Granny Bel
I carried out a quick search but couldn't find anything on this this topic. I wondered if I'm missing something?
Pages 238 and 256 give us the impression that GTS/Charles Casey first travelled back in time to begin his stoking spree by impregnating Hattie. Hattie then gives birth to Esther who gives birth to Irene who gives birth to Rant. All good so far. However, P238 reveals that there was another similar event that took place prior to this chain of events in which 'granny Bel' was attacked at the age of 13 by a person unknown. So the all important question in my mind that I can't figure out is who impregnated 'Granny Bel'?
Do you think the dates on some of the coins provides evidence that he has been back even further?
"My understanding of it is that originally, the first time Green/Charles travels back in time, he only goes back as far as Hattie. Then he convinces his earlier self to go back further in time, and perhaps further again the next..."
Meaning that he predates his own origin? I guess at this point he has gone beyond stoking hasn't he? Not only has he created himself but he has gone on to stoke himself further. Does that logic work? I wonder what the implications of doing that might be? and how does that affect his ability to become immortal?
As a side issue, is there a limit to how far back in time a traveller can go? If participants are constrained by party crashing as a method that facilitates time travel is there an argument to say that travel must be confined to within the period since automobiles were invented?
I mean, once there would have been a Charles Casey who was conceived of normally, this one accidentally went back in time while doing crash testing for the government, where he 'accidentally' has sex with Hattie and starts the stoking of origin by being his own great grandfather. He then stokes it further by waiting around to be his own grandfather and father, and then convincing his younger stoked self that results to this time go back even further (but now with the changes that have been made, 'Party Crashing' is the means for time travel), and begin the stoking process with Bel (I assume the more generations you stoke the greater the resulting powers).
But can it still be considered as stoking if the time travel predates the commencement of the original cycle ie with Hattie? I'm thinking at that point it becomes something entirely more powerful.
Hmm, not sure what you mean. The time travel may predate the original time travel - in that when Green/Charles/Rant travels back the 'second' time he goes earlier (younger) than he did at first because he was told about it by his older time traveling self - but if he goes further back in time and impregnates even more distant ancestors with his own genetic line, I still think it would be stoking?
Of course, if he goes back further, to Bel's time for example, this time there would not be a time traveling him who rocks up accidentally at Hattie's (since he's now gone back to Bel's time intead), so if he wanted to maintain that stoking, he would need to hang around and do it himself.
My understanding of it is that originally, the first time Green/Charles travels back in time, he only goes back as far as Hattie. Then he convinces his earlier self to go back further in time, and perhaps further again the next...