Time Lords

 

Finally, there was the Chronodrome

The Chronodrome experience, which has become a recent regular feature of life in Opoul-Perillos, has spurred us and several others on to learn more about what is generally termed “time travel”. The topic has been a favourite of the science fiction community for a very long time, in both novels and films, but any scientific approach to it seems to have remained a subject few have touched upon – and which is believed by many to be outside the realms of science, or the possible. Then again, didn’t going to the moon once fall into the same bailiwick?

Like going to the moon in the past, time travel remains a voyage with several unknowns. First, we need to distinguish between trying to create time travel, and being the observers of an experiment. It is the latter that is part of the Chronodrome experience: us waiting for “them” - our descendents – to materialise, or send some type of message to us.
Whereas the Chronodrome tries to approach this subject in a scientific method, inviting our descendents to appear at a specific time and location, it does imply that our descendents have perfected this type of travel. For at first, we should perhaps see a more ambigious approach to precision, as is the case in “The Twelve Monkeys”, where the experiment is seldom correct to the time and place someone is sent.
Finally, we also need to question what a time travel experiment would look like: the wholesale apparition of a person; a type of hologram; a time disturbance or anomaly only registered by precise machinery? And as such, we could argue that events such as UFOs, or apparitions, including those of the “Virgin Mary”, and/or the solar phenomenon in Fatima, where the sun apparently stood still (and hence time?), could all potentially be signs of time travel, in which today’s Mankind is not the instigator, but the observer.

The Palace of Versailles

On Saturday, August 10, 1901, two young English women, Miss Moberly and Miss Jourdain, visited the palace of Versailles. Around 5pm, they strolled in the park and searched for the direction of the “Petit Trianon”. They found a small doorway in a wall that allowed them to enter the old domaine of the queen; but as soon as they had entered, they felt as if something bizarre had happened to them. Later, they would argue that they felt like entering an illusion, a dream. The trees, the leaves, the landscape seemed to take on a more rigid format, like a tapestry.
The two tourists crossed paths with people that were strangely dressed: following the fashion of the 18th century. They tried to exchange some words with these people, but with little success. Soon, they believed that amongst these people was a woman who resembled strongly at Marie-Antoinette. At that moment in time, a young man, who appeared to be a valet, led them to another small gate which they entered, thus apparently re-entering the park of the palace, with the feeling that they once again were in the present and reality felt as it should feel.

The experience of these two ladies intrigued not only the poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau, but also Albert Einstein. Whereas the former, an artist, could be expected to be interested in such phenomena; the latter, a physicist and one of the greatest scientists of all times, is a rather odd occurrence. Indeed, it seems that Einstein was interested in this and similar events – an aspect of the man some prefer to hide, rather than bring to the forefront. Both pondered the possibility that somehow, time was contracted between 1789 and 1901, for a brief period of “time”, and for Cocteau, it would become immortalised in the opening scenes of the movie “The Testament of Orpheus”, in which he cast himself as a timetraveller.

Reality and relativity

René Alleau, well-known for his research in esotericism, also tackled the bizarre incident. “We have supposed that there exists at least one real fact in the experience of the two tourists,” he wrote, “and a possible theory, namely that of relativity. Based on these two notions, we have applied a classic interpretation and assume the problem has been resolved. In our hypothesis, Miss Moberly and Miss Jourdain, have really seen scenes that occurred in the past.”
Alleau added that as the phenomenon could only be labelled an anomaly, there was a need to make sure that the incident was verified and witnessed by others. Such independent observation was vital for any type of scientific recognition of what might have happened.

To achieve this, Alleau began to trawl through press clippings of that day, and soon learned that other anomalous events had occurred at the same time that the two English ladies had their experience. Some of these involved the families of the Bourbons and the Imperial family of Austria, to which Marie-Antoinette was linked. Indeed, Prince Henry, the great-grandson of Louis-Philippe, had died that same day.
Several other elements caught Alleau’s attention, but we will content ourselves with the conclusion he drew: that events occurred within a family, in a place, centering on Marie-Antoinette and her descendents, which somehow caused a “time anomaly”, in which the two women became innocent – and largely unaffected – bystanders. If we accept this conclusion, then we should note that this anomaly was created at the time of someone’s death – when indeed “time” ceases to be for that person and someone is said to go through a “gateway” to the “beyond”: a time portal?

