Time viewer
Encyclopedia
The Time viewer is a fictional device occasionally used in science fiction
. It is usually a device which functions along the same lines as a television, except that the picture depicts events in another time, either the past or the future. The device is also sometimes called a chronoscope, but this name has also been used by the Victorian scientist, Charles Wheatstone.
An apocryphal device called a Chronovisor is believed by some to actually exist, and features in certain conspiracy theories
.
, author of several books on paranormal phenomena and religion, in his 2002 book Le nouveau mystère du Vatican ("The Vatican’s New Mystery").
Brune claimed that the device had been built by the Italian priest and scientist Father Pellegrino Maria Ernetti
(1925-1994). While Father Ernetti was a real person, the existence (much less the functionality) of the chronovisor has never been confirmed, and its alleged capabilities are strongly reminiscent of the fictional time viewer which features in T. L. Sherred
's 1947 science fiction novelette "E for Effort
".
and author, that Ernetti helped to construct the machine as part of a team which included twelve world-famous scientists, of whom he named two, Enrico Fermi
and Wernher von Braun
. The chronovisor was described as a large cabinet with a cathode ray tube
for viewing the received events and a series of buttons, levers, and other controls for selecting the time and the location to be viewed. It could also focus and track specific people. According to its inventor, it worked by receiving, decoding and reproducing the electromagnetic radiation
left behind from past events, though it could also pick up sound waves.
Ernetti lacked hard evidence for these claims. He said that he had observed, among other historical events, Christ
's crucifixion
and photographed it. A photo of this, Ernetti said, appeared in the May 2, 1972 issue of La Domenica del Corriere, an Italian
weekly news magazine. However, a near-identical (though mirrored left to right) photograph of a wood carving by the sculptor Cullot Valera, turned up, casting doubt upon Ernetti's statement.
Through the chronovisor, Ernetti said that he had witnessed, among other scenes, a performance in Rome
in 169 BC
of the lost tragedy, Thyestes
, by the father of Latin
poetry, Quintus Ennius. Dr. Katherine Owen Eldred of Princeton University
, the translator of an English rendition of the text, included as an appendix to the American printing of Peter Krassa's book on the Chronovisor (see below), believes that Ernetti wrote the play himself. According to the alleged "confession" (purportedly kept anonymous on the request of the person, said to be a relative of Ernetti's) included in the American edition, on his deathbed had Ernetti confessed that he had written the text of the play himself, and that the "photo" of Christ was indeed a "lie". According to the same "source", however, Ernetti also affirmed that the machine was workable.
Brune does not believe Ernetti's "confession" and is convinced that the authorities had coerced Ernetti into making a false confession
.
The alleged existence of the chronovisor has fueled a whole series of conspiracy theories
, such as that the device was seized and is actually used by the Vatican
or by those that secretly control the world.
is a major plot element, the ability to view the happenings at another time is simply a side effect of the technology, and is rarely noted. An exception is "Millennium
" by John Varley
, where the time viewer's behavior (or misbehavior) is an important plot element. For reasons of "temporal censorship" the viewer cannot see into times where the travellers have been or will be, even if the location was far away. Also, the creation of a paradox results in progressive blurring of the image as alternate futures overlap.
Robert A. Heinlein
's seminal time-travel story "By His Bootstraps
" (1941) features a "time portal" with viewing capability, created by a future race of aliens which reduced humans to docile servants, ripe for exploitation by a 20th century go-getter. The protagonist eventually uses the viewer to see the aliens before they left Earth, but the experience almost unhinges his mind. It is while idly viewing his own home time period that he sets into motion the paradoxes that lead to him attaining his new life.
Other stories feature the time viewer, or some similar technology, as the principal plot element. The best known is "The Dead Past
", by Isaac Asimov
(1956) which concerns the clandestine creation of a time viewer when research into the subject is mysteriously suppressed. The reason for this is revealed at the end - the mere existence of a time viewer destroys all notions of privacy, since the device can be used to view events happening only a fraction of a second ago. A similar outcome features in Arthur C. Clarke
and Stephen Baxter
's "The Light of Other Days
" (2000). This aspect of the device is almost a "plot killer", because of the profound effects it has. It becomes impossible to use it as a "normal" feature of a society which we can understand.
