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| ⚫ | The concept of '''timeline''' or '''{{W|Fictional universe|continuity}}''' in the ''[[Terminator (franchise)|Terminator]]'' universe is complicated by the franchise's reliance on [[time travel]]ling missions, as many events have been altered as to when and how they happened, such as the creation of [[Skynet]], as well as [[Judgment Day]]. There have also been events undone or postponed due to interference from the time travels of both machines and Resistance, such as [[Miles Dyson]]'s involvement in Skynet, or the identity of the [[developers of Skynet]] (changing from [[Cyberdyne Systems]] to [[Cyber Research Systems]] and back again.) Some events also seem to be part of a [[predestination paradox]] of sorts, where time travel seems to be required to maintain a timeline rather than to alter it. |
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| − | <noinclude>{{cleanup}} |
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| ⚫ | In the ''[[Terminator (franchise)|Terminator]]'' franchise, there is no single canonical time theory. In fact, [[time theory]] is barely mentioned in the two original ''Terminator'' films by creator [[James Cameron]]. There are several time theories have been applied in various ''Terminator'' sources or discussed along fandom. |
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| ⚫ | The '''timeline''' in the ''Terminator'' universe is |
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| + | {{Seealso|Time theory}} |
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| ⚫ | In ''[[Terminator (franchise)|Terminator]]'' |
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| − | {{note| |
+ | {{note|This page contains spoilers}} |
| − | ==Alternate |
+ | ==Alternate timelines== |
| − | {{main|Alternate |
+ | {{main|Alternate timeline}} |
| ⚫ | The theory of '''alternate timelines''' has been applied to various parts of ''Terminator'' lore, including ''[[Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles]]'' and {{TG}}. This theory affirms that changes made during time travels cause alternate timelines to be created. However, there are two major variations on this theory: |
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| − | |||
| ⚫ | * A new timeline will be created once a critical event is decisively changed in the past. For example, in {{219}}, [[Jesse Flores]] did not know Resistance soldier [[Andrew Goode|Billy Wisher]], as he does not exist in her timeline since [[Derek Reese]] has travelled back to [[2007]] and killed him. Another example: in {{TG}}, {{tgc|Kyle Reese}} arrived in an alternate [[1984]], caused by [[Assassination of Young Sarah Connor|an attempt to assassinate Sarah Connor]] in [[1973]]. The writers of {{TG}} explained that [[Alex]] (an incarnation [[Skynet]]) travelled from another timeline to ensure that the machines had a chance at victory.<ref>[http://io9.com/your-burning-questions-about-the-plot-of-terminator-gen-1715234003 Your Burning Questions About The Plot of ''Terminator Genisys'', Answered!]</ref> |
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| + | * A new timeline will be created whenever a character is sent back chronologically due to the {{W|Butterfly effect in popular culture#Literature and print|Butterfly effect}}. A possible example is seen in ''[[Terminator: Revolution]]:'' John Connor mentioned he was targeted by a [[T-850]] sent from the future when he was a 12-year-old in [[1996]]. However, after he travelled to the year 1996 with the [[T-Infinity]], there was a full squad of T-850s trying to kill his younger self. |
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| ⚫ | * A new timeline will be created once a |
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| − | |||
| − | * A new timeline will be created once a character is sent back chronologically due to the [[Wikipedia:Butterfly effect in popular culture#Literature and print|Butterfly effect]]. |
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==Single timeline== |
==Single timeline== |
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| + | {{main|Single timeline}} |
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| − | In the "single timeline" theory, there is only one timeline despite of the time travelling event. If a thing is changed in the past, situation in future will be changed immediately. For example, this theory may be the basis of the [[The Terminator: End Game issue 03|final issue]] of comic ''[[The Terminator: End Game]]'', in which everything is changed once [[Jane Connor]] is born as she will destroy [[Skynet]] before it can use [[Time Displacement Equipment]] to send the [[T-800 (The Terminator)|T-800]] to [[1984]]. |
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| + | {{see also|Predestination paradox}} |
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| + | The theory of '''single timeline''' applies to other parts of ''Terminator'' lore, including ''[[The Terminator (film)|The Terminator]]'' and ''[[The Terminator: Tempest]]''. It posits that there is only one timeline, and that time travelling events cause it to constantly shift. |
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| − | In addition, it seems characters in ''[[Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle]]'' believe this theory as the [[Tech-Com]] send [[Simon]] to terminate [[Thomas Parnell]] in [[2003]] in order to removed the intimate danger in [[2029]]. |
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| + | ==Temporal mechanics== |
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| − | {{story|Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle issue 08|''Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle'' #08}} |
