Having Time Powers

[Piorn]

Assuming I get all the secondary powers in this scenario, like seeing even though light doesn't move, not burning up because of air friction and all that stuff, I'd have a lot of fun.

I'd propably just play pranks on people at first. Pretending I can read minds, magic tricks, show off a little without attracting too much attention or revealing the nature of my powers.

Then, I'd most likely use it for personal gain a bit, sneaking around, trying things I'd never dare, but not get in serious trouble like big scale robbery or something. The usual stuff, I don't need to explain, I guess.

After that, I'd travel. I wouldn't mess with any specific events, but I'd explore the farther timeline. The beginning(?), the future, get a rough overview. Explore. Doctor Who stuff.
Depending on what I find, I'll decide what to do then.

 

[VodkaKnight]

Probably see what would happen if I said something different in a conversation, rewinding a minute or so.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

'Time Freeze' is a pretty awesome superpower when taken to its logical conclusion. You're basically able to move objects at the speed of light - instant giant thermonuclear explosion. Tap a pane of glass while time is frozen, watch it shatter into a million fragments when time restarts. Blow a little air into someone's mouth and watch their head explode. Etc, etc.

Doesn't really work like that; If you've frozen all of time except yourself, then the first thing that's going to move at ftl is yourself, which means you'd be the first thing to explode, because as soon as you move all the air molecules around you, bang. So we can assume that for such a power to work you'd have to have some crazy required secondary powers that stops matter from exploding just because you touched it, including the air molecules.

And don't even get me started on trying to breathe in such an environment.

OT; Yeah, 1.lottery, 2.become millionaire, skip steps 3 and 4 because I already acheived profit.

 

[conmag9]

Do my level best not to abuse it. Odds are actually pretty good that I'd avoid making sweeping changes, especially to the past. I might make myself a little money, but I'd be patient about it. After all, I've got all the time in the world. More stocks, less lottery. Well, maybe one lottery.

The real issue with going back in time (assuming, as someone else said, all the Required Secondary Powers are in place) too far is that you'll swiftly become an anomaly. Your clothes will be different, your accent unplaceable, your language incomprehensible (not to mention everybody elses), in complete culture shock and you have scary powers that people will want to stop you from using out of fear, jealousy or both. And you can't hold time frozen forever by the 3 minute rule, so eventually SOMEONE is going to take you out.


Whatever I do, I'd try to keep it subtle.

 

[templar1138a]

Well, I never played that game, but not matter what the specifics, time travel isn't all it's cracked up to be. Here, this video explains it quite well.

 

[Euryalus]

Wait wait wait. obligatory nerd response, how are the 3 minutes measured? If i go back in time now, 3 minutes, can i wait a minute and then go back in time 3 minutes again?

Generally time is relative to the perspective of the observer, so you just count 3 minutes for you I guess. It doesn't matter, my op has bullshit science behind it anyway XD

 

[Nickolai77]

Assuming that going back in time doesn't create a duplicate of yourself.

I'd go back to a few critical decision points in my life (like starting university for instance) and then try out different scenario's with the benefit of hindsight to see which creates the best life experiences for me. In theory you should be able to vastly increase your lifespan by doing this repeatedly and making different decisions each time you go back to a "critical decision point" in life. There's also some moments in my life which i'd go back to simply for the joy of re-experiencing.

And then of course there's the obvious of going back further in time to witness key historical events and such.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Basically you can travel at any point forwards and backwards in time, as well as have he ability to slow time down for everyone but you, freeze time for everyone but you, and reverse it. These three are only usable for short periods of time though (a few seconds in gameplay, but lets say it lasts 3 minutes).

Where would you go, and what would do with 'em?

Can I only go back in time for three minutes? Or can I go back in time for as long as I want, but I can only stop time for three minutes?

If I can go back in time for longer (and take things with me), I'd do the following:

1) Rob a Bank. Freeze time, walk in, steal money, walk out, restart time.

2) Use money to buy a system to do Hollywood level CG projects.

3) Learn how to use it. Upload it with everything I will need for...

4) Travel back in time to the 1960s. Walk up to Gene Rodenberry. Show him my CG. Become the special effects director for Original Series Star Trek.

5) Use my access to future CG technology that makes Star Trek look decades ahead of its time and utterly realistic to the audience of 1960 to take creative and financial control of the series, wresting creative control entirely away from Rodenberry, and thus...

6) Own Star Trek.

7) Take Star Trek in any direction I like. Push social change.

8) When Star Trek finally gets canceled (after three years? It might last longer with 2013 level CG), set up an estate to manage it in my name.

9) Travel forward in time and make Star Trek the Next Generation with the same CG technology - that the rest of television still can't match. Also make DS9. Revise Voyager to make it suck less. Kill Enterprise.

10) Call up John Michael Strazenski and John Henson. ALSO make Babylon 5 and Farscape. Add to estate.

11) Rince/repeat for any other show I felt like.

12) Own all classic sci-fi, which now has a graphical upgrade for special effects (while still having the original scripts and actors).

13) Profit.

 

[KOMega]

Hmmmmm going too far into the past or future seems to increase the problems depending on how far you go.
So I would just limit myself to small things or very recent things.


Like if I were trying to do something and I fail, I'd simply keep going back a few minutes until I do.

It's like having save states for life!

Captcha: genghis khan
Or we could do something about him. Maybe....

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Well, I would never use my powers in fear of dying/killing everything/breaking the universe.

Say you stop time, walked across the room, and started time again. All the air you passed through was pushed, but unable to move back. Thus, every where you walked, everything you move, everything you do will cause one giant sonic boom. You also have a large amount of air in front of you, as your body "catches" it during the time freeze. When you turn time back on, your going to be liquidfied by the ultra high pressure infront of you and the complete vacuum behind you.

