Up the Line, a 1969 novel by Robert Silverberg, chronicles the temporal adventures of Jud Elliott. In 2059, history scholar Jud finds himself unemployed and with no idea what he wants to do with his life, until he meets Sam. Sam is a Time Courier, who escorts time traveling tourists into the past to witness major events and bygone times. Jud decides to join up as a Courier, which winds up with consequences he never imagined.
Please note that the mention of a trope on this page does have spoiler potential even if details are masked.
Tropes found in this book
- The Black Death: There are time tours available covering various bubonic plague outbreaks. At one point, Jud is feeling a bit morbid and takes such a tour.
- Byzantine Empire: Jud's academic specialty area, and the setting of most of the book's plot.
- Cut Short: The book ends in mid-sentence.
- Exty Years from Publication: Published in 1969, what Jud, Sam, and friends consider "present day" is 2059.
- Free-Love Future: When two people in an appropriate setting are of compatible gender/orientation, it's apparently assumed that sex is a social courtesy.
- My Own Grandpa: One of Jud's fellow couriers has a goal of sleeping with all of his female ancestors as an expression of contempt for their mates (he has significant father issues). He does skip his own mother, saying "I draw the line at abominations". He is quite careful to avoid impregnating any of his ancestors, though, not wanting to deal with the temporal and genetic results this would have.
- N-Word Privileges: The very black Sam casually uses various racial slurs when speaking of himself, such as "spade". Of course, he also at one point calls a white character "honky" and frequently calls Jud "white folks". Perhaps in their time, such words aren't the issue they are in our 2022.
- No Ending: The final page ends in mid-sentence as the Time Patrol apparently caught up to Jud hiding out in the distant past.
- Temporal Duplication: This and other time-travel paradoxes are discussed in the Courier training class Jud attends. It also causes several plot events including the one leading to the No Ending.
- Time Travel for Fun and Profit: The tourists pay hefty fees for their trips. Part of the money is used to fund scholarly historical research.
