was published in Analog in 1992. It poses one of the classic time travel paradoxes. I’m not going to say which one—you’ll have to find that out as you read. Suffice it to say that it is exactly this type of time travel experience that Rules Were Put In Place to Address. The story allowed me to combine my love of maritime history and ships with science fiction. The Essex was a real ship and quite as imposing and tricky as described. Her encounter with the French Piémontaise happened pretty much as I describe. oOo My family has always gone down to the Sea in ships. I am told that the first Dunbar shipped out of Norway on a leaky Viking longship. Probably a stowaway. First of many. For some reason, Dunbars like being stowaways. The thrill of danger, perhaps, or obsessive curiosity or arrested development. Not that I’m denigrating my ancestors. I’m no exception. I, too, hitch unauthorized rides on tall ships. The only difference between me and the other Dunbar riff-raff is that I get paid for it.
