Time slip

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A time slip is a plot device in fantasy and science fiction in which a person, or group of people, seem to accidentally travel through time by unknown means, or by a means unknown to the character(s). Time slip is one of the main plot devices of time travel stories, another being a time machine. The difference is that in time slip stories, the protagonist typically has no control and no understanding of the process (which is often never explained at all). They are either left marooned in a past or future time and must make the best of it, or are eventually returned by a process as unpredictable and uncontrolled as the journey out. An advantage of time slip is that the author may proceed directly to the adventure without much explanation. The idea of a time slip was used in 19th century fantasy, an early example being Washington Irving's 1819 Rip Van Winkle, where the mechanism of time travel is an extraordinarily long sleep. Time-slip stories were popularized at the end of the century...

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