I have no idea why this keeps unspooling in my mind.
The genesis of time travel links back to the resolution of -k in the vector of time.
At the time, people believed the equation was key to near unlimited energy generation and high-tensile advanced material sciences. The source was a Korean scientist who successfully resolved the variable -k. Interestingly enough, a chart of the mathematical points from the (now solved) full equation share startling similarities with a singularity.
This lead some to hypothesize that singularities, working along a -k axis are, in essence, channeling energy backwards in time. Theoretically, this created the favorable conditions that began the universe. It pointed towards a resolution in the Hawkings paradox regarding the preservation of information versus entropic forces.
At the time, there existed no practical means with which to test this theory. But it remained the most logical conclusion to a now-observable phenomenon.
After that, theoreticians created ways by which observers could recognize time-travellers, without understanding the full mechanics behind it. Evidence soon began to pour in.
Experts now recognize that certain kinds of autoimmune diseases–specifically where an overly healthly immune system attacks the host–and perceptual disorders directly link to artifacts of successful time travel. Specifically, this occurs in a paradox when two unresolved quantum states impact in a Shockwave event.
Shockwave events generate when a period is lived, observed and recorded. This makes the boundary far more rigid between what it possible and what is not. Some observers have likened it to running into a reef while sailing. Others have used the metaphor of a strong cross-current.
Typically, time travelers find visits to storied history far easier. Oral traditions are remarkably flexible in how they handle incursions, and this reflects across time. It’s when written records become prominent where the turbulence known now as Shockwaves aries. This worsened with widespread use of media in Gutenberg’s time. It subsides noticeably in the post-literate era that followed the 21st century.
It goes without saying that the pre-fall days of the 20th and 21st centuries were/are a nightmare to time-travel.
Time travelers caught in a shockwave undergo potential quantum fissure, where several unresolved events compress into a single entity. In essence, several versions of the traveler each fight to exist. The body interprets others versions as an intrusive presence.
Mild cases tend to exhibit perceptual distortion, with possible mental and emotional co-factors. The more stringent cases cause direct physical harm. It is often undetectable by the medicine of the day, except through examination of the symptomology (not root causes).
This syndrome can ‘splash’ across generations, often affecting parents and children. Which, again, confounds things as doctors may confuse a genetic predisposition, as opposed to a temporal event.
Resolution to BestSelf is possible once the symptom has been recognized and treatment applied. This allows the time traveler to return to a healthy state. And restores their ability to navigate successfully in time without further incident.
—
— A Journal of Future Things (c) 2021