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| ⚫ | As we've seen, different parts of the ''Terminator'' franchise adhere to completely different theories of time travel, making it difficult to determine how time travel actually works. Though there is little in-universe explanation of the temporal mechanics of the space-time continuum in the ''Terminator'' universe, many contradictory bits and pieces have been picked up from the multiple alterations to the timeline that have occurred due to temporal interference by the [[Connor]]s, the [[Resistance]], [[Skynet]]'s agents, or others: |
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| ⚫ | *Sometimes, traveling back in time will cause a [[predestination paradox]]. Instead of altering the course of events, it will cause those events and bring about the timeline that the time traveler comes from; essentially, the time traveler's presence and actions their consequences in the past create the future that the traveler comes from, causing a never-ending loop where they're destined to travel back in time to cause the chain of events that lead to them going back in the first place.{{Story2|T1}} |
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| − | ==Mechanics== |
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| ⚫ | *When a time traveler (or, in [[John Connor]]'s case, a person whose very existence was caused by time travel) successfully alters the course of events, their own memories and their existence from the point they arrived in the past onwards will remain the same and continue, allowing the time traveler originating from the previous timeline to continue to exist in the new timeline as an anomaly.{{Story2|T2}} {{Story2|102}} {{Story2|219}} |
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| ⚫ | Though there is little |
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| ⚫ | *When the course of events leading up to an event were due to a predestination paradox and the causality loop is broken (for example, by deciding not to send the time traveler back to fulfill their role in the past), the future reality can continue to exist without its own version of the time traveler going back as the previous timeline's version did. {{storylink|Revolution issue 5|''Revolution'' issue 5}} |
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| + | *When two or more time travelers are sent back to different dates, the second time traveler may come from the new, altered future instead of the version that had originated in the first traveler's timeline. {{story2|219}} |
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| ⚫ | *When a time traveler travels into the future of a timeline, they may arrive in an alternate future where their return to their origin date has not yet occurred and thus the time traveler has been completely absent for the time between the origin date and the future they'd arrived in. {{storylink|Terminator 3: The Redemption}}, {{Story2|222}} |
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| ⚫ | *Even if many alternate timelines (or iterations of the single timeline) have been created, certain key events tend to remain the same (i.e., Skynet's creation; Judgment Day happening; John Connor rising to become leader of the Resistance; Skynet and the Resistance fighting a [[War Against The Machines|war]] which ultimately ends with the Resistance's victory; or many of Skynet machines being virtually if not completely identical down to their series designations). In ''[[T2: Rising Storm]]'', Skynet noted these recurring patterns when discussing the mechanics of time travel, and theorized that timelines have an elasticity to them: time travel can cause events to bend off into an alternate direction, but the new course of events will seek to "spring back" towards the original timeline's history, in an attempt by the spacetime continuum to force the alternate timelines' divergent histories back into the original version of events. {{storylink|T2: Rising Storm}} |
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| + | *Finally, ''[[The Terminator RPG]]'' tries to look at the whole franchise and give a holistic look at temporal mechanics. According to this approach, time travel is both dangerous and unpredictable. Changes to the timestream happen in waves, as multidirectional echoes that affect the past, present, and future. Although the timeline tries to correct itself, there's no way to know whether time travel will end in a predestination paradox or an actual change in history. It’s impossible to tell whether the time traveler will remain unaffected by this [[ripple effect]] or if they will be altered or even erased from existence. There's also no way to know if the manipulation of time is affecting one single timeline or actually creating multiple alternate branches, or even whether it's possible to collapse all these alternate timelines into a single dominant one. And, to make things even worse, there's no way to know if excessive tampering with the timestream won't eventually unravel time itself. {{Storylink|The T2 RPG Sourcebook}} |
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| + | == The Kyle Reese paradox== |
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| ⚫ | *Sometimes, |
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| + | Since the release of ''The Terminator,'' the best known and most highly-debated paradox is the predestination paradox of John Connor sending Kyle Reese back in time to become John Connor’s father. If we consider the timeline of ''[[The Terminator (film)|The Terminator]]'' to be single and linear, it is possible that the causality loop began long before the film and that there were numerous timelines before the movie. Points of contention include whether Kyle was always John Connor's father (perhaps requiring someone else to send Kyle back in time), or whether in that theoretical [[alpha timeline]] John Connor had a different father. Kyle Reese knows that Skynet sent back a T-800, so it’s possible that a timeline was created before he went back in time. Similarly, there must be a reason why the [[Sarah Connor snapshot]] he carries with him was taken, as without the events of {{T1}} the boy would not take a picture of her. |
