TEMPORAL PHENOMENA

Time-Loops

There are essentially two types of time-loops, generally known as soft loops and hard loops.

Soft time loops are caused when time-streams fold back on themselves, the result being that a certain event $A$ will cause a certain event $B$, the result of which will cause the original event $A$. For example, a time traveller, distressed at the death-toll of a certain battle, goes back in time to try and change the outcome. However, he will inevitably become part of history, and will probably inadvertently contribute to many deaths, or will perhaps become the mysterious observer mentioned in the history books. The loop is a soft-loop because the only the causality is circular, the actual passing of time is still straight forward, or linear.

Hard time loops occur when the chronological passing of time itself becomes circular. When this occurs the individuals concerned repeatedly act out the same events time and time again. The flow of time is literally going round in a circle. In essence hard time loops are traps, areas of space-time which no longer belong to the normal universe. Hard time loops may be instigated by powerful space-time event creators, advanced equipment which can directly manipulate space-time. Time Lords by their unique nature tend to be either immune to time loops or may be able to percieve the existance of the loop from within.

A discussion of issues concerning time loops and TARDIS flight can be found in Section .

Temporal Destiny

We have already looked at time loops, which are of course a form of temporal destiny. Temporal destiny is often encountered head on whenever one travels out-with their own time-stream. Consider the example with Bennings, described above. Having sneaked into the future, he has discovered he has passed his exams. It seems now that whatever Bennings does he will pass his exams. However, it is not so easy to manipulate Time. If Bennings decides to sit about and do nothing, he might indeed end up failing, and then by some chance celebrating a long-lost relative's homecoming the next day. Although the future hasn't changed as such, Benning's perception of the future has. The lesson here is that those who visit the future soley for revelation are often tripped up by Time itself. Or perhaps Bennings does nothing, and still passes, as he had a merit from previous course work which had not yet been communicated to him.

Blinovitch Limitation Effect

The Blinovitch limitation effect is a physical, real limitation which prevents time travellers from interfering with their own history. It has two manifestations, one which prevents time travellers from changing their own past, and one which prevents a time traveller from meeting themself.

In its first form, the effect is simply a time loop. Blinovitch stated that time is non-linear, and can become circular. A time traveller attempting to change their own history, for better or worse, will simply just create a time-loop, where his or her actions in the past are pre-destined and in fact have already happened. Time loops are paradoxical in nature, and to occur time travel across time-streams must have happened. Of course, visiting your own personal past is only possible by crossing your own time-stream.

The Blinovitch limitation effect also has a second form, in this scenario it manifests itself as a force which prevents time travellers from interfering directly with their own past selves. The force which intervenes may take any known form, manipulating chaotic and quantum variables in a weak manifestation, and manipulating explosive energies in a more violent manifestation. This form of the Blinovitch limitation is related to time eddies, a phenomenon which occurs when localised time runs in reverse, or circles round and round in a whirlpool like fashion. Time eddies can trap and ensare craft travelling through the space-time vortex.

It may be surprising to learn that both forms of the Blinovitch limitation effect can be circumnavigated. To cancel out the time-loop in the first instance, it is necessary for an external time-traveller not previously connected with the time-loop to interfere with the creation of the time-loop. This may sound like interfering with a past-event, but there is a subtle difference here. A time-loop is not a real event. Once a time-loop is destroyed, the energy it had consumed to create its alternative reality is released back into the real universe. Note this time that the destruction of a time-loop is a real event, and any attempts to change this will prevented by the second form of the Blinovitch limitation effect.

However, the second Blinovitch limitation effect can itself be avoided. The trick is simple: cross time-streams. The Blinovitch limitation effect only occurs as a result of a time-traveller meeting himself in his own time-stream. By meeting oneself in another time-stream, the effect does not take place.

Crossing Time Streams

At this stage it is necessary to expand our understanding of time-streams. Recall the analogy of the wave running down the infinitely long stream, which is in reality our event wave running along its time-stream. ???

When two time-streams cross, but the event-waves do not collide, the past is no longer immutable, the present is no longer a reality and the future becomes undefined. One can meet one's future or past self, or meet fellow time-travellers from the past of future. Time streams crossing is chaos, and the TARDIS will normally prevent this from happening. Coordinates which would force time streams to cross are rejected outright. Time-streams which cross and collide instantly are safe, as for a while time-streams will run together, before parting and going their separate ways.

Time Tracks

Yet another analogy to explain the illusion of time and the higher-order mathematics which governs it. Time tracks separate time-streams, and generally provide some level of causality whilst time-travelling.

Cross-jumping Time Tracks

A technique used in flight, cross-jumping or side-stepping effectively moves the TARDIS into its past or future time-stream. Yes, it is an ontological absurdity. Normally, an event wave always travels in its present, after all, this is the definition of the present. Whilst travelling through the space-time vortex, it is possible to replace the inhabitants event waves into their own past or future. In theory this would enable them to re-write their past or create their own destiny. They would replace their former existence in the real universe with a new version. In practice, this is not possible, and if one cross-jumps a time track during flight, the maneuver must be reversed before landing. Otherwise, time friction may occur.

There are a number of reasons a pilot may wish to cross-jump a time track, such as escaping another time-craft which is following the ship, or to circum-navigate temporal barriers which normally prevent a time-ship from entering a particular time or place. Some pilots also use the technique to perform short time-travel journeys.

Time Friction

A very rare phenomenon, technically known as an accidental track jump. This can occur either because of a technical fault during flight, an emergency forced rematerialisation, or as extremely poor piloting. In theory, one should be either existing in one's own past or future. In practice, one co-exists with one's past or future. The combined reality is a less than the sum of its parts. The first indication of a time track jump is a loss of present. Literally, some present has passed by, which the victims will not be aware of. The interior of the TARDIS is not immune to the effects of the track jump, as it not isolated from the exterior world. Some objects inside the TARDIS, apparently from random, will appear to be from the future. This is quickly observable as they either will not be able to be touched, or will not be able to be interacted with (i.e. you can touch a glass but can't leave fingerprints on it). The same applies for the world outside the TARDIS. Here none of the world can be interacted with, and as before, some objects can only be seen but not touched. Worse still, the world is the personal future/past of the TARDIS's time travellers. One may see oneself going about one's life from a ``third-person'' perspective.

The situation will not revert itself until the event-waves which are the time travellers are back within the correct time track. The operation of the time dimension tracker circuit should perform this. When this happens everything that the time travellers interacted with will suddenly happen. The glass which had no fingerprints after a touch will seemingly suddenly change, the fingerprints appearing. Worse still, although one's positions remain the same, the future which was before one's eyes has gone to be replaced with the ``present''. There is an element of fate here, as nothing has changed. One's other self may still be observing the situation. If before one saw oneself die, this may happen now. However, as one has foreknowledge, this can actually be avoided.