Message from a Time Traveler

Dan Simmons - Official Web Site ^ | April 1, 2006 | Dan Simmons

[DCPatriot]

Costs lotsa $$$$ to incarcerate them.

That money could be used for....healthcare for illegals [ducks]

[ßuddaßudd]

Wait until tomorrow . . .

[ZULU]

Actually, Rome represented a relatively mild occupation.

Roman strategy was to ROMANIZE occupied people - to ASSIMIALTE them into the army and social structure. WHich is why Rome survived so long. It started to collapse after the Emperor Theodosius who permitted barbarians to settle in the Empire and serve in the army in their won tribal units and under their own tribal chiefs.

In the past, non-Romans were recruited as auxiliaries, posted to another part of the empire than their homeland, and served under Roman officers. After 25 years, they were discharged with citizenship papers and given an alotment of land.

Rome provided one of the largest secure market economies in history. Merhcants could travel the entire stretch of the empire and be relatively safe from attack by marauders.


Prior "Empires" were nationalized states and the only way you could participate as a member of the ruling class was if you were an ethnic part of the ruling class. Such was not the case with Rome.

The Romans succeeded as long as they required ASSIMILATION of conquered people and their ROMANIZATION, and they were provided with citizenship and equal or nearly equal rights.
They suceeded as long as they were able to totally detroy any opposing military force, or defeat and ASSIMILATE them.

Contributary factors to Rome's collapse was the lack of clear succession, civil wars over the throne which resulted, and simultaneous attacks on all her borders.

In our war with Islam, anyone who aids and abets the enemy is the enemy - regardless of "civlian" status. Technically, the terrorists are civilians - they don't belong to any military establishment.

I think we shouldn't be "nation-building" in Iraq. Its main use to us should be as a military platform to take out Syria and Iran. What the Iraqis themselves choose to do shouldn't really concern us as long they are not interfering with our military objectives.

Once we take out Syria and Iran, we should be out of there and not go back unless they threaten us with another terror state.

We will never change the thinking of these people. They can only change that themselves, and as long as they are Muslims that thinking will prevail.

[Frenetic]

"Your error is that you are treating this like a war between states. It is not. It is a war between ideologies. Freedom on one hand and Islam on the other."

- Close but not quite. It is a war between “The Golden Rule” vs. “Moral Relativism”. Islam hails from the same moral tenant (moral relativism) as all of the world’s evil ideologies and doctrines from Socialism, Communism, Nazism, Fascism, Hedonism, Satanism, Islamism, Totalitarianism, etc.

[null and void]

I'm starting to think an asteroid wiped out the US. The author won't mention the three words until 'everybody' knows them - he doesn't want to scare people until it's leaked?

Yellowstone Super Volcano?

[null and void]

Contributary factors to Rome's collapse was the lack of clear succession, civil wars over the throne which resulted, and simultaneous attacks on all her borders.

Rome had dangling chads? Who knew???

[houeto]

And which posts suggest the story is nonfiction?

TASMANIANRED was first in post #250.

[houeto]

I haven't seen any previous post suggest that anyone else thought a time traveler from a hundred years in the future actually visited a man that wrote about it as nonfiction.

See post #727.

[ZULU]

They dangled quite few things and people, but I don't think Chad was one of them.

[higgmeister]

See post #727

I don't believe Taz was saying he thought that Time Travelers have visited among persons in our time but rather that the situations and circumstances of what the Traveler described will generally come to pass for us.

I also feel that this is a very likely description of our future if we can't get enough heads out of the sand.

All of the fearsome and lengthly wars of the past were fought over religion.

[RandallFlagg]

Well, I've read the story and this entire thread.

My guess on the three words are:
"Kill Your Son"

[SauronOfMordor]

As for more repressive measures do you wish to see them enacted against the civilian population.

During World War 2, we incinerated Dresden and Tokyo using conventional weapons, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki using nukes, paying no mind that the vast majority of the people we killed were civilians, including women and children. We won the war through being willing to do anything we needed to do.

During the peak of the Cold War, we had THOUSANDS of nukes pointed at the Soviet Union, with the official policy that if we were attacked, we would incinerate their civilian population. Men, women, and children. It was sufficient deterrent that we did not experience WW3, nor have to surrender

If so will you both be happy to go out there and carry out acts of reprisals your self against civilians.

If it comes down to an existential war, I will do what is necessary to ensure the survival, in freedom, of my own people. I will avoid gratuitous violence, but I will employ any means necessary if the alternative is death or slavery

[houeto]

I also feel that this is a very likely description of our future if we can't get enough heads out of the sand.

Totally.

Agree.

[FixitGuy]

Thanks for the fun, thought provoking post.

"I'm your grandson" doesn't work because he already called the author "Grandfather".

Some of my choices:

Comic:

"Beam me up"

"Happy New year"

April Fool, GranPa" ('cept it was on New Years Eve)

Serious:

"Peace" means "Submission"

Know Your Enemy (From Sun Tzu)

Remember your History

Be More Ruthless

Kill 'em All

Now World Order

One World Government

Mohammad is Satan (False prophet..Allah is just another name for God (I think))

AntiChrist is Here

My favorite:

"DEFINE YOUR ENEMY"

Still I think it's probably a defining moment in time, veiled in the three words that the author will not recognize until it happens, and is unable to foresee.

[FBD]

>"OK, I give up. What are the three words?"<


"phobos, kerdos, and doxa,” said the Time Traveler.

“Fear, self-interest, and honor.”

[budwiesest]

I believe you win. Most test questions have answers contained in the text verbatum. This Bud's for you.

[Junior_G]

"Fear, Self-interest, and honor" would not so disturb the author that he couldn't write about it for three months. Personally, I don't think that three words exist that could live up to the hype the author created, nor do I think the author even had any particular three words in mind when he wrote the ending to the story. He gets a lot more mileage out of this story by leaving it up to us to try to figure it out. The only things I can think of that might disturb the author that much and which doesn't already appear in the story is something more random...maybe along the lines of "America hated you" or "76 Suitcase Nukes" or "Avoid tap water"

Another problem in trying to determine the words is that they really ought to fit in with the rest of what the guy was saying, or at least not be too jarringly out of place as his final three words.

[Junior_G]

I think that's the best guess I've seen on this whole thread. Now when the author steals your idea and tells you that you "guessed correctly" you can beam with pride.

[Euro-American Scum]

Read the article, it's well worth it ping for later.

[RandallFlagg]

Heh! Thank you.

I just thought what would profoundly emotionally effect both the traveler and the writer when they're related. Then I thought to myself, "What would hurt me if I were told three words from my Grandson?"

The fact that I have no daughters narrowed it doen to a Son. And the death of my Son would devastate me.