I discussed this question extensively with Samuel Madden, a young Irish inventor born in 1686, who was the first to connect to your "Internet". It's due to his invention that I'm able to write you this letter. In fact, the fundamental question is not "What happens when you change future?" but "Is it possible to change future?"

The answer is: No, it's impossible. We can build future, or destiny, or "timeline" as you might call it, by making descisions, and we're doing it all the time - but we cannot change timeline. Change is per se a temporal process, a succession of events on the timeline. Changing timeline would mean that the timeline follows a second timeline, which is per se impossible. There is no timeline "before" and timeline "after", because "before" and "after" are notions within the timeline.

Consider time as a giant clockwork. The 1700's cogwheels link to the 1710s cogwheels, which link to the 1720s cogwheels and so on.



In case of knowlege moving backwards to the past, as by Madden's invention, there is a loop in the chain of cogwheels - but the clockwork is build such that the loop does not break the mechanism. Why? Honestly I don't know. As Christian, I believe that the creator built the clockwork such that it does not break. Others may think that a Demiurge or Fortuna or whoever build thousands of clockworks, most of them defective, and we are part of the clockwork that works. Why is our clockwork working? The question has no sense - it's like standing on an island and wondering why the creator put some land just under your feet.

If you still wonder why looking into the future does not change present, consider it the other way round: There has never been a present where I was not looking into the future. If you look into your history books, you may discover that up to now, I have always loved wars. But you may also discover that on my deathbed, I will advise my successor not to imitate me, particularly concerning wars with our neighbours. What your history books don't tell is that I changed my opinion after having contact with 21th century's ideas, in particular the ideas that war is a sign of failor of politics, and that peace is a constructive element of civilization. I even consider demanding peace to Habsburg to end the current war - maybe next year. You can look up in your history books whether or not I will do - personally I try to avoid to inform myself on my own future decisions, it would be like cheating in a cards game by looking what cards are coming. Again, I don't use what I know of your time to change the future - only to construct it.

Two questions may remain. Firstly, how can I say that I construct future while believing that the clockwork of time has already been constructed? In other words, where is the free will in all that? Honestly I don't know. I do believe in destiny, and I do believe in free will - although the two ideas seem contradictory. It's a question too big for our mind to answer.

Is there a destiny or a free will? Both, and none of them. Is light a wave or a stream or particles? Both, and none of them - according to your scientists. Is a pyramid a triangle or a square? Both, and none of them.

The second question is, why does history not know of my secret connection to the future? Because I keep it a secret. Not because I fear a change of future - this is impossible. But because I fear another phenomenon: Cultural shock. When two cultures on different stages of development clash together on a large scale, the effet is usually catastrophic for the less developped one. It happened to the natives in european colonies, and it would happen to 18th century France if the whole population would start surfing in the Internet.

It's for the same reason that Samuel Maddens "Memoirs Of the Twentieth Century", to appear 1733, will only be vaguely inspired by what he learned about your time. At least that's what he promised me.