Who Wants To See...

[Dayton Ward]

^ More accurately, Generations would appear to contradict "Time's Arrow," since it came later.

(And "Relics," and "Q Who?" and any episode with the emotion chip, etc. I say "appear," because with a little thought, all of it can be reconciled to some degree.)

 

[Christopher]

Doesn't "Time's Arrow" contradict Generations? Since Guinan was shown to be on an El-Aurian refuge ship in the 23rd century, yet she'd already been on earth in the 19th Century.

There's no contradiction there. I'm sure there are plenty of real-life refugees who travelled the world voluntarily in better times. Guinan could've just as easily travelled the galaxy for a time and then gone back home. Indeed, "Time's Arrow" pretty clearly established that she was a prodigal daughter whose father sent agents to try to convince her to return home. I filled in her backstory somewhat in The Buried Age and Greater Than the Sum.

Indeed, judging from "Q Who," Guinan wasn't on her homeworld when the Borg destroyed it; she only heard about it from her fellow refugees. The way I interpret it is that she returned home to find it destroyed, then rejoined her surviving people to help them through the ordeal. She may even have been an invaluable guide to the broader galaxy.

Also, the refugee ships weren't El-Aurian. They were Federation ships. One of them, the first one destroyed, was called the Robert Fox, after the UFP ambassador from "A Taste of Armageddon." No doubt the El-Aurian refugees had moved from ship to ship, taking what transportation they could find for each new leg of the journey.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Doesn't "Time's Arrow" contradict Generations? Since Guinan was shown to be on an El-Aurian refuge ship in the 23rd century, yet she'd already been on earth in the 19th Century.

She moves around a lot. Could be she was finding herself in the 19th century and rejoined everyone by the 23rd when the Borg attacked her homeworld. We don't know when that was exactly.

 

[Christopher]

Could be she was finding herself in the 19th century and rejoined everyone by the 23rd when the Borg attacked her homeworld. We don't know when that was exactly.

Yes, we do. It was about a century before "Q Who," the 2260s. Meaning it took maybe 25-30 years to migrate from El-Auria to the vicinity of Earth (which must be where the Nexus encounter occurred, if the Enterprise-B was the closest ship).

 

[Darth_Pazuzu]

Please do not post story ideas in this forum.

Too late! I just did in another thread. I'm sorry about that!

 

[Rush Limborg]

An all-encompassing novel about Guinan's life would not fit with the Simon & Schuster guidelines for submitting a first-time TNG novel proposal. Guinan is not one of the main cast members of TNG. To cover all aspects of her contact with Kirk/Scott/Chekov and Picard/Stargazer and Picard/Riker/Data/Q, it would require a crossover of epic proportions.

It's a job for the proven pros.

My novel doesn't follow the guidelines, either. But as I said before, it's not going to be my first Trek-novel.

I'm writing it now in order to get it the heck outta my mind, so I can write a book that does follow the guidelines....

 

[BrotherBenny]

Could be she was finding herself in the 19th century and rejoined everyone by the 23rd when the Borg attacked her homeworld. We don't know when that was exactly.

Yes, we do. It was about a century before "Q Who," the 2260s. Meaning it took maybe 25-30 years to migrate from El-Auria to the vicinity of Earth (which must be where the Nexus encounter occurred, if the Enterprise-B was the closest ship).

In actual fact, Christopher, Memory Alpha says "mid-23rd century" which could mean anything from 2235-2265, so we don't know exactly when El-Auria was assimilated. Even if we took it as 2250, that still means 43 years to get from the DQ to near Earth, and Voyager made in seven, or 25 if you take Endgame into account, but my original statement still stands. We don't know when her homeworld was destroyed/assimilated, though we can make educated guesses based on certain canonical facts.

 

[Christopher]

In actual fact, Christopher, Memory Alpha says "mid-23rd century" which could mean anything from 2235-2265, so we don't know exactly when El-Auria was assimilated.

Yes, we do -- from "Q Who," as I already said.

http://twiztv.com/scripts/nextgeneration/season2/tng-216.txt

PICARD
You are acquainted with this life
form?

GUINAN
Yes. My people encountered them
a century ago. Our cities were
destroyed -- our people scattered
across the galaxy. They are
called the Borg -- protect yourself
or they will destroy you.

Memory Alpha is usually a good reference, but going right to the primary source is still your best bet.

 

[Rosalind]

^ what's the standard deviation when people say "a century ago"?

if you say "a century ago" in conversation now, do you mean 1905 - 1910, or 1890 - 1910, or even 1880 - 1910? (I'm assuming people will call 1920 "less than a century ago" or "80 years ago".)

 

[Christopher]

I'd say within a decade either way. For what it's worth, in The Buried Age I said the refugees took "three decades" to get to the Federation, which would put it about 105 years before "Q Who," give or take a few years.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Doesn't "Time's Arrow" contradict Generations? Since Guinan was shown to be on an El-Aurian refuge ship in the 23rd century, yet she'd already been on earth in the 19th Century.

As a long-lived, well-traveled El-Aurian, why couldn't she have returned home at some point?

 

[Therin of Andor]

Memory Alpha says "mid-23rd century"

Memory Alpha is a wiki. It can say whatever the latest fan editor wants it to say.

 

[Lorraine Anderson]

^ what's the standard deviation when people say "a century ago"?

if you say "a century ago" in conversation now, do you mean 1905 - 1910, or 1890 - 1910, or even 1880 - 1910? (I'm assuming people will call 1920 "less than a century ago" or "80 years ago".)

Actually, the date passing "2000" keeps messing me up. I keep thinking "a century ago" as being before 1900. Could it be I'm getting old?

 

[Trent Roman]

Hey, I'm in my mid-twenties and I get tripped up when I refer to things occuring in the 1890s/1900s as 'at the turn of the century'... Keep having to remind myself that this expression now refers to about eight years ago and to add 'last' before 'century'. Good thing 'at the turn of the millenium' isn't a common expression...

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Rush Limborg]

Hey, I'm in my mid-twenties and I get tripped up when I refer to things occuring in the 1890s/1900s as 'at the turn of the century'... Keep having to remind myself that this expression now refers to about eight years ago and to add 'last' before 'century'. Good thing 'at the turn of the millenium' isn't a common expression...

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

Fascinating!

And you ain't that much older than I am!

Cool.

 

[BrotherBenny]

I'd like to see a sequel to Ex Machina, such great potential going to waste.

 

[Lorraine Anderson]

Hey, I'm in my mid-twenties (deleted
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

Fascinating!

And you ain't that much older than I am!

Cool.

You're just children! I'm going to pick up my cane and sit in my rocker over there...

 

[Trent Roman]

Oy! I was being sympathetic over here. Sheesh, old people are so crabby.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[JAG]

Get off my lawn! and turn down that music too!

 

[Lorraine Anderson]

Oy! I was being sympathetic over here. Sheesh, old people are so crabby.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

Well, I'm 20 in my mind, but my body is almost fifty... but I think somebody transplanted some100 year old legs onto me... (Ow. Ow.) (I was walking all day.)