The Man Out Of Time

I apologize profusely for bothering you during the holiday season. But I wanted to share a piece of information I recently discovered. For the scientists and theorists reading this, this evidence might help to better understand how time travel works.

Look up my name on Wikipedia. There is an entry on a legend about an ancient fisherman named Urashima. After rescuing a turtle, he is rewarded by gods with a trip to heaven. He spends three days there, but when he returns, it is three hundred years in the future.

During my time in Japan, there was a similar legend, but the story simply refers to the man in the story as the fisherman. The only explanation that seems to make sense is that after my sudden disappearance, my name became linked with the legend.

This realization gives me hope. As undeserving as I am, I still dare to dream of return.

I apologize for troubling you with my ordeal. Please forget me.

Thank you,
UT

Hi. I’m Walter Doyle. I would like to tell you a few things about Tarō-san.

First of all, he is unfailingly the most polite and humble person I have ever met. The Japanese are known for their self-deprecation, but Tarō-san takes it to the extreme. For more than a week, he refused to sit on any of my furniture because he did not want to dirty it. He still refuses to accept any gifts from me. The only way I have been able to force any hospitality upon him is to create an exchange of services. He has been invaluable in my research thanks to his knowledge of Japanese history and culture, and he has taken to maintaining our garden.

Second, I am sure most of you want to know if his story is true. In the beginning, I was naturally skeptical. But now that I have spent some time with Tarō-san, I understand that he is authentic. His knowledge of events of that time period is too exact. I have corroborated much of the information he has provided me with historians and the imperial records, and Tarō-san has not been wrong yet. ]

I know that for most of you, my word will not be enough. But give Tarō-san a chance to tell more of his story. I think he will convince you, the more you learn.

I have made an appointment with Professor Satō at the University. He has agreed to help us find information about the fate of Tarō-san’s family. He is understandably worried that his disappearance will have caused them difficulty.

Please contact us if you know anything about Time Travel.

Walter

I would only clamor so unceremoniously yet again for your attention in order to sing the praises of someone truly worthy of your acclaim.

I must express my deep respect and gratitude for Mr. Walter Doyle, who has been a selfless benefactor to me. Since arriving in the 21st century, finding someone to believe my story has proven supremely difficult. Yet Walter-san has kindly taken me into his home, and has helped educate me on the 21st century.

Walter-san is a doctoral student in history at the University of Kyoto. Among the many ways he has provided support, he has worked with me to improve my English. I first learned the language 400 years ago from a British ambassador in the court of Emperor Go-Yōzei (後陽成天皇). He has also taught me how to use a computer, because he thinks the Internet will be the best way for me to find the help I need to enact my return. He even takes the time to proof my blog.

Japanese society today is almost completely foreign to me. Civility seems non-existent. Not one Japanese person I have met, with the exception of Walter-san’s lovely wife, Emiko-san, has been willing to believe in my story. I am happy my own wife and son did not travel with me to see the state of future Japan and the fall of the empire.

Together, Walter-san and I plan to research what happened to my family after my departure. He knows of one professor at the local university who might be able to help me.

I hope my endorsement of Walter-san will lead you all to treat him with the proper respect in your daily interactions with him,

Your humble servant,
UT

I apologize for bothering you again.

I have been humbled by the response to my first message. I have spoken with several scientists already. They all think I am crazy. I do not dare to argue with them.

Every time I mention the possibility of traveling back in time, they propose the same hypothetical situation:

Imagine that a woman invented a time machine. She uses this device to travel back 70 years in time, where she meets her grandfather as a young child. She then, through malicious intent, or accidental circumstance, causes the death of her own grandfather.

This would, these scientists always point out, create a paradox. The person could never have travelled back in time, because she would never have been born. However, if she had never been born, she never could have travelled back in time to murder her grandfather in the first place.

For this reason, they conclude, backwards time travel, at least in the form I am asking about, would be impossible. Who am I, an unworthy drudge that betrayed the Emperor, to contradict these esteemed professors, the preeminent researchers in the field.

I can only humbly assert I have no intention of murdering my grandfather, or being the cause of his death. In fact, I can cite a number of examples of how my disappearance has changed history already.

I choose to remain hopeful. If time travel is possible in one direction, I maintain it is possible in the other direction as well.

I apologize for interrupting what certainly were more worthy meditations,
UT

Greetings,

If you are a scientist interested in time travel, or if you have experienced time travel yourself, I humbly ask for you to get in touch with me. I will be eternally indebted to your extreme benevolence.

Although I am not worthy of your attention, decorum dictates that I introduce myself.

My name is Urashima Tarō (浦島太郎). I was born in the year 1575, ten days after the battle of Nagashino.

I had the honor of being an official in the court of Emperor Go-Yōzei (後陽成天皇). I was charged with transcribing the imperial decrees. I am an historian, a linguist, and an artist. I have a young wife and son waiting for me at home.

One night, I went to sleep earlier than usual, bothered by a headache. When I woke up, it was the year 2009.
My predicament is confirmation of the feasibility of time travel. I am determined to find my way back to my own time and my family. I know nothing of magic, and if the gods were the cause of my transportation to the 21st century, my prayers for return go unanswered. My only recourse is a scientific solution.

Please help me. Together, I am certain we will find success.

I apologize for my thoughtless intrusion,
UT