Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 10:48:07 -0400
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
From: "Mike B." <omni at omniphile.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Time Traveling Docs - any short stories come to mind?
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

At 07:58 AM 4/13/05 -0400, Ernest Lilley wrote:

>Episode 13 (season close) The Docs travel back in time to start the Bubonic
>Plague. If they don't, the plague will re-emerge in the future and wipe out
>the entire race, owing to our wussy future immune systems. Maybe they just
>have to kill off an isolated village.

Another problem with this is that they will have to have forgotten about
penicillin, and not developed anything that works better.  The Bubonic
Plague is still around today...there are several cases of it in the USA
every year (usually sailors) and more in other countries.  It isn't a major
problem though, as a course of penicillin takes care of curing it.  So,
they've got time travel, but they don't have penicillin?  And can't go back
to find out about it?  Disbelief just got unsuspended...

>Doc Bob: That's insane.
>Doc Dave: Nope. It's the lesser of two evils. Sure we're killing innocents,
>but we'll cure the timeline. Besides, they were going to die anyway.
>Doc Bob: Yeah, but they're not dead yet.

Doc Dave: Well, they will be soon enough...
Doc Bob: Look, I can't hang around waiting for this...I have to get back to
Napoleonic France.  They've lost thousands since Thursday.
Doc Dave: Isn't there anything you can do?
Doc Bob: I want to go for a walk...
Doc Dave: You're not fooling anybody.  They'll be stone dead by then.
Can't you give us a hand?
Doc Bob: Well....

-- Mike B.
--
It's a shame that families can be torn apart by something as simple as wild
dogs.