Chronicles of St Mary's discussion

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ratinox

Marooned in Realtime is still the best time travel story I've ever read or seen.
(note: I don't consider All You Need is Kill aka "Edge of Tomorrow" as time travel because it isn't time travel per se. It's save scumming reality.)

All You Need is Kill is time travel. Just like Groundhog Day is time travel.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by maddz

What killed it for me in book 1 was the inconsistencies. Outerwear was absolutely authentic; but underwear - anything went - sports bras, y-fronts etc. I mean, come on - why bother being authentic in the first place???

As long as the undergarments are not seen, it's OK. The authentic undergarments are rather uncomfortable.

[maddz]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

As long as the undergarments are not seen, it's OK. The authentic undergarments are rather uncomfortable.

How do you know they won't be seen? 99.99% of the time they won't be, but that last 0.01% they will be... Assuming of course, that any garments are worn at all, let alone undergarments. Nope, still not buying it.

[andyh2000]

Originally Posted by ratinox

Marooned in Realtime is still the best time travel story I've ever read or seen.
(note: I don't consider All You Need is Kill aka "Edge of Tomorrow" as time travel because it isn't time travel per se. It's save scumming reality.)

Is "Marooned in Realtime" time travel? If so, do I time travel every night when I go to sleep?

Andrew

[hildea]

I read several of them and enjoyed them, but didn't complete the series -- I think I would have stuck with them if I had read other books in between, instead of binging them.

Originally Posted by maddz

How do you know they won't be seen? 99.99% of the time they won't be, but that last 0.01% they will be... Assuming of course, that any garments are worn at all, let alone undergarments. Nope, still not buying it.

It's a while since I read them, so I don't remember the details, but it's not hard to believe that people and organizations might cut corners when it would be smarter to be thorough -- could be to save time or money, or for the comfort of the time travellers.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

As long as the undergarments are not seen, it's OK. The authentic undergarments are rather uncomfortable.

It depends on the era.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

All You Need is Kill is time travel. Just like Groundhog Day is time travel.

Not really, though it does look it at first glance. There is no actual time travel in All You Need is Kill:

Spoiler:

The protagonist perceives a time loop, viewing possible futures until he finds one where he wins. It's no more time travel than Paul Atreides' prescient visions in Dune.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by andyh2000

Is "Marooned in Realtime" time travel? If so, do I time travel every night when I go to sleep?

Andrew

Yes. With the caveat that it's travel in one direction. It is time travel because the characters jump -- from their perspective -- forwards in time by hundreds or thousands of years. This caveat prevents paradox which makes it one of a very few time travel stories to dodge paradox.

[andyh2000]

Originally Posted by ratinox

Yes. With the caveat that it's travel in one direction. It is time travel because the characters jump -- from their perspective -- forwards in time by hundreds or thousands of years. This caveat prevents paradox which makes it one of a very few time travel stories to dodge paradox.

Yeah, to me that's being placed in stasis and waking up later. I don't think of it as time travel but clearly other people do. To me time travel isn't moving forward into the future by one second every second, but you might not be aware of it.

Andrew

PS I love the books though. I just don't think of them as time travel.

[maddz]

Originally Posted by Quoth

It depends on the era.

The other thing you have to consider is the body shape your undergarments are making. For example, a modern bra gives a completely different silhoutte from a Roman bust band or from a Victorian corset even when worn under the correct outerwear. You are still going to stand out in a crowd not blend in.
There's a reason why reenactment societies are fanatic about authenticity.

As for comfort, it also depends on your level in society. A poor person who works for a living is going to wear something comfortable. Only nobles and noveau riche are going to wear something more akin to a torture device. Remember also all clothing was hand made and hence fitted fairly well.

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It's very coherent and understandable.

First of all, a time travel story has to have a "zero point", a baseline from which all the changes come from. One can go back in time or forward in time, or both, but there has to be a "home base" for the story. If you don't have it, it's not a time travel story.

Time travelers to the past, will not be poor. You know what will transpire from the past point, it is "fall off a log" simple to make an investment in the past that will pay off big time in the future. So why is St Mary's such a "edge of destitution" organization? Why is it so willing to take on ultra high risk trips? Why does it not care about all the casualties? I'm sorry, this is totally irrational.

The future is even easier, just import new technology for profit. No research required, just copy the method of production.

Midway through the book, the main character is starving and about to commit suicide. Most of her peers are dead. This is humor?

Need I go further?

[haertig]

Originally Posted by maddz

... But then I grew up ... watching Monty Python ...

"He's not dead, he's just stunned"

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Greg Anos

Need I go further?

Only if you want to add that these are merely your own personal preferences and are not, in fact, some sort of objective "laws" that time-travel fiction need adhere to.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ratinox

Not really, though it does look it at first glance. There is no actual time travel in All You Need is Kill:

Spoiler:

The protagonist perceives a time loop, viewing possible futures until he finds one where he wins. It's no more time travel than Paul Atreides' prescient visions in Dune.

There is time travel.

Spoiler:

All You Need Is Kill follows a soldier named Keiji Kiriya, who, after dying in a battle with extraterrestrials, is caught in a time loop that makes him live the same day repeatedly, allowing Kiriya to improve his fighting skills.

[pdurrant]

By popular demand I've added a poll. It's anonymous, and the results will be only visible after the poll ends in 30 days time.