Temporal Mechanics as Nukes.

[SirNitram]

This is something I've mused on for a while. When you're wanting to write a story that doesn't try and acheive a non-casualty-violating FTL system, but does want to acknowledge that this stuff can happen, how should you treat it? Arbitrary failure of the drives if you would return before you started is iffy.

I've thought of having time travel that could cause meaningful alterations of the past as considered the same as launching a rather unreliable nuclear weapon: Sure, it might not blow the region to bits, but it's not wise.

Of course, since this involves time travel, this suggests interested parties(Say, those who will evolve on that planet in the future) will want to protect their own past. So from it evolves a setting of enigmatic groups who halt almost all casuality violations, with a small amount getting through due to sufficient power of the travels, the advancement of one of the major powers agendas, or pure sneakiness.

Is it unadulterated suck?

[frigidmagi]

Reminds me of a book I read, where they did FTL by somehow traveling into the past and then heading out for their endpoint. There was something funky about the drives that prevented aging or something I can't remember.

A fleet/police force developed to ensure no one tried to fuck with the timeline. It got to the point where they were the biggest branch of the government ever.