YASID: Time traveler warns of war with Islam

[puppetsock]

So this caused a small stir maybe 15 years ago. A fairly famous
author wrote this short story and published it on his web site.
Maybe it was only ever published on the web site, not sure.

Time traveler appears in the author's study. Short sequence
where the traveler convinces the author who he is. Then there
is a discussion of who he is, that he's a descendant, and that
he's there to warn of impending conflict with various Islamic
countries. Mention is made of various events which will be
infamous shortly. Mention is made of a very long term war.

The story ends when the traveler gives the author a specific
warning which is described as "three words." This causes the
author to be extremely upset, but the traveler departs before
any additional questions can be asked. And the author never
says what the three words were.

So, of course, there is much speculation on what those three
words were.

I can't recall the author. And Googling for "three words"
produces a huge number of not-what-I-was-looking-for hits.

Any help?

[James Nicoll]

Post by puppetsock
So this caused a small stir maybe 15 years ago. A fairly famous
author wrote this short story and published it on his web site.
Maybe it was only ever published on the web site, not sure.

Dan Simmons. Message from Dan, 2005, 2006ish?

https://www.dansimmons.com/news/message/2006_04.htm

If you like that demented raving, you'll love his FLASHBACK, in
which peak oil makes windmills stop working, and which I seem to
recall had a swipe at Canada over the creation of Nunavut.

[Greg Goss]

Post by James Nicoll

Post by puppetsock
So this caused a small stir maybe 15 years ago. A fairly famous
author wrote this short story and published it on his web site.
Maybe it was only ever published on the web site, not sure.

Dan Simmons. Message from Dan, 2005, 2006ish?
https://www.dansimmons.com/news/message/2006_04.htm

At first, I had him confused with Matt Simmons, who predicted the
collapse of Saudi oil in the twokays, and who died "suspiciously" (I
follow conspiracists sometimes) after predicting that we would NEVER
be able to plug Deepwater Horizon.

[Kevrob]

Post by Greg Goss

Post by James Nicoll

Post by puppetsock
So this caused a small stir maybe 15 years ago. A fairly famous
author wrote this short story and published it on his web site.
Maybe it was only ever published on the web site, not sure.

Dan Simmons. Message from Dan, 2005, 2006ish?
https://www.dansimmons.com/news/message/2006_04.htm

At first, I had him confused with Matt Simmons, who predicted the
collapse of Saudi oil in the twokays, and who died "suspiciously" (I
follow conspiracists sometimes) after predicting that we would NEVER
be able to plug Deepwater Horizon.
--

I haven't read much or any of either Simmons.

re: FLASHBACK

https://preview.tinyurl.com/Simmons-FLASHBACK-rasfw OR

https://tinyurl.com/Simmons-FLASHBACK-rasfw resolves to:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!search/Has$20Dan$20Simmons$20truly$20lost$20it$20or$20is$20he$20just$20pandering/rec.arts.sf.written/Hx62mXOLYrE/5-uu4lZZqXcJ

Kevin R

[Quadibloc]

Post by James Nicoll
https://www.dansimmons.com/news/message/2006_04.htm
If you like that demented raving,

I didn't miss the part which would give rise to legitimate criticism.

Are we at war with Islam? Are nearly all Muslims willing to give their lives to kill us?

It doesn't seem like that. And yet although I don't agree with the position that
Islam is our enemy, I _also_ don't agree with the position that only the
terrorists are the problem - and it's a mere coincidence that they come from
Islam, and it's no reflection on that faith at all.

Non-Muslim minority members do suffer serious discrimination in many majority-
Muslim countries. And a significant proportion of the Muslims in those countries
are... content with that.

This can reasonably be seen as being likely to make them sympathetic to the aims
of terrorist groups. If it's God's ordained natural order of things that the
Muslims should be on top, and everyone else should know their place, then Israel
is an abomination, and the countries that prop it up must be crushed... doesn't
that just follow naturally?

So terrorist groups have a... large pool of potential recruits. Fortunately,
unlike terrorist organizations, governments have... addresses. It is not in
their interests to let the terrorists operate and recruit freely in their
territories. The Arab Spring created a bit of a power vacuum in a few places,
but America won't be making that mistake again. Not that I think it was actually
created by agents of Obama, and it is perfectly reasonable for the U.S. to
support free elections anywhere in the world; it can't be responsible for every
voter's poor judgment.

Right now, it looks like the war against terrorism is slowly being won, and we
will luck out. And I think that we would get as ruthless as we needed to be long
before there was a "Eurabia" to worry about if things were headed in the opposite direction.

John Savard

[J. Clarke]

On Mon, 28 May 2018 12:00:20 -0700 (PDT), Quadibloc

Post by Quadibloc

Post by James Nicoll
https://www.dansimmons.com/news/message/2006_04.htm
If you like that demented raving,

I didn't miss the part which would give rise to legitimate criticism.
Are we at war with Islam? Are nearly all Muslims willing to give their lives to kill us?
It doesn't seem like that. And yet although I don't agree with the position that
Islam is our enemy, I _also_ don't agree with the position that only the
terrorists are the problem - and it's a mere coincidence that they come from
Islam, and it's no reflection on that faith at all.
Non-Muslim minority members do suffer serious discrimination in many majority-
Muslim countries. And a significant proportion of the Muslims in those countries
are... content with that.
This can reasonably be seen as being likely to make them sympathetic to the aims
of terrorist groups. If it's God's ordained natural order of things that the
Muslims should be on top, and everyone else should know their place, then Israel
is an abomination, and the countries that prop it up must be crushed... doesn't
that just follow naturally?
So terrorist groups have a... large pool of potential recruits. Fortunately,
unlike terrorist organizations, governments have... addresses. It is not in
their interests to let the terrorists operate and recruit freely in their
territories. The Arab Spring created a bit of a power vacuum in a few places,
but America won't be making that mistake again.

Why not? You really think that politicians are capable of learning
from history? One would think that Vietnam was sufficient to teach
this lesson but apparently not.

Post by Quadibloc
Not that I think it was actually
created by agents of Obama, and it is perfectly reasonable for the U.S. to
support free elections anywhere in the world; it can't be responsible for every
voter's poor judgment.
Right now, it looks like the war against terrorism is slowly being won, and we
will luck out. And I think that we would get as ruthless as we needed to be long
before there was a "Eurabia" to worry about if things were headed in the opposite direction.
John Savard

[Quadibloc]

Post by J. Clarke
On Mon, 28 May 2018 12:00:20 -0700 (PDT), Quadibloc

Post by Quadibloc
The Arab Spring created a bit of a power vacuum in a few places,
but America won't be making that mistake again.

Why not? You really think that politicians are capable of learning
from history?

I meant they wouldn't make that mistake again *in that specific part of the
world*, not that they would apply the fundamental principle more generally -
your point is well taken.

John Savard