NationStates Jolt Archive

What would it be? Yes, I'm sure this has been done before, but what the hell.

Personally, I'd take out Hitler. It's very cliched, but I have my own reason; it's not to prevent the Holocaust or anything like that. What's the worst that could happen? Worst case scenario, Stalin's Soviet Union rules the world.

I'd go back and kill my father before I was conceived.

Cue universe destruction.

Warn the populace about LG's global domination plan before it's too late.

What would it be? Yes, I'm sure this has been done before, but what the hell.

Personally, I'd take out Hitler. What's the worst that could happen? Worst case scenario, Stalin's Soviet Union rules the world.

http://www.greenlightwrite.com/invalnapcloth.jpg

See to it that Bonaparte presses the advance in Russia, instead of staying in Moscow. This stops WWI/WWII/Hitler/Stalin!

See to it that Bonaparte presses the advance in Russia, instead of staying in Moscow. This stops WWI/WWII/Hitler/Stalin!

But it's a world ruled by France! Thus it would be become the world's superpower! The horror! THE HORROR!

I'd arrange for Zarathustra's mom to have an abortion. Take that, monotheism!

But it's a world ruled by France! Thus it would be become the world's superpower! The horror! THE HORROR!

Good food though.

But it's a world ruled by France! Thus it would be become the world's superpower! The horror! THE HORROR!

France might exert a massive amount of influence in the world, but it would hardly rule it.

I would make Blackbird tell me where he hid his gold.

I'd arrange for Zarathustra's mom to have an abortion. Take that, monotheism!

You'd probably want to eviscerate Akhenaten too; some theories believe that he played a massive part in influencing ancient Judaism.

But it's a world ruled by France! Thus it would be become the world's superpower! The horror! THE HORROR!

Pardon? English? Brûler! Vous, bien entendu, "l'horreur, l'horreur!"

I'd have gotten a turkey sammich today rather than a ham and cheese.

What would it be? Yes, I'm sure this has been done before, but what the hell.

Personally, I'd take out Hitler. It's very cliched, but I have my own reason; it's not to prevent the Holocaust or anything like that. What's the worst that could happen? Worst case scenario, Stalin's Soviet Union rules the world.

I would travel back in time and set up a trust fund under my name and buy Dow Jones when it goes IPO. do the same for Microsoft, Apple and other stocks.

What would it be? Yes, I'm sure this has been done before, but what the hell.

Personally, I'd take out Hitler. It's very cliched, but I have my own reason; it's not to prevent the Holocaust or anything like that. What's the worst that could happen? Worst case scenario, Stalin's Soviet Union rules the world.
oh i wouldnt take out hitler.

i owe my existence to hitler.

without him, my mother and father never would have met.

I would have tried to make sure that the dark ages never happened.

What would it be? Yes, I'm sure this has been done before, but what the hell.

Personally, I'd take out Hitler. It's very cliched, but I have my own reason; it's not to prevent the Holocaust or anything like that. What's the worst that could happen? Worst case scenario, Stalin's Soviet Union rules the world.
Not so fast, Rusty. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct)

At this point I would normally continue my post to explain what I would do, but the explanation will have to wait because I've been awake for so long I can barely think...

You'd probably want to eviscerate Akhenaten too; some theories believe that he played a massive part in influencing ancient Judaism.

Doubtful; much like hitler, his ideas pretty much died with him.

Speaking of Hitler, even if you do go back and shoot him, what makes you think we won't have Goring or someone in charge instead?

Who came up with the idea that the best way to sell swim suits is to have the women wearing the swim suit?

Obviously, a better way would be to have a naked girl standing beside the swim suit.

I would go back and implant this idea in early marketeers of swim suits.

Return to a time when I was very young, with a database containing economic, political and technological developments from that time to present day. Use the information to guarantee major stakes in high performing companies when they were just starting out, and patent a few of the then future technologies.

