Broadcasts from the future?

James · July 28, 2001, 5:41pm

does anybody know about this guy? he wrote a book and claims that it was given to him by people in the future. i can’t find the book anywhere. i found this post on another board, but nobody would tell me where it came from.

i went to the site, but i can’t find anything out. here’s the post i found.

No. I’m not saying that. Ahlgren isn’t claiming that he’s from the future or that people from the future are with us now. He’s claiming that there is a technology in the future that allows for broadcasts to the past. He claims that these broadcasts are inaccurate and very general. He bases his claims on the many worlds interpretation.

I didn’t say he was an authority – you said he was an authority.

I went to the site. I wouldn’t say he’s an authority.

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2001 9:31 AM
Subject:

Here’s the site. www.ahlgren.net/aboutdiscipline.htm. This
sort of thing
scares the hell out of me.

Trevor

Jason_Laterstantz · July 29, 2001, 2:27am

I’ve heard of him. I read his book and it scared the hell out of me.

He suggests that many of the innovations humanity has enjoyed are from the future. They are broadcast through a technology that is very subtle and very inaccurate.

It has a lot to do with quantum physics and many universes and stuff like that. It wasn’t hard to read and I really learned a lot from the book.

The scariest part is that the book is fiction. When I finished it, I wasn’t sure it was fiction at all. I recommend it.

I had an advanced copy. I don’t think I was supposed to have it. I think it’s been published since then. The website link you posted might give a clue, or maybe at Amazon.

It’s well worth it if you have a look. the book isn’t like science fiction. The story is much easier to read.

does anybody know about this guy? he wrote a book and claims that it was given to him by people in the future. i can’t find the book anywhere. i found this post on another board, but nobody would tell me where it came from.
i went to the site, but i can’t find anything out. here’s the post i found.

No. I’m not saying that. Ahlgren isn’t claiming that he’s from the future or that people from the future are with us now. He’s claiming that there is a technology in the future that allows for broadcasts to the past. He claims that these broadcasts are inaccurate and very general. He bases his claims on the many worlds interpretation.

I didn’t say he was an authority – you said he was an authority.

I went to the site. I wouldn’t say he’s an authority.

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2001 9:31 AM
Subject:

Here’s the site. http://www.ahlgren.net/aboutdiscipline.htm. This
sort of thing
scares the hell out of me.

Trevor

James · July 29, 2001, 4:15pm

I looked for the book at several sites, but I can’t find it. I went to the author’s site, but I didn’t see anything there either. Do you have any ideas where I can get a copy?

Cheers,

James

Aaron_J_Boswell · July 29, 2001, 6:28pm

Here’s his discussion board.

Trott · July 30, 2001, 10:16pm

Hello,

I read the book Discipline yesterday after the author forwarded a copy to me by my own request.

In many respects, it reminded me of a disturbed cross between Johnthan Livingston Seagull and Catcher in the Rye.

I agree that one neat aspect is that the author attempts directly make the reader question whether the story is real or fiction ala the Never Ending Story sort of method. Since according to the book, the story presented in the book is key to keeping the Temporal loop that the story describes from collapsing. It would be like finding out you are suppose to be Washington and then using a history book to go back in time and keep things the way they are written in the book. The book itself is meant to embody a paradox, often called the Bootstrap paradox. In other words, who actually came up with the book since it said the book manuscript was “sent” via the Bell (a device to make broadcasts into the past from the future).

One main thing I disliked about the book was that it hits too many contraversial issues. It talks about drug use, suicide, killing, child abuse, homelessness, bullies and school violence, death, etc… It even goes so far as to make the comment that Jesus was more devasting to humanity than the Nazi’s.

The very beginning is however fairly good before it gets too much into the drug use. The book seems to support the use of drugs like LSD as some sort of chairot to unlocking the ability to time travel, the actual agent of time travel is suppose to be something the author calls MLD which is suppose to be more powerful than LSD. I just hope no one is as stupid to actually use LSD to try to induce time travel.

The book is 690 some pages so it is readable in a day. I do believe the idea of transmitting messages into the past through faster than light methods does sound interesting but the book never goes into too much detail into this. It is suppose to be one of a series of books. I read on the authors website, that the second book is in progress. It could be quite a good story if the violence was reduced and the drug use was cut. But that is just my opinion.

