Yes, it was a very long time ago for me, and decidedly less so for you, I believe. Thank you.
Someone dear to me died a few years after I was last aboard this station. I've been told that he might be saved, because here he is still alive. Yet if he doesn't die, I wouldn't be taking the steps to save him. You can see the circular nature of it, I'm sure.
My thought on the matter is that if I alter the timeline by saving him, I will have to sacrifice myself, after a fashion. The man writing to you will cease to exist, and instead, my younger self whom you met will grow up to live a different sort of life.
Colonel Crawley seems to disagree, but he referred me to you for the specifics. Do note that I'm not saying for certain that I shan't do it, even if I'll vanish to nothing by doing so, only that I need to know the consequences. The honest truth.