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From: rpw3@fortune.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: The Easy Road to Riches - (nf)
Message-ID: <3033@fortune.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 11-Apr-84 04:06:30 EST
Article-I.D.: fortune.3033
Posted: Wed Apr 11 04:06:30 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 12-Apr-84 05:15:41 EST
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#R:brl-vgr:-331400:fortune:9900032:000:5361
fortune!rpw3    Apr 10 22:54:00 1984

+--------------------
| So, before this gets any longer, I'll sum up by asking: "How DO I
| get rich by time travel?"
| 
| Will
+--------------------

You said it yourself. Information. Inflation. Both work in your favor.

But first, there is one other rule that we must add to the game to
make it non-trivial -- you may not time-travel to any time futurewards
of when you would have been had you not begun travelling. That is,
except for returning to a point of departure, you may not travel
into the future. (The rule may be relaxed to allow "now" + "time
spent in past" without changing anything.)

Why do I say the game is trivial without this rule? Because if you
can travel into your "personal" future, all you have to do is be
in business here-and-now and occasionally hop forward a bit to bring
back some useful tidbit. Nobody will question your 1984 $20 bill when
you go to buy two year's Wall Street Journal (on microfiche) in 1986.
"Puts and calls, here I come!" Just don't be too greedy or the SEC
will come a'calling.

Likewise, I must assume another "rule" -- you are not interested
in setting up your major residence in a past time. Otherwise, see
previous example. (Hey, dentistry gets LOTS better, every year.
Just five years ago, you would have lost that tooth!)

O.k., so you're going to live here, and fool around back then.

Overall, the information you carry back must be of such quality
as to permit you to make profits exceeding inflation. Since you
want to stay secret, you cannot make a very big splash either
then now. Therefore you must run a multi-pass operation, such
that the incremental profits don't draw attention to yourself
but the total profit is worth the work you put in. The capital
you must expend is therefore -- your own subjective time
(which many will say is the only true personal capital).

You will expend that "capital" in setting up an alternate
personality who will do the commerce. (Unless you already
did this under your own name, and you're already rich and
just playing mind games with "all us zombies..." [RAH])

Still, there are many things you can take back for the cash portion
of the bootstrap (remember, "no splash" == "small" grubstake):

1. Diamonds. (Not gold... are you kidding?) Other gemstones.

2. Old bills and coins (but for their face, not present, value).
   Not that I'd want to try and handle the culture shock of that
   long a jump, but Confederate money is going for face (or better)
   value these days.
   
   If you're only hopping a few years (my choice), sort through some
   cash to find the cleanest-looking ones that aren't anachronistic.

3. Ancient articles which are self-identifying (but not TOO rare),
   such as jade, pottery.

4. Advice to others. (Have to be careful with this one. Some states
   have rules on who can give investment advice.)

Generally, you want items that have always had SOME value, but have
NOT been a good hedge against inflation. In fact, anything that was
once valuable, but has recently LOST value (obsolete technology not
yet old enough to be rare), is best. And you don't need very much.
$10,000 will get you well set. I claim that a pocket full of $20's
would be fine.

From there on, play the "trivial" game defined above, for a good while.
As you close on current times, you have to figure out a way to transfer
"the goods" from your persona to you. Sell "him" something "he" wants.
Gouge "him". Pay taxes (probably "again") on your bounty.

After you have milked "him" (or "her", if you're female) dry, let
"him" retire somewhere and quietly disappear. Start up another one.
(You might actually have several going at once, but beware of over-
extending yourself. The literature if full of warnings, e.g., "The Man
Who Folded Himself".)

Whatever you do in all of your personae, don't screw with the IRS!
You'll be making enough to keep them and you both happy. A special
case of the rule: Don't get greedy; someone will notice.

DON'T make more than a few tens of thousands gambling! (There are
those besides the IRS whose attentions you REALLY don't want!)

---------------
Postscript:

1. If short transfers are permitted, the above hassle is totally unnecessary.
   You will walk in one day and tell yourself to buy 100 shares of so-and-so.
   Do it. You will continue to give yourself good advice (from next week).
   Listen. Get rich. If you are careful, people will just think you are
   "lucky" or "smart". Someday you will get the device (or trick or mantra)
   let lets you go backwards. Start using it to advise your(younger)self.
   Keep good notes. Someday you may find out where you got the device
   (or trick or mantra). Then again, you may not...

2. If short transfers are NOT permitted (as in Keith Laumer's "Dinosaur
   Beach"), you're in trouble. If tranfers to historical times are permitted,
   you just MIGHT be able to profit from your information, but it's going to
   be hard. The daily details (stocks, etc.) aren't recorded back very far,
   and how does one make money from major historical events? Might be better
   to take up residency back then and pop up to now for medical care. 

   You could always sell Pompeii short. ;-}

Rob Warnock

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