The Last Refuge

"If you could go back in time and kill Hitler, would you?" 

The room erupted in groans, catcalls and a flurry of cheap beer bottles being thrown at the questioner.  Through the haze of pot smoke, and the general complaints, one voice penetrated.

"That's a bit too boring, you'll have to ask something smarter than that for this crowd!"

Jim eyed the man who had put to words what the others had clearly felt.  That this was an "Of course" question, and beneath the contempt of college men and women who were assembled for a night made up of equal parts of intellectual discourse, drinking, toking and mutual admiration.

"I don't mean to sound cliche", Jim said, "but the question is of some importance.  Because I can go back in time."

While a few greeted this with more laughter and jeers, others were already turning their attention anywhere else, in dismissal of what they felt to be a stupider than usual drunken claim.

Saddened, Jim wandered out to the terrace, but the man who had advised him about asking something smarter, and a woman, followed immediately behind him.

"Were you really not warned?  Who brought you?", asked Tanner, the man who's voice had rose above the others.  Jim eyed him momentarily before looking to the skies and said, "No one.  I had heard this was a kind of an intellectual club that dealt with life boat ethics and other conundrums now and then.  Because, you see, I have a conundrum."

"What sort of one?", asked the women with an odd intensity, with Tanner nodding as if that was his question.

"I'm a convert to the Non-Aggression Principle.", Jim started.  He held up his hands at once as if to ward off any criticisms, "I'm not here for you to vote Libertarian or go full on Anarchist.  It was a philosophical decision that came about due to my military service.  I can't take another human life, or even initiate force upon them, no matter the alleged justness of the cause, but well, you know.  Hitler.  Six million people murdered."

"12 million", Tanner said, "Six million Jews, but another six million gypsies, homosexuals, trade unionists, Jehovah's Witnesses, communists and dozens of others that everyone always forgets about."

"Sorry," Jim started, but Tanner broke in again, "And why Hitler?  Because every movie about a holocaust is about him?  Why Hitler and his 12 millions instead of King Leopold and his 20 millions?  Or Stalin and his 50 millions?  Or Mao, eh?  Some credit him - if 'credit' is the right word - with 100 million deaths!"

"Sorry again," Jim continued, looking a bit flustered.  "I guess everyone leaps to Hitler, it's just a cultural thing, but you're right, the others are surely as death worthy.  If not more so.  But my problem would remain the same for each of them."

"I don't see how," Tanner said, "For if you had such a time machine, and did not kill each of them, it would be like you were an accessory!  So problem solved, just do it, or be guilty of murder yourself!"

Shaking his head Jim said, "I didn't say I had a time machine, I said I could go back in time.  It has to do with neurophysics, an esoteric field of which my late Uncle was the only practitioner, at least to my knowledge.  He believed that if various tachyonic particles existed, that a means could be found of turning our own thoughts, our own consciousness into a similar FTL state, and thus go backwards in time."

"Sounds like nonsense", said Tanner, "but even if that were true, you couldn't go past your year of birth, or what would your neural net be 'on'?"

"I don't know all the details of his process", said Jim, "but I know that he did solve that.  It had to do with the 'field' of your 'you' adhering to any available brain and resting on that."

"Well, there you go, my pacifistic friend!", exclaimed Tanner, "Just 'adhere' yourself to Hitler's brain and have him not do all those terrible things!"

The woman looked interested in that, but was already shaking her head.  Ignoring her, or not noticing her, Jim said, "No, that won't work.  For one, it's a real fight to do anything besides something brief, so I couldn't do it for a life time.  And so we're back to killing him, by hurling him into traffic or some other sure fire means of death.  And that violates the NAP."

"N-A-P?", Tanner asked.  "Non-Aggression Principle", replied Jim, "I take it seriously.  So I'm left with the means to stop Hitler and many other murderers, but I can't."

"How about if Hitler just wasn't born?", Tanner asked.  "Like go and adhere to his dad's neighbor's brain nine months before Hitler was conceived and as Mr. Schicklegruber heads up his walk, have the neighbor ask, 'What time is it?'  This will delay him entering the home, and the subsequent love making will be delayed and thus someone else will be born!  Maybe a daughter!"

