Now it's a done thing (or will be as of November 30th) with a nice bow on it, I wonder if we can come up with a good in-universe name for the novelverse/litverse. Something like the Kelvin Timeline became the official name for the "JJverse", which worked in-universe and out, since the branch point occured with the destruction of the USS Kelvin and it ties into JJ Abrams' love of naming things after his uncle. The circumstances of the novelverse's end won't really work as a name, since Coda books 1 and 2 have made it clear uncounted other timelines have been destroyed by the Devidians. So much goes on from the start it's hard to pick one defining "thing" to name it all after. I was thinking, count every single in-continuity book from New Frontier to the DS9 relaunch and onwards, include every ebook part of the litverse and make that number the name. Timeline 0671 or whatever the actual number ends up being. Anyone got a better idea?
Although New Frontier was the start, I feel like it was Avatar that REALLY kicked off the novelverse we've known and loved. Y'know, New Frontier basically went off into its own corner with a select group of toys from the whole sandbox, but with Avatar, it started being that every Trek was open to play with like this. So maybe "the Avatar timeline"? Granted, that makes me want to ask where's the flying bison, BUT...
What about the ‘The Relaunch Timeline’ as we had the DS9/VOY/TNG and ENT relaunch series that set up the ongoing storylines and continuity?
The thing that bothers me about the "Kelvin timeline" term is that the Kelvin timeline in fact has no Kelvin in it! Its defining attribute is a lack of Kelvin. The "Prime Universe" is the Kelvin timeline.
I think "Relaunch Timeline" is good. And the continuing TV, novel, comic timeline is, of course, the "Prime timeline".
Or what about the Destiny or Typhon Pact Timeline? Because these books had the most impact on all what happened in the Novelverse.
I think we still need to see how this all ends. More explanation of the timeline shenanigans may still effect our perception of things.
Janeway timeline would work farely well, since The Eternal Tide establishes that most Janeways died in 2380, with the resurrection of ours being an exception. Of course chances are good that Janeway will appear at some point in one of the new TV shows, so the name wouldn't really distinguish it well from the prime timeline...
The point is that the creation of that timeline was catalyzed by the destruction of the Kelvin, an event that didn't occur in Prime. The idea behind the Okudas' "Kelvin Timeline" coinage was to be an in-universe designation -- not something that we in the outside world would use for describing a fictional continuity, but something that an agency like the DTI or the Temporal Integrity Commission would use to describe a quantum reality other than their own. That's what Daniel is asking for here, I think -- an in-universe designation, rather than a metafictional one like "Avatar Timeline" or "Destiny Timeline" or "Novelverse." By the same logic behind "Kelvin Timeline," what term would characters within the Trek universe give to this particular alternate timeline to differentiate it from the Prime Timeline? "Borg Invasion Timeline" seems reasonable there, since it's the biggest, most transformative event that differentiates the novel continuity from the TV continuity.
Yeah, I was thinking a name DTI agents might use as well as us. Aside from "The one where Janeway died for a bit and the Borg ate Pluto". Timeline 567 (or however many books there are total in the novelverse) would work for the 30th century time cops too
There's always a Lower Decks "Those Old Scientists" style name. "The novelverse?" "Yeah, I just think the events that happened there were quite novel." Or... "The litverse?" "Yeah, that place was LIT."
If we're looking for an in-Universe designation, that's going to depend on what "facts" of that extinct timeline are going to be preserved in the DTI time-protected archives of the Prime timeline, assuming those facts are going to be present there. I mean, I'm not too sure DTI archives in the Prime timeline would have the facts of every timeline ever, so why should we assume the details of the extinct timeline should be present? Of course if we're talking about some omniscient perspective, say of the Q, they might casually refer to the extinct timeline as something..."Borg Invasion Timeline" is okay. Could be "Devidian M.A.D Timeline" if indeed we see that happening in Coda Book 3.
Thanks for explaining all of this to me. I understand both the idea behind the "Kelvin timelime" designation and the original post.
We're not. It's still a fictional conceit, not meant to be taken that literally. It's like how the various tech manuals and chronologies and biographies over the decades are works of fiction presented with the conceit of being in-universe "nonfiction." That doesn't mean they actually, canonically exist in-universe, just that they're written in that style. So the question is just, if some suitably omniscient observer in-universe hypothetically were aware of the timeline, what might they call it? That doesn't require assuming they actually do.
Oblivion's Gate will provide a name y'all will be free to use, if you like. But I can't tell you yet what it is.