I don't know but probably murder Archduke Ferdinand and make it appear to be of natural causes (slow working poison or something like that), thus no death in Yugoslavia, thus no WWI ;)

I'd go back and give Mary an abortion.

Write down the winning lottery number, give them to myself in the past, and rake in the cash.

Not so fast, Rusty. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct)

At this point I would normally continue my post to explain what I would do, but the explanation will have to wait because I've been awake for so long I can barely think...

There's a lot of "What ifs..." about time travel in that hypothesis. A lot rests of what exactly happens if the past is changed; some people think that time would balance itself out, i.e. Hitler being replaced by a guy who's pretty much the same. Personally, I don't think time is that smart.

Doubtful; much like hitler, his ideas pretty much died with him.

I'm not going to dig anything up and go on that tangent, but I remember the doco I heard it in having some pretty decent evidence.

Speaking of Hitler, even if you do go back and shoot him, what makes you think we won't have Goring or someone in charge instead?

Depends when he's killed. If you killed him in WWI, or in the early 20s, no.

I'd go back and give Mary an abortion.

Is Mary your mother?

Is Mary your mother?

No, guess again.

I'd go back in time and assassinate Rick Astley.

No, guess again.

The mother of your child???

The mother of your child???

No.

Mary is the mother of the so called Christ-god.

edit:

And if and when I have a child I will scream to the heavens in joy and to give thanks.

No.

Mary is the mother of the so called Christ-god.

edit:

And if and when I have a child a will scream to the heavens in joy and to give thanks.

I was toying with you boy. ;)

I was toying with you boy. ;)

I knows it!

I would probably go back in time to 1978 and alter the 5-4 Supreme Court Ruling in Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726.

I suspect that while George Carlin's Seven Words would have lost a little bit of notoriety, the United States would be a lot more fucking relaxed today. :)

I'd arrange for Zarathustra's mom to have an abortion. Take that, monotheism!
It wouldn't have made a difference. Movements like that are bigger than the individuals who are blamed for them.

I'd go back in time and win the lottery. However, in order to prevent any paradoxes I'd hide the money somewhere and then "discover" it when I return to the present. I'm rich, and no consequences whatsoever.

It wouldn't have made a difference. Movements like that are bigger than the individuals who are blamed for them.

I'd go back in time and win the lottery. However, in order to prevent any paradoxes I'd hide the money somewhere and then "discover" it when I return to the present. I'm rich, and no consequences whatsoever.

Unless someone finds it before you, then you just made someone else richer.

It wouldn't have made a difference. Movements like that are bigger than the individuals who are blamed for them.


Hari Seldon? Is that you?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Buy stock.

Hari Seldon? Is that you?

A Foundation reference gets you +10 VA points.

I wouldn't have eaten that leftover chicken from P.F. Chang's. *Thinks dark, nauseated thoughts.*

I would travel back in time and kill Albert Einstein, thus preventing the rise of either Stalin or the Japanese Empire that so blights man in RA:3.

Keep John Lennon from being shot

The alternatives risking my very existence.

I'd go back and ask that policeman in Prague to move his horse just a jump to the left....

I would make Blackbird tell me where he hid his gold.
Blackbeard, surely?

Blackbeard, surely?
It looks like we have an uninitiated on our hands...:D

Keep John Lennon from being shot

The alternatives risking my very existence.

It's J D Salinger's fault. Shoot him. *nod*

I'd just go back & buy some cheaps shares in a few companies that later boomed.

To all these people saying they'd buy stocks: how the hell do you think that'd work? Do you really think you could avoid claims of fraud if you showed up with stocks older than you are, but written in your name?

To all these people saying they'd buy stocks: how the hell do you think that'd work? Do you really think you could avoid claims of fraud if you showed up with stocks older than you are, but written in your name?

Which is why I went to lotto route! :D

Doubtful; much like hitler, his ideas pretty much died with him.

Speaking of Hitler, even if you do go back and shoot him, what makes you think we won't have Goring or someone in charge instead?

