How do you think Time's Arrow started the first time?

[urbandefault]

If they wanted to break the loop ...

Picard from post-Nemesis goes back to 1890-whatever and retrieves Data's head before Time's Arrow Picard gets there.

If they wanted to really screw things up ...

Post-Nemesis Picard replaces Data's head with B4's head, then watches as the whole damn universe implodes.

 

[DonIago]

My new theory as to how the MU is created is that MU Picard time travels back to San Fran and replaces Data's head with Lore's.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

In "Yesterday's Enterprise", the current timeline was (temporarily) overwritten and replaced with a different one. That hasn't happened in Abrams-world. So there's no reason Guinan would notice.

Guinan would be going around thinking "Wait a minute. Things aren't supposed to be this shiny. Something is wrong."

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Why should one instance erase the future, while another create a parallel timeline? It's one or the other, and can't be set at the convenience of the writer.

Actually, yes it can. Whatever the writer says happened, IS what happened.

Especially for something as utterly fictional as time travel. No one has ever actually done it, probably no one ever WILL do it, so writers have absolute freedom to make up whatever rules they want. Whatever rules suit the story they're trying to tell.

Yeah but within the same universe it's good practice to keep the rules internally consistent.

For all we know, when Nero went back in time he actually went into a parallel universe that hadn't diverged from the prime one until his arrival.

 

[Mytran]

Data's head was left in San Francisco as a result of an expedition from the (Prime) 24th century. As a result, its quantum timeline frequency thingy is tied to that timeline, and would only be present in that precise timeline.

Remember what I just said; at the point where Data's head was left, BOTH timelines are possible futures, and thus are equally valid.

Ah, but we're not talking about the point where Data's head was left; the incident which sparked the whole investigation off was when the archaeological dig unearthed the cave, centuries later.

And we have certainly seen instances of characters from different timelines being able to meet and interact with each other. TOS' "Mirror, Mirror" and TNG's "Parallels" tend to spring to mind.

Come on, both those are clear example of a "parallel universe" rather than an "alternate timeline"

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Ah, but we're not talking about the point where Data's head was left; the incident which sparked the whole investigation off was when the archaeological dig unearthed the cave, centuries later.

True. But the head is still there, regardless.

 

[Mytran]

True, but since it originates from a future completely distinct from the Abrams-verse, it might as well not be.

 

[Keith1701]

I enjoyed the episode the first time that I saw it!!

 

[MikeS]

How do you think Time's Arrow started the first time?

Probably a poker game in Riker's quarters with all of the senior staff minus Picard.

 

[JesterFace]

Shouldn't Data's head be in that cave right now, it was left there in the late 1900th century... It has happened already.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Depends on what you mean by "right now".

In the prime timeline, we know what happens - the head is found and reattached.

Data's head could also turn up in the Abramsverse. I'll repeat: At the point in the late 19th century, where the head is left, both the prime and Abrams timelines are possible futures. So when 2233 comes around and the timelines diverge, the head will still be there - in both timelines. (If you're looking for an easier explanation as to why: Spock Prime still exists, doesn't he? He comes from a timeline that no longer exists, yet he still does. Same thing with Data's head.)

Who knows if any of the nu-characters would know what to do with it, though. Dr. Soong may not even be born in the Abrams timeline (we don't know how old he is when we first meet him), so there may not be a nuData. If that's the case, whoever finds the head may not have any idea what it is or what to do with its technology.

 

[Mytran]

Data's head is tied to the Prime 24th century - I would imagine that at the point of timeline divergence (when the Narada attached the Kelvin) any remnants of the Prime Timeline would appear to fade out of existence, ala changes in Year Of Hell (or even Back To The Future!)

OldSpock still exists because he came through the gateway after the point of divergence, hence he was travelling to a timeline that already existed