Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related FFQ: Time travel conundrums

Yeah James... I think my head might explode if this gets written...

Okay - let's keep this simple [yeah right ]

There's canon Lois and Clark in 1998.

That would make Lois 18[ish] in 1985.

Tempus goes to 1985 and changes something [say she doesn't get into her first choice college or misses her internship interview or something].

So there's now to 1998s.

1998-1: Original canon L/C
1998-2: New L/C based on that change

Tempus switches them so they're in the wrong universe/time line. Canon L/C are in 1998-2, New L/C are in the original canon 1998-1. [Sort of like L/C v. Lane/Kent in ML's No Place Like Home, except they both got switched].

If they go back to 1984, *before* Tempus messed with the time line.

In front of them is a time line 'Y'.

One time line leads to the canon L/C time line 1998-1. The other time line leads to the new time line based on Tempus' change, 1998-2.

They're now in 1984-0 [unchanged from the original because the time line didn't change till 1985].

Which fork in the road does their time machine take when they go forward again?

Does it take them back to 1998-1, their original time line?

Does it take them back to 1998-2, because of the whole nature abhors a vacuum thing and there's already Lois and Clark in 1998-1 [even though it's the *wrong* Lois and Clark - that doesn't matter to time]?

Is that making any sense at all?

Carol [who has a headache...]

Just to make sure I got this right:

LnC-1 go back to 1985-0 from 1998-2 after Tempus switched them. 1998-1 still has LnC-2 in there.

They would go forward on the same path where they came from, not necessarily because of the vacuum but because 1998-1 is not accessible to them.

No, I don't have a headache this time

I might even go this far:
LnC-1 go back to 1985-0 from 1998-2 after being switched there from 1998-1. Now the whole timestream from 1985-0 to 1998-1 is protected and not affected by anything that's happening. (MLT's paradoxon-theme). Now if LnC-1 change anything and cause 1998-2 (Version A) to vanish, LnC-2 would lose their home-plane and might end up having to go back to a different 1998-2 (Version B).

Now my head hurts.

Michael

YAY!

I can make someone else's head hurt .

The time travel doohickey they're using has no universe hopping option, so they can only go back and forth, not between [they can't go from 1998-1 to 1998-2 for instance].

Well, 1984-0, but essentially correct .

Why is it unavailable to them? They're in 1984-0. How does the time machine [or time itself or whatever] decide which 1998 they end up in? How does it know which 'time road' to take? Time line 2 because they were in 1998-2 before they went to 1984-0, so they go back where they were last?

That's the simple version.

There's actually a total of 6 1998s by the time they go back to 1984-0, but let's stick with 4 here.

There's 1985-1 [original] and 1985-2 [with changes by Tempus].

Those lead to 1998-1 and 1998-2.

They're in 1998-2 and go back to 1990-2 and change something else so there's now:

• 1984-0/1985-1/1990-1/1998-1 [original canon time line]

• 1984-0/1985-2/1990-2/1998-2 [from the original Tempus change]

• 1984-0/1985-2/1990-3/1998-3 [based on this new change]

• There's a total of 3 Lois and Clarks now.

They go from 1990-3 to 1998-3 to see how the change affected 1998 but things still aren't right.

They leave 1998-3 and go to 1992-3 and change something else.

Now there's:

• 1984-0/1985-1/1990-1/1990-1/1998-1 [original canon time line]

• 1984-0/1985-2/1990-2/1992-2/1998-2 [from the original Tempus change]

• 1984-0/1985-2/1990-3/1992-3/1998-3 [based on the first change]

• 1984-0/1985-2/1990-3/1992-4/1998-4 [based on the second change]

• There's a total of 4 Lois and Clarks now.

• This whole time, L/C-2 are in 1998-1 twiddling their thumbs [we're ignoring them].

• L/C-1 are the ones doing the traveling.

• Every time they go to a new 1998, there is another Lois and Clark there, the Lois and Clark that belong there [so in 1998-4, there's L/C-4 who belong there and L/C-1 who are time traveling].

• So the only 1998 that doesn't have an L/C is 1998-2.

They leave 1998-4 and go to 1984-0, where all 4 time lines are the same. They go to... the North Pole where no one will see them and do their time traveling there [so no pesky cameras catch them like in ML's fic] and change nothing. They're in 1984-0 just long enough to reprogram the time travel device.

Which 1998 do they end up in?

• 1998-4 because that's the last one they were in?

• 1998-1 because that's where they belong?

• 1998-2 because there is no Lois and Clark there and there is a Lois and Clark in 1998-1/3/4? [Even though 1998-1 has L/C-2 in it.]

Does it matter as long as I'm consistent and explain it?

Oy...

Carol

You just caused another buffer overflow. Actually, I need more time to rationally think this through. And I don't have the time right now

Why 1998-1 wouldn't be accessible. I usually go with the future is not written theory, so unless the future develops exactly like it had before, they wouldn't be able to get to 1998-1. And then it would probably be 1998-1B because 1998-1A already has a LnC. Okay, I'm back to my head is hurting.

But if you can explain it slowwwwwwwwwly and consistently, you can do whatever you need with timetravel. You just need to make sure the paradoxes as explained perfectly or something. The rest, it might confuse you readers, but that's just another bonus you will have as the writer. Cliffhanger AND confusion. You will be golden

Michael

Yeah - I've got confusion in spades...

It makes sense in my head, which is good because why bother even *starting* to write it if it doesn't, but translating that to paper... er, screen... that may prove to be more difficult. And it might be easier within the story itself. Then the reader [consciously or not] will be like 'okay, this is the third 1998 they were in because Clark isn't Superman and Lois is married to Bobby Bigmouth in that 1998 [or whatever]'.

We'll see...
Carol

Bobby Bigmouth That's never going to work. They would constantly fight over food

Michael

Lemme tell you what I know about science. When a cold front meets a warm front in just the wrong way, you get tornadoes. I think timelines are probably the same way.


Elisabeth

LOL!

Was watching Storm Chasers last night... Sounds about right to me...

Carol

I have my own thoughts on this idea of yours that is different than most, however, until November is over, I don't have the mental energy or time to put thought to keyboard.

James, who likes the timeline protection theory. Time really doesn't like change. Anything the traveler does will ultimately bring about no change as time will attempt to heal the damage.

Example: Man goes back in time and kills his grandfather. He goes forward and finds out that the man wasn't really his grandfather.

My take on it though is that it would take a really big change (setting off a nuclear bomb at Little Big Horn) for time to be seriously warped.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporal_paradox#Timeline_protection_hypothesis