science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

, a time viewer, temporal viewer, or chronoscope is a device that allows another point in time to be observed. The concept has appeared since the late 1800s, constituting a significant yet relatively obscure subgenre of

time travel fiction Time travel is a common theme in fiction, mainly since the late 19th century, and has been depicted in a variety of media, such as literature, television, film, and advertisements. The concept of time travel by mechanical means was popularize ...

and appearing in various media including literature, cinema, and television. Stories usually explain the technology by referencing cutting-edge science, though sometimes invoking the

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

instead. Most commonly only the past can be observed, though occasionally time viewers capable of showing the future appear; these devices are sometimes limited in terms of what information about the future can be obtained. Other variations on the concept include being able to listen to the past but not view it. One reason authors may choose to write about time viewers rather than

time machine Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

s is to circumvent the issue of

temporal paradox A temporal paradox, time paradox, or time travel paradox is a paradox, an apparent contradiction, or logical contradiction associated with the idea of time and time travel. The notion of time travel to the future complies with current understanding ...

es. Recurring applications include studying history, solving crimes, and entertainment in the form of displaying historic events to an audience. Because the past includes events as recently as the previous second, privacy may be compromised by such devices; several stories explore the implications thereof. Other stories examine the effects of being observed by onlookers further into the future. An unanticipated influence on past events is a common motif in stories about time viewers, and exploiting this side-effect appears in some stories.

Concept

In its most basic form, a time viewer is a device that only allows the observation of the past. Unlike with a

, the user is not transported from one moment in time to another. Under the strictest definition it cannot alter the past; however, the unexpected discovery that the device does indeed affect the past is a common motif. Variations on the concept where the future rather than the past is observed are more uncommon but nevertheless appear in multiple works. Another variation involves listening to the past rather than viewing it.

Methods

In-universe justifications for the ability to observe the past vary, typically corresponding to contemporary scientific developments; time viewers exploit impressions on the

aether Aether, æther or ether may refer to: Metaphysics and mythology * Aether (classical element), the material supposed to fill the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere * Aether (mythology), the personification of the "upper sky", sp ...

in the 1926 novel ''

The Vicarion ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speak ...

'' by

Gardner Hunting Gardner Hunting (1872 - 1958) was an American screenwriter and author. He edited ''People's Magazine''. From Michigan, he wrote ''Vicarion'' and other stories. In 1916, he contracted with Wharton Incorporated to be in charge of their film scenario ...

, exotic

neutrino A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is a fermion (an elementary particle with spin of ) that interacts only via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass ...

properties in the 1956 short story "

The Dead Past "The Dead Past" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, first published in the April 1956 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction''. It was later collected in ''Earth Is Room Enough'' (1957) and ''The Best of Isaac Asimov ...

" by

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and ...

, and

wormholes A wormhole (Einstein-Rosen bridge) is a hypothetical structure connecting disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special solution of the Einstein field equations. A wormhole can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate po ...

in the 2000 novel ''

The Light of Other Days ''The Light of Other Days'' is a 2000 science fiction novel written by Stephen Baxter based on a synopsis by Arthur C. Clarke,Arthur C. Clarke, ''Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible'', Millennium .e., Seco ...

'' by Stephen Baxter and

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

. A common explanation involves the finite

speed of light The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit fo ...

and astronomical distances; this method appears in the 1935 short story "

The Space Lens ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

" by

Donald A. Wollheim Donald Allen Wollheim (October 1, 1914 – November 2, 1990) was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pearso ...

, among others. A variation that appears in the 1966 short story "

Light of Other Days "Light of Other Days" is a science fiction short story by Bob Shaw. It was originally published in August 1966 in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact.'' The story uses the idea of "slow glass": glass through which light takes years to pass. Bob Sh ...

" by

Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story " Light of Other Day ...

(later included in the 1972

fix-up A fix-up (or fixup) is a novel created from several short fiction stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material, such as a frame ...

novel ''

Other Days, Other Eyes Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * The Other (1913 film), ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * The Oth ...

'') is using

slow glass Slow light is the propagation of an optical pulse or other modulation of an optical carrier at a very low group velocity. Slow light occurs when a propagating pulse is substantially slowed by the interaction with the medium in which the propagatio ...

whose high

refractive index In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, o ...

means light takes years to pass through it.

