EP163: Revolution Time

[Void Munashii]

  Add me to the long list of "meh"s. I think part of my problem with this story is that 2 hours fo sleep I got last ngiht, but this story never really grabbed me. I didn't thoroughly dislike it like "Homecoming at the Borderlands Cafe", but I never really got into it.

  Part of the problem for me is that the story did not seem like a whole story. It seemed like the author was trying to keep inside of a size limit, and cut out things (many of which have already been mentioned, like 'Who are they rebelling against?') that would have created a more complete world for the story to take place in.


  Best parts of the story for me; I kinda like the ending, and the idea of Wiccan arms suppliers made me smile.

[Ragtime]

I was driving home from work on Friday, and decided to listen to the Escape Pod podcast.  Suddenly, for a fraction of a second my car was turned inside out, and sitting in the passenger seat was a person who looked exactly like me, wearing the same clothing -- only slightly different.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am you from 35 minutes into the future.  I have come back in time to warn you not to listen to the Escape Pod podcast.  It is very boring, despite the fact that Karl Marx is a character."

"Despite the fact?" I asked.  "Does future me have more sympathies toward Communist ideology that I did 35 minutes earlier?"

"Possibly," my future self tells me.

"Hey," I say, choosing to ignore my hypothetical future shift in politics, "my commute home is longer than 35 minutes.  If you are really me from 35 minutes into the future, shouldn't you still be driving the car?"

"Yes.  But I felt I couldn't wait.  The vehicle we were driving probably caused a massive car crash mere seconds after I left.  I must now travel back into the mangled wreckage.  The only way that you can save us both is to not listen to the Escape Pod podcast!  Then, my time line will never occur, and the car crash can be averted.  Save us both!  The choice is yours."

And then, the car turned inside out again and my future self was gone.

Anyway, because of that I didn't listen to the podcast, so I can't really give a critique of it here.

[jrderego]

I was driving home from work on Friday, and decided to listen to the Escape Pod podcast.  Suddenly, for a fraction of a second my car was turned inside out, and sitting in the passenger seat was a person who looked exactly like me, wearing the same clothing -- only slightly different.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am you from 35 minutes into the future.  I have come back in time to warn you not to listen to the Escape Pod podcast.  It is very boring, despite the fact that Karl Marx is a character."

"Despite the fact?" I asked.  "Does future me have more sympathies toward Communist ideology that I did 35 minutes earlier?"

"Possibly," my future self tells me.

"Hey," I say, choosing to ignore my hypothetical future shift in politics, "my commute home is longer than 35 minutes.  If you are really me from 35 minutes into the future, shouldn't you still be driving the car?"

"Yes.  But I felt I couldn't wait.  The vehicle we were driving probably caused a massive car crash mere seconds after I left.  I must now travel back into the mangled wreckage.  The only way that you can save us both is to not listen to the Escape Pod podcast!  Then, my time line will never occur, and the car crash can be averted.  Save us both!  The choice is yours."

And then, the car turned inside out again and my future self was gone.

Anyway, because of that I didn't listen to the podcast, so I can't really give a critique of it here.

That story was actually better than Revolution Time. Go figure

[wintermute]

Anyway, because of that I didn't listen to the podcast, so I can't really give a critique of it here.

Five stars, Mr (?) Ragtime.

[CGFxColONeill]

That story was actually better than Revolution Time.

That is my thought exactly when I finished reading his post

[DKT]

Seriously, am I the only one who was amused by this story?  In the 28th, this story became an underground movement that led to the glorious revolution of swinging time-traveler Karl Marx and his band of Kabbalah comrades that finally gave all us good forum members victory. 

Seriously, though, I did find this one enjoyable, but I had a serious problem with what Listener mentioned earlier: What the hell were they rebelling against?  I never figured that one out.  Also, the time travel thing -- well, like a lot of time travel stories, I have a hard time with the whole paradox of it all, but still, it amused me.

Also, I've read 4-5 other stories by Lavie Tidhar.  I definitely wouldn't object to hearing more of his stuff on the pods here (including Podcastle and Pseudopod -- he's got a pretty wide range, I think).

[Corydon]

Seriously, though, I did find this one enjoyable, but I had a serious problem with what Listener mentioned earlier: What the hell were they rebelling against?

"What have you got?"

Sorry, couldn't restrain myself.

Anyway, I thought that the story was a somewhat silly satire of ineffectual leftist groups, maybe with a jab against time-travel fantasies.  It didn't make much impression on me, though I got a giggle out of the image of heavily-armed Wiccan commandos.  That's comedy gold, right there. 

