What would you do in this scenario? (Time Travel Related)

[Disposable Hero]

So there you are sitting at home by yourself minding your own business when you hear a knock at the door, you go to answer it only to find...you standing there.

Sure with a little closer inspection 'you're' a little older looking, wearing unfamiliar clothes etc but its definitely you, at least physically.

His (or her if you're of the feminine ilk, swap future pronouns as necessary) first words are, "Don't panic, I'm you from the future, and I'm here to help. Trust me." He quickly explains that he's come back in time from an unspecified future date to rectify something that is going to go horribly wrong in your near future, all you have to do is trust him and he'll sort it out but its important that other people don't realise there are now two of you.

So, do you? How far would you trust 'yourself'? What would you ask future you?

[Gagundathar]

I would ask 'myself' about a certain failsafe that I came up with when I was a little boy and thought about these kind of things rather regularly. If he answered correctly then he is either me, or someone has gone to a LOT of trouble to dig out this little tidbit of information from my mind without my knowledge.

Then, I would ask him for particulars and essentially trust him as I would myself.

If, on the other hand, he didn't get the right failsafe then I would pretend to trust him until I could disable him and call the authorities.

[tdn]

He's got my attention. I won't turn him away.

[madmonk28]

I'd kick his ass. He knows why.

[Kenm]

Originally Posted by Gagundathar

If, on the other hand, he didn't get the right failsafe then I would pretend to trust him until I could disable him and call the authorities.

But your older self would remember all that, as well as everything you did forever after your older self showed up, so your older self wouldn't have to go back in the first place.

Unless, quantumly speaking, he's from another universe/timeline or wanted to kill his grandfather in the interests of science. Or sumpin.

[CalMeacham]

Originally Posted by Kenm

But your older self would remember all that, as well as everything you did forever after your older self showed up, so your older self wouldn't have to go back in the first place.

Unless, quantumly speaking, he's from another universe/timeline or wanted to kill his grandfather in the interests of science. Or sumpin.

It depends upon which model of time travel you buy into. If there's only one time stream, then it seems weird that you have to go into the past to help yourself, but presumably Future You knows this and does exavctly what he remembers, maki ng it come out "right" (or at least the way he remembers). But it does make you wonder what the result would be if Future You decided to act differently than you remember, or not to go back at all.

If you believe in a "many worlds" type of timestream, then everything that happens after the intervention is up for grabs, and Future You might not be any help at all.




At this point I'd like to quote my first Sig Line:

"Of course," said my grandfather, pulling a gun from his belt as he stepped from the time machine,"There's no paradox if I shoot YOU."

[Chronos]

Similar to Gagundathar, but I wouldn't ask him anything. If it's really me, then he already knows what he has to tell me to convince me.

Kenm, I think the idea is that if the person at the door doesn't know the failsafe, it's because they're not really who they claim to be, and thus wouldn't know one's plans.

[Shagnasty]

I would ask "Ok, if you really are me, what number am I thinking of?"

[Disposable Hero]

Originally Posted by Shagnasty

I would ask "Ok, if you really are me, what number am I thinking of?"

What would that prove? He's not exactly the same person as you if only because of the alleged passage of time.

Or am I missing something about the question?

[Munch]

Originally Posted by Disposable Hero

Or am I missing something about the question?

A passing familiarity with 80s movies about time travel.

[Disposable Hero]

Originally Posted by Munch

A passing familiarity with 80s movies about time travel.

Ah, I see.

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

You have to be careful in a situation like this because Bill and Ted got thrown off Vasquez Rocks and died because they believed that the Evil Bill and Ted robots were actually them from the future.

On the other hand, Ron Silver got smooshed up into himself, creating a nasty mess when he touched his future self in Timecop.

So I would have to be very careful to make sure this plays out right.

[Hari Seldon]

I'd ask him about a certain sexual preference that I have never mentioned to anyone. If he knew all about it, I would believe him and do what he says. After all, I am his past.

[Ethilrist]

I'd say "Where the FUCK were you when I was in college?" and slam the door in his face.

[that_darn_cat]

Trust future me? Hell no, if past me's decisions are any guide I have no f**ing clue.

[Baker]

Originally Posted by tdn

He's got my attention. I won't turn him away.

This is what I'm thinking too.

[Regallag_The_Axe]

If he really was me from the future the conversation would go like this:

Present Me: You know what question I'm thinking of. So what is the answer?
Future Me: Cranberries and soap, all day long.*
PM: And the follow up...?
FM: Only when I drop the big hammer on my foot.*
PM: You know what we're going to do once this over. And you know I have the advantage because I'm younger.
FM: Ha! There are some things you haven't learned yet. But the duel can wait until we're finished with this other thing.

If the guy isn't really me then he'll know neither the questions nor the answers. In that case we'll proceed directly to the axe duel, and this one will be to the death. After all, anyone impersonating my future self is up to no good, and they'll certainly do something to dishonor my future good name.

*Not the actual responses. But they make just as much sense to anyone else who isn't me.

[Moonlitherial]

If it was me from the future and I could remember anything that wasn't earth shattering I would immediately know it was a phony. My kids give me a hard time because I have to look up their birthdays, my memory (or lack thereof) is legendary.

I think I could come up with a couple of items to verify I am me however and I would trust myself once I did.

[Small Hen]

Me: "If you're really me, what am I thinking right now?"
Replicant: "...if we call it masturbation, there's no reason to feel ashamed?"

