: If we do accept the concept of multiple timelines, then I believe that
: there is only one true timeline. I particularly like the concept so
: beautifully laid down in the Star Trek TNG episode "Yesterday's
: Enterprise". Not all altered timeline plots in Star Trek are so neat,
: but this one really hit it right. Basically, a rift in space caused the
: Enterprise C to be propelled into the future at a very critical juncture
: to, extremely coincidentally, meet up with the Enterprise D. With the loss
: of the C at the wrong time, all of history was altered and, as a result,
: the Federation was losing a war to the Klingons - a war that had claimed
: 40 billion lives. The episode then revolved around sending the C back
: through that rift to correct the past. Once the C was returned, the
: timeline was corrected and it was as if the events of the altered timeline
: had never occured. However in subsequent episodes we later encounter
: remnants of that altered timeline - things that were different on the
: returned C that affected small parts of history. It was as if the altered
: timeline were a loop - it branced off when the C disapeared and looped
: around back onto itself when the C was returned. This is somewhat
: plausable - if you accept the existence of time travel. But if you accept
: time travel, then you're left with the disasterous scenario of the current
: plot of Star Trek Enterprise with it's temporal cold war. The bottom line
: is that if time could be altered, we would ultimately destroy it
: altogether. Thank God only the Jjaro possess such technology!
Please no Trek debates. I'm an avid trekkie, and long time defender of the Enterprise series, and I've gone through more than enough flame wars over it.