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| ⚫ | * |
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| ⚫ | *When the course of events leading up to |
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| − | *When two or more time-travellers were sent back to different dates, if the course of events were altered from what they were in the time-travellers' future reality after the first time-traveller had arrived but before the second one had (but so that their time-travel into the past would still happen in the new timeline's future), then when the second time-traveller arrived in the present, it could be the new, altered future's version of them instead of the version that had originated in the first traveller's timeline. ({{story2|219}}) |
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| ⚫ | *When |
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| ⚫ | * |
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| − | == |
+ | == See also== |
| − | ===Understanding the theory of multiple timelines and time-travel=== |
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| − | To understand the timelines, one needs to have a basic understanding of timelines and time-travel. A good source is M.J. Young's [http://www.mjyoung.net/time/terminat.html analysis of the Terminator movies] and his [http://www.mjyoung.net/time/theory.html theories on time-traveling]. Keep in mind that there are many theories when it comes to time-travel. When it comes to understanding the timelines of the Terminator saga, some fans of the series base their conclusions on current theoretical physics, while others just let the Terminator films speak for themselves or even use theories from other time travel themed movies to explain it. |
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| − | One very fundamental understanding of the theory of multiple timelines is that something cannot happen before it happens (though this is not necessarily true). For example, in ''[[Terminator 2: Judgment Day (film)|Terminator 2: Judgment Day]]'', the viewer learns that the adult [[John Connor]] sends back a terminator to 1995 to protect his younger self. It follows that John must first live out his life, without meeting this terminator, to the very point in the future where he sends back the terminator (again, complicated, but not necessarily true). From this point, when the terminator arrives in 1995, a new timeline is created, a new future is set, and the previous timeline–from 1995 into the future–ceases to exist. However, the "future artifact(s)" (the reprogrammed terminator and anything else sent back from its time) still exists because its/their own past has not been changed. |
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| − | This means that, if we assume the existence of multiple timelines, events evolving in time occur on two axis: by the actual date and by timeline. Time move forward in a axis from left to right. If someone arrives from the future to the past, the timeline is shifted down, and the time starts moving from that point in the past, forward again, but on a different track. |
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| − | |||
| − | ====When does a timeline start?==== |
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| − | When referring to the different timelines, like the ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' timeline, some may think it starts and stops at the same time as the movie does. It doesn't. A specific timeline starts from the point where something arrives from the future. It's also important to know that '''''all information from the robot about events belongs to the previous timeline''''', not the current timeline, in this case ''The Terminator''-timeline. All actual events occurring ''after'' its arrival (which you see in the movies) belongs to a new timeline, the ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''-timeline. |
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| − | The terminators or Kyle from the future know only what happened in the future from the previous timeline, they don't know what's going to happen in the current timeline. Information in a source may go back several timelines. Like in ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' it is revealed that Kate and John, as children met and kissed the day before the T-800 in ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' arrived. So this is actually events going back to [[The Terminator (film)|The Terminator]]-timeline. |
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| − | It's not enough to know when something is sent from the future, you also have to know in which specific timeline it was sent from. In some cases a ''hidden'' timeline can exist between two timelines: |
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| − | Let's use five mythical, apples that never rot or grow stale. Say "Person A" on 01/01/1950 sees the 5 apples and he eats one apple. This event occurs in 01/01/1950 until 01/01/2000 this action belongs to Timeline 1. Then, on 01/01/2000 (we assume he comes from Timeline 1) "Person B" goes back to 01/01/1960 and says to "Person A": "You ate one apple on 01/01/1950." Now, "Person B" also say that "Person C" was sent from 01/01/2000 to 01/01/1940. If "Person C" ate one of the five apples, his actions changed realities for "Person A" as well as "Person B." Before "Person B" says "Person C" ate an apple, we correctly assumed he came from Timeline 2a. Once he says "Person C" ate the apple, this statement becomes incorrect; he actually comes from Timeline 2b because "Person C" changed history for both "Person A" and "Person B." However, if "Person C" did not eat the apple on 01/01/1940, then it created Timeline 2a, in which case "Person A" saw the five apples on 01/01/1950 and ate one. |
