OK, it turns out Stephen Hawking was wrong and time travel is actually possible. The first machines are commercially available very soon but where, or rather when, do you go?
Myself I'd see The Stranglers play live in some grotty South London pub circa '76. That's just the starting point obviously, I'd also go see The Doors in '67 somewhere in LA. Might bump into the two Barry,s, I could freak them out by predicting their future. After a stop in Topanga valley to say hi to Spirit my fave 60's band who lived in a farmhouse there. After that, not much would interest me until we get back as far as Roman Britain. The contrast between their organisation with good roads and smart architecture in neat towns and the iron age hill forts and tribesfolk of the highlands would make for some great photo's I think. I'd have to meet Jesus I suppose, if only to see if he was real. Maybe he could cure my eczema? Wouldn't bother with any other religious people though, if you've met one Indian faker you've met them all. Greece and Rome are essential stop off points, in fact I'd stop and see all the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World they must have been superb in their prime. I've seen most of them as they are now but we have a funny thing in the West of leaving the original building to fall apart. In the Far East they do the opposite and rebuild them every now and again to keep them pristine. We say they aren't the same thing but they just as rightly say they are exactly the same as they always were and we should take more care of our stuff. Babylon must have been rather impressive in it's heyday, all that blue glazed marble with lions and dragons all round it. Mesopotamia as a whole was rather impressive, cradle of civilisation and all that. Just think, these people were the first to build cities, what a lot of things to overcome just to break our natural desire to live in small groups, must have been worth it for them. After that I'd sit on a hill in Sinai and watch the first humans cross the end of the great rift valley and start the trek out of Africa. The only bit of advice I'd give them is to leave the oil in the ground, it isn't worth the hassle. And then it would be off to the Mesozoic to check out some major prehistoric fauna, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, pelycosaurs. I'd be in heaven. Would I visit the future, nah. It'll just be the same old thing with faster cars and smellier air. At least until humanity dies out, might be worth a look at what evolves to fill the gap. What did I miss?
