Mike Sauve - Who Authored the John Titor Legend?

Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Copyright 2016
Mike Sauve

The author wishes to thank Dan Scott, Larry Haber, Joseph Matheny, Temporal Recon, Wayne E. Pederson, Dave Scott and Jeff Newman for their help in the researching and writing of this book.

It was way too late at night and I was on the weird part of YouTube again. I found myself listening to an old Art Bell Coast to Coast episode on time travel. Everyones been down these rabbit holes. But the one I went down was exceptionally deep. In fact Im still descending into it to this day. Because one clip led to another, and before the night was through I was listening to Arts Coast to Coast successor George Noory discussing the time traveler John Titor. I Googled as I listened. Who was John Titor? How did he make the accurate predictions he did? Were those pull-out drawings of a time machine as legitimate as they first appeared? Wanting answers to these questions, I began reading the hundreds of pages of online posts left by John Titor.

Much like Art Bell, and presumably you, the reader interested enough to purchase this book, I have always loved time travel. Recently I completed a work of fiction called I Aint Got No Home In This World Anymore in which the narrator goes back to alternate world lines and deals with similar-but-different versions of himself, along with all the concomitant ego dysfunction, obnoxiousness, and dilettantism anyone might find in their sixteen-year-old self. Like Professor Ronald Mallet, whose interest in building a time machine stemmed from a desire to interact with his deceased father, I am fixated on my own past.

And yet my primary motivation is not to prove that John Titor was a real time traveler, but rather to look at the possible authors of the John Titor story. By no means is my intention to viciously debunk the John Titor story so that skeptics can point blindly to this book and say something like, John Titor was a sham. Kill yourself, as one 4chan /x/ poster responded to a John Titor thread recently.

Instead, I hope the book might even serve to debunk skeptics who dismiss the case as being simplistic and unworthy of serious scrutiny. They take a minute or two, note that John Titor predicted civil war in 2004, or that thered be no Olympics after that same year, and case closed, another obnoxious splinter group that wont worship at the big grey altar of logic can be snidely castigated.

If John Titor is a time traveler, then thats the most exciting thing to happen in my lifetime. No one would be happier to see conclusive proof than me. But assuming he is not, then the question of who developed this story, how they were able to make the accurate predictions they did, why their identity/identities have remained secret for so long, and why occasional tidbits of information continue to leak out even fifteen years later, well, all that makes for one hell of a mystery.

I will make the case against six people who may be behind the John Titor legend, either independently or in conjunction. I use the term legend rather than hoax because of the negative connotation associated with hoaxers, and also because legend is the most fitting term to describe the John Titor phenomenon.

University of California folklore and mythology professor Robert Georges defines a legend as, A story or narrative that may not be a story or narrative at all; it is set in a recent history or historical past that may be conceived to be remote or antihistorical or not really past at all; it is believed to be true by some, false by others, or both or neither by most.

Just switch that part about history with the future and it applies perfectly to the writings of John Titor. A hoaxer, on the other hand, is typically looking for personal gain, or to make someone else look foolish. Its not known whether the author(s) of the John Titor story aspired to financial gain. Surely they havent achieved any.

Among the primary suspects are Larry Haber: an entertainment lawyer who operates the John Titor Foundation Limited Liability Corporation, claims to represent John Titors mother Kay Titor, and who was responsible for the publication of John Titor: A Time Travelers Tale.

Habers brothers, Morey and Richard Haber: who have faced accusation from both The Hoax Hunter and (in Richards case) a private investigator hired by the Italian television program Voyager.

Joseph Matheny: an innovator in the world of alternate reality gaming who has claimed to be one of four authors behind the Titor story.

Oliver Williams: the webmaster behind JohnTitor.com who has become a de facto spokesperson for the story.

And Temporal Recon: author of Conviction of a Time Traveler, a self-published book that makes a lawyerly case that John Titor was indeed a real time traveler.

Other bit-players who are not suspected of creating the John Titor legend, but who did factor into the story in some way will also be discussed.

These include The Hoax Hunter: a peerless Internet troll and surprisingly effective detective.

Marlin Pohlman: a PhD who submitted a patent application for a time machine based entirely on schematics provided in the John Titor posts.

And Pamela Moore: the poster who bonded with John over instant messaging chats, and claims to possess evidence that uniquely qualifies her to disqualify any fakes coming forward as John Titor.

Much of the best evidence is buried at the 1 hour 47 minute mark of old radio interviews, just as most of the best Titor speculation has taken place on message boards like Above Top Secret, Paranormalis, and similar sites, so Ive drawn from those sources. At the very least, I hope this book can serve as a helpful reference for fellow Titor devotees. Its not my intention to convict any suspected author(s), but rather to present all the best evidence in an impartial manner.

I am assuming the reader of this book has a basic level of knowledge regarding the John Titor story. If not, this introduction is followed by what I considered the most interesting details. Its advised that new initiates begin by reading the complete John Titor posts. They are widely available on the Internet, but a supplementary PDF is also available for download at www.mikesauve.com

For a brief introduction to the chronology of Johns story, I refer readers to this useful timeline created by an anonymous 4chan poster.

On January 27, 2001 a man calling himself John Titor posted this on Art Bells Post to Post message board.

Greetings. I am a time traveler from the year 2036. I am on my way home after getting an IBM 5100 computer system from the year 1975.

My time machine is a stationary mass, temporal displacement unit manufactured by General Electric. The unit is powered by two, top-spin, dual-positive singularities that produce a standard, off-set Tipler sinusoid.

I will be happy to post pictures of the unit.

The Internet was a much different place in 2001 than it is today. Were currently enjoying/suffering through whats called Web 2.0. We spend the majority of our time on social media rather than individual websites, are connected to the Internet 24/7, and trolling has blossomed from being an occasional nuisance to a thriving sub-culture.