H. Beam Piper

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H. Beam Piper's Paratime Chronicles

"Well, you need a man who'd know the historical background,
and you'd need a man with a powerful creative imagination,
who is used to using it inside rigorously defined limits."
&mdash H. Beam Piper, "Crossroads of Destiny"
Piper's conception of Paratime posits an infinite number of parallel universes or "timelines." These para-timelines are exploited by the parasitic inhabitants of the "Home" timeline who have invented a way to transpose from one timeline to another. Their Paratime Police are responsible for policing the timelines and for ensuring that the secret of paratime transposition is not discovered by the inhabitants of any other timeline. The Paratime Chronicles consist of the novel Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, six stories collected in the anthologies Paratime and The Worlds of H. Beam Piper edited by John F. Carr, and the authorized Kalvan sequels Great Kings' War, Kalvan Kingmaker, and Siege of Tarr-Hostigos by John F. Carr and Roland Green.

Piper's ideas about Paratime were apparently inspired by the non-linear time theories of British aeronautical pioneer John W. Dunne (1875-1949) which were first discussed in his book An Experiment with Time (1927).

Bibliography A comprehensive list of Paratime stories and novels, including republishings and reprintings	Gallery Images from Paratime stories and novels, including republishings and reprintings	Encyclopedia Alphabetized information from the Paratime works, including people
Gleanings Background material pulled directly from each of the Paratime works	Timelines A complilation of Paratime levels, sectors, subsectors and timelines	Development Further development of the Paratime universe