Gretchen_Portanda · July 31, 2001, 12:45am

I read about 3/4 of the book a few weeks ago. It was a friend’s copy from out of town and she took it with her when she left. She’s supposed to make me a copy, but she hasn’t yet.

The book kept me riveted (although I couldn’t read it in a day ). I was genuinely upset when she took it away.

I didn’t think the book had been published, so I’m surprised to see someone here talking about it. Maybe it’s out now, but I couldn’t find it anywhere last week.

I don’t know why you think it has to many controversial issues. The violence smacks more of real life than a lot of the crap I’ve read recently. I think it’s the controversial issues that make the characters so great. The issues create the backbone for the story’s underlying tone – which seems to me to be very spiritual. I think the author was trying to point out that in order to advance, people have to learn from their mistakes.

Another thing that I thought was really interesting was the way that the author promoted the positive affects of drugs but still condemned the negative aspects.

Hats off to you for reading it in one day.

Gretch

Trott · July 31, 2001, 4:16am

The author told me to forward the book to anyone that was interested. So, if you would like to get a zipped copy email me at: dtrott at ucla dot edu, and I will forward you a copy if you do not wish to ask the author for it.

I am not sure if the violence smacked of real life or not, it seemed like it was forced rather than natural. Especially, the killing done by the man “J"ust in bl"ACK”. It was as if the author was attempting to thrust things forward a bit too fast with the character of Douglas Cole. In other words, months and weeks seemed like he was making them into years. I do not know it was just the feeling that I got.

I agree that one large aspect is “spiritual” but it is not also. If that makes sense, you may understand Tao and discipline.

Well, the author did show contempt for cocaine/crack and alcohol but did not show that for the LSD and marijunia. Another controversial thing was the adult giving the child (Douglas) drugs. That is just wrong in my opinion.

Do not get me wrong, the book is entertaining otherwise I would not have read through it all. But I am not sure how some people would take it, especially when you get to the heavy focus on economics. I personally do not get overally excited about stocks, bonds, and contracts.

Morgan is portrayed like the I find it hard to believe that he could be that evil. I suppose I will have to wait to see if the author gives more information about Morgan in the second book.

And oh, it is not published yet, I believe it is suppose to be published soon.

Paco_Ahlgren · July 31, 2001, 7:24am

Trott,

A poster on The Discipline message board gave me the link to your posts. I responded to the comments there, but I wanted to discuss it here too, if you don’t mind.

You can see my comments on my board at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Discipline_Group/message/33.

First of all, I’d like to know if I might borrow your quote comparing the book to a disturbed cross between Jonathon Livingston Seagull and Catcher in the Rye. That’s absolutely perfect and I wish I had thought of it.

I appreciate your comments – especially the observations that some of the more violent scenes are rushed. That seems like a very reasonable criticism and I’m going to address it.

With regard to the content: I think the things you find disturbing are necessary. Part of my objective is to show that we create absolutes as a society – things are either “evil” or “good”. We fail to see that there are contextual benefits and detriments to EVERYTHING.

Water sustains us but it can drown us.
Some bacteria are very helpful and some can kill us.
Automobiles can improve our lives, or they can destroy us.

The point of the book isn’t to shock people into hysteria. The point of the book is to make people realize that balance is imperative – that there are benefits and detriments to everything in the universe, depending on one’s contextual frame of reference.

As I said in my earlier response (on the book’s message board) – if the content disturbed you then I’ve done my job. If you read the book in one day, I’ve REALLY done my job.

I’m very open to your observations, however, and I’d like to hear more of your thoughts on the content – especially with regard to the violence and the drugs.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your comments. I wish you’d come over to the Discipline board and respond to this and the one I posted there.

Paco

p.s. – Gretchen, you can get a copy of my book from me by going to my website:

www.ahlgren.net

Trott · July 31, 2001, 9:05am

Of course you can use that comparison that I made.

I have not been able to get access to your message board so I thought I would just post it here, since this is the place where I came across the first reference of your work.

I signed up to your discussion group but it says that membership is still pending.

Paco_Ahlgren · July 31, 2001, 4:15pm