I’ve never really had the desire to travel back. Sure, who doesn’t consider what might happen if we change a catastrophic, or even personal, event? But I’ve always been convinced that somehow the same or possibly even a worse thing might transpire in the vacuum that I create.

Traveling into the future? That is fascinating to me. Star Trek TNG is one of my all-time favorite shows. I mean, Jean-Luc Picard!

There are always so many interesting issues that resonate today. They encounter new races and have to adapt and understand. But, one of my favorites was actually early in the series and dealt with literally 20th-century people trying to adapt to 24th-century life.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard : This is the 24th century. Material needs no longer exist.

Ralph Offenhouse : Then what’s the challenge?

Captain Jean-Luc Picard : The challenge, Mr. Offenhouse, is to improve yourself. To enrich yourself. Enjoy it.

Star Trek: The Next Generation The Neutral Zone 1988

It would be so hard to jump from current day into a world where tea and chocolate and clothes were there for the asking. People don’t fall into different social classes based on income or residence.

But–what an exciting thought. Things are provided by replicator and people do what they WANT to do rather than what they are forced into by necessity. It is so far outside the realm of the current world that I would love to travel forward to see if we actually achieve any of the ideals of science fiction.

Of course, there is plenty in the science fiction genre dealing with the dystopian side of the future. War, famine, destruction of worlds and reverting back to previous lives. I would hope not to find that side because I want to believe that people figure all of this out. That love wins and humanity thrives.

So, for me, time travel would definitely be forward, not back. And maybe I might run into Patrick Stewart’s doppelganger there…

And for today’s FebPhotoFest, a little play with depth of field.