The Illustrated Man Part 2: Timeline and Continuity (WARNING: Spoilers for a 60-year-old Book!)

It is time to try to fit the stories of  The Illustrated Man into a single timeline, if it can be done.

Now, given that the Illustrated Man has tattoos over his body, given by a crazy woman from the future, this implies that the stories in the book are all on the same timeline. Of course, "crazy woman from the future" could explain any and all continuity discrepencies, but where's the fun in that?

It's much more fun to invent convoluted theories to explain things, even when it's easier just to ignore the issues that don't really much matter in the first place. In fact, I myself have developed the most insane, convoluted, completely unnecessary theory that's even bigger than the Tommy Westphall Universe Hypothesis. But that can wait for another time. Here is the timeline:

The Illustrated Man Part 1: Review

            The The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury will be an interesting place to start. This book is full of short stories surrounded by a frame story involving the titular character.

The book begins when the unnamed narrator first meets the Illustrated Man. They are both on their own journeys and, since they’ve met in the same place, decide to keep each other company for the night. The Illustrated Man removes his shirt to reveal tattoos covering his whole body. He says he can feel them moving.