportunity to get to know everyone better.
You need to answer people more quickly. You answer questions only when it is convenient for you. Your answers appear to be just enough to satisfy someone but you have enough time to just look it up in a book.
I'm not sure what you mean by that. In earlier postings, I have stated that I'm trying to avoid repeating myself and frankly there are some items that are just over my head or that I have no knowledge of. It is curious that you feel knowledge can be something owned or somehow that becomes less worthwhile if it's passed on.
Your future seems to be fixated on killing people. Isn't there a criminal justice system or do you just enjoy killing people?
Perhaps you could take the dialogue in question and post it with your question. However, if I understand you, you're asking about death on my worldline. Yes, it is more a part of our lives than it is yours (at least for now) and capitol punishment is a reality.
11 January 2001 11:49
I don't believe I ever said I came back looking for a UNIX bug fix. I came back for a computer system. Don't you find UNIX useful now?
Temperature is about the same although there were anomalies after the war.
Just curious.... what does everyone think of "IT"? (Ginger)
15 January 2001 12:04
In the post that follows, I've tried to answer the latest questions directed at me but I am hoping you all may be able to add some insight into something I've noticed. In our attempt to communicate here, some of the comments on this board have become increasingly hostile and negative. I see the same type of interaction when I watch news interview programs.
The guise of productive interaction and communication is thwarted by illogical verbal attacks and misdirection. I understand why the news does it. They are trying to hold an audience by generating conflict. For a while, I thought that was the goal here too but it appears that anger and conflict is being created on this site to cause genuine harm and pain. Its hard for me to believe that this is being done on purpose so I have concluded I simply do not understand some hidden element of your collective social interaction.
On the other hand, if its being done for no reason, I would understand a little better how people in this time could accomplish so much and yet be so vulnerable to their emotions and fears. I think it was Thomas Jefferson who believed that the only way to sway opinion was through calm, respectful, intelligent conversation.
Weather I'm a time traveler or not, I suppose there are numerous ways to view my "story". By the nature of the communication medium, I believe it's impossible to prove therefore it's impossible to believe. I agree that conversation spurs ideas. If I'm not a time a time traveler, than perhaps the seemingly disjointed statements I make will actually create the idea in one of you that leads to "real" time travel.
What is a WORLDLINE?
Individual worldlines represent the limits and paths physical objects take through space-time under the laws of special relativity. They can be shown graphically on an x-y graph with x representing distance in space and y representing passing of time. In time travel talk, worldlines are used as a way to describe and separate the experiences of a time traveler because various laws of special relativity appear to breakdown and can't be defined on a single worldline. (The word) Worldline has also become synonymous with "alternate universe" and / or "time-line".
You've admitted to taking things back with you. Do you pay for those items?
I pay for these items with money. Personally, I believe stealing is wrong.
Couldn't you just take what ever you wanted back with you?
There are mass limits to what can be taken back.
Are you tested mentally before becoming a time traveler? What makes a good time traveler?
Yes, there are numerous psychological tests. I was chosen based on my educational background and military service. The training lasted about two years. There is a great deal of physical training to counter the physical effects of distortion. They were also looking for drivers who had a fair amount of self-sufficiency and an ability to function under extreme isolation and confinement.
What do they look for when choosing someone for a mission?
Depending on the mission, time travelers are usually chosen for a particular mission based on their ability to gain the cooperation of someone related to the goal on the target worldline. In my case, my grandfather was directly involved with the building and programming of the 5100.
If a time traveler is bad and commits murder or goes crazy, is there anyway they can be recalled?
There is a difference of philosophy between us that should be clarified. Since I believe that all possible outcomes and events are possible, probable and certain, it is impossible to assign "goodness" or "badness" to a person or situation.
On some other worldline, I am an insane time traveler causing destruction and death while (name of forum member who confronts John on a regular basis) chases me with his band of devoted followers. However, on this one, I am not. Since both events are certain, their value is neutral.
You can only assign goodness and badness to the events and experiences you have direct control over or witness. Only actions are good and bad, not people or things. I suppose if I was a psychotic killer, I could accomplish my mission, avoid capture and still return to my worldline of origin without penalty. There would be no way for them to know what happened. However, I believe that action is wrong and I would be accountable to my God.
What exactly is "IT" since no one will know for sure until probably 2002 according to news reports?
I suppose this question is my own fault. As a time traveler, I am expected to know every winning horse and hot stock as well as the weather in all parts of the world at all times. I was genuinely interested in your opinion of how "IT" was being presented and advertised. Do you feel manipulated? Do you think it's really a big deal? Do you like the way the news is dealing with it?
How do you know our worldline and yours will follow the same path?
This worldline and my own are almost exactly alike.
15 January 2001 13:36
Thank you for considering the problem of (my) returning home. You seem to have stumbled on an intuitive proof of some of the physics of time travel. You are correct, getting back to the worldline of origin is easier than picking an exact destination on a different worldline.
I wrote down the graphic you outlined. If y1 starts perpendicular to x1 and x2 and is rotated, where is the center of rotation? I imagined it between x1 and x2. If this is so, wouldn't y1 end up parallel between x1 and x2 with each one being 6 inches away from y1 on either side?
Does the microsingularity that powers your time machine physically reduce the size of objects during operation?
Actually, there are 2 singularities in the unit. The gravity field is manipulated by three factors that affect it in distinct ways. Adding electric charge to the singularities increases the diameter of the inner event horizons. Adding mass to the singularities increases the area of gravitational influence around the singularities. Rotating and positioning the polar axis of the singularities affects and alters the gravity sinusoid.
The effects of the gravity produced by the unit do not have enough time to significantly alter physical objects within a reasonable distance from the outside of the sinusoid. No, things do not get smaller.
If the electron injection system alters the shape of the field, would that not force the unit to accelerate through space as well as time?
There is no relative movement in space due to three main factors. Large, kinetic energy inducing effects of the gravity field are compensated for by the interaction of the singularities. The mass of the unit and any objects inside the sinusoid do not exhibit any huge increases on the departure worldline during travel. The observed path of the traveler is obtained by changing the gravity, not by moving the vehicle. The black hole comes to you.
The question is define "time".
To me, time has two definitions. I see time as a mathematical component of a 10 dimensional super universe. It is a variable I use to define my location and existence.
I also see time as a metaphysical compromise our senses use to define the area of collective existence God has placed us in.
When I can measure and sense time, I know I am not with God.
16 January 2001 10:43
I know you have a hidden agenda. You have not made clear your motives and are only giving us very little proof. Why are you holding back?
Rest assured there is nothing I have planned in my "hidden agenda" that will make anyone's life any worse than it already might be.
Am I right? You do a lot of work in the background of our society? Admit it.
I plan to leave soon. There is nothing I can do here that will affect my home. My goals are based on the love I have for my family. Actually, my interest in the past is a result of going through piles of half burned books and magazines left over from a war started by people you share this planet with right now. On that note, perhaps its more interesting to consider what I won't be doing to try and stop that war.
What are your personal beliefs? Do you believe in God, which one? Do you think the ends justify the means? Don't you have people regulating Time Travel?
How many Gods are there? I believe in just one. What are your suggestions for regulating time? Perhaps a list of your "time rights" would be something to spark conversation on the board.
You are a cheater of life. Why can't your worldline fend for itself? You take the solution from us and threaten to change billions of lives (here). Why don't you care about that?
I'm just guessing that "cheater of life" is not a compliment. I can't think of a reason why my actions would be immoral and someone else's would not. You suggest I'm capable of changing lives. I suggest that I'm no more capable of that than you are.