(urth) Fish and Caves

[Gerry Quinn]

From: "Dan'l Danehy-Oakes" <danldo at gmail.com>
2010/12/22 António Pedro Marques <entonio at gmail.com>:

> > So it would take ages for them to reach Urth, but the time is cut short 
> > by
> > time-travel, of which they are unaware, and yet they end up on Urth at 
> > what
> > is generally considered the present time?
>
> Actually, when dealing with interstellar distances the concept of "the
> present time" is meaningless due to the C-limit and related
> (relativistic) effects. Wolfe has established pretty clearly that
> relativity-as-we-know-it applies to the Briahtic universe.

You forget that in Wolfe's universe the c-limit is violated - quite 
explicitly by Tzadkiel's ship but also seemingly by mirror travel and astral 
travel.  Also time travel exists.  So special relativity is in fact 
repeatedly violated.

Thus while relativistic time dilation is a feature of Wolfe's universe, 
relativity of simultaneity is not.  The phenomena listed above make it clear 
that there must be a preferred frame which can be used to define a 
universal "present time".  The situation can be modelled by Lorentz-Poincare 
ether theory.

Of course time travel (as distinct from FTL) puts a horse and cart through 
other parts of physics also.

- Gerry Quinn