# When you absolutely, positively have to get there NOW! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580 "2017-08-24T18:39:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/21 "2017-08-24T22:20:47Z")
Instant teleportation to line-of-natural-sight breaks causality more thoroughly. I can’t decide if that’s a mark in its favor. (To wit: I can see distant stars using my natural sight, and going multiple light-years instantly is… well, it’s semantic word-noise which doesn’t make much sense, but to the extent it does, it’s time travel.) Based purely off my own selfish ends, though, I choose to be able to jaunt to anywhere I’ve ever been. I mean, I’ve been to Vienna. I’ve been to San Francisco. I’d love to be in Vienna and San Francisco the same day without dealing with the TSA. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/22 "2017-08-24T23:26:12Z")
I assume that the safety measures include not teleporting into solid objects? Because I’d love the ability to teleport from my house to the lobby of say the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas. But I don’t want to land inside a fat tourist from Dubuque, or immediately get run over by a luggage cart. But really, I’d pay serious money for Post #12. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/23 "2017-08-24T23:53:40Z")
With the second option, can I add to the list, or is it fixed at the time I . For example, I’ve been to NYC. Say I teleport there, rent a car, do some antiquing in Maine, and then teleport home. On my next teleport, can I teleport to the antique store in Maine (I’ve been there now) or is that off the list since I didn’t go there before I learned to teleport? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/24 "2017-08-25T00:34:21Z")
I’ll take the first plan. It seems far better. As I travel to more places, I create more destinations I can teleport to. It would be great to teleport to Manhattan or New Orleans or Orlando or Toronto or Austin for the day (all places I’ve already been to). And then when I’ve had a fun day, I can zip right back home. Teleporting by line of sight seems pretty limited. It would probably take me twenty steps just to get to my local WalMart. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/25 "2017-08-25T00:46:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > (…) teleport to where the airplane was, directly above some other interesting point. Let yourself fall _almost_ to the ground, then teleport back home. Teleport to that point just above the ground, and drop the rest of the way. Now that location is on your list, too. Repeat for all of the other interesting points you passed over, and you get a whole line of destinations, from one flight. I admire your ingenuity. I, of course, would pass out during the “free fall from 35000 feet” part… and just add the Pearly Gates to my list. :o My preference is for line-of-sight. I used to think line-of-sight teleport would be cool when I was in 3rd grade. Last week, as I was doing my twice-daily “walk one block and climb two floors” to get to work, I started dreaming about it again. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/26 "2017-08-25T02:40:55Z")
Does line-of-sight include the possibility of having intermediate mirrors in the path? And if so, is the traveler allowed to specify the placement of the mirrors, or are you only allowed to take advantage of whatever mirrors you might encounter? OP’s option (1), “by conventional means” seems to imply transportation at more-or-less normal speeds. Option (2) is more ambiguous: Is this teleportation instantaneous or nearly so, or at more “normal” transportation speeds? From OP’s thread title: > [@](#): > > **When you absolutely, positively have to get there NOW!** The hypothetical scenario I’ve had occasion to read about goes something like this: You’re taking your friend for a glider ride but unknown to you, your passenger had jalapeño chili with garlic bread and _salsa muy picante_ for lunch and suddenly, at 15000 feet, he says _we absolutely, positively have to land NOW!_ :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/27 "2017-08-25T03:33:22Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > OP’s option (1), “by conventional means” seems to imply transportation at more-or-less normal speeds. Option (2) is more ambiguous: Is this teleportation instantaneous or nearly so, or at more “normal” transportation speeds? If it took me 6 hours to teleport across the pond to England, I would hope that [The Void Which Binds](http://hyperioncantos.wikia.com/wiki/The_Void_Which_Binds) features comfortable seating, a rest room and in-flight Wi-Fi. No, I’m pretty sure that option (1) concerns instantaneous travel to a place you’ve been before, but _that previous visit_ must have occurred “by conventional methods”. ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/28 "2017-08-25T15:41:21Z")
Teleport anywhere you want but stay off my lawn. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/29 "2017-08-25T16:21:56Z")
I’ll take the places I’ve visited. Would make the commute to work much more pleasant. Line of site does sound intriguing, but unless you have the ability to also bring a companion with you, it’s probably not going to be a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/30 "2017-08-25T16:43:42Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I’ll take the places I’ve visited. Would make the commute to work much more pleasant. I could instantly teleport to work and I’d still show up twenty minutes late with coffee spilled down my shirt and toast crumbs in my beard. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/31 "2017-08-25T16:43:46Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > If you’ve previously traveled there by conventional means. Have you been to the Moon or the ISS before? If we can teleport to the ISS, that gives us a lot more range with a 2-step teleportation process. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/32 "2017-08-25T17:22:45Z")
The first, but then I’ve always been jaunte-y. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580/33 "2017-08-26T02:43:00Z")
Ummm… A few questions: 1. How quick is the reload? 2. Does anyone else have this ability? 3. Does anyone else have similar abilities? Being the legendary martial artist that I claim to be (better than the one I really am, sorry) I think the line-of-sight variant would be an awesome addition to my repertoire, provided I’m not immobilized (even briefly) immediately afterward. In that case it would be more like the AD&D _Shadow Step_ in which I’d anticipate a crippling kick that would otherwise knock my head clean off my shoulders and react by glancing past my opponent and teleporting behind him. _POOF_ Deadly kick misses me and now I’m on his unguarded flank, kicking backward and rupturing his kidney. 😃 But if others have that ability or some ability that counters it, I might have less of an advantage. I might _POOF_ a few yards backward to get out of the way of a sword, only to have my opponent _POOF_ right with me and hack my head off anyway. :eek: Or even if there’s a slow recovery time I’d use it as a superhero gimmick, snatching kids out of the crosswalk just before the runaway truck ploughs through them (q.v. Dean R. Koontz’ Cold Fire) and stuff like that. 🆒 And recovery time is important for the been-there-once variant, as well. Again I wouldn’t want to get stuck immobile somewhere, 'cause I’ve been in a bank vault to retrieve my safe-deposit box a few times and I could imagine popping in after-hours to pull off the perfect heist – but I wouldn’t want to be stuck there hours later when they open the vault the next day. :smack: –G! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-absolutely-positively-have-to-get-there-now/794580.md?page=1)