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| − | We can resolve the timelines like this: |
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| − | *Timeline 1: "Person A" saw the 5 apples on 01/01/1950 and ate one apple on the same date. On 01/01/2000, "Person C" goes back to 01/01/1940. |
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| − | *Timeline 2a: "Person C" arrives from Timeline 1 and creates Timeline 2a by NOT eating an apple. On 01/01/1940, he sees the 5 apples and eats none. Thus, on 01/01/1950 "Person A" sees five apples and eats one. This timeline exists until the year 01/01/2000 when "Person B" goes back to 01/01/1960 to talk with "Person A." |
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| − | *Timeline 2b: "Person C" arrives on 01/01/1940 from Timeline 1 and creates Timeline 2b. He sees the five apples and eats one; thus, "Person A" sees four apples and also eats one. When "Person B" arrives on 01/01/1960 to tell "Person A" he ate one apple on 01/01/1950 AND "Person C" ate one apple on 01/01/1940, it is the first mention "Person A" has ever heard of the apple eaten by "Person C." "Person A" now realizes there were originally five apples, not four. Also, "Person B" could have only heard of the fifth apple if he had been told of its existence by either "Person C" or another historical source; "Person A" could not have told him about it in this timeline. |
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| − | |||
| − | ====Regarding the timelines below==== |
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| − | To fully understand the story and the timelines in the Terminator saga, it is divided up in sections. It's not possible to combine and retain all information in one single timeline, because some events cease to exist in a later timeline. A new timeline for each source (in this case all movies and the TV series). In a given timeline, this is the only timeline that exist. |
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| − | |||
| − | The sources we use, in this case movies, novels, comics, games, holds the information on when and the circumstances on the how a new timeline are created. Sometimes, like in the movies, it contains several time travels, like Kyle and the T-800 in [[The Terminator (film)|The Terminator]]. This means there are actually two timelines in ''The Terminator'', but on this page we try to make it simple, by letting it be one timeline. |
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| − | |||
| − | ====Problems connecting the timelines==== |
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| − | [[Image:Terminator_timelines.gif|thumb|250px|''A simple overview of all timelines.'']] |
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| − | According to which theories and "truths" you accept by the creators of the whole Terminator saga there are certain timeline problems which occurs. |
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| − | The plot in ''[[Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (film)|Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines]]'' reveal dates which doesn't add up with the timeline in ''[[Terminator 2|Terminator 2: Judgment day]]'': |
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| − | *We know ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' happened in 1995. In the opening narration (of ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'') John Connor says that he was attacked by the T-1000 when he was 13 years old. This is an inconsistency. In ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', John Connor was only 10 years old, as shown on the police computer when the T-1000 accesses it. |
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| − | *In ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', Sarah Connor's grave site says she was born in 1959. In previous movies, her birth year had been given as 1965. However, it is important to note that she and John were living "off the grid", routinely using false names, birthdates, inter alia; and that her grave site was really a weapons cache. |
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| − | Prior to the release of the TV series [[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]], an interview with writer of the show, Josh Friedman were published.<ref>[http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=2596 "Exclusive Interview: Writer Josh Friedman fights the future for 'Terminator's' tv 'chronicles'"]</ref> |
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| − | * [[Josh Friedman]] states that the TV series is set in an alternate timeline, which means the timeline of ''[[Terminator 3|Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines]]'' is not "ceasing" to exist, but it has never occurred from the TV series point of view. The pilot of the show begins four years after the events of ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''. |
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| − | With some speculation, the two timelines from [[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]] and ''[[Terminator 3|Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines]]'' can be forged together. '''''Be aware this is pure speculation:''''' |
