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Before responding to the prompt below make sure you read the excerpt from Bearing an Hourglass, and read the Lecture Notes. Don't forget to cite your information if it is coming from another source. Even if you are paraphrasing (putting information into your own words), you still need to acknowledge where you found that information originally.
Prompt:
What is the function or business of Chronos’s office as explained to Norton by Lachesis? Furthermore, in Norton’s exchange with Fate, what implications can you draw from the text about what it means to live backwards? What are the difficulties and perplexities? (Be specific, make sure to explain how and why and use examples from the text to support your answers).
soap
He's Time Squad. Time is like a rope. And it unravels just the same. He's there with his hot glue gun of awesome to stick those fibers back together. He's there to make sure each event happens the way it's supposed to. Larry 3000. Of course with every awesome job known to man, relationships take a major knock out from Tyler Durden. In his relationships with fate, he doesn't know what's going on when fate does, but when he finally knows, she doesn't. The only good part about this fated relationship excursion is that he has a full-proof excuse for not remembering any important dates. He lives backwards. Wouldn't it be weird if they were the same person?
Joe
The function of Chronos’s office is to ensure everything happens when it needs to and it is also set up to guide everything through time. It is to make sure that time moves smoothly and everything and everyone are guided through it properly. In terms of living backwards, it is necessary to keep things in order. He still sees time moving forward, but from our point of view is moving backwards. He can basically travel to any point in time as well. By keeping things order, he must make sure people reach their destiny and that the right people reach the right destination or fate. The difficulties and perplexities that arise would be isolation, as most time travelers seem to have at some point or another. In this instance, at least there is a higher purpose, instead of willy nilly traveling around. Having a purpose and responsibility ensures that you will be kept on your toes. Plus with this task, there is also the company of other deities so you have super awesome knowledge of how things work in the universe. Not to mention having the god-like power to bend time and take care of it like some kind of bonsai tree of fate is pretty cool.
Julia
The function of Chrono’s position and office is solely to ensure the correct passage of time. Age must follow youth, effect must follow cause, and action usually follows thought or decision. While he and his staff are responsible for the order of time, he has no interaction with, or responsibility to, mankind. The lives of humans, like birth, death, and tragic events, belong to the 3 fates. Because Chronos can only interact with other Incarnations, it appears that is his future, which is actually the past, he will have a relationship with the youngest and most attractive fate, Clotho. The bizarre aspect is that all 3 fates are actually the same woman, who can assume an any of the identities at will. The difficulty of living backwards is that while Lachesis (the middle-aged fate) can recall their affair easily, he cannot, as it has not happened to him yet. It seems that all the incarnations interact with the same level of social intrigue as humans do, as they retain the emotional complexities of their former human lives after their transitions.
Mike
The function of Chrono's office is to facilitate the proper sequence of events. Norton is now the keeper of Time and he must make sure that all happens for reason and he is capable of this ability because he lives backwards which ensures correct 'timing' (84, Anthoney). And because Norton raises a good point about the impossibility of one man ensuring the right outcomes of every event; Norton has an office of workers much like corporate offices. The workers are in purgatory on their way to heaven or hell with hopes to avoid the latter.
In regards to living backwards, Norton has the capabilities of seeing things moving forward but in our eyes it would be backwards. This comes full circle when Norton holds his arm out in black space, where time is stasis, and reads his clock as stopped but then brings it in closer to see that the hand is moving forward. It becomes quite confusing but it seems to make sense after all. In addition, Norton has the capabilities of moving anywhere through time (because of the hourglass) and also has the power to stop time as a way to put things in the right places and such (at least I assume). Also, Norton apparently can exist as in forward time but only for a short time.
The difficulties and perplexities would be the burden of controlling time, loneliness, and anxiety. I believe Norton will have a hard time carrying on with the heavy burden of time over his shoulders. Seeing the rightful outcome of events is a hefty responsibility and one not to be taken lightly, so in this frame I feel he might become a little less concerned with the world and possibly with himself instead. I also can see some trouble with loneliness because he is now serving a type of higher power which leaves him no time for relationships and such other than that of Fate. It seems as if he will be in constant travel because of the wide array of circumstances that could arise. I can also see anxiety issues arising because of this large responsibility, but maybe he will get over it as he proceeds with his existence as the bearer of time.
Arielle
It is impossible to change the past but not for the office for he controls time. This one person is immune from paradox because of this. This is the office of Chronos; it was the incarnation of time. Who ever are in control of the Chronos is in charge of make sure that time moves easily and without disruption. Norton is told that he could be the new Chronos, the one who controlled time because Chronos lives backwards. The Chronos guides everything through time in an orderly fashion to travel any point in time. Time is moving forward but at the same time it is moving backwards, inducing a mess of confusion.
