ChukoLiang
05-19-2010, 03:54 AM
So I decided awhile back that if I had a time machine and the equipment I needed, as well as complete impunity, I would take it upon myself to right every wrong in history I could find. In alternate dimensions, that is. Because screwing with OUR timeline is a completely stupid idea.
This was going to be the idea behind a book I intend to write. It was also the subject of my final essay.
What I want to know is, what would YOU do with the same?
Essay:
Throughout history, many things have occured which could be deemed "wrong". Ranging from events affecting one person to the Holocaust, these occurences will nonetheless never be corrected, as it is, in fact, history. But what would happen if someone with a modicum of intelligence came into the possession of a time machine, equipment that turns them into what primitive societies would consider a 'god' (incorrectly), and impunity? The possibilities are endless, and I suggest to any who own such things to give them to me, that I may utilize them in the most effective manner possible.
There are endless ideas and options I have for this scenario. But first, the rules I have set, for the purpose of this exercise as well as for myself.
1: No adjustments, travel, or changes may be made in my current dimension. This dimension must be forever left untouched. In the event of there not being, as modern science suggests, endless numbers of alternate dimensions, then I would end the project immediately; I refuse to allow myself to damage the flow of this world, only those of alternates. While that may be considered cruel and unusual, I really don't care. I must know what would happen, what events looked like, any one of a million goals for which I would have.
2: I will require the aforementioned 'god' equipment. This includes, but is not limited to:
A: A field generator capable of deflecting any attack or object that may harm me in any way.
B: Free movement capability. Teleportation, flight, phasing through material, etc. Basically, the potential to be anywhere at any time.
C: The most perfect weapons and equipment ever. Simple enough. For both long and short ranges, as well as the ability to obtain/create any weapon ever. Speaking of...
D: An infinite supply of money. Money makes the world go 'round, after all. This currency will be pure gold, as gold has always been valued highly by mankind for some reason.
E: Anything else I deem necessary.
3: There will be no direct crimes against humanity. But that is relative. Therefore, I will not purposefully eliminate the human race. TOO many times, that is. (That will be explained later).
4: I must be perfectly trained in every way for everything and anything that may possibly be useful.
5: I must obtain a means of infinite longevity; the ability to never age and never die of age. Combined with previous technology, I will thus become unkillable by any means.
6: I must find a way to maintain sanity despite the scenes of destruction, chaos, mayhem and the like I will be subject to.
And now, without further introduction, is the list and descriptions of part of this project.
(Note: This is not in any order of importance. I will repeat that, because it bears repeating: this is NOT in any order of importance.)
The first objective I will accomplish is the meeting of myself with the greatest scientist of all time (arguably), Nikola Tesla. Nikola Tesla was working on what amounted to being an electicity-firing death ray at the time of his death. His papers were then confiscated by the FBI. When I meet him, I will also, unknowingly to him, add twenty years to his lifespan (he died relatively young). His "death ray", which he claimed could vaporize flights of airplanes or entire armies at once, would be completed. I would then ensure every nation in the world was equipped with many along their borders. With this defensive device in place, and I would ensure it remained defensive by hampering and sabotaging any research into making it offensive, war would be effectively made obsolete. That is not, however, the only result. In addition to this, Nikola Tesla had previously shown that electicity can be transferred wirelessly a great distance by lighting up a large number of lightbulbs from ~50 miles away without so much as a single cable connecting the plant and the lightbulbs. As a result of this, electicity prices would drop immensely, bringing civilization to the entire world, as the efficiency of all power plants soared. Tesla would live a long life, and would undoubtedly contribute many more upgrades to existing technology as well as the creation of brand new technology. A new golden age would be ushered in, and the world would become, even if it were only briefly, a scientific utopia.
My second objective would be to save several individuals. I will be adding many more persons I would save just to save them, but this will be a less detailed list of names with brief descriptions.
To begin: I would stop deceased comedian Mitch Hedberg from overdosing on heroin, and indeed send him to a rehabilitation center. He would bring his unique sense of humor to the masses, rise in popularity and eventually achieve some kind of lofty post in the entertainment world.
I would save Julius Caesar from the assassination of the senate. He would execute the senators (which they deserve) and call for a new senate. This puppet senate would then follow Caesar as he conquered an even larger chunk of the world for Rome.
I would disable the gun used to kill metal guitarist "Dimebag" Darrel Abbot. The assassin would pull a gun on him, pull the trigger, have nothing happen, and then get beat to death by an angry crowd. Serves him right; music is one of the greatest joys of the world. Abbot would go on to become an even greater guitarist with the band Damageplan, the band he was about to join.
