In a paradox time travel story, causality is often disrupted. One type could be the predestination paradox. Say a time traveler goes back to give a famous scientist an idea that leads to a great invention. But it turns out that the time traveler only knew about the idea because of the invention in the first place. It makes you wonder about the nature of time and whether events are fixed or can be changed.
Another approach is the self - consistency principle. In a time paradox story, events might be arranged in such a way that they are self - consistent. For instance, in the 'Bootstrap Paradox' with Shakespeare, perhaps the works were always meant to be passed through time in a loop, and there is no true origin in the traditional sense. The universe somehow arranges things so that the loop can exist without violating causality on a fundamental level. This requires thinking about time and events in a non - linear way.
Well, the 'paradox of time story' could be about different things. One common aspect is the idea of circular time. Say there's a story where an event in the future causes an event in the past, which then leads to the future event again. It's like a loop that defies our linear view of time. Another might be the twin paradox in relativity, where one twin traveling at high speed ages slower than the other, creating a strange situation regarding time's passage.
A different approach is self - correction. In some time travel paradox fictions, the universe has a way of self - correcting. So if you try to create a grandfather - paradox - like situation, some force in the universe will prevent you from doing so. It could be something as simple as events conspiring to stop you from making that final, paradox - creating action, like your gun jamming when you try to shoot your grandfather in the past.
The time paradox in science fiction can be really mind - boggling. Some stories use it as a central plot device. One way to deal with it is through the concept of parallel universes. So, when you change something in the past, you create a new timeline or universe. This way, the original timeline still exists, and the paradox is sort of resolved. Another approach is the self - consistent time loop, where events are predetermined to avoid contradictions.
The main elements usually include time travel. For example, a character going back or forward in time. Another element is the alteration of events. When the time - traveling character changes something in the past or future, it often leads to the paradox. Also, there's the existence of the character itself. Their actions in time can make their own existence or the reason for their time - traveling actions seem impossible, like in a story where a time traveler prevents their own birth.
Here is an ontological time paradox story. A man finds a strange device that allows him to send messages back in time. He sends a message to his younger self warning about a future event that would cause him great harm. His younger self heeds the warning and avoids the event. But then, the future from which the original message was sent no longer exists because the event didn't happen. So, how could the message have been sent in the first place? This is the essence of the ontological time paradox in this story.
The bootstrap paradox is also quite fascinating. For example, a time traveler goes back in time and gives Shakespeare a copy of his own plays. Shakespeare then publishes them as his own. But the question is, where did the plays really originate? It shows how time travel can mess with the concept of creation and origin. In this case, the information about the plays seems to have no real starting point, creating a paradox.
Another ending could be that the time traveler enters a parallel universe instead of their own past. So, any actions they take don't create a paradox in their original timeline. For example, if they kill someone who looks like their grandfather in this parallel universe, it doesn't affect their own existence in their home universe.
The main elements are the act of time travel itself and the contradictions it creates. For example, changing the past which then affects the future in a way that seems to defy logic.