(urth) Hierodules & time

[thalassocrat at nym.hush.com]

On Thu, 25 May 2006 17:34:05 +1000 don doggett 
<kingwukong at yahoo.com> wrote:
>--- thalassocrat at nym.hush.com wrote:
>
>> 
>> Do what? <g>
>> 
> 
>Yeah, I realised that wasn't too clear so I reposted.
>Basically they're just like you and me if we had a
>time machine and Roy told  us to take it and always
>travel backward, contacting GW Bush from his last days
>in his presidency to his time travelling escapades in
>First Dynasty Egypt. : ) 

Yes, I certainly agree that's the best explanation, but I'm not 
sure it fits 100%. I *think* they say at some point that backwards-
thru-time is indeed their nature - on the Ship? Need to rummage 
around to see if I can find the passage. 

But mainly - why? It seems a very inconvenient way to plan a 
mission. I mean, I can see the point of them going back in time for 
(say) a first meeting with Baldanders, after which they move 
forward like everybody else. But that isn't what seems to happen: 
they've had interactions with Sev on Urth before (on their 
timeline) his first meeting with them (on his), which is also their 
last interaction with Baldanders (on *his* timeline) in his castle. 
So it would have to be something more complicated. Which would be, 
once again, annoying :)

A quick flip thru the archives shows somebody suggesting that 
Ossipago might temporarily reverse their time-flow for interactions 
with "normal" people. I guess that'd patch my conceptual hole here, 
if there were some evidence for it. But I still wouldn't like it.