I would stop Vincent Van Gogh from committing suicide. I would show him the future, where his paintings sell for millions upon millions of dollars. I would prove to him he would be known as one of the greatest painters of all time, and tell him that despite what he may think, he will indeed be treasured by the world. Van Gogh would live many more years and produce hundreds, if not thousands of paintings.
I then would discover what happened to Edgar Allan Poe. If he had committed suicide, I would stop him and do with his poetry what I did with Van Gogh's artwork. If he was killed, I would flay the flesh off the killer. Destroying such an amazing treasure of literature deserves the most severe punishment. Poe would then go on to write more poetry, and eventually be recognized in his own lifetime.
I would discover for certain whether or not Kurt Cobain had killed himself, or if he had been murdered. I would save him from death in either case, because, as previously stated, music is one of the world's greatest joys.
I would arrest the pilot that flew the plane metal guitarist Randy Rhodes died in. He was drunk, had drugs in his system, and had an expired pilot's license when he was flying. Rhodes had nicotine and nothing else unnatural in his system at the time. Rhodes would go on to become known as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
I would discover what the truth is behind the Kennedy assassination; Was it Lee Harvey Oswald, or was it another assassin? Either way, anyone involved would be going down, albeit in a more subtle fashion; I would reveal the plot to the government, and they would take care of the problem as they saw fit. Kennedy would lead the nation into a second term. Perhaps the Cold War would thus end in less time.
My third objective would be grander events. The number one and first goal I would accomplish is the eradication of the drug cartels that populate several countries in Central and South America. I would put the fear of God in all of them, and then eliminate them one by one. Drugs are a poison, a disease, and this would be the only cure. Honestly, I don't see why America as a nation doesn't do this already.
I have decided I would then do the obvious thing any sensible person would consider doing under these circumstances: I would cut down Adolf Hitler before he could start the Holocaust, or indeed had any power whatsoever. This would have a gargantuan ripple effect throughout history, completely changing everything the world now knows. Whether this would be an immensely positive change or a negative one is something that cannot be predicted; though millions of lives would be spared, the world's population would be skyrocketing even faster, and the Earth might run out of resources.
I would follow that up by assassinating Josef Stalin. Stalin was the biggest murderer in all time, stating that "If you kill one person, it is a tragedy. If you kill a million people, it is a statistic." and thus earning a place on the Worst People Of All Time list.
History is a solid thing. But I believe that if it were fluid, if I were given the power to accomplish these goals, the world would have been a better place.
This was going to be the idea behind a book I intend to write. It was also the subject of my final essay.
What I want to know is, what would YOU do with the same?
Essay:
Throughout history, many things have occured which could be deemed "wrong". Ranging from events affecting one person to the Holocaust, these occurences will nonetheless never be corrected, as it is, in fact, history. But what would happen if someone with a modicum of intelligence came into the possession of a time machine, equipment that turns them into what primitive societies would consider a 'god' (incorrectly), and impunity? The possibilities are endless, and I suggest to any who own such things to give them to me, that I may utilize them in the most effective manner possible.
There are endless ideas and options I have for this scenario. But first, the rules I have set, for the purpose of this exercise as well as for myself.
1: No adjustments, travel, or changes may be made in my current dimension. This dimension must be forever left untouched. In the event of there not being, as modern science suggests, endless numbers of alternate dimensions, then I would end the project immediately; I refuse to allow myself to damage the flow of this world, only those of alternates. While that may be considered cruel and unusual, I really don't care. I must know what would happen, what events looked like, any one of a million goals for which I would have.
2: I will require the aforementioned 'god' equipment. This includes, but is not limited to:
A: A field generator capable of deflecting any attack or object that may harm me in any way.
B: Free movement capability. Teleportation, flight, phasing through material, etc. Basically, the potential to be anywhere at any time.
C: The most perfect weapons and equipment ever. Simple enough. For both long and short ranges, as well as the ability to obtain/create any weapon ever. Speaking of...
D: An infinite supply of money. Money makes the world go 'round, after all. This currency will be pure gold, as gold has always been valued highly by mankind for some reason.
E: Anything else I deem necessary.
3: There will be no direct crimes against humanity. But that is relative. Therefore, I will not purposefully eliminate the human race. TOO many times, that is. (That will be explained later).
4: I must be perfectly trained in every way for everything and anything that may possibly be useful.
5: I must obtain a means of infinite longevity; the ability to never age and never die of age. Combined with previous technology, I will thus become unkillable by any means.
6: I must find a way to maintain sanity despite the scenes of destruction, chaos, mayhem and the like I will be subject to.
And now, without further introduction, is the list and descriptions of part of this project.
