Edgar Rice Burroughs -- America's Early Time Traveler? By J.e. Ante
Edgar Rice Burroughs who died in 1950 was most likely one of the first time travelers tasks by the American military. Since the time travel and teleportation discoveries in the late 1940s beginning with the Philadelphia Experiments the military has sought to prepare the public for the eventual discoveries of intelligent life on Mars and throughout the solar system. Few men were better qualified and mentally resilient enough to be the first to travel in time and space to the other worlds.
Since time travel was only discovered by the Americans in the late 1940s Burroughs must have written his Mars fictionalized accounts in the late 1940s and then time traveled them to his publishers back in 1911 when they were first published. This back dating and publishing of Burroughs Mars works was probably undertaken to prepare the masses in the future time for the discovery of the many bizarre lifeforms that existed on the Mars surface.
Many other science fiction writers of the late 1940s may have also been approached to travel in time and space and write about their experiences in fictionalized stories. Burroughs with military connects and his Pacific WW2 experiences was probably one of the first writers approached and successfully implemented into the time traveler and planetary teleport programs. But the question arises of whether he time traveled extensively off-planet to Mars, Venus, Moon, and the hollow Earth core or did he simply read and view photos and written accounts by the actual travelers and only write about it.
The other question is whether he spent extensive time in the past or future experiencing life and writing about it in other times and off world. Or did he stay in the present time only and read about other time traveler experiences. The fact that he describes the time travel, teleport technologies, and many strange Mars lifeforms closely as we know them today seems to show that he knew them intimately and saw off-world alien lifeforms directly.
Since the elite American military and political leaders did not reveal the secrets of time travel and teleportation and intelligent life on other planets to the masses much of Burrough's early efforts to write and publish his eleven book John Carter of Mars series and teleport them to his publishers in 1917 seems largely wasted.
Most of Burroughs works are action adventure science fiction of a hero who saves a beautiful girl from evil encounters against great odds with little more than brute force, special skills, and determination. This formula along with the colorful alien environments and many counter twists and suprises made Burroughs writings the most popular of his time. But the question remains what was his time and where did he spend most of it -- in the past, present, or future writing his popular novels of alien worlds.
Perhaps someday the military will declassify this information and the true story can be told again of one of America's first time and space travelers. And other successful science fiction writers and time travelers can be documented and acknowledged openly for the first time.
Burroughs most likely was contacted in 1911 by Army time travelers because his death was known to be in June of 1950. He was probably a little know businessman in his original timeline with no published works of his own to distinguish himself. He was probably contacted in 1911 at age 35 by military time travelers with a deal to publish their provided works which in return would make him a comfortable living as a writer. All he had to do was recopy them to his own notebooks and make small changes of his own. Even the rewrites would be handled by them. Probably a dozen or more science fiction writers in the early 1950s were tasked to write the Burroughs novels. Burrough's autobiographer provides ample clues that this was what happened.
"The Edgar Rice Burroughs of summer 1911 who entered hesitantly into the field of writing was almost a dual personality. To relatives and close friends he was a delightful man, a humorous practical joker and composer of fairy tales and clever drawings for favorite nieces and nephews. Yet in the business world where he struggled desperately for success he was matter-of-fact, never disclosing the creative imagination of a writer. For example, in a letter discussing his first story he used the stilted jargon of commerce: "It is purely a business proposition with me and I wish to deliver the goods in accordance with your specifications." Though this seems ludicrous, it must be remembered that Burroughs bore not only a suppressed talent but an accumulation of buried hopes, regrets, and frustrations. Approaching thirty-six, he probably viewed his present unhappy circumstances and the past years of random ventures and short-lived occupations with bewilderment and confusion. He had reached a dead end, unable to discover goals or direction." -- Irwin Porges, page 25, in autobiography-- Edgar Rice Burroughs The Man Who Created Tarzan.
Burroughs himself hints that he did not write his stories. He originally refers to himself in margin notes in the pen name of "By Normal Bean" referring to himself as a normal person. And he also summarizes his first Martian story to a magazine curiously in the third person. "The story is supposedly from the manuscript of a Virginian soldier of fortune who spends ten years on Mars, among the ferocious green men of that planet as well as with the highly developed and scientific race of dominant Martians, who closely resemble the inhabitants of Earth, except as to color. It is a member of this latter race which gives the story its name and at the same time infuses the element of love into the narrative." --- E.R. Burroughs page 29 in Irwin Porges autobiography of Burroughs.
But the telling clue of a time-travel Burroughs connection with the 1950s is the fact that the Martian John Carter of Mars series of books and articles was Burroughs first published works at age 36 with no previous writing or work experience. But the question remains what group of science fiction writers in the 1950s wrote the Burroughs novels for him to publish. And did Burroughs himself travel in time between 1947 and 1950. I would like to think that he did.
