imagine a 'one that got away' situation: you meet, say, george clinton in about 1967.
you patiently explain that you've come from the future to eliminate him before he goes bongo-mad.
he looks at you quizzically and you explain that he's about to get heavily into funk.
what's funk? he asks.
foolishly, you tell him.
then, as you are about to deliver the coup de grace, your gun jams.
george takes a header out of the window, survives and legs it to a nearby studio where he puts into practice everything you've just told him.
now that would be a self-defeating bummer, wouldn't it.
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