Going forward in time could easily result in your death, if you find the place you started has collapsed, a building that never existed now exists, or any number of "telekills."

Going back in time is so insanely risky on a universal level that trying to create infinite mass black holes would be saner.

 

[InfinityCubed]

Basically you can travel at any point forwards and backwards in time, as well as have he ability to slow time down for everyone but you, freeze time for everyone but you, and reverse it. These three are only usable for short periods of time though (a few seconds in gameplay, but lets say it lasts 3 minutes).

Where would you go, and what would do with 'em?

Can I only go back in time for three minutes? Or can I go back in time for as long as I want, but I can only stop time for three minutes?

If I can go back in time for longer (and take things with me), I'd do the following:

1) Rob a Bank. Freeze time, walk in, steal money, walk out, restart time.

2) Use money to buy a system to do Hollywood level CG projects.

3) Learn how to use it. Upload it with everything I will need for...

4) Travel back in time to the 1960s. Walk up to Gene Rodenberry. Show him my CG. Become the special effects director for Original Series Star Trek.

5) Use my access to future CG technology that makes Star Trek look decades ahead of its time and utterly realistic to the audience of 1960 to take creative and financial control of the series, wresting creative control entirely away from Rodenberry, and thus...

6) Own Star Trek.

7) Take Star Trek in any direction I like. Push social change.

8) When Star Trek finally gets canceled (after three years? It might last longer with 2013 level CG), set up an estate to manage it in my name.

9) Travel forward in time and make Star Trek the Next Generation with the same CG technology - that the rest of television still can't match. Also make DS9. Revise Voyager to make it suck less. Kill Enterprise.

10) Call up John Michael Strazenski and John Henson. ALSO make Babylon 5 and Farscape. Add to estate.

11) Rince/repeat for any other show I felt like.

12) Own all classic sci-fi, which now has a graphical upgrade for special effects (while still having the original scripts and actors).

13) Profit.

YOU. FORGOT. FIREFLY.

That is all.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

YOU. FORGOT. FIREFLY.
That is all.

I did not forget Firefly.

Firefly wouldn't benefit from improved special effects - it already had excellent special effects that stand up today. No need for time paradox upgrades.

For the same reason, I didn't mention New Who. I didn't mention classic who because a certain level of camp is part of what makes Doctor Who fun.

... although, I suppose I could use my time powers to keep Firefly on the air. Somehow? Or maybe bring it back to a new network ala Futurama?

 

[Euryalus]

And because XKCD tells me its obligatory to go back and kill hitler, I'd do that too, but as I did it I'd scream YOLO just so I could have the ironic contrast of being both a hero AND an asshole XD

Dude Noooooooooooo!!!!!
If anything messes significantly with the timeline of WWII then this spiral arm of the galaxy loses the second dalek war!

Kill hitler in his bunker, and make up for the lameness with Pol pot then? XD

Basically you can travel at any point forwards and backwards in time, as well as have he ability to slow time down for everyone but you, freeze time for everyone but you, and reverse it. These three are only usable for short periods of time though (a few seconds in gameplay, but lets say it lasts 3 minutes).

Where would you go, and what would do with 'em?

Can I only go back in time for three minutes? Or can I go back in time for as long as I want, but I can only stop time for three minutes?

Well... I didn't think this through amazingly well, and realise now that the reverse time power is exactly the same as normal time travel jumps XD

The reverse time in the game is used to solve puzzles >.>

Ignore it! xD

Slow time allows you to move like you do in Skyrim with the slow time shout, while stop time freezes it entirely, but lasts shorter (in the game).

I guess the rules I meant are that you can travel to any point in time, but can only mess with time in the "present" with short three minute bursts. After that a cooldown time like the game would occur before you could use it again... yeah... I suck at explaining rules XD

Nevermind it doesn't matter. Buy valve with the money you make and make 'em focus on Half Life 3 will ya

 

[InfinityCubed]

YOU. FORGOT. FIREFLY.
That is all.

I did not forget Firefly.

Firefly wouldn't benefit from improved special effects - it already had excellent special effects that stand up today. No need for time paradox upgrades.

For the same reason, I didn't mention New Who. I didn't mention classic who because a certain level of camp is part of what makes Doctor Who fun.

... although, I suppose I could use my time powers to keep Firefly on the air. Somehow? Or maybe bring it back to a new network ala Futurama?

No, but you can use your time-traveling billionaire status to prevent its cancelling by just buying it from Fox.

Also, go to the future and get THEIR awesome FX and do it all over again.

 

[Euryalus]

YOU. FORGOT. FIREFLY.
That is all.

I did not forget Firefly.

Firefly wouldn't benefit from improved special effects - it already had excellent special effects that stand up today. No need for time paradox upgrades.

For the same reason, I didn't mention New Who. I didn't mention classic who because a certain level of camp is part of what makes Doctor Who fun.

... although, I suppose I could use my time powers to keep Firefly on the air. Somehow? Or maybe bring it back to a new network ala Futurama?

No, but you can use your time-traveling billionaire status to prevent its cancelling by just buying it from Fox.

Also, go to the future and get THEIR awesome FX and do it all over again.

While she's at it she should pick each of us up a signed photograph by the whole crew... you know... for helping come up with the plan or something >.>

@Bara_no_hime: Pretty please with a cherry on top XD

 

[StormShaun]

If I did go back in time (or to the future), we would all be celebrating "Storm Day". The day where our great King President Shaun was crowned and started his rule over this world.

There would be no countries.
There would be no disease.
There would be no poverty.
And there would be no crime.

Basically I would be the Dictator with a high morality.
Demons shall bow down to me in fear!