This is adapted from another discussion:
""City on the Edge of Forever' is a "favorite" episode of TOS, so we all know the story. Kirk and the gang discover a functional time portal. McCoy, in a crazed state, jumps thru it, and history is changed. Kirk and Spock go after him, to set things right.
However, if we pay close attention to the details, we are driven to the disturbing conclusion that the 'true' reality is the one in which Edith Keeler did not die, and the Nazis won!
Consider:
When Spock is trying to figure out the split timeline from his recordings of what was seen thru the Guardian of Forever, he finds two contradictory newspaper articles. One says Edith Keeler dies 'in some kind of traffic accident.' The other says she lives, and becomes very influential in the Roosevelt administration, and thus delays America's entry into World War II.
But here's the snag: Edith's successful career, seen at the speed the Guardian plays things back, would have occurred in the few fractions of a second after McCoy's jump, so Spock could have recorded it in just the time it took him to turn off his tricorder (if he did). So it would have been the altered timeline that Spock recorded, AND that the Guardian plays back for them to set up Kirk and Spock's jump.
In other words, Edith's death could NOT have been part of what Spock recorded, either time. It's the same timeline that Spock is recording both times.
Now, set that problem aside for a moment, and consider that fatal 'traffic accident.' The assumption is that McCoy prevented Edith from dying, and that is what Kirk and Spock have to prevent him doing. But in what is now the only timeline, Edith does not die. And -- the big one -- the mechanism by which she dies does not exist, until Kirk and Spock arrive and CREATE it. There is no reason for Edith to be on that street corner at just that moment, unless she's there with Kirk. There is no reason for her to blindly cross the street at just that moment, unless it is to join Kirk.
In the 'real' timeline, Edith does not die and the Nazis win. So what does McCoy do to 'alter' the Past? Something which actually CREATES the timeline we know. And, surprisingly, it might have nothing to do with Edith Keeler. He meets her, is effectively saved by her -- hey, this is STAR TREK, he probably falls in love with her! -- but his presence has nothing to do with whether she lives or dies.
But maybe there's something else! Appalled as he is by what he knows to be medical conditions in those days, perhaps he sets out to fix them. Perhaps he becomes a doctor in that time, and subtly introduces all kinds of advances years, even centuries ahead of their time. Which means, maybe people are saved who otherwise would have died, and maybe some of them go on to make discoveries, or father people who make discoveries, that create Kirk's timeline.
The stumbling block there, of course, is that once Edith dies our familiar friends are brought back to their present, so there's no way McCoy could have done that.
Edith lives, and the Nazis win. Edith dies, and 'our' timeline is the real one. But the accident that kills Edith could not have happened without Kirk being there."
The conclusion, ... "there is no way Spock could have access to the undisturbed timeline, since he recorded only what happened after McCoy's jump."
But dialog from the episode:
SPOCK: I am a fool. My tricorder is capable of recording even at this speed. I've missed taping centuries of living history which no man before has ever...
(But McCoy has woken up, and dashes towards the Guardian.)
SCOTT: Doctor McCoy!
KIRK: Bones, no!
And ...
SPOCK: I was recording images at the time McCoy left. (My italics.)
A rather barbaric period in your American history. I believe I can approximate just when to jump. Perhaps within a month of the correct time. A week, if we're fortunate.
KIRK: Make sure we arrive before McCoy got there. It's vital we stop him before he does whatever it was that changed all history. Guardian, if we are successful
GUARDIAN: Then you will be returned. It will be as though none of you had gone.
Spock did have access to the undisturbed timeline, at least very briefly before McCoy's jump.
Therefore, the tricorder may have recorded two timeline branches. The one that had to be restored; one that showed Edith surviving and the Nazis winning!
Debate-able?
""City on the Edge of Forever' is a "favorite" episode of TOS, so we all know the story. Kirk and the gang discover a functional time portal. McCoy, in a crazed state, jumps thru it, and history is changed. Kirk and Spock go after him, to set things right.
However, if we pay close attention to the details, we are driven to the disturbing conclusion that the 'true' reality is the one in which Edith Keeler did not die, and the Nazis won!
Consider:
When Spock is trying to figure out the split timeline from his recordings of what was seen thru the Guardian of Forever, he finds two contradictory newspaper articles. One says Edith Keeler dies 'in some kind of traffic accident.' The other says she lives, and becomes very influential in the Roosevelt administration, and thus delays America's entry into World War II.
But here's the snag: Edith's successful career, seen at the speed the Guardian plays things back, would have occurred in the few fractions of a second after McCoy's jump, so Spock could have recorded it in just the time it took him to turn off his tricorder (if he did). So it would have been the altered timeline that Spock recorded, AND that the Guardian plays back for them to set up Kirk and Spock's jump.
In other words, Edith's death could NOT have been part of what Spock recorded, either time. It's the same timeline that Spock is recording both times.
Now, set that problem aside for a moment, and consider that fatal 'traffic accident.' The assumption is that McCoy prevented Edith from dying, and that is what Kirk and Spock have to prevent him doing. But in what is now the only timeline, Edith does not die. And -- the big one -- the mechanism by which she dies does not exist, until Kirk and Spock arrive and CREATE it. There is no reason for Edith to be on that street corner at just that moment, unless she's there with Kirk. There is no reason for her to blindly cross the street at just that moment, unless it is to join Kirk.
In the 'real' timeline, Edith does not die and the Nazis win. So what does McCoy do to 'alter' the Past? Something which actually CREATES the timeline we know. And, surprisingly, it might have nothing to do with Edith Keeler. He meets her, is effectively saved by her -- hey, this is STAR TREK, he probably falls in love with her! -- but his presence has nothing to do with whether she lives or dies.
But maybe there's something else! Appalled as he is by what he knows to be medical conditions in those days, perhaps he sets out to fix them. Perhaps he becomes a doctor in that time, and subtly introduces all kinds of advances years, even centuries ahead of their time. Which means, maybe people are saved who otherwise would have died, and maybe some of them go on to make discoveries, or father people who make discoveries, that create Kirk's timeline.
The stumbling block there, of course, is that once Edith dies our familiar friends are brought back to their present, so there's no way McCoy could have done that.
Edith lives, and the Nazis win. Edith dies, and 'our' timeline is the real one. But the accident that kills Edith could not have happened without Kirk being there."
The conclusion, ... "there is no way Spock could have access to the undisturbed timeline, since he recorded only what happened after McCoy's jump."
But dialog from the episode:
SPOCK: I am a fool. My tricorder is capable of recording even at this speed. I've missed taping centuries of living history which no man before has ever...
(But McCoy has woken up, and dashes towards the Guardian.)
SCOTT: Doctor McCoy!
KIRK: Bones, no!
And ...
SPOCK: I was recording images at the time McCoy left. (My italics.)
A rather barbaric period in your American history. I believe I can approximate just when to jump. Perhaps within a month of the correct time. A week, if we're fortunate.
KIRK: Make sure we arrive before McCoy got there. It's vital we stop him before he does whatever it was that changed all history. Guardian, if we are successful
GUARDIAN: Then you will be returned. It will be as though none of you had gone.
Spock did have access to the undisturbed timeline, at least very briefly before McCoy's jump.
Therefore, the tricorder may have recorded two timeline branches. The one that had to be restored; one that showed Edith surviving and the Nazis winning!
Debate-able?
