Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1 Posted April 11, 2004 In the season 5 episode "Children of Time", why did the - before I continue, beware of spoilers if you have not seen this episode - descendants of the Defiant simply cease to exist? I know, if the Defiant never went back, then they couldn't exist. This is not true though. If the Defiant never went back, that's dandy and all, but it wouldn't "push" the descendants of the crew out of existance since this is a "new" timeline. I don't see how a "change" to the future would effect the present nor past. Anywho, what are your theories? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stoned_vulcan 0 Posted April 11, 2004 wat i think happened was in the episode they mean that there is one timeline... and wen teh defiant's crew changed the timeline.. okay say the one where they crash looks like this... ---| now say that when they didnt crash it altered the timeline ---/ so the origional was erased.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stoned_vulcan 0 Posted April 11, 2004 it just erased the previous time line and it ceased to exist Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VaBeachGuy 12 Posted October 21, 2005 Since the Defiant was prevented from going back in time then the crash never happened which means that the colony could never exist, so the question is if the Defiant never went back in time and the colony never existed then how were they on the planet in the first place? I think we need Temporal Investigations to look into this... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gul_nodrog 2 Posted November 3, 2005 Man, I really hate this episode, mainly because of that nutty Dax dude. Then of course there was "weird hair" Odo. And I liked Kira a lot better when she was comparing getting rid of a mini-universe to "stepping on ants" (Season 2 or 3, I think). I guess I just didn't understand why everyone on the Defiant got so worked up over this group of descendants who were merely going to "cease" existing as if they never had existed. The real Defiant crew wasn't killing anyone, they were just correcting an error. Imagine how peed off the Prophets would have been if Sisko had stayed on that crazy planet with his descendants instead of returning to the real Bajor and the correct timeline to fulfill his destiny as they'd intended! You'd think Kira would have been a bit more worried about that. In answer to the original question: what everybody else said. By not crashing and going back in time, the Defiant crew never produced all that crazy progeny and those people never existed, period. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Itchygomba69 0 Posted November 4, 2005 I too hate this Episode, to hippie for me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GhostofMajorHayes 10 Posted September 9, 2007 This episode was hard to sit back and enjoy due to the whole temporal paradox going on here and the selfish acts of Odo. Really, what was so hard about him just expressing his feelings to Kira. Did he have to sacrifice that entire colony just to have a chance with her? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VaBeachGuy 12 Posted September 22, 2007 I was actually thinking about this episode not long ago, I think it would make for a good back story book. Follow the Defiant on the first go round where it crashes and then follow each generation up to the point of the episode. If I had the time and writing skills, I'd write it because it's a story that I'd really be interested in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SeeingEyeBorg 0 Posted December 26, 2007 This episode was hard to sit back and enjoy due to the whole temporal paradox going on here and the selfish acts of Odo. Really, what was so hard about him just expressing his feelings to Kira. Did he have to sacrifice that entire colony just to have a chance with her? AMEN. This is what bugs me about TV sometimes. Every now and then some idiot will justify sacrificing everyone else simply for a chance to be with the object of their affections (and usually the object "just wants to be friends"). 8,000 people died. Whew...that's too many. I mean, I was okay when Odo simply was crushing; he had some redeeming qualities. But this was overboard. Had he been a Vulcan, this would have never happened. Furthermore, the one good thing about this ep is that Kira is willing to die for the 8,000, which is cool, cuz I usually associate her with being a selfish ho. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GhostofMajorHayes 10 Posted December 26, 2007 This episode was hard to sit back and enjoy due to the whole temporal paradox going on here and the selfish acts of Odo. Really, what was so hard about him just expressing his feelings to Kira. Did he have to sacrifice that entire colony just to have a chance with her? AMEN. This is what bugs me about TV sometimes. Every now and then some idiot will justify sacrificing everyone else simply for a chance to be with the object of their affections (and usually the object "just wants to be friends"). 8,000 people died. Whew...that's too many. I mean, I was okay when Odo simply was crushing; he had some redeeming qualities. But this was overboard. Had he been a Vulcan, this would have never happened. Furthermore, the one good thing about this ep is that Kira is willing to die for the 8,000, which is cool, cuz I usually associate her with being a selfish ho. Good point This ep really showed that Kira had more redeeming qualities than we were led to believe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VaBeachGuy 12 Posted March 18, 2008 Good point This ep really showed that Kira had more redeeming qualities than we were led to believe. And "Future" Odo had fewer... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VaBeachGuy 12 Posted May 2, 2010 I re-watched this episode again today, I still don't like the ending and I'm still interested in the 200 years worth of history that would have happened had the Defiant gone back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ddillard 2 Posted May 7, 2010 This episode did lead to many questions about whether it was right to tamper with the timeline, even though the events had not occurred for the crew would it have been right for them to rescue themselves by preventing the accident while erasing an entire culture born from their decendants? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VaBeachGuy 12 Posted May 7, 2010 I don't know if it would have been right to do that or not, I just wish they could have found a way for the duplicating theory to actually work so the colony could thrive and the crew could also go home. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ddillard 2 Posted May 8, 2010 This has me thinking though. If changes in the past can erase people that are in the present, and there is only one timeline, then would that not mean that the events of all of the series other than Enterprise would have been erased or at least altered by the newest Star Trek movie? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
He Who Shall Not Be Named 2 Posted May 8, 2010 (edited) It is possible, but unproveable. We can only perceive and experience in the timeline we are in. Another timeline may be out there somewhere, and it may be real, but we can no more perceive it than the inhabitants of that timeline perceive us (outside of the occasional crossover episode). The one possible exception might be El Aurians like Guinan who might be able to sense when a timeline has changed. We can't prove that alternate timelines exist. We can't prove they don't exist either. Edited May 8, 2010 by Lt. Van Roy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
