Time Travel as a Metaphor for Life in Time Travel is Real.com
Brian Scott Jarvis’s Time Travel is Real.com isn’t just a fun romp through different eras—it’s a meditation on the passage of time, human responsibility, and the weight of history. The novel starts with an almost absurd premise: Brian, an ordinary surfer, meets Carl the First, a mysterious figure who claims to be the Keeper of Time, and suddenly, Brian finds himself traveling through time. The premise sounds whimsical at first, full of adventure, freedom, and the thrill of exploration. But beneath the surface, the novel grapples with the very real consequences of how we interact with time, both as individuals and as a society.
Time Travel as an Invitation to Reflect on Life
The beauty of Time Travel is Real.com lies in its ability to use the concept of time travel not just as a vehicle for adventure but as a mirror reflecting the human condition. From the moment Brian begins his journey, he isn’t just experiencing the past and future for the sake of exploration; he’s coming face to face with the choices and mistakes that define the world around him. Time, as Carl the Keeper of Time explains, is not just a linear progression of events. It’s an entity in itself, alive and ever-changing, full of infinite possibilities and grave consequences.
In the early chapters, Brian is thrilled by the freedom time travel offers. He surfs waves before they were even discovered, meets dinosaurs before they go extinct, and leaves behind a trace of his presence on Mars, knowing that one day the Mars Rover will discover his 8-track tape. It’s a whirlwind of fun, a joyride through time, and we, as readers, get caught up in the excitement. The sheer absurdity of Brian’s experiences—the lighthearted thrill of meeting historical figures, walking through eras like they’re mere backdrops to his personal adventure—makes it easy to forget the book’s deeper themes.
A Turning Point: Realizing the Consequences of Time
But as Brian’s journey unfolds, the tone begins to shift. What was once lighthearted fun gradually transforms into a more sobering exploration of the impact of human actions. Brian’s carefree time-hopping experiences are tempered by the environmental destruction and societal damage he witnesses in the future. It’s no longer just about meeting famous figures or surfing iconic waves—it’s about confronting the mess humanity has made of the world.
One of the most striking moments in the book occurs when Brian and Carl visit the Pacific Garbage Patch. A once-pristine beach is now overrun with plastic waste, a stark image of the environmental devastation that humanity has inflicted on the planet. In that moment, the fun of time travel gives way to something far more uncomfortable. Brian is no longer a mere observer; he’s forced to reckon with the reality of his own existence and the damage that humans have done to the world. Time travel, which once seemed like a way to escape the present, becomes a tool for seeing the future—an uncomfortable, dire future shaped by the choices made in the present.
Brian’s journey becomes about more than simply visiting the past or the future. It’s about coming to terms with the consequences of those visits, with the impact that history has on the present and future. His time travels become a reflection of the world we live in—where our actions, big and small, echo through time.
The Dual Nature of Time: Escape and Responsibility
The narrative structure of Time Travel is Real.com plays with the idea that time is both a gift and a burden. Time travel offers freedom—the chance to step outside of one’s own time, to explore the unknown, to experience the vastness of history. But it also brings with it the responsibility of seeing history as it truly is—not just the glamorous moments we romanticize, but also the ugly truths we’d rather ignore.
This tension between freedom and responsibility is highlighted through Brian’s reflections after visiting Normandy during D-Day. What begins as a playful dare—“Hey, let’s see if we can really time travel”—soon turns into a brutal encounter with the past. Brian finds himself face to face with the raw violence of war, the human cost of conflict. The excitement of time travel evaporates as he witnesses the destruction and suffering firsthand. The beauty of time travel is counterbalanced by its dark reality. This moment marks a shift in Brian’s character, as he begins to see time not just as a vehicle for exploration but as something to be understood, respected, and even feared.
The contrast between Brian’s earlier adventures and this painful experience underscores the novel’s central theme: time is not something that can be controlled or manipulated without consequence. The freedom of jumping through time, of being able to witness history firsthand, comes with the responsibility of understanding what that history means and how it shapes the present. Brian realizes that no matter where he goes in time, he cannot escape the weight of human choices.
Confronting Time’s Reality
The crux of Time Travel is Real.com comes when Brian realizes that time is not a neutral force. It doesn’t just exist to serve our desires or to entertain us. Time moves on, relentlessly, whether we’re ready for it or not. And more importantly, it is not separate from us. It is intricately tied to our actions, our choices, and the way we live. Time, as Carl explains, is not just a tool to be used for our benefit. It’s a living force that we must learn to live within, to respect, and to navigate carefully.
As the book progresses, Brian’s attitude toward time changes. The initial thrill of freedom becomes tempered with a sense of duty. Time, once something to escape, becomes something to understand. The sense of power that comes with being able to travel through time is matched by the realization that history is not something to be played with. The weight of the future—both its possibilities and its threats—sinks in. And while Brian may continue to time travel, he does so with a deeper understanding of the responsibility that comes with it.
The Call to Action: What Will We Do With Time?
Ultimately, Time Travel is Real.com is not just a story about traveling through time. It’s a call to action, a prompt for readers to think about how we spend our own time and the impact we have on the world around us. In his adventures, Brian has witnessed the beauty of history, the joy of discovery, and the thrill of the unknown. But he has also seen the consequences of ignorance, the devastation of mindless waste, and the relentless nature of time itself.
Time, as Jarvis presents it, is both a gift and a responsibility. The novel’s humor and adventure may draw readers in, but it’s the underlying message about the fleeting nature of time that lingers long after the final page. Time Travel is Real.com challenges us to reflect on how we use our time, how we shape the present, and how we ensure that we leave behind a world worth experiencing for the generations that will follow us. Through Brian’s journey, we are reminded that time is not just a sequence of moments. It is a force, one that we must understand, respect, and navigate carefully—because, as Brian learns, time waits for no one.