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Date of Birth
Billy Pilgrim was born in Ilium, New York. -
Period: to
Billy's Timespan
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Traumatic Family Trip
In 1934 Billy took a traumatic trip with his mother and father to Arizona, and after several vehicular troubles they finally arrived at the Grand Canyon. Billy was so terrified that he would fall in, when his mother touched his shoulder, he wet himself. -
Billy Becomes Unstuck in Time
While journeying with Roland Weary and two other members of the Allied forces, Billy finds himself exhausted, with a reluctance to continue moving forward. This reluctance to continue moving is what nearly costs him is life on the several occasions in which he is saved by Weary. At one point, due to his exhaustion (which is partly because he is severely under equipped for the cold weather), Billy leans up against a tree to rest, but begins uncontrollably traveling through time. -
Destruction of Dresden
On this night, British and US bombers firebombed this city until it resembled the surface of the moon. The next day, when Billy and some others came out to witness the result of such destruction. Billy described the astonishment and grief characterized by the 4 guards' facial expressions as that resembling a barbershop quartet. The hog barn which had been their home still had walls, but its windows and roof were gone, and there was nothing inside but ashes and dollops of melted glass. -
Billy Marries Valencia
Billy said himself that he didn't want to marry Valencia, she was one of the symptoms of his disease. He knew he was going crazy when he heard himself proposing marriage to her, when he begged her to take the diamond ring and be his companion for life. -
Billy Meets Kilgore Trout
Billy drove his Cadillac down a back alley in Ilium at night, and found his path blocked by bicycles. A meeting was in progress surrounding the delivery of newspapers and the kids doing it. Kilgore Trout was heading the meeting, and was yelling at the kids to "get off their dead butts." After the meeting had ended, Billy approached Trout to ask him if he was the real author Kilgore Trout. Afterwards, Billy helped Trout deliver some newspapers in place of the kid who just quit. -
Alien Abduction
On the night of his daughters wedding, Billy can't sleep. He's traveled through time to this before, and he knows he will be abducted by the Tralfamadorians in an hour so he stays up with half a bottle of champagne and watches a World War II documentary. Billy heads out in his yard for the arrival of the saucer, which is presented with flashes of purple and owl sounds. The saucer itself is about 100 feet in diameter, and ships Billy to the planet of Tralfamadore where he will be kept in a zoo. -
Plane Crash
Billy boarded a plane with 28 other optometrists, headed for a conference in Montreal, when it unexpectedly crashes into Sugarbush Mountain in Vermont. Everyone dies except Billy, who experiences a fractured skull and as a result a temporary coma, and the co pilot. Billy is rescued by some ski instructors, and is later operated on by a famous neurosurgeon. During his time asleep he claims that he was time traveling all over the place. -
Valencia's Death
Upon hearing the news that Billy might be dead in the plane crash in Vermont she goes into a state of delirium. She was driving at the time and missed a turn, causing her to slam on the brakes. The car behind her slammed into the rear end of her vehicle, and she drove to the hospital parking lot where she passed out in her vehicle, and died of carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of the earlier car accident. -
Billy's Death
Billy claims to have witnessed his own death several times before. He says it takes place in a baseball stadium covered by a geodesic dome, where he gives a speech about the true nature of time to a crowd of admirers. After he finishes delivering his speech he addresses the fact that someone long ago once made a promise to have him killed, and that he is fully aware of his impending fate. That man was Paul Lazzaro, and Billy dies from getting shot by his assassin with a high-powered laser rifle.
