The Grandfather Killers

The proscribed world of Iritzan is distinguished among the worlds of the galaxy in that it possesses time travel. The citizens of Iritzan have been time travelling for the last ten thousand years and will continue to do so for the next hundred thousand years whereupon they will abandon the practice.

The culture and conditions of a world that practices time travel are strange indeed to the outsider. One must understand that cause and effect sill hold. Moreover one cannot change the past or the future. If one travels into the past, that travel is part of the past. What was, was; what will be, will be. (This is an English translation of an Old Iritzan proverb. The Iritzan words for expressing time relationships are much more complex and precise than those of English. The original of this proverb is untranslatable.)

The outsider does not find it easy to accomodate himself to the notion of a past that can be interacted with but not changed. He fears paradox and asks such questions as “Suppose a man went back in time and killed his grandfather before his father was born. What then?” The Iritzan native learns as a child that one cannot alter a known past, that the very attempt leads to the most peculiar and dangerous results. Indeed the topic of the man who attempts to kill his grandfather forms the subject of a series of children’s stories.

Dal Sirizan

This tale is very simple. However it points out very clearly that the immediate consequences of attempting to change the known past/future are very likely to be immediately fata. It also points out that the attempt is usually only made by those of unsound mind.)

Taro Mayan

Taro went back to a time many years before his father was born. As he left the time portal he was accosted by a gang of idlers who demanded of him, what was his name and where he was going. Taro, who was an honest and forthright man, replied, “My name is Taro Mayan, and I go to kill my grandfather.

The idlers’ eyes widened in surprise, and they said, “Why then, you are the Taro Mayan of legend, and we are gang of idlers who save you from your nonsense.”

“Nonsense,” said Taro, “the legend is only a children’s tale. Let me pass.”

The gang, however, saw its duty and did it. They grabbed him, beat until he was unconscious, dumped him in the time portal, and sent him back to his own time.

Taro awoke many hours later, sore and bruised. “Truly,” he reflected, “I am the Taro Mayan of legend. It is said that I abandoned my notion of killing my grandfather, and that I led a long and happy life. Let me go and do so.” And he did.

This is a traditional and favorite Iritzan morality tale. Notice that he was punished when he attempted to defeat the way of things and rewarded when he stopped. Notice also that things turned out the way they did because Taro was a “public personality”. Things happened the way they happened because they were known to happen. The fact that everything known to have happened must happen explains many of the peculiarities of Iritizan politics.

Imil Fatar

Goldoy Mirvan

Pomar Arrish

Unfortunately for Pomar, his grandfather had warned himself that Pomar was going to attack him. When Pomar arrived his grandfather kidnapped him and stranded him on a desert isle where remained alone for the rest of his life.

The registry of lives is a typical Iritzan institution. A record is kept of the date of death and age at death, if known, of every citizen; their records is available to citizens if they wishe to know it. Some do, some don’t.

This story illustrates the old saying, “What you don’t know can hurt you.”

The fate of Pomar Arrish illustrates what usually happens when you attempt to cheat fate – something not in the record trips you up when you do. The more you know, the more unexpected and unusual the event that spoils your plans.