By His Bootstraps Robert Heinlein //free\\ • Updated

Bob takes over, becomes the very "Duke" that Joe was fleeing, and builds a dictatorship. Eventually, bored and powerful, he uses the time gate to go back to his own room to retrieve notes he left behind. In his room, he sees a younger version of himself working at the desk. Realizing he can't interfere directly without creating a paradox, he waits, then steps through a second gate to another point in the future.

The interactions between the different temporal versions of Wilson serve as a critique of human ego. When Wilson meets another version of himself, he rarely feels kinship; instead, he feels annoyance and distrust. Heinlein suggests that if we met ourselves, we would likely despise our own habits and flaws. by his bootstraps robert heinlein

Heinlein flirts with the idea that the only person who truly "exists" or matters in Bob's universe is Bob himself. Bob takes over, becomes the very "Duke" that

Robert A. Heinlein Year of Publication: 1941 Originally Published In: Astounding Science Fiction Type: Novella Realizing he can't interfere directly without creating a