Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Original Fiction FDK: Escaping the Pandemic (1/1)

The best laid plans...

All feedback welcomed.

That didn't go so well. But it was hilarious none the less

That was funny!

Hi Bakasi,

Out of the frying pan, into the fire. But as bad as COVID is, it is actually still a huge improvement compared to the 1918 flu.

Be well,
Lynn

Hi Joan,

I'm glad you enjoyed this story. Thanks for leaving feedback.

Be well,
Lynn

I don't know if I'd be more scared of the flu or the approaching World War II, if I went back to 1918. I couldn't even stop it, much as I would want that, because I wouldn't have been born without it.

But if your character went back to 2020, he could have landed even earlier to perhaps prevent the pandemic - or keep Putin from starting that awful war? So many possibilities. I think I'm glad that time traveling only happens in fiction

Hi Barbara,

I agree that the only time travel I think would be good in real life is that which we all do: travelling forward in time sixty seconds every minute.

My grandmother (a Jew) saw the writing on the wall and left Germany while she still could -- she alone of her family did so, and she alone survived the war; as a Jew by heritage, I definitely would not want to experience WWII.

Of course, the story's protagonist wouldn't have known that he was skipping over that pivotal event in history. I deliberately made the journey a one way trip for my protagonist -- for better or for worse, he was stuck in 2020.

I wonder what it would be like having to learn of so many of humanity's highs and lows and having to adapt to the changes: WW II, nuclear arms, the dominance of cars as a mode of transportation, flight becoming commonplace among civilians, travel to the moon, unmanned travel to Mars, television computers, etc. Even something as relatively trivial as inflated prices would take some getting used to. I think it would be the most severe case of culture shock ever.

Be well,
Lynn

Reminds me of the song, Isn't it ironic?

Very clever!

Thanks, Penny. I guess Tempus would love it, then.

Oh yes, I forgot about him! I suspect he would.

Now I know one way you could improve your story. Rename the time traveler Tempus rather than John! That would be oh sooo sweet.

Hi Penny,

That would be amusing, but it would have to be some sort of alt-Tempus who had hitherto lived his entire life in our past, rather than the show's Tempus who is from our future and would therefore know about COVID.

Incidentally, I chose "John" since it was popular in both times in which the story is set, so nothing would have been given away by it as would have been the case with a more old-timey name.

Joy,
Lynn

Oh, that was priceless. Ironic definitely. Although I found it bittersweet. A relative of mine, born in the 1880s and passed in the 1960s, said the development of the automobile was the biggest surprise of his lifetime. After that, technological advancements weren't surprising. His family survived the 1918-1920 pandemic by ignoring the "expert" advice of the time, including starving a fever. His wife kept a pot of soup on the stove for those ill, and their home became a successful mini-hospital for family and friends.

Hi Cuidadora,

Thank you for the feedback.

Of course, how could I forget the automobile? I guess it has become such an integral part of modern life that it hadn't even occurred to me. If your relative had lived to be an extremely old age and saw how computers are used, I wonder whether he would have said that the computer (and related technology, including the Internet) rivaled the automobile as a surprise in his lifetime. I would certainly say it is the technological surprise of mine. When I first programmed a computer way back in 1981, I would never in my wildest of fantasies have imagined how integral to all aspects of life its descendants would become. At the time, I never even saw the computer itself; I programmed it via a teletype that was connected to it. I still remember my excitement at seeing my first monitor a couple of years later, and again my near-ecstasy when I saw my first demo of a full screen editor. Yup, I'm showing my age here. (I missed punch cards by one year. To this day, I have mixed feelings about that. A part of me is glad not to have had to deal with them, but another part of me wishes I had had the experience of doing so.)

Joy,
Lynn