Burroughs opens his first published novel "Princess of Mars" with these words-- "I am a very old man; how old I do not know. I have never been like other men. I remember no childhood...." Pg 26, in Irwin Porges Burroughs autobiography. Perhaps the former old cowhand and cavalryman was given a chance to travel or live in time in his later years.
Since time travel was only discovered by the Americans in the late 1940s Burroughs must have written his Mars fictionalized accounts in the late 1940s and then time traveled them to his publishers back in 1911 when they were first published. This back dating and publishing of Burroughs Mars works was probably undertaken to prepare the masses in the future time for the discovery of the many bizarre lifeforms that existed on the Mars surface.
Many other science fiction writers of the late 1940s may have also been approached to travel in time and space and write about their experiences in fictionalized stories. Burroughs with military connects and his Pacific WW2 experiences was probably one of the first writers approached and successfully implemented into the time traveler and planetary teleport programs. But the question arises of whether he time traveled extensively off-planet to Mars, Venus, Moon, and the hollow Earth core or did he simply read and view photos and written accounts by the actual travelers and only write about it.
The other question is whether he spent extensive time in the past or future experiencing life and writing about it in other times and off world. Or did he stay in the present time only and read about other time traveler experiences. The fact that he describes the time travel, teleport technologies, and many strange Mars lifeforms closely as we know them today seems to show that he knew them intimately and saw off-world alien lifeforms directly.
Since the elite American military and political leaders did not reveal the secrets of time travel and teleportation and intelligent life on other planets to the masses much of Burrough's early efforts to write and publish his eleven book John Carter of Mars series and teleport them to his publishers in 1917 seems largely wasted.
Most of Burroughs works are action adventure science fiction of a hero who saves a beautiful girl from evil encounters against great odds with little more than brute force, special skills, and determination. This formula along with the colorful alien environments and many counter twists and suprises made Burroughs writings the most popular of his time. But the question remains what was his time and where did he spend most of it -- in the past, present, or future writing his popular novels of alien worlds.
Perhaps someday the military will declassify this information and the true story can be told again of one of America's first time and space travelers. And other successful science fiction writers and time travelers can be documented and acknowledged openly for the first time.
Burroughs most likely was contacted in 1911 by Army time travelers because his death was known to be in June of 1950. He was probably a little know businessman in his original timeline with no published works of his own to distinguish himself. He was probably contacted in 1911 at age 35 by military time travelers with a deal to publish their provided works which in return would make him a comfortable living as a writer. All he had to do was recopy them to his own notebooks and make small changes of his own. Even the rewrites would be handled by them. Probably a dozen or more science fiction writers in the early 1950s were tasked to write the Burroughs novels. Burrough's autobiographer provides ample clues that this was what happened.
"The Edgar Rice Burroughs of summer 1911 who entered hesitantly into the field of writing was almost a dual personality. To relatives and close friends he was a delightful man, a humorous practical joker and composer of fairy tales and clever drawings for favorite nieces and nephews. Yet in the business world where he struggled desperately for success he was matter-of-fact, never disclosing the creative imagination of a writer. For example, in a letter discussing his first story he used the stilted jargon of commerce: "It is purely a business proposition with me and I wish to deliver the goods in accordance with your specifications." Though this seems ludicrous, it must be remembered that Burroughs bore not only a suppressed talent but an accumulation of buried hopes, regrets, and frustrations. Approaching thirty-six, he probably viewed his present unhappy circumstances and the past years of random ventures and short-lived occupations with bewilderment and confusion. He had reached a dead end, unable to discover goals or direction." -- Irwin Porges, page 25, in autobiography-- Edgar Rice Burroughs The Man Who Created Tarzan.
Burroughs himself hints that he did not write his stories. He originally refers to himself in margin notes in the pen name of "By Normal Bean" referring to himself as a normal person. And he also summarizes his first Martian story to a magazine curiously in the third person. "The story is supposedly from the manuscript of a Virginian soldier of fortune who spends ten years on Mars, among the ferocious green men of that planet as well as with the highly developed and scientific race of dominant Martians, who closely resemble the inhabitants of Earth, except as to color. It is a member of this latter race which gives the story its name and at the same time infuses the element of love into the narrative." --- E.R. Burroughs page 29 in Irwin Porges autobiography of Burroughs.
But the telling clue of a time-travel Burroughs connection with the 1950s is the fact that the Martian John Carter of Mars series of books and articles was Burroughs first published works at age 36 with no previous writing or work experience. But the question remains what group of science fiction writers in the 1950s wrote the Burroughs novels for him to publish. And did Burroughs himself travel in time between 1947 and 1950. I would like to think that he did.
Burroughs opens his first published novel "Princess of Mars" with these words-- "I am a very old man; how old I do not know. I have never been like other men. I remember no childhood...." Pg 26, in Irwin Porges Burroughs autobiography. Perhaps the former old cowhand and cavalryman was given a chance to travel or live in time in his later years.
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