Time Travel and Treasure Hunt Talk. A Guest Blog on the Future or Past of Treasure Hunts.
Posted on: 11/11/2024Introduction by Tim Carter (Owner of Black Cat Treasure Hunts)
Last week I was happy to announce that I was writing my 200th blog. Almost as soon as I had released this joyful news, I realised that I had asked top author, Ian Hornett, to write some guest blogs for me in the past. Instead of celebrating my 198th blog I decided to ask him again. He will tell you more about the theme of this blog and why. Teaser...Do you need a stocking filler for a young teenager? Read on! No?...Well read on anyway, it`s a very amusing and thought-provoking article.
Black Cat Treasure Hunts has asked, is asking, will ask me to write a blog about how time travel might, has, will affect – is currently affecting – a treasure hunt. I’m sure you have already seen, will see, are seeing, how confusing things can get when you throw time travel into the equation. It makes the use of verbs difficult, for a start, but would it mess up a treasure hunt? Well, let’s see (have seen, will see…etc)
Most things we do are in 3D – the 3 dimensions of length, width and height – and treasure hunts are no exception. If you’ve ever experienced a treasure hunt – particularly a Black Cat Treasure Hunt – they will invariably involve walking or running along places (eg the length of Brighton pier); across places (eg the width of Brighton pier); and, if you’re not looking where you are going, down places (the height of Brighton pier). But we only need to look at a clock to know that the most important dimension to deal with is time.
In life, we are often up against time, and treasure hunts are no exception. Whether it’s in a fun, ‘We need to finish this hunt before the pub shuts’ kinda way, or in a still fun but a much more competitive, ‘We’re in it to win it, let’s stomp all over the opposition’ kinda way, time is an important factor. Time travel is definitely a way to ensure victory. Getting to the clues early is invaluable. Travel back in time and you can go at a leisurely pace, take all day, spend the whole evening in the pub, and still be at the finish point first to claim your prize.
To give you that edge, all you need is a time machine – a TARDIS works pretty well – or be like my time-travelling teenaged ninja, Derrin, in my book OUT OF TIME, and get an adaptation to your temporal lobe which enables you to connect to a supercomputer (built deep underground because a meteorite has savaged the Earth of the future) and go when and where you like. All pretty straightforward. But what factors, if you do choose to go down the time-travelling route, should you consider?
Time Sensitivity
They talk about things being time sensitive. A simple misread of numbers could mean that rather than going back to 10:15 that morning to give you more time to solve a clue, you could end up in the year 1015. If that’s the case and you’re looking for a clue in the Brighton Pavilion, you’re going to have to wait 772 years for them to even start building it, and another 35 years to finish it. My advice is to check you have the right time and that the building is there before searching in or around it.
Technology
The technology can be an issue. If you go back too far to the Regency Period, for example, the phone signal can be very dodgy. And as for getting connected during the Cretaceous Period, you might as well be in the middle of modern-day Seaford for all the good it will do you.
Teammates
Of course, rather than borrowing the TARDIS, you could actually invite the good Doctor onto your treasure hunt team. As well as being able to ensure accurate time travel, he would make an excellent teammate. He is problem-solver and lateral-thinker – always useful – and his sonic screwdriver could come in handy for dismantling the ‘No Entry’ signs you want to use without breaking the law, so you can take shortcuts.
But be careful who you choose amongst the Doctor Who fraternity. Don’t ask the Daleks. They’re sense of time is erratic, at best – always late for dinner parties and when they do arrive, the don’t know how to use the cutlery properly – and they’re hopeless in places like Lewes Castle because of the stairs.
The Butterfly Effect
‘A butterfly flapping its wings in China can cause a tornado in Texas’ is an expression all time-travelling treasure-hunters should be wary of. Bear this in mind as you travel round Sussex or London on your treasure hunt. Don’t go to China or Texas, and don’t aggravate butterflies anywhere.
Is Time-travel on a Treasure Hunt Cheating?
There is nothing in the Black Cat Treasure Hunts rulebook to say you can’t. Even if there was, you could go back in time and change it.
So, would I recommend time travel as part of a treasure hunt? On balance, probably not. You’ll have everything you need on a Black Cat Treasure Hunt without it.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an excellent stag do treasure hunt in Brighton to go to yesterday.
Ian Hornett
Author and Time Traveller
When Ian isn’t out aggravating butterflies in China, he writes books. The most recent is Out of Time – a twisty tale about a time-travelling teenager who travels back in time to try to save the planet.
Links to all of Ian’s books on Amazon, including to Out of Time, can be found by using theOut of Time link .