Ah, reminds me of a Philip K. Dick book I read (The Man in the High Castle or something similar?), its set in an alternate history where the Axis "win" WWII, and Hitlers slowly dying of neural syphilis.

I don't know but probably murder Archduke Ferdinand and make it appear to be of natural causes (slow working poison or something like that), thus no death in Yugoslavia, thus no WWI ;)

Dude, that shit was going down anyway, WWI was basically sibling rivalry, between the Royal families. Also, the Balkans, there was a reason they called it the Powder Keg of Europe, it was going to happen.

I would have gone back to 1450's and somehow tried to prevent Turks from conquering Constantinopol (modern Istanbul)..... and afterwards get them out of Europe and Asia minor and Armenia.... Imagine a world where instead of Turkey we have a surviving Byzantine empire.

I would have gone back to 1450's and somehow tried to prevent Turks from conquering Constantinopol (modern Istanbul)..... and afterwards get them out of Europe and Asia minor and Armenia.... Imagine a world where instead of Turkey we have a surviving Byzantine empire.

All Empires have to die, the rise and fall, man, the rise and fall.

1066: Help Harald Hardrada beat the English at Stamford Bridge (involves making marriage alliances with the rest of Scandinavia to get enough troops), then march on to beat the crap out of William the Bastard (Duke William of Normandy/King William I). Then I would encourage him to turn his sights onto Kiev, once he has consolidated his control in the West. Along the way I would probably lead an expedition to Normandy. This would cause issues for the Catholic Church during the Reformation- to say the least, provided some of the demographics remain the same (namely Norway is one of the first countries to ditch the papacy)! Also, can anyone think up a Norwegian sounding name for New Orleans, while I am on a roll?

I would have gone back to 1450's and somehow tried to prevent Turks from conquering Constantinopol (modern Istanbul)..... and afterwards get them out of Europe and Asia minor and Armenia.... Imagine a world where instead of Turkey we have a surviving Byzantine empire.General Belisarius, is that you?

I would stop the West from ever conquering and diving up the Middle East!

General Belisarius, is that you?


I wish Belisarius was alive then ,, he would have probably been able to do something about the Ottoman threat.. I just can never get over the fact how the Byzantines lost everything to a mongolian horde..
The fall of the Byzantines was one of the greatest tragedies in history.. If only France, England and Spain were smart enough to push the Turks back. We would have had a different world now...

All Empires have to die, the rise and fall, man, the rise and fall.

Do you think USA is the new Roman Empire?

I think you'd have to make a lot of major changes in the distant past before you made any substantive changes in the present.

There's a hypothesis that time really isn't easily altered and that any changes made will be compensated by other changes which basically lead us right back to where we are.

So, kill Alexander the Great before he starts his conquests and a generation later someone else pops up to do what he was meant to do. The changes may make small alterations in the time line, but the end remains the same.

In other words, it doesn't matter who gets us here, we will get here.

That's why, if I go for changes at all, it would be small personal ones, like not eating that damned chicken.

Kill Leonidas (king of Sparta) to see what would have happened if Persia remained a superpower

Kill Tom Cruise and L. Ron Hubbard when they were little kids, respectively.

I'd go back and give Mary an abortion.

Careful she had friend in high places.


Butterfly effect ahhh.


Ahem. How about step on that pesky snake in the Garden of Eden. We wouldn't need clothes. We could work 2 days and take the rest of the year off. All we need is a couch/sofa, a remote and TV. I know they are yet to be invented but maybe I could bring the plans with me.

Kill Tom Cruise and L. Ron Hubbard when they were little kids, respectively.

Wouldn't taking out Hubbard be enough? Tom Cruise would still be a nut, but less so, and not publicly. Some of his movies are watchable at any rate. I kinda liked Minority Report.

i would have prevented a renigade timelord from giving the etruscans the stirrup so there would never have been a roman empire, with the resault of the library at alexandria never having been burned with the resualt of there never having been a middle ages of scientiffic represion with the resault that steam would have been common by the 1100s and electricity by the 1400s and we'd be a star fairing civilization by now.