"Private Eye" by Henry Kuttner
(1949), writing as Lewis Padgett
, dramatized for BBC
Television as "The Eye", envisions a murder in a society where time-viewing makes it virtually impossible to commit one and escape punishment, but also which allows pleas of temporary insanity and self-defense. The protagonist instead schemes to get close enough to the victim, who has married the woman he thought he loved, that he can provoke an attack by the victim and kill him in self-defense. The murder weapon is an antique scalpel used as a letter opener, whose presence between them is carefully orchestrated by the murderer.
"E for Effort
", a novella
by T. L. Sherred
(1947), details a time viewer built by a poor genius who cannot get people to take him seriously, so he uses it to create historical movies which he then shows in his decrepit theater. He is discovered by a Hollywood producer, who is able to exploit the viewer to create first movies, then historical reconstructions, and finally political documentaries. The last part is his undoing, as he exposes every crime committed in the name of patriotism and ideology by world leaders, resulting in the collapse of government, and nuclear war.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. It is usually a device which functions along the same lines as a television, except that the picture depicts events in another time, either the past or the future. The device is also sometimes called a chronoscope, but this name has also been used by the Victorian scientist, Charles Wheatstone.
An apocryphal device called a Chronovisor is believed by some to actually exist, and features in certain conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
.
Chronovisor
The "Chronovisor" is a time viewer whose existence was alleged by Father François BruneFather François Brune
Father François Brune is a French catholic priest and writer.Fellow priest Pellegrino Ernetti once told Brune that he had created a machine that could see back in time called a Chronovisor.- References :...
, author of several books on paranormal phenomena and religion, in his 2002 book Le nouveau mystère du Vatican ("The Vatican’s New Mystery").
Brune claimed that the device had been built by the Italian priest and scientist Father Pellegrino Maria Ernetti
Pellegrino Ernetti
Father Marcello Pellegrino Ernetti was an Italian Roman Catholic Benedictine priest and is the most famous exorcist who worked in the Venice area.- Early life :...
(1925-1994). While Father Ernetti was a real person, the existence (much less the functionality) of the chronovisor has never been confirmed, and its alleged capabilities are strongly reminiscent of the fictional time viewer which features in T. L. Sherred
T. L. Sherred
Thomas L. Sherred 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 completed by another author after Sherred's death in 1985...
's 1947 science fiction novelette "E for Effort
E for Effort
"E for Effort" is a science-fiction novelette by T. L. Sherred, first published in 1947, about the consequences of a time viewer, a machine that projects images of the past...
".
Background
In the early 1960s Ernetti stated to François Brune, himself a Roman Catholic priestPriest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and author, that Ernetti helped to construct the machine as part of a team which included twelve world-famous scientists, of whom he named two, Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi was an Italian-born, naturalized American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics...
and Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
. The chronovisor was described as a large cabinet with a cathode ray tube
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
for viewing the received events and a series of buttons, levers, and other controls for selecting the time and the location to be viewed. It could also focus and track specific people. According to its inventor, it worked by receiving, decoding and reproducing the electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy that exhibits wave-like behavior as it travels through space...
left behind from past events, though it could also pick up sound waves.
Ernetti lacked hard evidence for these claims. He said that he had observed, among other historical events, Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
's crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
and photographed it. A photo of this, Ernetti said, appeared in the May 2, 1972 issue of La Domenica del Corriere, an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
weekly news magazine. However, a near-identical (though mirrored left to right) photograph of a wood carving by the sculptor Cullot Valera, turned up, casting doubt upon Ernetti's statement.
Through the chronovisor, Ernetti said that he had witnessed, among other scenes, a performance in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 169 BC
169 BC
Year 169 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Caepio...
of the lost tragedy, Thyestes
Thyestes
In Greek mythology, Thyestes was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, King of Olympia, and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. Thyestes and his twin brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olympia...
