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We know the depressing fate of John Doe who woke up one day in the Middle Ages, to quickly die or spend his life in a monastery.

His more lucky friend Mark had a vision before being transported and had time to prepare for that unusual trip.

He knew he would be sent near Versailles at the end of the 16th century (the time where Louis XIV moved the royal court there). He can take with him a robust 4x4 car (or other modern transport which can be handled by one person - be it a tank or a helicopter, but not an aircraft carrier), fit with whatever today's technology allows and filled to the brink with whatever he wants.

Mark wants to have fun when reaching Versailles but, while being somehow extrovert, he has pacifist intents. He will not be flying in with an Apache, killing everyone and announcing himself as Archangel Gabriel to take over France.

He just would like his stay there (planned for a month to a year) to be memorable and fun. He does not want to change history, but does not care that much about adding something to the facts or legends of Versailles (we can assume that, at most, he will be mentioned in history books, like Lully or other prominent people of that time, but not the ones who spontaneously pop up in your mind when thinking about the Versailles of Louis XIV).

  • What kind of realistic dangers should he prepared for? (from the tourista to possibly some assassination attempts by Louis' BFF who feels threatened)
  • What should he take with him to be the man of the party? (fireworks? a Rolling Stones grade audio system with XX an XXI century music? a laptop with a projector to show X-Men or Star Wars?)
  • What are the goods he may be running out of by the end of his stay (~a few months) he should plan for? (power is the one which comes to my mind - maybe solar panels could be a viable alternative?)

He will be forcibly sent back to today at the end of his trip, together with everything he brought with him (and he will not bring back anything). He also has a clever panic button triggered by a specific sequence of eye and tongue mouvement which will send him back (under the same conditions). This is to avoid the cases where his trip becomes an opportunity for the king to change the world by torturing poor Mark into doing something which would trigger such a change.

Note: I am not sure about the tag - I was looking for one which would say "no magic (beside the time-travel part), technology and science are at today's level". in other words, a well-prepared guy travels, today, ~350 years back.

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    $\begingroup$ It would be so much fun if our history books were like: "And then Louis stole the Apache from the time-traveller and killed all his enemies before running out of fuel. As he did not know what this 'fuel' was he crashed. Now let's skip a bit to Hitler with his real-life Portal-Gun..." Okay, maybe reading that would be fun, but the reality would be... weird and frightening. $\endgroup$
    – Secespitus
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 9:58
  • $\begingroup$ @Secespitus: this is why I wanted to avoid all the "this changes the history of the world" aspect, by making it a fun and genuine trip for Mark, without enormous impacts on the future. $\endgroup$
    – WoJ
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 10:02
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    $\begingroup$ I vote for a moto-cross bike. One problem is going to be really crappy roads. Another is fuel. A motorcycle (or even a regular cross country leg-powered bicycle) would allow for efficient travel on messy roads. Given high enough tech, a solar panel assisted engine on a bicycle. $\endgroup$
    – Mark Ripley
    Commented Mar 11, 2017 at 11:38
  • $\begingroup$ "No magic except what is in the question" is the default for WorldBuilding. $\endgroup$
    – SRM
    Commented Mar 12, 2017 at 0:32
  • $\begingroup$ @WoJ how could anyone who had the slightest trace of decency go to the court of Louis XIV and not attack Louis XIV? Can you imagine all the evils that would be prevented if Louis XIV and the Capetian Dynasty were overthrown and France returned to the genealogical heirs (Philip IV of Spain and Emperor Leopold I) of Charles (953-993) Duke of Lorraine, the Carolingian heir? That would save a hundred million lives in the 20th century alone, to say nothing of the lives it would save in future eras. $\endgroup$
    – M. A. Golding
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 19:52

3 Answers 3

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What kind of realistic dangers should he prepared for?

Every XVI century sickness. Shitting in the corner and wiping his ass with a hand. Omnipresent stench of people who take bath twice a year and mask it with perfumes. He will be puking a lot. Food his stomach can't digest.

What should he take with him to be the man of the party?

Sneakers and jeans. The clothes will be enough, no heels men shoes, trousers with pockets, shirt with pictures on it. Fireworks would be good if you could buy them in quantity and quality larger that king of France could buy. It's not like they didn't know what fireworks were.
I would go with spices and dyes. Maybe some cosmetics that wont give them cancer and don't weight a ton.

Don't think that showing movies would be something magical for them. They would be in awe for a couple of day because your camera obscura/project shows nice pictures but in the end it's just different camera obscura.

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Firstly, one should make sure Mark doesn't carry any modern bug or virus with him. That would most likely wreck havoc on most of France, if not the entire continent.

