John Titor

John Titor's military insignia.

John Titor was the name used for a purported time traveller from the year 2036 that posted on several time travel-related Internet bulletin boards during 2000/2001, making many ambiguous, but seemingly falsifiable, predictions about events in the near future and giving an account of his supposed native time period. Whether or not John Titor was a hoax seems to have been a topic of controversy on web-based paranormal discussion boards.

File:Ibm-pc-5100.jpg

The IBM 5100 Portable Computer

The Tale of John Titor

The postings found on realitybbq.com claimed Titor to be a serving soldier who was assigned to a government time travel project. He was supposedly sent from 2036 back to 1975 to retrieve an IBM 5100 computer which he claimed was needed to "debug" various legacy computer programs in 2036. The postings also described various future events between 2005 and 2037, including World War III (predicted for 2015) followed by two decades of recovery.

Along with the prediction of World War III, another notable prediction is that of a Civil war in America, which was predicted to begin in 2004, around the time of the presidential election, and would escalate until 2008, which, according to Titor, "[is] a general date by which time everyone will realize the world they thought they were living in was over."

Another prediction was that 2004 would be the last year in which the Olympic Games would occur. This seems at odds with real-world events as the 2006 Winter Olympics began February 10, 2006. However there has been some argument as to whether the Winter Olympics was included in the prediction. Some have also speculated as to whether the predictions made by Titor were predicting only one course of the future, suggesting humans may have created an alternate future by going about things differently. This is an example of the many possible interpretations of Titor's seemingly specific predictions.

When asked about the mechanisms of the time traveling, he replied that he was no engineer. When asked to use the time machine to do something paradoxical (ie, kill his grandfather) he replied that that would only affect this universe, but not his. He appeared to imply that there were many worldlines, and his time machine could not control its outgoing destination exactly, but could return to a worldline exactly similar to his own home. (It would be a different "Worldline" but would be exactly the same in his perspective as when he left.)

John Titor's name gives a clue to the spoof

A search for Titor as a surname reveals few if any other people with this family name. However, in the spirit of all great spoofs the author has left a clue in his own name that Lewis Carroll would have been proud of. John Titor has come back in time, so therefore his name is backward. If we reverse his surname we get John Rotit. This is phonetically the same as "John Wrote It" in english and opens up the possibility of discovering the spoof's true author by finding the surname in his writings.

Predictions Summary

These are taken from John Titor's original statements and summarised.

• A Second American Civil War from 2004-2008, during which civil liberties would be surrendered under the guise of National security
• An event similar to the "parting of the Red Sea" will occur in 2012.
• Third World War in 2015, a gradual global escalation that was ended by Russia bombing American, European and Chinese cities.
  • John suggests "avoiding Washington DC" at approximately 3:45am, March 12, 2015.
  • Sometime before this point (referred to as "N-Day") China forcefully annexes Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
  • Chemical and Biological weapons are used, and some "non-lethal" weapons turned out to be quite lethal.
  • Australia successfully repels a Chinese invasion.
  • The war kills over 3 billion people.
• Post-war
  • Communities of survivors gathered and grew around libraries and universities.
  • The United States split into five regions based on various factors and differing military objectives.
  • The US Constitution was changed by a Constitutional Congress.
    • A President is elected for each of the five major areas of the US.
    • The powers of the union government are more defined and reside at the county and state level.
    • The Vice President is elected separately.
    • The US Capital is in Omaha, Nebraska.
• Life in 2036:
  • Society
    • Military service plays a large part in day-to-day life.
    • Capital Punishment is still implemented.
    • Communities have returned to a family/community centred state, advised by elders.
    • Texas is Hispanized.
  • Religion and Beliefs
    • Religion is far more personal and plays a major part in day-to-day life.
    • The Ten Commandments have been restored to the "10" that God gave Moses.
    • Sabbatarianism, or worship on Saturday is a common practice.
  • Technology
    • Wireless internet is ubiquitous.
    • Television and Telephony are delivered via the Web.
    • Books and other hard media are now distributed online and printed from local hubs.
    • Napster distributes music, but Microsoft and Yahoo no longer exist.
    • Power is not distributed over long distances. Alternate forms of generation are common, the most prevalent being solar.
  • Environment
    • The environment is heavily affected by radiation. The lack of potable water is the biggest enviromental issue.
    • Global Warming has had little effect. Temperature is about the same although there were anomalies after the war.
  • Health
    • The birth rate is much lower, due to a high number of birth defects and stillbirths.
    • Mad Cow, or vCJD in humans, is a devastating public health problem.
    • Cures for AIDS and Cancer have not been found. Viral therapy is used for Cancer.

Titor in other media

• In 2003, the John Titor Foundation published a book, John Titor A Time Traveler's Tale, discussing his claims (ISBN 1591964369).
• In 2004, Cyburbia Productions presented Time Traveler Zero Zero, a stage performance based on the Titor story.
• In 2005, Figure 26 Films produced a film, Obsessed & Scientific, a film which touches upon time travel and includes the story of John Titor.
• On December 21 2005 the webcomic WIGU featured a cameo appearance by John Titor. [1]

References

• Robert Brown (2003). "Dr. Robert Brown's Replies to Darby RE. Titor". The Anomalies Network Forums. Retrieved February 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "John Titor - Time Traveler". Retrieved February 4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "The Story of John Titor". 2005. Retrieved February 4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "IBM 5100 Engineer Bob Dubke on hidden features". Rochester Magazine. Retrieved June 12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

External links

• The Original Forum where John Titor posted with the largest forum on the subject.
• "JohnTitorWeb.com"
• John Titor Archive
• Interviews with Oliver Williams
• John Titor - Time Traveler - collection of all forum posts by John Titor
• TitorClub A latin comunity about John & Ethan Titor (site in spanish)