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| − | * After the events of ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' the war starts between humans and machines. John becomes leader of the resistance. Skynet manage somehow to make advanced robots earlier than the previous timeline (maybe from the remaining parts of the T-X and T-850), which lead to creating the "Cameron"-model and using it on the battlefield. After the previous attempts of killing Sarah and John Connor (T, T2 and T3), the war still goes on, and it's getting tighter. Skynet now use all resources on the battlefield. In a last effort they send a T-888 (an older model) back to 1999 to kill John Connor. As a counter attack, the Resistance are able to catch a terminator from the battlefield (a "Cameron"-model) and send it back to protect John Connor. Sending terminators back before the previous timeline results in "erasing" the ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines''-timeline completely (or, alternatively, creating a separate parallel timeline). |
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| − | ====''Terminator Salvation'' director and cast explain the timelines==== |
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| − | After the release of Terminator Salvation, the film's director [[McG]], and actors [[Christian Bale]] and [[Anton Yelchin]] answered several Q&As submitted by the fans. A few of the questions address various aspects of the Terminator franchise's timelines, including the original timeline, the [[predestination paradox]], and how multiple timelines work in the films. |
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| − | *Anton Yelchin talks about his character, Kyle Reese's origins, and the original timeline he came from in [[The Terminator (film)|The Terminator]]. ''"When Connor sent Kyle back, that was a world in which Kyle wasn't Connor's father. So when he sent him back, it then started this chain of the Connor that you have in [all the sequels] where Kyle Reese is his father — it'll be interesting how they tackle that [in future sequels] if we ever get to a point we have to send [Kyle] back."''<ref>[http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1612077/story.jhtml "'Terminator Salvation' Stars Answer Your Burning Questions"]</ref> |
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| − | *Christian Bale discusses what John Connor knows about time travel during [[Terminator Salvation (film)|Terminator Salvation]], ''"Yes, it hasn't been invented in this movie, so it can't be utilized yet. He knows entirely that there's a bizarre situation where he knows Kyle Reese — who is a teenager but who is his father — and that he'll have to send him back in time. But Kyle Reese is not aware of that."'' |
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| − | *McG states that Terminator Salvation uses ''"... the spirit of parallel worlds, as theorized by Einstein. We try to pay attention to that approach to a fundamentally theoretical construct."''<ref>[http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1612172/20090526/story.jhtml "'Terminator Salvation' Director Answers Fans' Burning Questions"]</ref> This allows Skynet to be aware of the other attempts on the life of John Connor, and allows it make plans based on it's past successes and failures. This likely explains why Skynet would lure John into combat against the [[T-800_(Terminator_Salvation)|T-800 Model 101]], because it is the model that managed to successfully kill him in a different future on July 4, 2032. |
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| − | *McG mentions how it is able to identify and target Kyle Reese while he is just a civilian in 2018. ''"It’s a function of their recon during the dark period, and a function of their awareness of the events that had happened since Kyle Reese traveled back. By virtue of John Connor being alive, that means Kyle Reese did meet Sarah Connor and impregnate her. That data exists, and was brought into the fold at Skynet."''<ref>[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/05/27/mcg-talks-terminator-sequel-commons-music-timeline-and-more-fan-questions/ "McG Talks ‘Terminator’ Sequel, Common’s Music, Timeline And More Fan Questions"]</ref> |
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| − | *McG goes on to discuss what would happen if Kyle were killed in Terminator Salvation, and the repercussions it would have on the timeline. ''"Will he be erased in the photograph, like in “Back to the Future”? That’s an excellent question that theorists have been bandying about for the ages. We play it more simply. Kyle Reese must be kept alive, so he can be sent back in time from 2029 to protect Sarah Connor, impregnate her and she’ll give birth to John Connor who will save us all. And the simplest way to understand that is to protect the triangle of Kyle, John, and Sarah. Any deconstruction of that leads to more headache than satisfaction."'' |
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| − | ====Comments on Terminator Salvation Cast and Crew explanations==== |
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| − | *Concerning the possibility of Kyle Reese being killed after J-Day and before impregnating Sarah: It is unlikely that John Connor would seize to exist in his timeline if Kyle Reese were to be killed in front of him before being able to conceive him, it would result in the formation of an alternate limbo timeline where John Connor is an anomaly and shall continue on his own path while two parallel timelines, one where Kyle does not die and goes back in time, and two Kyle never goes back and john is never born, shall continue to exist simultaneously, whereas for John, he shall not experience any change in his anomalous timeline. |
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| − | Similar situations have occurred in the [[Terminator:_The_Sarah_Connor_Chronicles|TSCC]] timeline, Derek's action in the past result in the formation of another timeline in which he is tortured by Charles Fisher, yet neither he nor as such nor his original timeline suffer any changes, proven by his lack of recollection of the incident, but this could also be a result of the stress of the procedure itself. |