That aside; Who says time necessarily needs to be linear? The specific timeline that Mark enters might just as well (in that instant) become an alternative/temporally transposed universe, simply because he went there. In this case, apart from considerations on his own health and security, Mark will experience a veritable free-for-all fun zone during his stay. Nothing he does will have any effect on the present-time-universe that he hails from. (Insert appropriate moral-ethical discussion here). He won't be able to read about his exploits in the history books, at least not in the history books from his own present-time-universe.

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    $\begingroup$ Hello and welcome to WorldBuilding.SE! "Insert appropriate moral-ethical discussion here" :D Nice first answer. Maybe I will upvote tomorrow, I don't have upvotes today. If you got questions ping someone with @Username, take the tour, visit the help center, have a look at the Meta site or visit the chat. Have fun! $\endgroup$
    – Secespitus
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 13:00
  • $\begingroup$ Welcome to worldbuilding. As Secespitus mentioned, do take the tour when you have time, and don't forget to check out the help page for some information on rules and scope of the site. I hope you will enjoy your stay. If you feel like it, do fill out some fun facts on your profile (if nothing else, it gives you a shiny bronze badge) $\endgroup$
    – Mrkvička
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 13:06
  • $\begingroup$ @Secespitus and Mrkvička, Thanks both for the nice welcome! Am not overly surprised (in a good way), but do I love the fact that this place exists. It might be prudent to expect a few newb-mistakes on my part, but I will try and adhere to all rules and regulations. Cya out there ;) $\endgroup$
    – The Scapistry
    Commented Mar 11, 2017 at 13:47
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  • What kind of realistic dangers should he prepared for? (from the tourista to possibly some assassination attempts by Louis' BFF who feels threatened)

First and foremost, slavery. I wouldn't go into gory details here, but anyone with an average study of medieval old world would know how rampant slave-trade was and how dangerous it was for a nobody traveller in Europe and Asia.

Another threat would be from thieves, burglars and straightaway cutthroats. Considering the value of his gadgets, he would immediately get in the crosshairs of all the career criminals in the region.

Furthermore, considering that the guy is (under modern conditions) living a pampered life without any exposure to pathogens, will have little immunity to things such as TB, cholera, dysentry and whatnot. Bringing modern medicines with him would be of little help as he is not a doctor and would not know the exact prescription for the ailment he would be facing. Also, medicines expire.

And last, of course, would be the threat of being identified as a witch and be hunted and lynched.

  • What should he take with him to be the man of the party? (fireworks? a Rolling Stones grade audio system with XX an XXI century music? a laptop with a projector to show X-Men or Star Wars?)

That question cannot be objectively answered. Everybody has their own choice. Take whatever you want. Just make sure you don't piss off the church and be identified as a devil's henchman or demon or witch.

If you take electronic equipment with you, make sure to bring a couple solar panels with you. You would need to charge the batteries.

  • What are the goods he may be running out of by the end of his stay (~a few months) he should plan for? (power is the one which comes to my mind - maybe solar panels could be a viable alternative?)

Medicines. Ammo (I strongly suggest taking a 9mm or .30 handgun for self defense). Washing powder/detergent. Soap. Batteries (yes, solar panels are strongly suggested). Also, make sure kerosine oil would be available in the place and time he is travelling to, otherwise would need to take a stove and a supply of kerosine oil with him.

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    $\begingroup$ " anyone with an average study of medieval old world would know how rampant slave-trade was" - my question is about the 16th century. France abolished slavery in 1315 and it was (partly) reinstated during Napoleon times, to be finally abolished around 1800. $\endgroup$
    – WoJ
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 11:21
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    $\begingroup$ "Another threat would be from thieves, burglars and straightaway cutthroats." - I expect the castle in Versailles to be rather free from them (this does not exclude the ones which would be at the court, though) $\endgroup$
    – WoJ
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 11:22
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    $\begingroup$ What would he do with the stove and kerosene would it be to keep warm in his room at the castle? If you are thinking about cooking, then I do believe that Louis would feed his exotic guest. $\endgroup$
    – Mrkvička
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 13:16
  • $\begingroup$ @Wojo France had slavery in its colonies in the Carribean though. In the 17th century there were slave raids by the Crimean Tatars and the Barbary pirates that affected many parts of Europe, but France was usually allied to the Turks so there would little danger in France. If your time traveler looks European there is little danger than Europeans would try to enslave him. But he should probably try to appear Catholic while in France. $\endgroup$
    – M. A. Golding
    Commented Jul 11, 2018 at 20:26

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