Terminator and Time Travel
Aug. 30th, 2008 12:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wynddancerThe show and the movies make my brain hurt when I think about the time travel involved. Kyle Reese, a soldier from the future, is obessed with and in love with Sarah Connor because of Sarah's picture and possibly posssesses knowledge of Sarah from John Connor, Sarah's son, so he's happy to get sent back in time to protect Sarah from the terminators. Kyle is the father of John Connor, who becomes the leader of humanity's resistance to rule by machines. So, John Connor, who knew his father was from the future and was Kyle Reese, actually sent Kyle back to not only protect Sarah but to become his (John's) father. So the son sent the father back in time so the son would be born?! If Kyle had not been sent back to the past to Sarah, John Connor would not exist. Quite likely, the terminators would not exist either.
John Connor is trying to prevent Judgment Day, the day of humanity's holocaust/extinction, from occurring by "tampering" (or maybe it's actually setting things right since time travel is what tampered with the technological development of the terminators (accelerated their development) in the first place) with the timeline by preventing the development of the technology needed to develop the terminators and also by possibly killing those individuals involved in the development of the technology to prevent them from developing the technology in the first place. However, much of the technology development necessary for the terminators to exist takes place because pieces of the first terminator sent back to kill Sarah Connor (the first movie) exist in the past and were/are being studied. Because the terminators time travelled to try to kill Sarah and John (by killing Sarah before John is born), terminators exist. Wah. Brain hurts already.
So. If John Connor succeeds in stopping Judgment Day, won't he no longer exist? Kyle won't be sent back in time and become John's father. Was Kyle even born when Sarah was alive and in her 20s in the first movie? I don't think so. I don't think even Derek (Kyle's brother) had been born when John Connor was born. Think about it. Sarah's pregnant by a guy won't even be born for several more years! If there is no John Connor, then there are no terminators, right? Since, no terminators were sent back to kill Sarah Connor, the future mother of John Connor, to base the research on to create the terminators of the future.
Basically, if Kyle had never been sent back to the past in the first place, would the terminators even exist? Would Judgment Day still have occurred? Or would the terminators exist at a later date (Judgment Day 50 years later for example)?
Why Iam I thinking about this? I've been reading Terminator: SCC fanfic and people have Derek Reese (John's uncle, Kyle's brother, in the tv show Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles) pondering the time travel paradox and wondering about what would happen to him (would he still exist in this timeline as a survivor of Judgment Day if they do succeed in changing the timeline?). I think a better question is if John Connor would exist at all (or would continue to exist) or even if the terminators would exist at all. Would terminators exist at all without the research based on the pieces of the first terminator sent back to kill Sarah Connor? Or would the terminators just be invented later down the timeline? Who would be the leader of humanity's resistance then?
John Connor is trying to prevent Judgment Day, the day of humanity's holocaust/extinction, from occurring by "tampering" (or maybe it's actually setting things right since time travel is what tampered with the technological development of the terminators (accelerated their development) in the first place) with the timeline by preventing the development of the technology needed to develop the terminators and also by possibly killing those individuals involved in the development of the technology to prevent them from developing the technology in the first place. However, much of the technology development necessary for the terminators to exist takes place because pieces of the first terminator sent back to kill Sarah Connor (the first movie) exist in the past and were/are being studied. Because the terminators time travelled to try to kill Sarah and John (by killing Sarah before John is born), terminators exist. Wah. Brain hurts already.
So. If John Connor succeeds in stopping Judgment Day, won't he no longer exist? Kyle won't be sent back in time and become John's father. Was Kyle even born when Sarah was alive and in her 20s in the first movie? I don't think so. I don't think even Derek (Kyle's brother) had been born when John Connor was born. Think about it. Sarah's pregnant by a guy won't even be born for several more years! If there is no John Connor, then there are no terminators, right? Since, no terminators were sent back to kill Sarah Connor, the future mother of John Connor, to base the research on to create the terminators of the future.
Basically, if Kyle had never been sent back to the past in the first place, would the terminators even exist? Would Judgment Day still have occurred? Or would the terminators exist at a later date (Judgment Day 50 years later for example)?
Why Iam I thinking about this? I've been reading Terminator: SCC fanfic and people have Derek Reese (John's uncle, Kyle's brother, in the tv show Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles) pondering the time travel paradox and wondering about what would happen to him (would he still exist in this timeline as a survivor of Judgment Day if they do succeed in changing the timeline?). I think a better question is if John Connor would exist at all (or would continue to exist) or even if the terminators would exist at all. Would terminators exist at all without the research based on the pieces of the first terminator sent back to kill Sarah Connor? Or would the terminators just be invented later down the timeline? Who would be the leader of humanity's resistance then?
I think Derek wouldn't continue to survive as a survivor since there is already a Derek Reese living in the "original" or maybe I should say "both" timelines. There's a Derek Reese (and Kyle Reese) before Judgment Day. Kyle Reese would grow up and not be killed by terminators. Kyle would not meet Sarah and have children with her. There is no John Connor existing before Judgment Day since his existence totally depends on the existence of time travel. Would the timeline allow 2 Dereks to continue to be alive at the same time? Especially since time travel wouldn't have been invented yet (no terminators). Hmmmmmmmm.