Jeez. Ok, I'd go back and kill Mitochondrial Eve before she reproduces, thus stopping the whole damned thing.

(this having the added benefit of preventing me from eating that damned chicken).

i would have prevented a renigade timelord from giving the etruscans the stirrup so there would never have been a roman empire, with the resault of the library at alexandria never having been burned with the resualt of there never having been a middle ages of scientiffic represion with the resault that steam would have been common by the 1100s and electricity by the 1400s and we'd be a star fairing civilization by now.

Hypothetically. Or instead, someone else might have burned it anyway

Do you think USA is the new Roman Empire?

No, the "first world" nations basically comprise an "empire", but we're due for a new dark age, or at least an Asian take-over.

Kagetora;14387226']Hypothetically. Or instead, someone else might have burned it anyway

ah but the militant fanatacism that motivated the burning of it, resualting from roman repression of the beliefs of its isrialite colony, (especially the then emerging cult of christianity, which resaulted in its turning millitant) well that motivation for doing so wouldn't have been there. sure, someone else MIGHT have burned it at some other time. but really it wasn't the content, which was probably a bunch of third rate plays by eritoscanies or somebody like that anyway, it was the effect of terrorizing people out of doing research and using the scientific method, that is the point.

the mere burning of it, by some stray arsonist otherwise, would not likely have had that effect.

No, the "first world" nations basically comprise an "empire", but we're due for a new dark age, or at least an Asian take-over.

Dark Age, plz.

Well you never know.

As for my comment on killing Leonidas, come on guys, that's the guy from 300.

To all these people saying they'd buy stocks: how the hell do you think that'd work? Do you really think you could avoid claims of fraud if you showed up with stocks older than you are, but written in your name?

Which is why I wouldn't be buying them. My younger self would, using future knowledge via third parties.

Wouldn't taking out Hubbard be enough? Tom Cruise would still be a nut, but less so, and not publicly. Some of his movies are watchable at any rate. I kinda liked Minority Report.

No! They BOTH MUST DIE! For the good of the World!

Conversely, I suppose I could just find Max Barry and convince him that the concept of NSG was a bad idea. :p

I have my own reason; it's not to prevent the Holocaust or anything like that.

This is not suprising.

What would it be? Yes, I'm sure this has been done before, but what the hell.

The one thing that I would be very much keen on changing is making sure that the Gallipoli Campaign wasn't screwed up. With British and French victory at Gallipoli, the Ottoman Empire would have been knocked out, opening up the Bosporus and giving Russia supplies. This would naturally have two effects; effect one is that the Russians would be able to effectively press Germany on the Eastern Front, dooming them much quicker. Effect two would be the people in the cities would not end up starving, and we have no Russian Revolution. With victory at Gallipoli, Bulgaria would likely join on the side of Britain and France (they only allied with Germany because things looked bad for the other side).

Net effect would be that World War I would end in 1916; a generation would not be lost, France and Britain would not be so indebted, and so less likely to want to punish Germany excessively, Russia would keep the monarchy and not turn Commie.

I'd go back and give Mary an abortion.

Why do you want to get rid of young Prince Christian?

Ensure, Chaing Kai Shiek wins the Chinese civil war.

Ensure, Chaing Kai Shiek wins the Chinese civil war.

That would be another thing i would like to see changed. Indeed, it would have been interesting had Chaing Kai Shek won; would Mainland China today be the world's dominant economy?

That would be another thing i would like to see changed. Indeed, it would have been interesting had Chaing Kai Shek won; would Mainland China today be the world's dominant economy?
No. Doesn't have the oil for it, and nor do fascist governments have decent long-term economic stability. You spend too much on keeping the army going year after year after year and you either get into a war and lose shitloads of money and popularity in the shortish term, with war weariness increasing the longer the damned thing lasts, or your government falls.

That would be another thing i would like to see changed. Indeed, it would have been interesting had Chaing Kai Shek won; would Mainland China today be the world's dominant economy?