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| − | another interesting aspect explored in TSCC is the resultant time travel in an alternate timeline due change in the said timeline, Jesse from the timeline where Derek is tortured(timeline B) travels back in time to encounter Derek from timeline A(not tortured original timeline) who's actions result in the creation of timeline B and the scenario which Derek from timeline B must suffer, this timeline is further altered by the arrival and actions of Jesse creating timeline C. this means that timeline B was the hidden timeline and the entire(Derek will not be tortured, yet Cameron, Derek and Cromartie are sent back in time from timeline B's creation) show now happens in timeline C which in itself is an anomalous timeline since its very existence could be negated and is hence uncertain. |
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| − | |||
| − | ===Timelines of the ''Terminator'' series=== |
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| − | Since the release of [[The Terminator (film)|The Terminator]] the most highly debated issue is the [[predestination paradox]] of Kyle from the future impregnating Sarah and then become his father. Some just overlook this fact while other try to find solution to this paradox. Most fans want Kyle to always be John Connor's father (this would require someone else to send Kyle back in time for some other purpose), but in the original timeline it is still possible that John Connor previously had another father, and later Kyle impregnated Sarah. |
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| − | |||
| − | ====Regarding the original timeline==== |
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| − | {{seealso|The Terminator timeline}} |
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| − | |||
| − | In order to understand and make the story and timeline from the start of [[The Terminator (film)|The Terminator]] work, it is suggested that there are numerous timelines before the actual event of the first movie (though all exist in the same exact universe). We know [[Kyle Reese]] accounts for two key events/objects from the future - '''First:''' Skynet sends back a T-800. '''Second: '''Kyle has a picture of Sarah Connor. |
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| − | |||
| − | #There must be a reason why Skynet sends back a T-800. It's because of the future leader of the Resistance. Likewise, there must be a reason why John Connor in the future sends back Kyle Reese to protect Sarah. John Connor in the future, cannot send back Kyle Reese before the T-800 already been in the past. |
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| − | #The reason why [[Sarah Connor snapshot]] was taken is the cause and action of the T-800 and Kyle Reese in past. Without these two events, Sarah would not decide to go on this trip at the end of {{T1}}, which leads up to a boy taking a picture of her. This means, there have to be a timeline where Kyle Reese is going back, without a knowledge of a photo. Simply, because it doesn't exist yet. |
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| − | |||
| − | ==See also== |
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*[[:Category:Years|Year index through the ''Terminator'' franchise]] |
*[[:Category:Years|Year index through the ''Terminator'' franchise]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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| − | <references/> |
+ | <references /> |
| − | ==External |
+ | ==External links== |
| + | *{{W|Timestream}} on Wikipedia |
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| + | *{{W|Fictional universe|Continuity (setting)}} on Wikipedia |
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| + | *{{W|Parallel universe (fiction)}} at Wikipedia |
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*[http://www.terminatorfiles.com/saga_timeline.htm TerminatorFiles.com - Timelines] |
*[http://www.terminatorfiles.com/saga_timeline.htm TerminatorFiles.com - Timelines] |
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*[http://www.terminatorfiles.com/saga_chronology.htm TerminatorFiles.com - Chronology] |
*[http://www.terminatorfiles.com/saga_chronology.htm TerminatorFiles.com - Chronology] |
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| − | *[http://www.mjyoung.net/time/theory.html M.J. Young's theories on time-traveling] |
+ | *[http://www.mjyoung.net/time/theory.html M.J. Young's theories on time-traveling] |
*[http://www.mjyoung.net/time/terminat.html M.J. Young's analysis of ''The Terminator'' and ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''] |
*[http://www.mjyoung.net/time/terminat.html M.J. Young's analysis of ''The Terminator'' and ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''] |
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*[http://www.mjyoung.net/time/termina3.html M.J. Young's analysis of ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines''] |
*[http://www.mjyoung.net/time/termina3.html M.J. Young's analysis of ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines''] |
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| + | *[https://ew.com/article/2015/06/30/terminator-genisys-franchise-timeline-explained/ ''Terminator Genisys'': The franchise timeline, explained | EW.com] |
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| + | ;YouTube videos regarding ''Terminator'' timelines |
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| − | </noinclude> |
