Dinosaur in a spaceship

You did a great drawing of a dinosaur in a spaceship…

Scott: Eh… Painting, yes.

Why did you do that?

Scott: Don’t know… Because I saw a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon where Calvin had brought in a picture for show and tell and then the teacher said it wasn’t serious enough and then when he came home, he told Hobbes that and then… And then Hobbes said: “Well, it’s a dinosaur in a…” “You’re right.” “You can see how my art is very serious and never appreciated in its own time.” And the next day, he said: “My dinosaur in a spaceship cartoons are never appreciated.”

Do you think dinosaurs ever flew spaceships?

Scott: (laughs) No.

Why not?

Scott: Hmm… Technology wasn’t even invented. Well, yeah – I’m right there.

They might be able to do it in the future.

Scott: Huh? What are you talking about? Dinosaurs have never existed.

But someone in the future might go back in time and give the dinosaurs a spaceship.

Scott: (pause) It could actually have been right now. If this is right, time machines will never have been invented.

Why not?

Scott: Because someone from the future might have come back and showed us the time machine and showed us how to make the time machine so time machines would never have been invented because… You know what I mean.

Because if they had, people would have come back in time and visited?

Scott: No. They would never have know who created it because time machines could never have been invented by anyone because someone had travelled back in time to show the people how it was made.

So you’d never know who invented it?

Scott: Yeah.

That makes sense.

Scott: Good to know… And why are we talking about time machines anyway?

Time travel

We were talking about time travel earlier.

Scott: Em… Yeah.

And you have a theory.

Scott: Yes, but I don’t think it’s true.

It sounded true.

Scott: But it seems very completely impossible.

Tell me it again.

Scott: That there might be people in different in time periods like… But there could be a time period one minute or one milli-second ahead – that would be quite pointless because… Well, because (fast) thqkhe!

What?

Scott: (slower) That quickly ahead, really. It would.

So people have travelled – or would travel – in all different time periods.

Scott: Yeah. Sort of.

Where would you like to go if you could?

Scott: It would be quite amazing to bring back real-life dinosaurs. But going back to the past and getting really old things in brand new condition would be good as well.

Like what?

Scott: Like really old things, basically – really limited edition things.

Toys?

Scott: Maybe. It would be like really old things. Imagine that – imagine really old things.

Would you not want to meet Jesus or go into the future?

Scott: Going into the future would be a good idea actually – finding out what it’s like in the future.

What do you think it’ll be like when you’re my age…

Scott: In 32 years?

Yes, in 32 years?

Scott: Em… I could say… Very… What should I say? Different?

Better or worse?

Scott: Better and worse, if you know what I mean. Everything would be more up to date but the pollution will probably be worse. And Heaven knows, the pollution’s bad enough already…

Viking time travel

A time travelling Viking, looking a bit startled because he's arrived here from the past.

Scott: How did people change from Vikings to now?

What do you mean?

Scott: Like, how did… Like… How did people change from Vikings to… Ancient Egyptians or… How did people there begin to use electricity?

Different people in different countries in different times lived in different ways, and they are always changing.

Scott: Yes, but how? You can’t just say they always change and walk away.

Let’s deal with Scotland. A long time ago there were cavemen and they kept getting more advanced until we get to where we are now after thousands of years.

Scott: Eh… Eh… Is there any chance… Oh, but… Is there any special way we can maybe… Maybe, just maybe. Let’s say a Viking got through a time portal and came into our time. Somebody might just get into our world. Maybe just maybe the past just happens in a whole universe and the whole solar system is the same, but it’s the past. A Viking goes through a time portal and comes to the future planet Earth.

I think that’s quite unlikely.

Scott: Come on, it’s possible. Or maybe the past lives on, but we don’t see it. Maybe the past is happening now. You never know, it might be happening somewhere else.

That’s a very clever thing to say…

Scott: But?

No but, it’s very clever. So everything’s happening at the same time?

Scott: Like… This is happening, but in caveman times right now. Or maybe it’s happening in Viking times. Even the past might be happening right now. It’s just somewhere no-one ever bothered to look.

Very clever. Helen, is time travel possible?

Helen: Eh… No.

Why not?

Helen: I don’t know.

Scott: Then why did you answer a question if you don’t know it? Why do you lie?

Neutrinos

Speed of light?

Scott: Well, I don’t know how to draw that, anything else? Well, it might be good… I’ve got quite a good image…

You know that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light…

Scott: But scientists have found out that something can travel a bit faster.

Did I tell you that?

Scott: Yes – or was it Mummy?

They have been trying to discover how fast they can get atoms to travel.

Scott: What are atoms? Mummy told me, but I’ve forgotten.

They’re the little things everything is made from.

Scott: Yeah yeah – so everthing in the world is made from atoms.

And scientists think they have discovered things call neutrinos that can travel faster than the speed of light.

Scott: BDDING! Just as we’re talking, light is moving.

It might be a mistake, but there are two other things that could be happening. One, they might travel faster than the speed of light.

Scott: That’s surprising – it caused a fart to go out.

Or the other thing is that these neutrinos might have found a shortcut through space and time.

Scott: How’s that? What is this shortcut?

They don’t know, but if it does exist, it may make time travel possible.

Scott: Did you hear that, Helen? As it gets older, it will get cheaper as more people will know how to work it. Someone could make a time travel machine and we could go back to the past. If there’s something you regret in the past, you can go back and fix it.

I don’t think they’re anywhere near inventing a time machine.

Scott: But they know… At least they’re at the start of finding out it’s possible.

Yes.

Scott: They’re in the first step… Now it will be easier for them to make time travel movies when they’ve completed a time machine.

The future

Scott's drawing of a time vortex, featuring, for some strange reason, Grampa's head and a Lego brick.

What is the future?

Scott: If you go forward in time, you’re in the future. So the future is just passing right now – right now is the future. We’re in the future! Every second I’m counting to one… It’s the future.

Can you travel into the future?

Scott: Eh… If you have a time machine.

Do time machines exist?

Scott: Eh… I’m not sure about that one – do you think they do?

I don’t think so. What do you think will happen in the future?

Scott: I’m going to have a sleep-over at Gran’s.

No, I mean what do you think will be different in the future?

Scott: Computers will be so large and expensive only the three richest Kings of Europe will be able to afford them.

Helen: I will as well.

Scott: You will what?

Helen: I’ll be able to afford them.

Scott: No, I’m talking about in the future – it’ll be £10 million gazillion trillion. Would you be able to afford that?

Helen: No, I’m just able to afford a small amount.

Scott: You can’t afford it.

Helen: I could afford it if it was 1p.

If you could go back in time, what would you do?

Scott: I would go back and go into my time machine, go back to the time when Lego Agents existed, buy lots of Lego Agents sets and then come back.

You wouldn’t kill Adolf Hitler?

Scott: Who’s Adolf Hitler?

A very nasty man.

Scott: Well, I might do both – I’d take a knife into the time machine and throw it into his head so his brain died.