I speak Chinese, id do well. Imagine all of mainland China with the economy of Taiwan.

I speak Chinese, id do well. Imagine all of mainland China with the economy of Taiwan.
Imagine all of mainland China with the economy of Hong Kong - does that mean we British ought to have run the whole place?

It's J D Salinger's fault. Shoot him. *nod*

Would've saved me from my English teachers awful interpretations of the book.

I'd go back to before when The Beatles before were formed and make bad versions of all their songs. When they got popular, I'd then successfully sue them for stealing my songs and become ridiculously rich.

1066: Help Harald Hardrada beat the English at Stamford Bridge (involves making marriage alliances with the rest of Scandinavia to get enough troops)

Seeing as the Swedes weren't interested, and the Danes hated Hardrada with a passion, and were matey with Harold Godwinson, that would never happen.

No. Doesn't have the oil for it, and nor do fascist governments have decent long-term economic stability. You spend too much on keeping the army going year after year after year and you either get into a war and lose shitloads of money and popularity in the shortish term, with war weariness increasing the longer the damned thing lasts, or your government falls.

Bear in mind though that Chiang Kai Shek was moving toward democracy; you had the National Assembly of 1948 which was an elected body. That would have been replaced in 1951 had the Mainland not fallen.

The sole reason, in my view, why Chiang Kai Shek was "fascist" was due to internal instability during the inter-war period, and then the later fall of the Mainland.

If I could travel back in time and change anything I wanted than whatever I changed would have already happened in my past and I would have no need to travel back in time and change it. Thereby negating the fact that I traveled through time, and nothing would ever change. Now the future that is something I can change.

If I could travel back in time and change anything I wanted than whatever I changed would have already happened in my past and I would have no need to travel back in time and change it. Thereby negating the fact that I traveled through time, and nothing would ever change. Now the future that is something I can change.

but what if the things in your past happened because you travelled back in time in the first place. Maybe all your actions were already predetermined and you're just playing out a sequence of events like a machine?

I would travel back in time and sell my idea of tension paper and become rich for later on.

but what if the things in your past happened because you travelled back in time in the first place. Maybe all your actions were already predetermined and you're just playing out a sequence of events like a machine?

I would travel back in time and sell my idea of tension paper and become rich for later on.

Well then I guess I don't have to concern myself with things like destiny and all that.

There's a lot of "What ifs..." about time travel in that hypothesis. A lot rests of what exactly happens if the past is changed; some people think that time would balance itself out, i.e. Hitler being replaced by a guy who's pretty much the same. Personally, I don't think time is that smart.

It's a website about tropes in stories, not an academic site claiming there is an actual timeline defense against taking out Hitler. :rolleyes:

Worst case scenario, Stalin's Soviet Union rules the world.


I'd take out Peter Jackson before he even writes the script for LotR.


Anyway, your worst case scenario could be even worse: Andaras Prime succeeds Stalin.

I'd go back and give Mary an abortion.

Is Mary your mother?

No, guess again.

You'd decide that making such a blatantly trollish remark was a bad idea and avoid it?

Bear in mind though that Chiang Kai Shek was moving toward democracy; you had the National Assembly of 1948 which was an elected body. That would have been replaced in 1951 had the Mainland not fallen.

The sole reason, in my view, why Chiang Kai Shek was "fascist" was due to internal instability during the inter-war period, and then the later fall of the Mainland.
when did chiang kai shek get redefined as fascist?

I would go to the middle of the first century just to see what was actually going down.

And then make sure I gathered all of the documents I could, bring them back with me, and make a fortune "discovering" ancient Christian texts.

Off the guys who tried to compile the OT in Babylon, off Jesus (before anyone had heard of him), and off Mohammed

Try not to do anything that might upset the delicate alignment of my dad's sperm. Screw time travel. It's like a power outage when you haven't saved in hours.

when did chiang kai shek get redefined as fascist?

I was responding to Yootopia and this comment

"No. Doesn't have the oil for it, and nor do fascist governments have decent long-term economic stability."