Is this possible? Scientists are sceptical. For some, the two women merely stumbled upon a costume party – or dreamed the entire incident. Others argue time does not even exist; that it is merely a succession of instances. Past and future do not exist, we are constantly in the present, and any travel through such “time” is hence impossible.
Still, let us note that this is not the opinion of each and all. The theory of relativity and quantum mechanics has upset the traditional concept of “time-space”, and hence what is possible and what is not possible.

Shortcuts in time

There are certain particles, mesons, that are born in space, approximately 30 km above Earth, which have a very shortlived existence, just a few millionths of a second. These mesons “fall” towards us and despite their incredible brevity of life, scientists have been able to capture them, or at least, slow them down to study them.
Immediately, one oddity is noted: between the point where they are formed and where they fall to, before they “disappear”, they require more time for the voyage than their lifespan. Question: how do they manage to get there? Likely answer: by not observering the “laws” of time, but apparently by taking a shortcut. If, of course, our notion of time and its “laws” are indeed what we think they are, for rather than suggest the mesons behave atypical, we could just assume they behave typical, and our theories about time are just wrong.
The topic came to the attention of Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier, who in “Morning of the Magcians” pondered the notion of how these mesons took shortcuts through time. Furthermore, by interfering with them, scientists had given these mesons an almost “immortal” lifespan, i.e. worth several hours, in which they were studied by these scientists. This was accomplished by subjecting them to powerful magnetic forces – magnetic forces, it should be added that also play with gravity, such as the Earth, and which, apparently, could cause airplanes to crash, as it deregulates some of the important navigational instruments on board.

Elsewhere, quantum physics and the study of black holes has pondered the possibility that black holes may be able to send us back through time. Such black holes are the result of “natural processes”, occurring everywhere in space: it is the future of some types of stars, whereby a series of physical reactions result in this black hole.
The name originates from the scientific explanation that because of the intense gravity that has been created, anything that is nearby, will fall into it and nothing can escape from it, not even the photons that constitute light. Hence: a hole, hence dark.
Though this means that we cannot easily observe these black holes in the sky, they nevertheless send out X-rays, which in 1972 was for the first time identified in Cygnus X-1. Two years later, Stephen Hawking argued that these black holes emitted this radiation permanently. Because this was theoretically impossible, there was a need to find an answer to this mystery.

The entry and exit paradox

Hawking pondered whether it is possible – at least theoretically – that a type of particle is able to leave such a black hole, and which would thus mean it is travelling back in time. It is an intriguing paradox, which some have explained by the example of the officer who drives out of the building backwards, in the hope of making people believe he is entering the building. It’s a silly example, but it illustrates how an optical illusion could trick us; and that’s the same for this particle.
The experience is similar to something that happened to a member of the Société Perillos. One summer’s day in 2005, he was walking with friends in Perillos and witnessed a phenomenon: a type of grey tube was moving along, travelling horizontally, at a speed that allowed for a good observation.
This “tube”, when caught on camera, appeared to be leaving a trail. But our observer noted that what was seen on the photograph was deceptive: the “trail” was actually ahead of the object: rather than leave a trail like planes do, this object seemed to project something ahead of itself, along which it set its course. We can only wonder whether we should see a parallel between this and the theoretical particle that moves backwards in time out of the black hole. Let us also note that Jacques Bergier often wrote about UFOs, and said he believed in UFOs, but not in extra-terrestrial beings!

UFOs and Time, to quote Jacques Bergier

For Bergier, extra-terrestrial beings did not exist – at least not as a presence on this Earth. It is therefore all the more remarkable to note that this man nevertheless firmly believed in the UFO phenomenon. “It is mathematically impossible, based on the distance that separates us from possible inhabitated planets, that they manifest themselves so frequently as the proposed galactic citizens that populate the UFOs.”
For Bergier, a UFO was not a spaceship, but a timeship. They were temporal capsules, created by our future descendents, who performed “time tourism” in them, visiting their distant ancestors – us – if not our own ancestors. For Bergier, this was the main reason why they never interfered with Mankind. Any such action, he felt, might have serious consequences in the future – the old paradox that was so popular in science fiction, specifically the Back to the Future trilogy.
Bergier argued that the more credible UFO sightings corresponded perfectly with the scientific premise of a time capsule appearing – and disappearing – into our dimension. The technical aspect of such items would involve “materialisation” and “dematerialisation”, not only of people, but of capsules – objects – in which they travelled.

