The Perspective of Time Travel

            What Octavia Butler does in Kindred is break the trope and genre of time travel in many ways. An author or a filmmaker would have to have an actual device to make their character travel back and forth through time. Yet, with Kindred it is almost a physical ability, a trait within the DNA of Dana allows her to jump back and forth to the past in order to rescue Rufus. In the early reveals of this power, both Dana and Rufus lack the ability to explain what the action is, from Dana’s perspective; “I don’t know how it happens-how I move that way-or when it’s going to happen. I can’t control it.” What she knows is little and that she can feel it happening, the sense of nausea overcomes her and she fears what is going to happen. Both Kevin and Rufus witness Dana’s time traveling ability and describe it in similar ways, “(you) vanished. Just disappeared. And the reappeared later.” Rufus goes on to describe the action further, “”Disappeared? You mean like smoke?” Fear crept into his expression. “Like a ghost?”” Although the characters view the physical act of time traveling and disappearing then reappearing in different ways, one thing binds them all and that is fear. The fear of the unknown within the characters is something that is steadfast within the genre. The forward thinking of science or the unknown is common to time travel, but having this kind of intimate form feels fresh and new to a novel. Butler uses this to her advantage knowing that the technique has been used before but not in this way. It creates a more intimate relationship between Dana, Kevin and Rufus. The unknown is also frightful to Rufus’ parents and they clearly can’t handle what they don’t understand. I can only imagine seeing a stranger appear with a child, rescue them and then vanish into thin air. Kindred is doing something special with time travel, how else does it break the rules with the genre and what does it mean for it in general? Should audiences and readers begin to expect more out of these kinds of stories?