He was responding to a comment on mine about Chiang Kai Shek. I wasn't of the view that he was fascist, hence the use of quotation marks.

Bring modern technology back to the Renaissance. For the lulz.

This has been a most fascinating and interesting read.
One could argue that there are two distinct sides here.
Those who would go back in time to stave of disaster or otherwise improve the situation for humanity,
and those who would use it for their own personal gain.

This has been a most fascinating and interesting read.
One could argue that there are two distinct sides here.
Those who would go back in time to stave of disaster or otherwise improve the situation for humanity,
and those who would use it for their own personal gain.

Hey! I want my own side, 'Continue Existing'.

I would go back to any war America has fought between 1750 and 1950... not to change history, but to experience it! As unfortunate as some events were, they shaped where we are today... for both good and bad.

"You cannot change the past, so learn all you can about it and change the future!"

Hey! I want my own side, 'Continue Existing'.

Apologies, you are correct.
There are also those would choose to not do anything that would upset the time/space continuum.
Happy? ,)

I would wash my hands before I ate that sandwich, I feel sick now.

Apologies, you are correct.
There are also those would choose to not do anything that would upset the time/space continuum.
Happy? ,)

*nod* :D

Imagine all of mainland China with the economy of Hong Kong - does that mean we British ought to have run the whole place?

Well, yeah! :D

I'd go back and ask that policeman in Prague to move his horse just a jump to the left....


and a step to the right?

This has been a most fascinating and interesting read.
One could argue that there are two distinct sides here.
Those who would go back in time to stave of disaster or otherwise improve the situation for humanity,
and those who would use it for their own personal gain.

The problem with staving off disaster or improving the situation for humanity is that more often than not, you end up spawning some other kind of nightmare to fill the void, or writing yourself out of history, creating the grandfather paradox. It's not so simple as jumping back 80 years and pumping a few bullets into Hitler and coming back into a future of sunshine and peaches.

Unless you're immortal and have constant access to present and future resources to bring to bear, fiddling with far distant timelines is like juggling with nitroglycerin while balancing on a ball on a roller coaster.

and a step to the right?
:D
I was wondering if anyone would catch the references.... one down, one to go...

Me...all I would do is go back in time to when Newfoundland was about to hand over the Upper ChurchHills to Qubec back in the early 1900s with papaers about what would happen when they did and bring a better way to make money so we wouldn't have to and now Newfoundland would be much richer. That or convice the Newfoundland Regmient not to go over the top on July the first 1916...

But w/e.

:-D
I was wondering if anyone would catch the references.... one down, one to go...

Mind explaining it for the uneducated/clueless unwashed mass of NSG?

Mind explaining it for the uneducated/clueless unwashed mass of NSG?

I do believe she's mentioning Hammurab's thread on why Katagastan shouldn't be a moderator.

I do believe she's mentioning Hammurab's thread on why Katagastan shouldn't be a moderator.

I forgot. Did the horse survive?

I forgot. Did the horse survive?

Honestly, i don't recall. I think the thread's in the archive's, so I suppose I might check it out. Maybe. Possibly. Probably not.

I would go back in time and try to remember what I was going to type. Enough said.

Id give Mark Antony an M-16 and lots of ammo...just to see what would happen, lol...

Id give Mark Antony an M-16 and lots of ammo...just to see what would happen, lol...

Nah. Give it to Cleopatra. Now that would be interesting as she unrolls from the carpet and mows down Caesar and his generals.

:D
I was wondering if anyone would catch the references.... one down, one to go...

the image of the pelvic thrusts scare me... :eek2:

I would take several newspapers back to when the first Continental Congress is writing the Constitution and Bill of rights and show them the issues and problems facing America today.

Then sit back and watch what changes (if any) are made.

:D
I was wondering if anyone would catch the references.... one down, one to go...

You had too much Heineken in you...

(Or was it sake?)

why Katagastan shouldn't be a moderator.

Because she doesn't exist?