[Void Munashii]

I was driving home from work on Friday, and decided to listen to the Escape Pod podcast.  Suddenly, for a fraction of a second my car was turned inside out, and sitting in the passenger seat was a person who looked exactly like me, wearing the same clothing -- only slightly different.

  You should submit that as a flash piece, it was quite a bit more gripping than the story itself

[birdless]

I was driving home from work on Friday, and decided to listen to the Escape Pod podcast.  Suddenly, for a fraction of a second my car was turned inside out, and sitting in the passenger seat was a person who looked exactly like me, wearing the same clothing -- only slightly different.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am you from 35 minutes into the future.  I have come back in time to warn you not to listen to the Escape Pod podcast.  It is very boring, despite the fact that Karl Marx is a character."

"Despite the fact?" I asked.  "Does future me have more sympathies toward Communist ideology that I did 35 minutes earlier?"

"Possibly," my future self tells me.

"Hey," I say, choosing to ignore my hypothetical future shift in politics, "my commute home is longer than 35 minutes.  If you are really me from 35 minutes into the future, shouldn't you still be driving the car?"

"Yes.  But I felt I couldn't wait.  The vehicle we were driving probably caused a massive car crash mere seconds after I left.  I must now travel back into the mangled wreckage.  The only way that you can save us both is to not listen to the Escape Pod podcast!  Then, my time line will never occur, and the car crash can be averted.  Save us both!  The choice is yours."

And then, the car turned inside out again and my future self was gone.

Anyway, because of that I didn't listen to the podcast, so I can't really give a critique of it here.

This story almost made Revolution Time worth listening to... almost. I don't think i would have lost any appreciation for Ragtime's story if i hadn't heard the senseless, boring prequel. In fact, i probably would have appreciated it even more.

I did learn something from "Revolution Time" though. I'd never heard of social anarchism, and until i looked it up, i would have said that socialism and anarchism are like diametrically opposite. So, there's 1 point for that.

[Russell Nash]

::Putting on moderator's hat::

It was actually posted in the moderator's section that maybe you guys were getting a little too snarky and something should be said.  I didn't know, because I hadn't listened to the episode yet and therefore hadn't been in this threead since I started it.  So I listened to it while cleaning up the kitchen and then came here to read what you animals were writing.

Honestly, I'm amazed at your restraint and how intelligent the whole conversation has been.  Even when you're ripping something apart, you do it with class.

::Taking off moderator's hat::

I wish some future me had told me not to listen to it.

[Yossarian's grandson]

I agree with the comments above about the weak points of this story.

However, one thing about this one gave me cold chills:

Imagine people in the future really being so unoriginal and uncharismatic, that they have to go back in time in order to find someone to follow. Now that's a scary thought.....

[ChiliFan]

I think there just wasn't enough detail in the story. I don't know about any so called left wing stories in Escape Pod, perhaps because I'm not from the USA. Please could someone point out to me which episodes these are supposed to be? Having said that, I think what the characters in this story were rebelling against was the philosophy that money is more important than people's lives, which has been getting worse and worse in recent times. It seems to me that there's not much difference in Barack Obama and John McCain's policies. Various different types of politics claim to have been inspired by Karl Marx, just the same as different religions all claim to be based on the Bible. Come back Karl Marx, all is forgiven!

[birdless]

Imagine people in the future really being so unoriginal and uncharismatic, that they have to go back in time in order to find someone to follow. Now that's a scary thought.....

Wow.... that is chilling. Nice call, there.

[eytanz]

I think there just wasn't enough detail in the story. I don't know about any so called left wing stories in Escape Pod, perhaps because I'm not from the USA. Please could someone point out to me which episodes these are supposed to be?

Steve was joking. Though I guess that "The color of a brontosaurus" could possibly qualify, at least if you think the character of Rene was a satire of the religious right.

Having said that, I think what the characters in this story were rebelling against was the philosophy that money is more important than people's lives, which has been getting worse and worse in recent times.

Is there actually anything in the story that leads you to this impression? Or are you bringing in your own views into it? Both are valid ways to get at a reading, but I'm curious as to which you mean, and if it's the former, what the evidence is.

[ChiliFan]

I think there just wasn't enough detail in the story. I don't know about any so called left wing stories in Escape Pod, perhaps because I'm not from the USA. Please could someone point out to me which episodes these are supposed to be?

Steve was joking. Though I guess that "The color of a brontosaurus" could possibly qualify, at least if you think the character of Rene was a satire of the religious right.

