Fish and Caves

Gerry Quinn · 23 Dec 2010, 18:35 · from 2010-December.txt.gz

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From: gerryq at indigo.ie (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:35:31 -0000
Subject: (urth) Fish and Caves
References: <303847.43646.qm at web58204.mail.re3.yahoo.com><4D121BBA.30608 at gmail.com>
	<4D1222CB.5080800 at gmail.com><4D12280E.8000902 at gmail.com>
	<AANLkTi=1tU+J1+0LNx6mPddmw2PiZxznJrnXjjkyPi_L at mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4D04B95EA03241DA8487B86FBD1C3963@jill>

From: "Dan'l Danehy-Oakes" <danldo at gmail.com>
2010/12/22 Ant?nio Pedro Marques <entonio at gmail.com>:

> > So it would take ages for them to reach Urth, but the time is cut short 
> > by
> > time-travel, of which they are unaware, and yet they end up on Urth at 
> > what
> > is generally considered the present time?
>
> Actually, when dealing with interstellar distances the concept of "the
> present time" is meaningless due to the C-limit and related
> (relativistic) effects. Wolfe has established pretty clearly that
> relativity-as-we-know-it applies to the Briahtic universe.

You forget that in Wolfe's universe the c-limit is violated - quite 
explicitly by Tzadkiel's ship but also seemingly by mirror travel and astral 
travel.  Also time travel exists.  So special relativity is in fact 
repeatedly violated.

Thus while relativistic time dilation is a feature of Wolfe's universe, 
relativity of simultaneity is not.  The phenomena listed above make it clear 
that there must be a preferred frame which can be used to define a 
universal "present time".  The situation can be modelled by Lorentz-Poincare 
ether theory.

Of course time travel (as distinct from FTL) puts a horse and cart through 
other parts of physics also.

- Gerry Quinn

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