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

explanations also occur in works like the 1925 short story "

A View From a Hill Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...

" by

M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...

, where a pair of binoculars are enchanted to show the past, and the 1976 short story " Balsamo's Mirror" by

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

, where the titular mirror allows a present-day person to view the world through the eyes of one from the past.

History

The Ghost of Slumber Mountain - 1918 - poster

The earliest known example of a fully fledged time viewer in fiction appears in the 1883 short story " L'historioscope" by

Eugène Mouton Pierre Martin Désiré Eugène Mouton (12 April 1823, in Marseille – 8 June 1902, in Paris) was a French writer of comic, adventure, and fantastical literature, and is considered an early writer of science fiction. He wrote under the name ''Mér ...

in the form of an electrical telescope, though it was prefigured by a couple of proto-variations on the concept; in the 1872 work '' Recits de l'infini'' (which later turned into the 1887 novel '' Lumen'') by

Camille Flammarion Nicolas Camille Flammarion Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, FRAS (; 26 February 1842 – 3 June 1925) was a French astronomer and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astrono ...

a spirit accomplishes the same effect by travelling

faster than light Faster-than-light (also FTL, superluminal or supercausal) travel and communication are the conjectural propagation of matter or information faster than the speed of light (). The special theory of relativity implies that only particles with zero ...

, and the titular device in the 1873 short story "The Automaton Ear" by

Florence McLandburgh Florence McLandburgh (April 22, 1850 – June 3, 1934) was an American writer of fiction and poetry, sometimes using the pseudonym McLandburgh Wilson. Early life and education McLandburgh was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, and lived in Chicago af ...

enables listening to the past. In film, the first time viewer appeared in the 1918 film ''

The Ghost of Slumber Mountain ''The Ghost of Slumber Mountain'' is a 1918 film written and directed by special effects pioneer Willis O'Brien, produced by Herbert M. Dawley, and starring both men. It is the first film to show live actors and stop-motion creatures together on ...

''. The concept has appeared regularly in works of fiction ever since, creating a sub-genre within

, but remained comparatively obscure.

Narrative function

Science fiction author Stephen Baxter identifies several different ways time viewers are used in fiction. The most basic premise is of the time viewer as simply a "neat gadget", with a common variation being something going wrong, typically the past being unintentionally altered. Changing the past on purpose is another recurring application. According to Baxter, the wider implications of the existence of time viewers are sometimes explored in

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Nove ...

by performing what's known as a PEST (Political, Economic, Social, and Technical) analysis. Several authors consider time viewers to be inherently more plausible than time machines. Science fiction author

Damien Broderick Damien Francis Broderick (born 22 April 1944) is an Australian science fiction and popular science writer and editor of some 74 books. His science fiction novel ''The Dreaming Dragons'' (1980) introduced the trope of the generation time machine ...

says that "using a time viewer is in essence no more absurd than watching a movie made 50 years ago" since the past cannot be affected by it. Baxter similarly says that time viewers are more extrapolation than fantasy, comparing them to archaeological research. For this reason, science writer

Paul J. Nahin Paul J. Nahin (born November 26, 1940 in Orange County, California) is an American electrical engineer and author who has written 20 books on topics in physics and mathematics, including biographies of Oliver Heaviside, George Boole, and Claude Sh ...

and physicist Stephen Webb say that a benefit for writers is being able to write time travel stories without needing to consider the possibility of

time paradoxes A temporal paradox, time paradox, or time travel paradox is a paradox, an apparent contradiction, or logical contradiction associated with the idea of time and time travel. The notion of time travel to the future complies with current understanding ...

; Nahin nevertheless notes that interacting with the past via a time machine, or even affecting it, does not necessarily cause paradoxes.

Themes

Studying history

Time viewers are sometimes used to observe moments in history that are similarly popular destinations for

time travel in fiction Time travel is a common theme in fiction, mainly since the late 19th century, and has been depicted in a variety of media, such as literature, television, film, and advertisements. The concept of time travel by mechanical means was populariz ...