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| + | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFJKy8WfFa0 ''Terminator'' Timeline EXPLAINED (''Terminator Genisys'' Erased History?) - YouTube] |
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| − | {| align="center" width="95%" |
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| + | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r21foPioNCU ''Terminator'' Timeline Explained - YouTube] |
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| − | ! style="text-align: center; height: 300; font-size: 120%; vertical-align: top;background-color:#F0F0F0; -moz-border-radius-topleft:10px;-moz-border-radius-topright:10px;-moz-border-radius-bottomleft:10px;-moz-border-radius-bottomright:10px;" |[[Timeline]]s & [[:Category:Time Theory|Theories]]<br> |
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| + | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJYHaeQTqz4 ''The Terminator'' Timeline Explained - YouTube] |
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| + | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvLrdzyWOLQ ''TERMINATOR'' Full Timeline Explained! (''Dark Fate'' Update) - YouTube] |
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| + | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga93YYXJg-g ''Terminator'' Timeline Explained : How To Watch ''Terminator'' Movies in Chronological Order - YouTube] |
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| − | ! width="12%" colspan="1" style="font-size:11px; vertical-align: center ;text-align: center; background-color:#F0F0F0" | Original film timelines<!-- models --> |
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| − | | colspan="1" style="font-size:12px; vertical-align: center ;background-color:#F9F9F9;-moz-border-radius-topleft:10px;-moz-border-radius-topright:10px;" | [[The Terminator timeline|The Terminator]] - [[Terminator 2: Judgment Day timeline|Terminator 2: Judgment Day]] - [[Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines timeline|Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines]] - [[Terminator Salvation timeline|Terminator Salvation]] |
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| − | | colspan="1" style="font-size:12px; vertical-align: center ;background-color:#F9F9F9;-moz-border-radius-bottomleft:10px;-moz-border-radius-bottomright:10px;" | [[John's World]] / [[Jade's World]] - [[T2 Trilogy timeline]] - [[Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles timeline|Sarah Connor Chronicles]] ([[Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles timeline (alternative)|alternative]]) |
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| − | ! width="12%" colspan="1" style="font-size:11px; vertical-align: center ;text-align: center; background-color:#F0F0F0" | New timelines |
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| − | | colspan="1" style="font-size:12px; vertical-align: center ;background-color:#F9F9F9;-moz-border-radius-bottomleft:10px;-moz-border-radius-bottomright:10px;" | [[Terminator Genisys timeline|Terminator Genisys]] |
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Latest revision as of 16:55, 18 December 2023
The concept of timeline or continuity in the Terminator universe is complicated by the franchise's reliance on time travelling missions, as many events have been altered as to when and how they happened, such as the creation of Skynet, as well as Judgment Day. There have also been events undone or postponed due to interference from the time travels of both machines and Resistance, such as Miles Dyson's involvement in Skynet, or the identity of the developers of Skynet (changing from Cyberdyne Systems to Cyber Research Systems and back again.) Some events also seem to be part of a predestination paradox of sorts, where time travel seems to be required to maintain a timeline rather than to alter it.
In the Terminator franchise, there is no single canonical time theory. In fact, time theory is barely mentioned in the two original Terminator films by creator James Cameron. There are several time theories have been applied in various Terminator sources or discussed along fandom.
- See also: Time theory
Note: This page contains spoilers
Alternate timelines[]
- Main article: Alternate timeline
The theory of alternate timelines has been applied to various parts of Terminator lore, including Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles and Terminator Genisys. This theory affirms that changes made during time travels cause alternate timelines to be created. However, there are two major variations on this theory:
- A new timeline will be created once a critical event is decisively changed in the past. For example, in "Today Is The Day, Part 2", Jesse Flores did not know Resistance soldier Billy Wisher, as he does not exist in her timeline since Derek Reese has travelled back to 2007 and killed him. Another example: in Terminator Genisys, Kyle Reese arrived in an alternate 1984, caused by an attempt to assassinate Sarah Connor in 1973. The writers of Terminator Genisys explained that Alex (an incarnation Skynet) travelled from another timeline to ensure that the machines had a chance at victory.[1]
- A new timeline will be created whenever a character is sent back chronologically due to the Butterfly effect. A possible example is seen in Terminator: Revolution: John Connor mentioned he was targeted by a T-850 sent from the future when he was a 12-year-old in 1996. However, after he travelled to the year 1996 with the T-Infinity, there was a full squad of T-850s trying to kill his younger self.
Single timeline[]
- Main article: Single timeline
- See also: Predestination paradox
The theory of single timeline applies to other parts of Terminator lore, including The Terminator and The Terminator: Tempest. It posits that there is only one timeline, and that time travelling events cause it to constantly shift.
