Bewildering Stories introduces and welcomes...

Pravan Omprakash

Pravan comes from India and is currently preparing a Ph.D. degree in Materials Science at the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

“The Collector of Time” brings scientific criticism to bear upon “conspiracy theories,” which are a particularly bizarre superstition of Western culture in the year 2024. However, readers will find that the plot of the story, though not scientific in the sense of being literally possible, is nonetheless logical.

The key to it is that the apparently imperturbable guru, Sancharan Baba, has a weakness. He is so accustomed to his followers’ enthusiastic faith in his ability to predict the future that he cannot accept the scepticism of Pramod, who is a young acquaintance. Sancharan feels impelled to demonstrate that he really can travel in time. But that very impulse causes Sancharan to reveal that time travel has a built-in trap: the Grandfather Paradox.

Readers can infer from the story that the author gives us — with deft humour — the scientiific answer to any theory, be it scientific or conspiratorial: “Prove it.”

Pravan Omprakash’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Pravan. We’re glad to have you with us.