, one example being the

crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and conside ...

in the 1904 novel ''Around a Distant Star'' by

Jean Delaire Jean Guy Eugene Raymond Delaire (20 June 1923 – 29 November 2022) was a French orthodontist known for developing the Delair Facemask or reverse headgear. This facemask is used to treat children who have maxillary retrognathism and mandibular ...

. In the 1956 short story "

" by

, a historian is excited to use a time viewer to study

ancient Carthage Carthage () was a settlement in modern Tunisia that later became a city-state and then an empire. Founded by the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC, Carthage reached its height in the fourth century BC as one of the largest metropolises ...

, only to find out that the device is limited to viewing the most recent 120 years, and a historian uses a time viewer to read the contents of the Library of Alexandria in the 1980 short story "One Time in Alexandria" by

Donald Franson Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of th ...

. In the 1938–1939 ''

Trumpets from Oblivion The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B ...

'' series by

Henry Bedford-Jones Henry James O'Brien Bedford-Jones (April 29, 1887 – May 6, 1949) was a Canadian-American historical, adventure fantasy, science fiction, crime and Western writer who became a naturalized United States citizen in 1908. Biography Bedford-J ...

, a time viewer allows scientists to discover the explanations for various myths, and two war veterans use a time viewer to create historical films in order to dispel public misconceptions about the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

in the 1947 short story "

E for Effort "E for Effort" is a science fiction novelette by American writer T. L. Sherred, first published in 1947, about the consequences of a time viewer, a machine that projects images of the past. It has been reprinted many times, including in '' The ...

" by

T. L. Sherred Thomas L. Sherred (August 27, 1915 – April 16, 1985) was an American science fiction writer. Sherred was the author of a slim body of science fiction, consisting of a collection of stories, a novel, and the beginning of a novel that was co ...

. Revealing the truth about historical events also appears in the 1953 novel ''

Childhood's End ''Childhood's End'' is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasionBooker & Thomas 2009, pp. 31–32. of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival begins decade ...

'' by

, where alien invaders show humanity that our religions are false.

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

is similarly studied in the 1969 novel '' Macroscope'' by

Piers Anthony Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born 6 August 1934) is an American author in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is best known for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of Xant ...

and the 1999 short story "

Hatching the Phoenix Hatching (french: hachure) is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing (or painting or scribing) closely spaced parallel lines. (It is also used in monochromatic representations of heraldry to indicate what the t ...

" by

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satellite ...

. In the former the

formation of the Solar System The formation of the Solar System began about 4.6 billion years ago with the gravitational collapse of a small part of a giant molecular cloud. Most of the collapsing mass collected in the center, forming the Sun, while the rest flattened into a ...

is studied, while in the latter observations are made of a world that has since been destroyed by a supernova. Scientists in the 2000 novel ''

'' by Stephen Baxter and Arthur C. Clarke use time viewer technology to study the entire

history of life The history of life on Earth traces the processes by which living and fossil organisms evolved, from the earliest emergence of life to present day. Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago (abbreviated as ''Ga'', for ''gigaannum'') and evide ...

on Earth.

Crimefighting

An early instance of a time viewer being used to solve crimes is the 1926 novel ''

'' by

, as events leading up to a crime can be uncovered in reverse after the fact. Later examples include the 1948 short story "

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised for its prominent criticism ...

" by

Henry Kuttner Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Early life Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and Amelia Bush (c. 1834–1911), the ...

and

C. L. Moore Catherine Lucille Moore (January 24, 1911 – April 4, 1987) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, who first came to prominence in the 1930s writing as C. L. Moore. She was among the first women to write in the science fiction an ...

(writing jointly as "

Lewis Padgett Lewis Padgett was the joint pseudonym of the science fiction authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore,Nicholls 1979, p. 445. taken from their mothers' maiden names. They also used the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell and C. H. Liddell, as we ...

"), which revolves around a man planning a murder in such a way that the use of a time viewer by the authorities would not reveal his guilt, and the 2006 film ''

Déjà Vu ''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is a French loanword for the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford Univers ...

'', where the device shows events with a four-day delay which cannot be adjusted and there is consequently only one opportunity to view any given event.

