Helen Does the Time Warp, Again

[grav_ity]

Okay, so once upon a time on a show called Stargate SG-1 there was a timey-whimey thing called Moebius. I drew some pictures. In Paint. I mention this for two reasons: 1. because Paint is not my friend, and 2. because even though the time travel in Moebius is different (in that they specifically created an alternate timeline), I still got to make pictures, because Into the Black fiddled around with Time as well.

Okay, so Helen goes back in time. Before that, her time line had been linear.



Then Adam Worth creates the...whatever that thing was called, opening a window to 1898 (ish), and Helen follows him through.



So now there are TWO Helens and TWO Adams, but NEITHER IS A COPY. Everyone is original. (I know. It's counter-intuitive. But until one of them changes the time line, there is no alternate timeline.)

I like to think of this as the "Blink" method of Time Travel. Without ruining an absolutely wonderful episode of Doctor Who, Billy has to wait for the EXACT MOMENT to make his phone call, and resist the temptation to get in touch with a younger version of Sally, or even himself.

In "Helen Does the Time Warp, Again", the idea is that Helen avoids herself at all costs, and goes out of the way to prevent changes to the time line. It's likely, given the teasers, that this is not the way the show is going, but that only means more pictures later, after we figure everything out.

In the mean time, it will look like Helen has lived her life as we've seen, gone back in time, and then lived it again.



That last part is IMPORTANT, and I will tell you why. If Helen replaces herself or something like that (which worked really well in Voyager and Farscape under different circumstances), then there will not be a Helen to go back in time. Allow to me put it this way: younger Helen (who becomes older Helen eventually) goes back in time, lives as older Helen in the past, and then when younger Helen goes back, she steps back in without missing a beat.



Yeah, that's why I drew a picture. ;)

(I kept the line the same colour in this case, unlike in the Moebius one, because it's not an alternate time line. It's the second pass of the same time line. Because, really, with time travel, you do have to quibble about stuff like that.)

Questions?

Comments

[querulouspeg.livejournal.com]

Wow. Time travel really is confusing. So....Blonde Helen goes back....but isn't it Brunette Helen who goes back? She can't replace the Helen that is already there and live her own life all over again because then she would have the memories of living that life when she is in the 'present' ie 2011. She would be stuck in an endless loop of living the same century over and over and doing the same things. She would never make it back to 2011 because she would be obliged to go through Worth's time portal to ensure that she lives the 20th century all over again (in order to preserve the timeline). Unless she accidentally kills her 1898 self and has to take her own place. But if she killed herself she would presumably cease to exist. 2011 Helen could live the whole century again but only if she never came into contact with herself. I suppose they could have met (and that is how they know about their longevity) and 2011 Helen helps 1898 Helen with something fundamental. That might explain why 2011 was willing to step through the portal - because she knows she is supposed to meet herself in 1898 and help do something then. Egads, I am REALLY confused.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

What we have is a problem of nomenclature, really, like in BSG when Caprica Boomer became Galactica Boomer and vice versa. Blonde Helen is the younger one, even though she'll be Brunette when she goes back. This is because...

THERE IS ONLY ONE HELEN.

There just happen to be two of them in the same place from 1898-2011. In 2011, the "younger" Helen goes back in time and the "older" one steps back into her life.

(This is assuming there is no time travel back to the present, which I am pulling for, but whatever.)

Also, given what I've seen in the teaser, it seems that Younger Helen knew something...which does make it wacky, but I'll draw more pictures if required. ;)

[querulouspeg.livejournal.com]

OK so there are two Helens the whole time....wait, this is hard to grasp. Older Helen has already lived the 20th century TWICE and so the one who hasn't had a turn goes back and lives it all over again until 2011....when the one who has had a turn carries on into the future? And the one who has lived the 20th century twice goes off and does something else? Co-ordinates with herself to run the Sanctuary maybe? LOL!

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

Yes. Pretty much. I wrote fic (http://grav-ity.livejournal.com/1356672.html).

[querulouspeg.livejournal.com]

sorry...I know what I am trying to say but reading that back I think I didn't express it properly.

[querulouspeg.livejournal.com]

LOL! yes I have been meaning to read that! *reads*

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

It made perfect sense to me. :)

[ladydeadlock001.livejournal.com]

Omgs. I actually understand what you're saying lol!!

[shadadukal]

If Helen replaces herself or something like that (which worked really well in Voyager and Farscape under different circumstances)

Which FS episode are you referring to here?

I am hoping this goes like that your drawings say.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

When John gets duplicated and ties himself over and over with paper, scissors, rock. And then dies and we all suffered through the worst character death EVER because THEY WERE SO PRETTY.

[shadadukal]

Yeah, but that's not time travel, hence my confusion.

In my mind, Talyn John and Moya John are both copies of the original John Crichton who "died" when he was cloned/duplicated/whatever.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

Not strictly time travel, but it does raise question of who is who and what the heck happened.

I think the paper, scissors, rock scene is so powerful because it indicates, to me, that they are both the original John, which just makes the whole side plot with Chiana even creepier.

[shadadukal]

To me, they are like the original. Because the easiest way I can understand the degeneration of the other people cloned is if a copy is never quite like the original and therefore deterioration happens after so many times. Because if you had a perfect original to duplicate from, it shouldn't occur (unless the process itself damages the original). But I prefer thinking they were both copies. This way I don't agonize over which was real, same for Chiana and D'Argo.

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

Damn, I was hoping we'd see, well, not another whale, but a Sanctuary-esque picture.

But hee!

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

What shape would that be, exactly?

(I supposed I could try for DNA if I have to do it again...)

[thatandall.livejournal.com]

∞

Just a thought. *G*

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

That would require TWO DIRECTIONS OF TIME TRAVEL and I am not sure I'm down with that...

[thatandall.livejournal.com]

I can understand that. It would blow my goddamn mind if it happened for real by accident, though. Like the fish thing.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

Hey! The fish thing was the result of concentrated effort and skillful artistic manipulation and...yeah. :)

[thatandall.livejournal.com]

Uh huh. Suuuuuure. :P (It's awesome either way.)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

HAH HAH. Yes, the 20th century really was twice as awesome as every other century: WE HAD TWO HELEN MAGNUSES (but nobody knew it).

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

The important people knew! :)

[thatandall.livejournal.com]

Coolest. Head!canon. Ever. Even though it took me several passes to get it straight in my head. [/stupid before 9am]

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

HEE!

Oh, TIME TRAVEL!

How I love you.

(when you are done properly)

[matildaswan.livejournal.com]

Helen is totes going to live in Praxis as she lives out her second history, after she fixes up all the Adam trouble.

Nice illustration, I love time travel and lines and wibbly wobbly goodness :)

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

I gave that some thought when I was writing "Helen Does The Time Warp, Again", but then I decided it would be much more fun for her to stay "on earth" and just...take over the world. ;)

[matildaswan.livejournal.com]

I don't think she'd have the self restranint to live out her timeline again, knowing how terrible things are, and that her simply being there again has changed things, so why shouldn't she change it for the better. That's way to much burden to put one one person. And the fact that her father is in Praxis, and that there's so much more she can learn down there, I don't think she could live on earth, half hidden from the world because of her other self, when that option is there.

But Helen would totally takeover the world of she tried. And it'd be awesome.

[eldanna.livejournal.com]

These are the same reasons Jack Harkness' timeline gives me migraines. And, Seriously, RTD seems to go out of his way to make it worse. I'm pretty sure someone dropped the ball, actually. I lost track a long time ago. Helen's is almost easy in comparison! Or, I am assuming it is, post Season 4.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

Oh, Jack!