The Man Who Folded Himself
Encyclopedia
The Man Who Folded Himself is a 1973 science fiction
novel
by David Gerrold
that deals with time travel
. It was nominated for the Nebula Award
for Best Novel
in 1973 and the Hugo Award
for Best Novel
in 1974. The book explores the psychological, physical, and personal challenges that manifest when time travel is possible for a single individual at the touch of a button.
. Shortly after, Uncle Jim dies, and Daniel inherits a 'Timebelt' from him that allows the wearer to travel through time
. Daniel quickly learns how to use the Timebelt and makes a few short jumps into his own future
. He meets an alternate version of himself, who accompanies him to a race-track where the pair make a fortune betting on horse-racing. The following day, Daniel realises that it is his turn to guide his younger self through the previous day at the races; through this and other events the time-travelling Daniel learns more about the belt, about the nature of the 'timestream', and about his personal identity.
Daniel develops an interest in history
, and uses the Timebelt to experience many of the significant events of world history and to view the future. He also changes the past
to give himself a vast financial empire. At the same time, he begins to understand more of his own character, becoming less introverted and more confident in having a companion (either his past or future self) whom he is able to completely understand and relate to. No longer limited to living in a linear stretch of time, he sets about trying to change the world to fit his own desires, and having more and more strange experiences with his alternate selves. His activities result in a series of time paradoxes, which are explained by the existence of multiple universes
and multiple histories
: the Timebelt does not actually move the user around a single timeline, but to a new alternate reality which is the result of all the changes that Daniel has previously made to that reality.
Daniel repeatedly encounters alternate versions of himself, ultimately having sex with himself and beginning a relationship with himself. He learns that the changes he has made to his timeline have erased all traces of his childhood and early life. Finding himself lonely and hoping to correct the situation, he jumps backwards in time, where he meets a female version of himself called Diane. He begins a relationship with Diane. Diane soon becomes pregnant
and gives birth to a son. Shortly after, Daniel and Diane separate, and Daniel raises his son in 1950s America. As Daniel ages, he becomes more obsessed with returning to the relationship he had with Diane, and then with the thought of his own inevitable death
. He spends much of his time at a house party set in 1999, enjoying the company of dozens of versions of himself at different ages.
Daniel eventually realises that he has now become his Uncle Jim and that his son is actually the young future version of himself who will go on to inherit the Timebelt, and that his life has 'come full circle'. He makes preparations for after his death to ensure that the young Daniel experiences the same events that he did when he was the same age. The book ends with the young Daniel, who has read the now-complete diary, having to decide whether he will use the Timebelt.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by David Gerrold
David Gerrold
Jerrold David Friedman , better known by his pen name David Gerrold, is an American science fiction author who started his career in 1966 while a college student by submitting an unsolicited story outline for the television series Star Trek. He was invited to submit several premises, and the one...
that deals with time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
. It was nominated for the Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
for Best Novel
Nebula Award for Best Novel
Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.- Winners and other nominees :...
in 1973 and the Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Novel
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
in 1974. The book explores the psychological, physical, and personal challenges that manifest when time travel is possible for a single individual at the touch of a button.
Plot summary
In 1975, Daniel Eakins, a young college student, is visited by his Uncle Jim. Uncle Jim offers to increase Daniel's monthly allowance for living expenses as long as Daniel promises to keep a diaryDiary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
. Shortly after, Uncle Jim dies, and Daniel inherits a 'Timebelt' from him that allows the wearer to travel through time
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
. Daniel quickly learns how to use the Timebelt and makes a few short jumps into his own future
Future
The future is the indefinite time period after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the nature of the reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist is temporary and will come...
. He meets an alternate version of himself, who accompanies him to a race-track where the pair make a fortune betting on horse-racing. The following day, Daniel realises that it is his turn to guide his younger self through the previous day at the races; through this and other events the time-travelling Daniel learns more about the belt, about the nature of the 'timestream', and about his personal identity.
Daniel develops an interest in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, and uses the Timebelt to experience many of the significant events of world history and to view the future. He also changes the past
Past
Most generally, the past is a term used to indicate the totality of events which occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human observers experience time, and is...
to give himself a vast financial empire. At the same time, he begins to understand more of his own character, becoming less introverted and more confident in having a companion (either his past or future self) whom he is able to completely understand and relate to. No longer limited to living in a linear stretch of time, he sets about trying to change the world to fit his own desires, and having more and more strange experiences with his alternate selves. His activities result in a series of time paradoxes, which are explained by the existence of multiple universes
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
and multiple histories
Multiple histories
The concept of multiple histories is closely related to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. In the same way that the many-worlds interpretation regards possible futures as having a real existence of their own, the theory of multiple histories reverses this in time to regard the...
: the Timebelt does not actually move the user around a single timeline, but to a new alternate reality which is the result of all the changes that Daniel has previously made to that reality.
Daniel repeatedly encounters alternate versions of himself, ultimately having sex with himself and beginning a relationship with himself. He learns that the changes he has made to his timeline have erased all traces of his childhood and early life. Finding himself lonely and hoping to correct the situation, he jumps backwards in time, where he meets a female version of himself called Diane. He begins a relationship with Diane. Diane soon becomes pregnant
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
and gives birth to a son. Shortly after, Daniel and Diane separate, and Daniel raises his son in 1950s America. As Daniel ages, he becomes more obsessed with returning to the relationship he had with Diane, and then with the thought of his own inevitable death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. He spends much of his time at a house party set in 1999, enjoying the company of dozens of versions of himself at different ages.
Daniel eventually realises that he has now become his Uncle Jim and that his son is actually the young future version of himself who will go on to inherit the Timebelt, and that his life has 'come full circle'. He makes preparations for after his death to ensure that the young Daniel experiences the same events that he did when he was the same age. The book ends with the young Daniel, who has read the now-complete diary, having to decide whether he will use the Timebelt.
See also
- "By His BootstrapsBy His Bootstraps"By His Bootstraps" is a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein that plays with some of the inherent paradoxes that would be caused by time travel. It was originally published in the October 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction under the pen name Anson MacDonald...
"(1941) and "—All You Zombies—" (1959), both short stories by Robert A. Heinlein with contorted and finally close-looped timelines. The latter one also deals, like Gerrold's novel, with the notion of being one's own parents.
- The Time Traveler's WifeThe Time Traveler's Wife (film)The Time Traveler's Wife is a 2009 romantic film based on Audrey Niffenegger's 2003 novel of the same name. Directed by Robert Schwentke, the film stars Eric Bana as Henry DeTamble, a Chicago librarian with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel randomly as he tries to build a romantic...
(2009), a novel and movie that employ similar concepts.