, by the father of Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
poetry, Quintus Ennius. Dr. Katherine Owen Eldred of Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, the translator of an English rendition of the text, included as an appendix to the American printing of Peter Krassa's book on the Chronovisor (see below), believes that Ernetti wrote the play himself. According to the alleged "confession" (purportedly kept anonymous on the request of the person, said to be a relative of Ernetti's) included in the American edition, on his deathbed had Ernetti confessed that he had written the text of the play himself, and that the "photo" of Christ was indeed a "lie". According to the same "source", however, Ernetti also affirmed that the machine was workable.
Brune does not believe Ernetti's "confession" and is convinced that the authorities had coerced Ernetti into making a false confession
False confession
A false confession is an admission of guilt in a crime in which the confessor is not responsible for the crime. False confessions can be induced through coercion or by the mental disorder or incompetency of the accused...
.
The alleged existence of the chronovisor has fueled a whole series of conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
, such as that the device was seized and is actually used by the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
or by those that secretly control the world.
Time viewers in fiction
In stories where time travelTime travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
is a major plot element, the ability to view the happenings at another time is simply a side effect of the technology, and is rarely noted. An exception is "Millennium
Millennium (novel)
Millennium is a 1983 science fiction novel by John Varley. Varley later turned this novel into the script for the 1989 film Millennium, both of which are based on Varley's short story "Air Raid", which was published in 1977. It was nominated for the Philip K...
" by John Varley
John Varley (author)
John Herbert Varley is an American science fiction author.-Biography:Varley grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, moved to Port Arthur in 1957, and graduated from Nederland High School. He went to Michigan State University on a National Merit Scholarship because, of the schools that he could afford, it...
, where the time viewer's behavior (or misbehavior) is an important plot element. For reasons of "temporal censorship" the viewer cannot see into times where the travellers have been or will be, even if the location was far away. Also, the creation of a paradox results in progressive blurring of the image as alternate futures overlap.
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
's seminal time-travel story "By His Bootstraps
By His Bootstraps
"By His Bootstraps" is a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein that plays with some of the inherent paradoxes that would be caused by time travel. It was originally published in the October 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction under the pen name Anson MacDonald...
" (1941) features a "time portal" with viewing capability, created by a future race of aliens which reduced humans to docile servants, ripe for exploitation by a 20th century go-getter. The protagonist eventually uses the viewer to see the aliens before they left Earth, but the experience almost unhinges his mind. It is while idly viewing his own home time period that he sets into motion the paradoxes that lead to him attaining his new life.
Other stories feature the time viewer, or some similar technology, as the principal plot element. The best known is "The Dead Past
The Dead Past
"The Dead Past" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, first published in the April 1956 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It was later collected in Earth Is Room Enough and The Best of Isaac Asimov , and adapted into an episode of the science-fiction television series Out of the...
", by Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
(1956) which concerns the clandestine creation of a time viewer when research into the subject is mysteriously suppressed. The reason for this is revealed at the end - the mere existence of a time viewer destroys all notions of privacy, since the device can be used to view events happening only a fraction of a second ago. A similar outcome features in Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
and Stephen Baxter
Stephen Baxter
Stephen Baxter is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.- Writing style :...
's "The Light of Other Days
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, which explores the development of wormhole technology to the point where information can be passed instantaneously between points in the space-time continuum.- Characters...
" (2000). This aspect of the device is almost a "plot killer", because of the profound effects it has. It becomes impossible to use it as a "normal" feature of a society which we can understand.
"Private Eye" by Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.-Early life:Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915...
(1949), writing as Lewis Padgett
Lewis Padgett
Lewis Padgett was the joint pseudonym of the science fiction authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, taken from their mothers' maiden names. They also used the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell and C. H...
, dramatized for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Television as "The Eye", envisions a murder in a society where time-viewing makes it virtually impossible to commit one and escape punishment, but also which allows pleas of temporary insanity and self-defense. The protagonist instead schemes to get close enough to the victim, who has married the woman he thought he loved, that he can provoke an attack by the victim and kill him in self-defense. The murder weapon is an antique scalpel used as a letter opener, whose presence between them is carefully orchestrated by the murderer.
"E for Effort
E for Effort
"E for Effort" is a science-fiction novelette by T. L. Sherred, first published in 1947, about the consequences of a time viewer, a machine that projects images of the past...