Entertainment

The 1926 novel ''The Vicarion'' by Gardner Hunting is an early example of time viewers being used for entertainment; in the story, moments from history are shown in movie theaters to great public interest. Baxter compares the in-story effects on society, where "mass addiction to this vibrant spectacle quickly overtakes the public", to the later real-world advent of the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

. This theme recurs in the 1947 short story "E for Effort" by T. L. Sherred, though in that story the public is unaware that the films are not conventional movie productions.

Privacy and espionage

A number of works explore the implications of being capable of remotely viewing the recent past—potentially as recent as less than a second ago—on

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

. In the 1956 short story "The Dead Past" by Isaac Asimov, its use is suppressed by the government for this reason. In the 1972

novel ''

'' by

, particles of the

that captures images are spread all over to enable mass surveillance. The 1976 short story " I See You" by

Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind t ...

posits that the complete loss of privacy resulting from universal access to a time viewer would usher in a

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island socie ...

free from deceit and embarrassment.

Espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...

applications appeared early; in the 1926 short story "The Time Eliminator" by pseudonymous author "Kaw", the United States government uses a time viewer to spy on a meeting of foreign leaders. The realization that it can be put to this use triggers war to ensure that it does not in the 1947 short story "E for Effort" by T. L. Sherred. The implication that just as we are watching the past, people in the future are surely watching us is explored in the 1951 short story "

Operation Peep Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

" by

John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his names ...

. In order to regain privacy, people eventually resort to shining bright lights to effectively blind the future onlookers. In the 1953 short story "

The Parasite ''The Parasite'' is an 1894 novelette by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Parasite makes use of a form of mind control similar to the mesmerism of the Victorian era. Plot summary The main character is a young man known as Austin Gilroy. He studie ...

" by Arthur C. Clarke, the realization that he is constantly being watched by a future being eventually drives a man to suicide. The intensity of observation from the future is measured in the 1981 short story "

The Final Days ''The Final Days'' is a 1976 non-fiction book written by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein about the Watergate scandal. A follow up to their 1974 book '' All the President's Men'', ''The Final Days'' concerns itself with the final months of the ...

" by

David Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

to gauge an individual's importance to the world of the future.

Altering the past

Several stories reveal that the time viewer can not only observe the past but influence it. In the 1951 short story "

The Biography Project ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

" by

H. L. Gold Horace Leonard Gold (April 26, 1914 – February 21, 1996) was an American science fiction writer and editor. Born in Canada, Gold moved to the United States at the age of two. He was most noted for bringing an innovative and fresh approach to ...

, being constantly watched drives

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a " natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the g ...

insane. In the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

1948 short story "

The Brooklyn Project ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

" by

William Tenn William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010), a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements. Biography Born to a Jewish family in London, Phillip Klass mo ...

, the scientists in charge insist that the past is immutable even as they and their surroundings undergo drastic changes, because from their new perspective those alterations have always been in place. In some stories, the past is changed intentionally. Humorous depictions include the 1972 short story "

The Greatest Television Show on Earth ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

" by

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass me ...

, where a TV company hires additional people as soldiers to make the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh C ...

live up to viewers' expectations, and the 1967 novel ''

The Technicolor Time Machine ''The Technicolor Time Machine'' is a 1967 science fiction novel by American writer Harry Harrison. It is a time travel story with comedic elements, which satirizes Hollywood. The story first appeared in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' magazi ...

'' by Harry Harrison, which implies that the Viking settlement of

Vinland Vinland, Vineland, or Winland ( non, Vínland ᚠᛁᚾᛚᛅᚾᛏ) was an area of coastal North America explored by Vikings. Leif Erikson landed there around 1000 AD, nearly five centuries before the voyages of Christopher Columbus and Jo ...

only happened because Hollywood wanted to make a movie about it. A more serious treatment appears in the 1996 novel '' Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus'' by

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for bo ...

: after discovering that the past has previously been tampered with, a team of future scientists seek to undo the harm caused by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

voyages Voyage(s) or The Voyage may refer to: Literature *''Voyage : A Novel of 1896'', Sterling Hayden * ''Voyage'' (novel), a 1996 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter *''The Voyage'', Murray Bail * "The Voyage" (short story), a 1921 story by K ...

to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

, even though it would mean their timeline would be obliterated.