Fantasy and science, according to Carl Sagan

Timetravel, UFOs… such topics are, a priori, largely within the subject of speculation, if not fantasy. But some scientists, like Carl Sagan, have studied and tackled these subjects. Sagan was a man who tried to popularise science. Though he felt UFOs as a research field bore little credibility, he was nevertheless interested in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, as is in evidence in his novel, “Contact”. In it, he speculates on the possibility of how an experiment to travel through space actually seems to become an experiment to travel through time and space, in which someone is sent to a distant place/time, to be returned, yet a voyage that may have taken – should have taken – years, decades, if not millennia, only lasted less than second.
The novel was part of a larger problem, in which Sagan tried to educate the public that time and space were linked, and that a space machine, by default was also something of a timetravel device.

Albert Einstein and the Zero Point

Relativity, and its theory, was illustrated by Albert Einstein (1879-1955). In his time, his professors said that nothing would ever come of him – how wrong they were proven to be. Still, when formulating his theory, he left out certain considerations, which other scientists later picked up; things like the Zero Point Field and other obscure aspects of reality that few considered to be worthy of much study, but which recently have become ever more prominent – if not hopeful – as for example new sources of energy!
Things such as the Zero Point Field and other aspects of quantum physics suggest that two objects – not only at sub-atomic level, but (based on recent experiments) at atomic level too – can be linked across space. Even though there is no “physical relationship” between them, somehow, a relationship can exist or be created between these – whether that is at a distance of two metres… or ten light years. It is an intriguing argument, which some have used to explain things such as extra-sensory perception, etc.
The question is also whether it could be used to create a “bridge” across time and space. For if object a and b are in two different places and have a relationship, and if consciousness is indeed a cornerstone of quantum physics, could consciousness interact across time and space – could consciousness travel through time?
If the answer were to be yes, than the experience of the two English women in the garden of Versailles would all of a sudden be explained.

Quantum physics and similar understanding has upset the paradigm that argued that one could not travel faster than the speed of light and hence could never travel forward or backwards in time. This old dogma has now become obsolete from the debate.

Time folding

From 1979 onwards, there has been scientific speculation – specifically focusing on drawing possible time travel machines –known as “Project Orion” or “Project Titled Above”. These rather little-known thought experiments involved a series of tubes… quite like what someone saw in the skies over Perillos in 2005. But that, for sure, must merely be a coincidence?
But it is not the only incident that has occurred in or near Perillos. Take for example the plateau of Salveterra. This enigmatic rock formation resembles somewhat to the infamous Devil’s Mountain in the United States, where Steven Spielberg had his spaceship land. The Devil – or 666 – as in the Perillos postcode? But let us remain within the bailiwick of observation, not speculation.
The site of Salveterra is said to have been chosen by Pascale Guillaume for the reason that it is highly visible, and hence highly recognisable, by any traveller. Indeed. But this plateau has seen other strange events happen. Indeed, Spielberg had his spaceship land on Devil’s Mountain, but highly credible reports exist that argue that similar UFO-like devices were seen above the plateau. Some even argue that creatures were seen “jumping” from the plateau into the ship. We may immediately ponder too much into the direction of Steven Spielberg and an extra-terrestrial presence, but let us note that the entire region is quite notorious for enigmatic light phenomena, linked with sightings of creatures and lights… and caves. We think here primarily of Lourdes, but also Fatima – which may seem far, but in reality is not.

Gateways

Caves with strange apparitions may seem to be the bailiwick of religion, but investigations of Fatima have left some observers with the firm conviction that it bears all the appearances of a “UFO sighting”. Perhaps we should not look towards ET, but like Bergier, look towards to a denizen from our future – or an entity that is not subject to “time”, such as the infamous timelord Dr. Who? And that may explain why these series of apparitions were apparently able to predict the future – if we are to believe the revelations that have been made by the Vatican about the nature of the secrets these young children were meant to pass on to the highest echelons of the Church hierarchy.

The cave of Lourdes was notorious as a “gateway” to some other realm before Bernadette saw “the Virgin”. We can only wonder whether centuries before the Chronodrome, another cave, in Perillos, was equally notorious and was considered, by Ramon de Perillos, as an entrance to another dimension – another world. If that were the case, then the Chronodrome may be but the most recent incarnation of a time travel experience that has befallen the region.

André Douzet & Filip Coppens
With thanks to Pascal Guillaume, for his audacity to defy time