", a novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by T. L. Sherred
T. L. Sherred
Thomas L. Sherred 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 completed by another author after Sherred's death in 1985...
(1947), details a time viewer built by a poor genius who cannot get people to take him seriously, so he uses it to create historical movies which he then shows in his decrepit theater. He is discovered by a Hollywood producer, who is able to exploit the viewer to create first movies, then historical reconstructions, and finally political documentaries. The last part is his undoing, as he exposes every crime committed in the name of patriotism and ideology by world leaders, resulting in the collapse of government, and nuclear war.
With time travel
- "By His BootstrapsBy His Bootstraps"By His Bootstraps" is a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein that plays with some of the inherent paradoxes that would be caused by time travel. It was originally published in the October 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction under the pen name Anson MacDonald...
" by Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
. - MillenniumMillennium (novel)Millennium is a 1983 science fiction novel by John Varley. Varley later turned this novel into the script for the 1989 film Millennium, both of which are based on Varley's short story "Air Raid", which was published in 1977. It was nominated for the Philip K...
by John VarleyJohn Varley (author)John Herbert Varley is an American science fiction author.-Biography:Varley grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, moved to Port Arthur in 1957, and graduated from Nederland High School. He went to Michigan State University on a National Merit Scholarship because, of the schools that he could afford, it...
. - The End of EternityThe End of EternityThe End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov is a science fiction novel, with mystery and thriller elements, on the subjects of time travel and social engineering....
by Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. - Pastwatch by Orson Scott CardOrson Scott CardOrson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
. - CowlCowl (novel)Cowl is a 2004 science fiction novel by Neal Asher. It tells of an epic time war between two factions from the 43rd century.- Setting :Time travel is a reality with the exception to more common theories that there is only one main time line. Whenever a time line is distorted a parallel universe is...
by Neal AsherNeal AsherNeal Asher is an English science fiction writer. Both his parents are educators and science fiction fans. Although he began writing Science Fiction and Fantasy in secondary school, Asher did not turn seriously to writing till he was 25...
.
Without time travel
- "The Dead PastThe Dead Past"The Dead Past" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, first published in the April 1956 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It was later collected in Earth Is Room Enough and The Best of Isaac Asimov , and adapted into an episode of the science-fiction television series Out of the...
" by Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. - The Light of Other DaysThe Light of Other DaysThe Light of Other Days is a 2000 science fiction novel written by Stephen Baxter based on a synopsis by Arthur C. Clarke, which explores the development of wormhole technology to the point where information can be passed instantaneously between points in the space-time continuum.- Characters...
by Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
and Stephen BaxterStephen BaxterStephen Baxter is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.- Writing style :...
. - "E for EffortE for Effort"E for Effort" is a science-fiction novelette by T. L. Sherred, first published in 1947, about the consequences of a time viewer, a machine that projects images of the past...
" by T. L. SherredT. L. SherredThomas L. Sherred 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 completed by another author after Sherred's death in 1985...
. - "Private Eye" by Lewis PadgettLewis PadgettLewis Padgett was the joint pseudonym of the science fiction authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, taken from their mothers' maiden names. They also used the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell and C. H...
(pseudonymPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Henry KuttnerHenry KuttnerHenry Kuttner was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.-Early life:Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915...
and C.L. Moore) - "PaycheckPaycheck (short story)"Paycheck" is a short story by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, written on July 31, 1952 and first published in the June, 1953 issue of Imagination...
" by Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered... - The BrightonomiconThe BrightonomiconThe Brightonomicon is a novel by British Fantasy author Robert Rankin, the title parodying that of the fictional grimoire the Necronomicon from the Cthulhu Mythos. The author lives in Brighton and the book is set in an accurate depiction of the city...
by Robert RankinRobert RankinRobert Fleming Rankin is a prolific British humorous novelist. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with Snuff Fiction in 1999, by which time his previous eighteen books had sold around one million copies...
(there called the "Chronovision") - "I See You" by Damon KnightDamon KnightDamon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
- "Childhood's EndChildhood's EndChildhood's End is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival ends all war, helps form a world government, and turns the planet into a near-utopia...
" by Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...