Having said that, I think what the characters in this story were rebelling against was the philosophy that money is more important than people's lives, which has been getting worse and worse in recent times.

Is there actually anything in the story that leads you to this impression? Or are you bringing in your own views into it? Both are valid ways to get at a reading, but I'm curious as to which you mean, and if it's the former, what the evidence is.

I think this story was set in the USA and in the present, so there's plenty to rebel against there.

 

[eytanz]

I think this story was set in the USA and in the present, so there's plenty to rebel against there.

 

It certainly is not set in the present. The story explicitly makes mention that:

A - The US government has a time machine which it publicly uses to periodically bring back Shakespeare, and has been doing so since the protagonist was a child.
B - A large percentage of the population lives off-world in space stations.

Unless I missed some important news lately, I think this means the story takes place towards the end of the 21st century, not in its beginning.

[lieffeil]

Finally, if the US government has the entire history worth of military leaders at their disposal why didn't they grab Ghengis Kahn(...)just crush the revolution? 

Yes... why NOT bring back Ghengis Kahn? Seriously, what a peach!

As for "Revolution Time", I, like a fair number of people on this thread, am set in neutral.
For a while there, though, I did think that they had made a mistake and accidentally brought back Groucho, not Karl. I was waiting for a punchline, a "surprise, suckers!" . It never came... and that made me sad. So much potential...
Totally enjoyed the intro and outro, though. Steve's line about the domain name being taken... dinosaurs and centrists... and then of course "Think for Yourself". Those were the highlights of the story. (Ignore the fact that they were not actually in it, and it was top notch!)

[deflective]

in case people haven't seen it yet, why not Hitler?

[Russell Nash]

in case people haven't seen it yet, why not Hitler?

That was stinking hilarious!

[stePH]

in case people haven't seen it yet, why not Hitler?

Beautiful 

[Chodon]

Finally, if the US government has the entire history worth of military leaders at their disposal why didn't they grab Ghengis Kahn(...)just crush the revolution? 

Yes... why NOT bring back Ghengis Kahn? Seriously, what a peach!

Hey, I'm not saying bring him to the future because he's a nice guy.  I'm saying bring him back because he wins wars.  He could be threatening to the current regime though.  He WAS the ruler of the largest contiguous empire in history.  If there is some incidental raping and pillaging, well sometimes that price has to be paid.  Would you rather have Erwin Rommel? 

Wait, I probably would.  He did try to kill Hitler, after all.

Anyhow, you get my point.  The Kahn takes care of business.

[wintermute]

I suspect that Ghengis' tactical knowledge would be woefully out of date. How long would we need to spend training him in modern warfare techniques before he was ready to command an army not principally formed of sword-weilding horsemen?

It's kind of like bringing Newton (Sir Isaac, not Fig) forward, and expecting him to understand quantum mechanics.

[Chodon]

I suspect that Ghengis' tactical knowledge would be woefully out of date. How long would we need to spend training him in modern warfare techniques before he was ready to command an army not principally formed of sword-weilding horsemen?

It's kind of like bringing Newton (Sir Isaac, not Fig) forward, and expecting him to understand quantum mechanics.

I totally agree, on a tactical level.  I wouldn't expect Ghengis Kahn to be out there leading squads of soldiers, or all of them would most likely end up dead.  However, at a strategic level he would be invaluable.  War at both extremes (the overall strategy, and the individual soldier's spirit) hasn't changed since Sun Tzu wrote "The Art of War", which is about 1700 years before Ghengis Kahn was around and 2500 years since modern day.  It's still required readings at all US military academies and Norman Schwarzkopf referenced it specifically as his inspiration for Gulf War Part One: The Successful War With Iraq.

Kahn would be fantastic at setting up training regimens for boot camps, military policy, and general strategy.  Plus, my guess is people would follow him.  He was one hell of a ruler.  He's still on currency in Mongolia and Kazakhstan, which is testament to his influence. 

[Talia]

Has anyone thought the story might work better purely in written form?

It was my impression it was supposed to be somewhat satirical; I think one problem is that doesn't come across quite as well in audio form as in purely written.

I think part of it is, in any given audio piece, part of the tone is delivered by the reader. This is not to say there was anything wrong with the reading, there wasn't; just that maybe the satirical angle doesn't come across quite as well through the interpretation of someone else, rather than lettling it just settle in your own mind.

Just a thought. I haven't tried just reading the story's text yet; I might. I like the concept enough to give it another chance.

[stePH]

Has anyone thought the story might work better purely in written form?

That's a fair question, and one that deserves a carefully thought out and reasoned answer.  Here it is:

No.