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Post by papaof2 on Oct 10, 2019 13:38:57 GMT -6
“There is no way that writers can be tamed and rendered civilized. Or even cured.”
Robert A. Heinlein, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
"Believe me, darling; I've had this disease for years, I know how to manage it. Let me have a small room and a terminal, let me go into it and seal the door behind me, and it will be just like having a normal, healthy husband who goes to the office every morning and does whatever it is men do in offices - I've never known and have never been much interested in finding out."
Robert A. Heinlein, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
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Post by willc453 on Oct 23, 2019 14:10:24 GMT -6
Strange how you mention Heinlein's name as a few years ago thought of writing a story where the main character meets him, but then history as we know it, may or may not be changed. I hadn't thought of which way I'd go on that one. Guy's in his late 40's/early 50's, camping somewhere in Georgia with his dog, practicing his bushcraft/survival skills. It starts to rain, then really heavy with lots of wind. But the guy's has a tent and no problem for him and his dog to just ride it out in it...until a tree branch falls on and rips his tent! Guy remembers a cave not far from his camp, so grabs his gear, with him and his dog taking off for the cave. Thing is, there's a small fissure in the cave which has leaked fumes over the centuries and this time, lightning happens to hit a tree near the cave, but also "sparking" the fumes. When the man wakes up, he feels strange, then discovers his dog of 10 years is now a pup and he's 8-9 years old....and later, finds out it's 1961!
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Post by papaof2 on Oct 23, 2019 15:46:25 GMT -6
I would consider going back to 1961 if I could take all my knowledge and experience back with me. I could buy some really cheap stock in unknown startup companies as they came along (Apple, Microsoft), stockpile certain non-suspicious things that would be of value now (junk silver coins, right out of pocket change - a dime then is worth about $1.26 today ;-) and be certain to keep my '57 Chevy along the way (that would probably be worth more than a few $$$$ now). Plan to buy land in certain places (future Interstate routes, even the nearly new I22 through Alabama and Mississippi) and have an even better retirement portfolio ;-)
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Post by willc453 on Oct 23, 2019 18:35:49 GMT -6
In my story, the guy would be a history buff, along with sports history and horse races though not a fanatic on the later two. I hadn't thought what his skill was in life, but figured something ordinary instead of doctor, rocket scientist, etc. The problem to begin with is he's physically 8-9 years old and of course, except for his change, his money and credit cards are worthless. Credit cards were basically unheard of. Remember, everyone either paid in cash or by check. Driver license's back then were on paper and not sealed with plastic like today. Also, back then drivers license didn't have photos on 'em. His clothes don't fit him as a child and since he was practicing bushcraft, etc., he's got an AR-15 which wasn't produced for the Army until 1964. So NO rifle like it exists with it's collapsible stock, 30 round magazines, 5.56 ammo & red dot scope. The character also has a .45 produced by a company in the Philippines, with the company not in existence. The character would have a cell phone, maybe even a small laptop with some thumb drives so he could watch videos on bushcraft or some movies, which of course, hadn't been produced. Or an iPad. Remember, transistors were coming out, but NOTHING like the electronics produced today. What if he had a hand cranked radio with flashlight and/or a handheld, hand cranked flashlight with him?
How many of us KNOW when Microsoft, etc. became available as stock? IBM was the big boy on the block back then. Saving silver for it to increase in value? MAJOR waste of time as it actually didn't increase until what, the 1980's? So you're going to hold onto silver for 29 years? As to your Chevy, same thing, but at least it's transportation and gas was a lot cheaper back then.
Remember Kennedy is president, the Cuban Missile Crisis didn't happen until 1962, nor had he been murdered. The Shah still rules over Iran. Winston Churchill was still alive, though had retired from politics. And what about the spies that were working Russia against America and Britain? And let's not forget the Civil Rights Movement and the Klu Klux Klan and the grip it had on the southern states with its midnight raids of murder, rape and torture of blacks. Was thinking of a couple of crackers who were going to give a young, black girl (teenager or in her early 20's) the "pleasure" of having sex with them.
I've read a lot of Stephen King books and have only kept 2 of them. The Mist, which was later made into a movie. It followed the book right down the line, except for the ending WHICH SUCKED! And when you think about it, it would make a good survival story. The other is Nov. 3, 1962. It's about a guy who discovers a "hole" in space & time, which allows him to travel back to his town as it was in 1961. But there is a catch, naturally. You can return at any time, but you do age. So if you spend 5 years in the past, you age physically and if you change history, you change the future with ramifications explained in the book.
Could go on, but had enough as you get the idea of writing such a story. And why it remains in the back of my mind.
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Post by papaof2 on Oct 23, 2019 19:02:04 GMT -6
Nothing a smart guy couldn't keep track of with a network of 30 or 40 computers ;-)
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Post by millwright on Oct 24, 2019 11:26:05 GMT -6
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