Jim laughed ruefully, "That's clever, but it's still taking a life.  And clearly we can't abort - if that's the right term - Adolf before he is even alive to do good or bad."

"I don't see why.", said Tanner, "I've heard of this kind of thing before, can't you libertarians use 'retaliatory' force?  Like if someone hits you, or even is about to hit you or another, you can hit them?  Well, Adolf will be 'about' to kill millions when he's all grown up!"

"Yes", said Jim, "But in this case, Adolf would not be exercising force against me, from my perspective, and the only force he'd be initiating would be against folks that I would know were long dead.  I don't think this then rises to me killing him, or pre-aborting him!"

"I think it does, and I think that even some people I know who are libertarians would be up for it.", said Tanner, with some disgust in his voice, "I think you're using this philosophic principle as some kind of cover for squeamishness.  I'm thankful for your service and all, but I think you're way off base."

"Look", sighed Jim.  "I'm no pacifist, but I truly do believe in the NAP.  If I wait till Hitler initiates force, then my retaliatory force will be too late, his men would carry on without him.  And if I kill him before he attains leadership, then I'm killing a man who hasn't killed anyone yet.   Maybe I will end up having to do just that, though.  Maybe.  But if I can find a better solution, I'd like to."

"You men!"

Both Jim and Tanner looked over in surprise at the woman who had been mostly listening up to now.  Jim arched his eyebrows, Tanner just smiled.

"What?", they both asked almost at once.

Taking a deep breath, the woman said, "You discuss the leaping to Hitler above all others, but what of this leap to violence?  Why must you men always leap to killing for a solution?  So ingrained is this that even a man back from fighting overseas, and swearing off violence, still thinks that violence solves things!  Maybe it can - but must that always be tried first?  Can nothing else solve problems?"

"Well," Jim started, but the woman wasn't done.  "Remember Asimov?", she asked.  "He said 'Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.'  And based on that, your gender as a whole is pretty incompetent!"

Jim looked at her curiously, but Tanner gave a snort of contempt and said, "Man bashing?  This is where I get off, have fun you two!  Hope you don't get lost in time!" and strolled back in doors chuckling to himself.

Jim looked at her and softly asked, "I'm still listening.  And I read the Foundation Trilogy as a kid.  Is there something I've been missing?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed.  "You're missing everything but force!  There are ways of stopping Hitler that don't involve killing him!"

"Oh," said Jim disappointment apparent in his tone, "You mean talking to him or reasoning with him?"

The woman laughed.  "No, but thanks for thinking me a great fool!  I meant something even surer than that.  Bribe him!"

"Bribe him?", said Jim incredulously.  "To not kill millions of people who he thinks are deserving of it?  That's your solution?"

"No!" she shot back. "Not at all, and thanks for underestimating me again!  Go back to when he was a penniless artist, but instead of adhering to his brain, adhere to the brain of whatever guy is in charge of accepting applications at whatever art institute he applied at!  Have him accepted with a full scholarship!  Surely your over ride of another can last long enough to do that?"

Jim looked stunned.  "Not so easy as you think, and it will take some research to see if there was such a potentially pivotal event..."

But she interrupted at once.  "It can be almost anything that turns him off the path of anger and resentment.  Anything at all.  If you don't want to reward him, have someone delay him on the way to the Beer Hall Putsch.  Without the panache of having gone to jail, his political career would have ended right there!"

Jim looked at her closely.  "You seem to speak as if you believe this.  What brought you to this party?"

"You!" she exclaimed.  "I'm the great granddaughter of Anne Frank, who while only a housewife and loving mother on my timeline, became quite popular in tragedy here if I understand right."

"The process of my uncle's...?" Jim tentatively started.  "Yes!" she said.  "I'm adhering to the brain of this student here, who since she was to have been passed out from a roofie allows me to use her to converse with relative ease!"

"But if you're from the future", Jim started again.  "No!", she said, "I'm from the side!  Well, sidewise and nextwards, if you know what I mean!  The side that will have been created by your interference!  Someone had to observe how it started, and given what we knew of this timeline, I got preferential treatment!"

Jim pondered that.  Then he laughed.  He said, "Come along then, I guess we have much to talk about - but we do at least have plenty of time!"