Retrodictions of Sumadastron the Time-Lost: introduction 2

Retrodictions of Sumadastron the Time-Lost

Introduction

By Sumadastron the Time-Lost

About Himself

Poor Sumadastron, lost in time!

One physic law he could outfox;

he hid his prophesies in rhyme

and thus avoided paradox.

He predicted no plots, he scried no ploys;

no battles he foresaw;

but he babbled of baths and baby toys

and universal law.

He raved of an age of wonder;

of magic mechanical tricks

of laboring bolts of thunder

and of thinking arithmetics.

He thus foretold what he knew best

and altered no-one’s fate;

so when at last his jest is guessed

by then ’twill be too late.

Until that day, no king nor priest

nor a knight, to win a bet

will pay attention in the least

to the Man from Isn’t Yet!

Poor Sumadastron, time-lost fool!

The cosmos will reject

the least exception to the rule

that cause precedes effect!

So fact with fiction he would mix

for those with eyes to see;

born fifteen hundred and sixty-six,

died fifteen zero three.

Commentary by Brother Quark:

This deluded fool, claiming to be from a place that does not yet exist, sets himself up as a prophet of an age ruled by godless sorcery and natural philosophy. He hides his confusion behind the excuse of ‘time paradox’ – whatever that is! – and claims that his incomprehensible visions would be clear to his absurd futurians, and not to us, due to the limits of our knowledge. This much I know; an era as he describes would be an age of miracles and wonders.

Recommendation: suppress. Keep a copy in the Library, but no more.

Commentary by N. Hellerstein:

This is an age of miracles and wonders; but only a Sumadastron would notice it as such.