(Note: This is not in any order of importance. I will repeat that, because it bears repeating: this is NOT in any order of importance.)
The first objective I will accomplish is the meeting of myself with the greatest scientist of all time (arguably), Nikola Tesla. Nikola Tesla was working on what amounted to being an electicity-firing death ray at the time of his death. His papers were then confiscated by the FBI. When I meet him, I will also, unknowingly to him, add twenty years to his lifespan (he died relatively young). His "death ray", which he claimed could vaporize flights of airplanes or entire armies at once, would be completed. I would then ensure every nation in the world was equipped with many along their borders. With this defensive device in place, and I would ensure it remained defensive by hampering and sabotaging any research into making it offensive, war would be effectively made obsolete. That is not, however, the only result. In addition to this, Nikola Tesla had previously shown that electicity can be transferred wirelessly a great distance by lighting up a large number of lightbulbs from ~50 miles away without so much as a single cable connecting the plant and the lightbulbs. As a result of this, electicity prices would drop immensely, bringing civilization to the entire world, as the efficiency of all power plants soared. Tesla would live a long life, and would undoubtedly contribute many more upgrades to existing technology as well as the creation of brand new technology. A new golden age would be ushered in, and the world would become, even if it were only briefly, a scientific utopia.
My second objective would be to save several individuals. I will be adding many more persons I would save just to save them, but this will be a less detailed list of names with brief descriptions.
To begin: I would stop deceased comedian Mitch Hedberg from overdosing on heroin, and indeed send him to a rehabilitation center. He would bring his unique sense of humor to the masses, rise in popularity and eventually achieve some kind of lofty post in the entertainment world.
I would save Julius Caesar from the assassination of the senate. He would execute the senators (which they deserve) and call for a new senate. This puppet senate would then follow Caesar as he conquered an even larger chunk of the world for Rome.
I would disable the gun used to kill metal guitarist "Dimebag" Darrel Abbot. The assassin would pull a gun on him, pull the trigger, have nothing happen, and then get beat to death by an angry crowd. Serves him right; music is one of the greatest joys of the world. Abbot would go on to become an even greater guitarist with the band Damageplan, the band he was about to join.
I would stop Vincent Van Gogh from committing suicide. I would show him the future, where his paintings sell for millions upon millions of dollars. I would prove to him he would be known as one of the greatest painters of all time, and tell him that despite what he may think, he will indeed be treasured by the world. Van Gogh would live many more years and produce hundreds, if not thousands of paintings.
I then would discover what happened to Edgar Allan Poe. If he had committed suicide, I would stop him and do with his poetry what I did with Van Gogh's artwork. If he was killed, I would flay the flesh off the killer. Destroying such an amazing treasure of literature deserves the most severe punishment. Poe would then go on to write more poetry, and eventually be recognized in his own lifetime.
I would discover for certain whether or not Kurt Cobain had killed himself, or if he had been murdered. I would save him from death in either case, because, as previously stated, music is one of the world's greatest joys.
I would arrest the pilot that flew the plane metal guitarist Randy Rhodes died in. He was drunk, had drugs in his system, and had an expired pilot's license when he was flying. Rhodes had nicotine and nothing else unnatural in his system at the time. Rhodes would go on to become known as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
I would discover what the truth is behind the Kennedy assassination; Was it Lee Harvey Oswald, or was it another assassin? Either way, anyone involved would be going down, albeit in a more subtle fashion; I would reveal the plot to the government, and they would take care of the problem as they saw fit. Kennedy would lead the nation into a second term. Perhaps the Cold War would thus end in less time.
My third objective would be grander events. The number one and first goal I would accomplish is the eradication of the drug cartels that populate several countries in Central and South America. I would put the fear of God in all of them, and then eliminate them one by one. Drugs are a poison, a disease, and this would be the only cure. Honestly, I don't see why America as a nation doesn't do this already.
I have decided I would then do the obvious thing any sensible person would consider doing under these circumstances: I would cut down Adolf Hitler before he could start the Holocaust, or indeed had any power whatsoever. This would have a gargantuan ripple effect throughout history, completely changing everything the world now knows. Whether this would be an immensely positive change or a negative one is something that cannot be predicted; though millions of lives would be spared, the world's population would be skyrocketing even faster, and the Earth might run out of resources.
I would follow that up by assassinating Josef Stalin. Stalin was the biggest murderer in all time, stating that "If you kill one person, it is a tragedy. If you kill a million people, it is a statistic." and thus earning a place on the Worst People Of All Time list.
History is a solid thing. But I believe that if it were fluid, if I were given the power to accomplish these goals, the world would have been a better place.