The ELI Event B007R5LTNS

especially with regard to the development of our militaristic system of government and its technological monopoly.
    “Sort by significance,” he directed the screen. “The topmost items in this view are those that factor most heavily into our world’s current state, at over ninety-three percent each. As you can see, they include a wide variety of events, with both positive and negative connotations. Natural disasters, scientific breakthroughs, military actions, environmental conservation, political assassinations, medical advances, and so on. Although each event is important by itself, there seems to be no common thread, nothing that obviously leads from one event to the next as they shaped what we know as our present time. But there’s more.
    “Sort by date, descending.” The list immediately reordered itself. “Now look at the last few items. Chronologically, these are the earliest of the history-shaping events in the series.” Pan-Li paused, knowing the others would see a connection.
    “Of course,” Lucinda said immediately, pointing at the screen. “The last few items here are the same as the first few on the other view.”
    “Precisely,” Denes agreed. “But in reverse order. The first view was sorted by significance, and this view is sorted by date. That means—”
    “Earlier events have greater effect than later ones,” Lucinda finished.
    Pan-Li nodded. “That is my inference as well. This correlation suggests that the closer an event is to our current time, the less historical effect it has. Conversely, the more temporally distant an event, the more far-reaching its consequences.”
    “At least to us, in our here and now,” Denes interjected.
    “Correct,” said Pan-Li.
    Denes took up the line of reasoning. “And if that is true for our present, our current reality, then presumably it’s true for any reality, any timeline generated by any series of events, when viewed from the downstream end of the timeline.”
    “Also correct.”
    “So,” Lucinda offered, “Granting that standard cause-and-effect holds, we’re drawn to one inescapable conclusion: The first significant event in a given timeline is the most significant event in that timeline. There would be little point in, say, preventing Lokus’s birth, because by that time society’s path is already set. If Lokus didn’t exist, someone else would fulfill his role.”
    “Just so,” Pan-Li agreed. “Regardless of the perceived significance of such a recent event, its temporal importance is eclipsed by older, more historically significant events. Changing recent history would therefore have little impact on our timeline.”
    Denes nodded. “Then there’s no choice. Clearly, our strategy must be to change the earliest significant event for our reality, the first milestone that sets our world on its course to this horrid present. We must try to change that one event and let the change ripple downstream through the timeline—or more accurately, let it generate a new timeline—and then return to our own time.”
    “And hope things are… different,” Aurora added quietly, starting to well up again.
    They looked at the wall display. At the end of the chronological list the last item, their target event, stood out as though it were in neon.
    2015: COMPUTER-CONTROLLED WEAPON DESTROYS LOS ANGELES. NINE MILLION DIE.
    “This catastrophe is generally referred to in the historical record as the Eli Event ,” Pan-Li explained, “although the source of that appellation thus far eludes me. Nonetheless, its significance is undeniable. Through either error or malfeasance, nearly three hundred years ago a sentient computer directed a satellite-based weapon to fire upon Los Angeles, destroying every above-ground structure and killing every living thing in the area. The greatest tragedy of the twenty-first century, this event directly precipitated the worldwide ban on sentient machines.
    “Our temporal analysis software indicates that this prohibition on intelligent computers was a primary factor in shaping our timeline, in leading society away from computer-assisted problem solving and toward a militaristic approach to nearly everything. It is clear that this Eli Event, while by no means the only significant occurrence in our history, is certainly the starting point for society’s slow and steady descent to its current condition.”
    Pan-Li took a breath and offered his conclusion. “As we are currently in agreement about changing