Temporal mechanics[]
As we've seen, different parts of the Terminator franchise adhere to completely different theories of time travel, making it difficult to determine how time travel actually works. Though there is little in-universe explanation of the temporal mechanics of the space-time continuum in the Terminator universe, many contradictory bits and pieces have been picked up from the multiple alterations to the timeline that have occurred due to temporal interference by the Connors, the Resistance, Skynet's agents, or others:
- Sometimes, traveling back in time will cause a predestination paradox. Instead of altering the course of events, it will cause those events and bring about the timeline that the time traveler comes from; essentially, the time traveler's presence and actions their consequences in the past create the future that the traveler comes from, causing a never-ending loop where they're destined to travel back in time to cause the chain of events that lead to them going back in the first place. The Terminator
- When a time traveler (or, in John Connor's case, a person whose very existence was caused by time travel) successfully alters the course of events, their own memories and their existence from the point they arrived in the past onwards will remain the same and continue, allowing the time traveler originating from the previous timeline to continue to exist in the new timeline as an anomaly. Terminator 2: Judgment Day "Gnothi Seauton" "Today Is The Day, Part 2"
- When the course of events leading up to an event were due to a predestination paradox and the causality loop is broken (for example, by deciding not to send the time traveler back to fulfill their role in the past), the future reality can continue to exist without its own version of the time traveler going back as the previous timeline's version did. Revolution issue 5
- When two or more time travelers are sent back to different dates, the second time traveler may come from the new, altered future instead of the version that had originated in the first traveler's timeline. "Today Is The Day, Part 2"
- When a time traveler travels into the future of a timeline, they may arrive in an alternate future where their return to their origin date has not yet occurred and thus the time traveler has been completely absent for the time between the origin date and the future they'd arrived in. Terminator 3: The Redemption, "Born to Run"
- Even if many alternate timelines (or iterations of the single timeline) have been created, certain key events tend to remain the same (i.e., Skynet's creation; Judgment Day happening; John Connor rising to become leader of the Resistance; Skynet and the Resistance fighting a war which ultimately ends with the Resistance's victory; or many of Skynet machines being virtually if not completely identical down to their series designations). In T2: Rising Storm, Skynet noted these recurring patterns when discussing the mechanics of time travel, and theorized that timelines have an elasticity to them: time travel can cause events to bend off into an alternate direction, but the new course of events will seek to "spring back" towards the original timeline's history, in an attempt by the spacetime continuum to force the alternate timelines' divergent histories back into the original version of events. T2: Rising Storm
- Finally, The Terminator RPG tries to look at the whole franchise and give a holistic look at temporal mechanics. According to this approach, time travel is both dangerous and unpredictable. Changes to the timestream happen in waves, as multidirectional echoes that affect the past, present, and future. Although the timeline tries to correct itself, there's no way to know whether time travel will end in a predestination paradox or an actual change in history. It’s impossible to tell whether the time traveler will remain unaffected by this ripple effect or if they will be altered or even erased from existence. There's also no way to know if the manipulation of time is affecting one single timeline or actually creating multiple alternate branches, or even whether it's possible to collapse all these alternate timelines into a single dominant one. And, to make things even worse, there's no way to know if excessive tampering with the timestream won't eventually unravel time itself. The T2 RPG Sourcebook
The Kyle Reese paradox[]
Since the release of The Terminator, the best known and most highly-debated paradox is the predestination paradox of John Connor sending Kyle Reese back in time to become John Connor’s father. If we consider the timeline of The Terminator to be single and linear, it is possible that the causality loop began long before the film and that there were numerous timelines before the movie. Points of contention include whether Kyle was always John Connor's father (perhaps requiring someone else to send Kyle back in time), or whether in that theoretical alpha timeline John Connor had a different father. Kyle Reese knows that Skynet sent back a T-800, so it’s possible that a timeline was created before he went back in time. Similarly, there must be a reason why the Sarah Connor snapshot he carries with him was taken, as without the events of The Terminator the boy would not take a picture of her.
See also[]
References[]
External links[]
- Timestream on Wikipedia
- Continuity (setting) on Wikipedia
- Parallel universe (fiction) at Wikipedia
- TerminatorFiles.com - Timelines
- TerminatorFiles.com - Chronology
- M.J. Young's theories on time-traveling
- M.J. Young's analysis of The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- M.J. Young's analysis of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
- Terminator Genisys: The franchise timeline, explained | EW.com
- YouTube videos regarding Terminator timelines
- Terminator Timeline EXPLAINED (Terminator Genisys Erased History?) - YouTube
- Terminator Timeline Explained - YouTube
- The Terminator Timeline Explained - YouTube
- TERMINATOR Full Timeline Explained! (Dark Fate Update) - YouTube
- Terminator Timeline Explained : How To Watch Terminator Movies in Chronological Order - YouTube
| Timelines & Theories | |
|---|---|
| The Terminator | Alpha timeline - Original Timeline - The Terminator - NOW Comics - Tempest - Dark Years - 2029 to 1984 - Terminator 2: Judgment Day |
| Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Cybernetic Dawn - T2 Trilogy - The New John Connor Chronicles (Skynet's World / Jade's World / John's World) - The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Rise of the Machines - Dark Fate |
| Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | Rise of the Machines - Kyla's World - T2 Saga - Terminator Salvation |
| Stand-alone | The Terminator: Future Shock - Terminator Genisys - The Terminator RPG |
| Judgment Day | 1995 - 1997 - 2003 - 2004 - 2011 - 2017 - 2021 |
| Years & Chronology | 1984 - 1995 - 2004 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2015 - 2018 - 2020 - 2027 - 2029 - 2031 - 2032 - 2036 - 2042 |