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by Kenm

But your older self would remember all that, as well as everything you did forever after your older self showed up, so your older self wouldn't have to go back in the first place.

I think the test is designed to ensure it really is a future version of you rather than a well-disguised imposter playing on your instinctive self-trust.

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by that_darn_cat

Trust future me? Hell no, if past me's decisions are any guide I have no f**ing clue.

And twenty years from now, working as a slave in the Venusian plutonium mines, you'll have time to reflect that past you's decision not to listen to you in 2012 was par for the course.

[Kenm]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

I think the test is designed to ensure it really is a future version of you rather than a well-disguised imposter playing on your instinctive self-trust.

Ah, of course.

Well, in that case, the future me had better show up fast; I'm at an age when there's more time behind me than ahead, so probably I'd be the older us in the exercise.

Alas, my younger self could choose from an embarrassment of riches in deciding what to ask me that no one else could know.

[Roland Orzabal]

Yeah, I've thought about this before. Proving to myself that I'm me would be the easiest part by far, precisely because there's no one question I'd want answered. Ever since I was little, an utter plethora of ridiculous thoughts have found their way into my head that A) are far too ridiculous to have mentioned to anyone, B) I seem fated to remember for life, and C) are so mundane and unrelated to anything useful that even if mind-reading technology were to exist in the future, nothing short of a total data dump from future-me would turn them up. An unprompted recitation of any random five of these would be a dead lock for identification.

The hard part is going to be convincing me to trust myself given the conditions in the OP. I'm inherently wary of anyone asking me to do anything without telling me why, and given that future-me is me, I'll have a hard time buying that I couldn't at least concoct an oblique explanation for why I couldn't explain why I couldn't explain why I couldn't explain, etc., etc. I'd better spout off some kind of abstract reasoning for something, or I'm going to suspect that I'm acting under coercion. In that case, the next step is to drag myself to an isolated spot far away from wherever I said I wanted to go, and figure out what's what.

[drastic_quench]

Originally Posted by Ethilrist

I'd say "Where the FUCK were you when I was in college?" and slam the door in his face.

Ditto.

"You didn't go back nearly far enough, you cunt."

[Rala]

If she's really me, she knows what she has to say to prove it. If she gets it right, I'll do what she wants and trust her as myself. Though I must say, if it is really me, the password should have been the first thing out of her mouth (except possibly "Hi").

[PandaBear77]

I'd ask her questions until I was satisfied that she was really me. Provided she gave me the right answers, I'd trust her.

[Meatros]

I have an identical twin who I haven't spoken with in over a decade. So my first reaction would be skepticism. The 'me' would have to prove it was me. After that, I would have to here me out - I would say that I'd probably go along with whatever I had to say though, but I'd want reasons and answers, I wouldn't blindly go into anything.

[MrDibble]

I better have the next several year's Powerball numbers and major sports results on my future self, or I'm not getting in my door...

[BobLibDem]

I'd ask who is the next horse to win the Triple Crown?

[don't ask]

I wouldn't be surprised. He may not know but I can recall when he, or a later version of him I guess, visited just like this a few years ago.

So I know the drill.

Chuck the shovels in the trunk and lets go and get rid of the dead hooker.

[panache45]

I'm putting myself in his place, because after all, he is me. We know each other well enough to completely trust each other.

But yeah, why not go back to when I was a kid, when I could really make some significant changes in my life?

[LegsAkimbo]

If she knocks on the door, she's not me, since she would know that would send the dogs into a tizzy that would take forever to calm down. That aside, I think I would just know if it was me or a fake me. I've never met anyone who acts precisely like me and I believe I would recognize my own behavior in that situation. At my present age, there's not enough time left for any major personality changes.

[Boyo Jim]

Finally I can achieve the dream of my lifetime -- sucking my own cock without breaking my back!

[Hampshire]

I wouldn't ask him any questions at all. I'd just follow him blindly.
Even if he said "It's complicated. I don't have time to explain it right now."

Later on over coffee we'd talk about how smart all the characters on LOST were.

[Dallas Jones]

Well, that son of a bitch has made some really poor decisions up to the time that I am aware of, I can't imagine that he got smarter in the future. I am certainly not taking his advice.

I'd probably kick him in the nuts and call the cops.

[Boyo Jim]

Force information about the future out of "me" for investment purposes, then kill "me" and dispose of my body, and make a mental note to myself never to go for a ride in a time machine.

[lost4life]

From 30 Rock:

Current Jack Donaghy talking to Past Jack and Future Jack - "Okay. We’re obviously all thinking it so I’m just going to say it. We’re going to have sex with each other, right?"

[Fiendish Astronaut]

If I need to ask myself to prove he is me then I already know he's an imposter. My future self should be prepared to prove himself as part of his introduction because that's what I would do.

[Rachellelogram]

My future self wouldn't have come back to help me unless she had already lived as me and knew I would accept her help.

Let's boogie!

[Rich Mann]

I'm not buying it!

Why would future-me need my help, or contact me at all?

There have got to be infinite ways that I, with a time machine, could rectify any untoward event in my past without risking a paradox by meeting my past self.

Just go back to well before the event and remove any factor(s) necessary. If it didn't work the first time--rinse and repeat.

Nah. If he knocks on my door, he's not me. I'd go for my baseball bat, and ask questions later.

[Noelq]

Originally Posted by Shagnasty

I would ask "Ok, if you really are me, what number am I thinking of?"

69, Dude! ::guitar riff::