Future time viewers

Rarely, time viewers may be depicted as allowing observation of the future rather than the past. Stephen Webb argues that viewing the future has more in common with

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

and

fortune-telling Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical wi ...

than with

, and

notes in ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, contin ...

'' that the possibility of viewing the future has implications for the question of

free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to a ...

versus

determinism Determinism is a philosophical view, where all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping motives and consi ...

. Devices capable of viewing the future have been portrayed in various ways. In the 1922 short story "

The Prophetic Camera ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

" by

Lance Sieveking Lance Sieveking (19 March 1896 – 6 January 1972) was an English writer and pioneer BBC radio and television producer. He was married three times, and was father to archaeologist Gale Sieveking (1925–2007) and Fortean-writer Paul Sieveking (19 ...

, the titular camera can take pictures an adjustable amount of time into the future, while in the 1960 ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television program, television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dysto ...

'' episode "

A Most Unusual Camera "A Most Unusual Camera" is episode 46 of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone'', and was the tenth episode of the second season. It originally aired on December 16, 1960 on CBS, and was an episode written by the show's cre ...

" the device only has a reach of five minutes into the future. In the 1955 novel ''

The Pleasures of a Futuroscope ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speak ...

'' by

Lord Dunsany Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957, usually Lord Dunsany) was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. Over 90 volumes of fiction, essays, poems and plays appeared in his lifetime.Lanham, ...

, the device reveals a future

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scen ...

. In the 1924 short film ''

The Fugitive Futurist ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' a gambler is offered to buy a future-viewing device which he intends to use to find out which horses to bet on, though the device turns out to be fake. The chronoscope in the 1936 short story "

Elimination Elimination may refer to: Science and medicine * Elimination reaction, an organic reaction in which two functional groups split to form an organic product *Bodily waste elimination, discharging feces, urine, or foreign substances from the bo ...

" by

John W. Campbell John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death ...

can show both the past and all possible futures. Future-viewing devices are occasionally limited in what they are able to show rather than being general-purpose. One example is the device in the 1939 short story "

Life-Line "Life-Line" is a short story by American author Robert A. Heinlein. Published in the August 1939 edition of ''Astounding'', it was Heinlein's first published short story. The protagonist, Professor Hugo Pinero, builds a machine that will predic ...

" by

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

which can determine an individual's moment of death by measuring the reflection from the future end of that person's

world line The world line (or worldline) of an object is the path that an object traces in 4- dimensional spacetime. It is an important concept in modern physics, and particularly theoretical physics. The concept of a "world line" is distinguished from c ...

; a similar device that reveals the manner but not time of death appears in the 2010 anthology ''

Machine of Death ''Machine of Death'' is a 2010 collection of science fiction short stories edited by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo, and David Malki. The stories featured in ''Machine of Death'' were submitted by various writers since early 2007 and all focus on a ...

: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die'' by

Ryan North Ryan North (born October 20, 1980) is a Canadian writer and computer programmer. He is the creator and author of ''Dinosaur Comics'', and has written for the comic series of ''Adventure Time'' and Marvel Comics' '' The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl''. ...

Matthew Bennardo Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

, and

David Malki ''Wondermark'' is a webcomic created by David Malki which was syndicated to '' Flak Magazine'' and appeared in ''The Onion'' print edition from 2006 to 2008. It features 19th-century illustrations that have been recontextualized to create humorous ...

. Another is the instantaneous "

Dirac Distributed Research using Advanced Computing (DiRAC) is an integrated supercomputing facility used for research in particle physics, astronomy and cosmology in the United Kingdom. DiRAC makes use of multi-core processors and provides a variety of ...

communicator" introduced in the 1954 short story "

Beep The Blocks Extensible Exchange Protocol (BEEP) is a framework for creating network application protocols. BEEP includes building blocks like framing, pipelining, multiplexing, reporting and authentication for connection and message-oriented peer ...

" by

James Blish James Benjamin Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his '' Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel '' A Case of Consc ...

which due to the lack of a speed-of-light delay can send messages to the past.

References

{{Science fiction Fiction about time travel Fictional technology