And 3. boomstick
Ipad loaded with reference books on medicine, chemistry, engineering, etc. (Still counts as one item). Solar charger for ipad.. Water purifier.
Oh you do get clothes.
Ok well then:
1. A good telescope
2. A good microscope
3. A flashlight
1.) Hand-cranked flashlight
2.) 2-liter soda bottle (empty)
3.) Survival hatchet or Swiss Army Knife. I’d prefer both, but would lean towards the hatchet.
Three items? Okay.
The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)
Done.
A comprehensive book on engineering, a comprehensive book on gunsmithing, and a comprehensive book on chemistry. I carry the formulae for gunpowder (black and smokeless varieties) in my back pocket at all times, so it is part of the clothes on my back. My goal would be to first establish a private army armed with advanced weapons; second to establish an empire over Eurasia by 762; stamp out all traces of Islam by 782. I would also assume both the Papacy and the throne of the Byzantine empire, and in doing so establish permanently a united Christian faith all across the lands I ruled. I would be corrupted by the power I wielded, ruling by force and terror, and eventually be overthrown by my subjects, who would then fight amongst themselves and destroy civilization. No doubt I would have an interesting paragraph in a history textbook. Perhaps I would even be regarded by revisionist historians as a great humanitarian because of the wonders of technology.
Water purifier, antibiotics, Swedish firesteel.
Where would I be transported to? Viking village? Monastery in Ireland? Feudal Japan? Antarctica? Location determines the three things that I would need.
A flintlock musktetoon made with modern metallurgy, A 25lb bag of black powder to get me started, and a K-bar or similar heavy duty knife.
1. A Cold Steel Grosse Messer, with which I could fit in and get most everything else I might need.
2. A good dagger: a bunch of them I could live with, but lately I’m partial to the Gerber Mark II.
3. A 2 oz gold bar to cash in for local currency.
Glock 19 , case of ammo, and good tent
A toothbrush, penicillin tablets and a lifetime supply of toilet paper.
As Leroy Jethro Gibs would say.... never go anywhere without a knife...
A Delorean, a hover-board, and an orange vest jacket.
I think what you take is less important than the preparation you do before you leave.
Understanding the beliefs, morals, superstitions, history of the people you are going to be living with would make all the difference.
Roll playing expected scenarios would be helpful. Say you bring a cache of Viagra pills. How do you get one to the King and what do you do when the cache runs out?
It’s not the “magic” things you take with you. It’s how do you make the things you find there “magic”.
1. A slide rule
2. A pound of salt
3. A Latin-English dictionary
Leo Frankowski wrote a series of SF novels on exactly this subject, starting with THE CROSS TIME ENGINEER. In it, a modern engineer gets transported back to 13th century Poland ... and decides that if he’s going to be living there, he’s going to make it worth living there! I should go back and re-read those. Pretty fun books (with a lot of engineering shoehorned in).