The Chronos must make sure people reach their destiny and fate in time, which may cause the difficulties and perplexities. Isolation would definitely be one of the difficulties and perplexities that would arise because he has no time for himself caused from his fate. Although who ever may travel in time would have a purpose because of Chronos so in actuality there is reason for the difficulties that may approach the Chronos. It’s fate that waits on Norton’s shoulders.
Cristina
Chronos position of authority is responsible for establishing the chronology of human events. Chronos does not bear the burden of managing the smaller details alone; his office staff dutifully follows orders from their superior. Maintaining chronology is critical for the universe, without it time would be without form or void.
I can imagine it must be a lonely existence living life backwards as an Incarnation. All though Chronos is granted a few moments in the normal course of time, those moments are brief because the magic cannot support them for long periods. He cannot remember events that others have already experienced, leaving him without the emotional connection people tend to make from past memories. Chronos’ great reasonability must weigh heavily on his shoulders. It is obvious he takes his position seriously and wants to do a good job.
Andi
The function of Chronos’ office is to make sure that time flows smoothly, and correctly. Monitoring the ebb and flow, and the things that run through it, he is not however in charge of life and death, that he attributes to the 3 “fates:” Because he is moving through time guiding people to their destinies it would seem that he is living his life backwards, but only to the viewer. To him he is just moving forward, it is just as Joe mentioned in his answer for “Through the Looking Glass” one character is moving forward, but the other is moving “backward.” It is however only forward in another direction, not backward at all. One difficulty of living backwards was that he could not “remember” his relationship with the youngest fate, although she can in her middle fate form. This is because since he is moving “backwards” it has not happened to him yet. He can not remember something that has not occurred to him even though it has technically all ready occurred in t he timeline. The fact that the relationship is coming from another direction makes it so that he has not gotten to that point yet.
Wonwoong Park
The Function or business of Chronos's office is to fix time line with the Hourglass, the symbol of Chronos by traveling back in time. Norton can do anything he wants anytimee. Most people have three fates Chronos can see, and Chronos can correct the incarnation of Time. In Norton’s exchange with fate, he may change the history of the world or the fate of Gawain, so Gawain will not be killed. However, he cannot find out how the fate or consequences by him would be changed, because he lives backward. For instance, if he changes Gawain’s fate by using the power of Hourglass, we and he could not know she would be more happy or unhappy than before. She might live more miserable life than before. That is to say, it is effect and then cause, if Chronos lives backward. However, he already passed the future, and he cannot exactly know the result (effect). He just guesses the consequence of his works (cause), after changing her fate. Moreover, Chronos could not interact with Gawin. She would never know about him. It means he have to love solitude and live a lonely life.
Yat
Chronos’s office is responsible for the human aspect in time. Chronos is to establish the chronology of every event in human section of the universe. Effect must always follow cause, age must follow youth, and action must follow thought. And Chronos’s backward existence facilitates such timings where he was living backward while the other was living forward. They are both incarnations and they controlled the time with the hourglass. Norton lives backward himself, as he has the ability to go back to anytime of his birth and death, and his past is others future, his tomorrow is other yesterday, and he was facing some difficulties to learn what he was supposed to do with the mighty power, and also he was alone in the incarnations.
Chris J
The function of the Chrono’s office in the book Bearing and Hourglass, is to guide people and things through time. He is supposed to make sure everything happens in a timely manner. He has to live his life in a backward state as perceived by everyone else, but to him time still moves forward. He can travel to any time in order to assist him in keeping things in order. Norton is responsible for making sure certain people don’t become the recipients of other people’s fate. It must be very isolating to live backwards. Being constantly unperceptable to the general public would be very lonely. The way you know your existence is so vital to everyone’s else’s well-being yet no can be allowed to appreciate your handy-work. He is also doomed to for-sight, always knowing what lies ahead for everyone, be it good or bad. “ He’ll have us stepping smartly, He will know all our futures in a way none of us can.” “Time is power, Norton” He has been given a God-like power that everyone will envy and the greenest with jealousy is none other then big red himself, Satan. Lachesis also mentions her 3 godly forms in charge of various aspects of life and existence but Nortons is by far the most important.
Kel Kim
Chronos's god who once ruled the universe and leading people to the Palace Hades and Tartarus (ex. heaven and hell). He manages living 's time and their spirit and soul. The site I read was clearly makes him as a mighty god. His job is leading and guiding time to enchant or make path till live and death upon people. Such as a god himself is so unfair and too powerful character for imagination. Interesting part for this reading is the part where all spirit and soul are link with star, sun, and moon and elements.
Norton's implication of having backward time is pretty interesting but I believe it is tragedy for the person who really experience. Nature of life and death path is always same young to age. Still some people die so fast while they are so young. But they grow more maturely and grow memory time wisely. Norton's bit different, if time go from age to young then every memory and certainty of living with other will become so different and painful. If I see the movie(Benzamin Button) it will apparent show some example of this painful path. Life of death and living has to equal for everyone which they can share time and memory and fortune to mature them for no regret. -continue -
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