1/18/2021

On the Shores of a Dream

 600 BCE was a good time.  No airplanes or cars, of course.  Electricity?  Ha!

But crafty men and women and children made crafty things out of whatever, and told crafty tales about whatever (and who knew what they were about, eh?  All those gods)  

You'd get along fine in 600 BCE.  You'd fit right in.  Nothing has changed.

You'd have to use your wits though, or you could get into real trouble.  Just imagine being plopped down on the outskirts of some little town there, in your pajamas.  Nothing else.  Unless you're in the habit of carrying a knife in your pajama pocket, and if that's the case I've got no worries about you making it there.

Have a look around.  What is that, wheat growing over there?  Beans?  Squash?  Lucky you, real heritage stuff!  Maybe you can make yourself useful minding the crops, maybe (with your vastly superior knowledge of gardening) you could make some improvements.  

You see some people, but you'd better, ah, lay low for a bit.  You won't understand whatever language they are speaking, and they won't understand you, and if you think you can rely on gestures to get your point across, how will you know that you aren't inadvertently giving someone the finger?  

No, this is where you'll want to apply everything you know about staying cool.  Be aloof, but not threatening.  Some people will be afraid of you, but others will be curious.  Most of all, act as if you know what you're doing.  Just as you do now.

But you will eventually have to find a way to fit into their society.  Imagine what a great inventor you might become- knowing all the inventions that haven't yet been dreamed up in 600 BCE.  Some pretty basic stuff, actually.  New uses for the wheel.  The concept of a screw, maybe.  You'll undoubtedly see something and go "I wonder why they do it that way" and have an upgrade for them.   

But count on being the mad person who lives out in the wild for at least a little while.  Who knows, you may seem a giant to them.  But eventually, if you're non-threatening enough, someone will come and try to make contact with you.  Oh, you thought you'd march right into town and make all kinds of friends?  

Sure, that's a possibility- if that's who you are.  Do some coin tricks for them!  Sing some nursery rhymes- they won't know the words, but they will understand the meter and the rhyme.  You could be quite entertaining if you know how to work a crowd- and a "please feed me" gesture afterwards should be relatively clear.