Novikov Windows: A Time Travel Novel

Description

In the year 1996, David Singh, a time traveller from the future, coaxes a group of experts to the desolate farmstead of Blackwell’s Rest in remote Australia. He achieves this by showing each recruit an object which convinces them beyond doubt to follow him.

Their mission is to construct a time machine using advanced wormhole-generating and quantum computing technology sent to them from the future. However, as the group begin their task, they learn a grim truth.

Events of the past and future are unalterable. Free will is an illusion. Travelling back in time with knowledge of one’s own future, yet not being able to change anything, can pose an immeasurable psychological burden. This is a Novikov Window, the scenario of being trapped within an unalterable sequence of events, like a passive actor living in a play scripted by fate.

To avoid Novikov Windows, knowledge about the future is closely guarded, breeding suspicion and manipulation amongst the team. Some refuse to accept their lack of control and attempt to alter history. What begins as a thrilling scientific adventure takes a dark turn as the group is faced with increasingly difficult and unethical missions.

Torn apart by their moral and ideological differences, the community frays and each individual struggles to find a sense of purpose and redemption. How can they find hope in the face of impossible decisions, in a universe where there are no choices?