Technobabble: On Time Travel

In true Nerd style, I have elected to discuss that which is not currently possible and at the extreme edge of Science fiction to explore first among all the very many important issues raised.

I would like to begin by adding some perspective. Time Travel was imagined by James Cameron, who wrote the scripts, as a plot device. In situations such as these, the techonogy aspect of the story is Technobabble. There is no rhyme or reason to how it works, it just works by certain rules. In some cases, such as Star Trek, technobabble requires consistency.

Nonetheless, fans innately desire to have a believable universe filled with continuity.

I am guessing that James Cameron chose time travellers to enter the world naked as a symbol of rebirth. And also to keep future guns out of the past. I doubt it was an excuse for screen nudity, although that rule may have changed now that Lena Headey and Summer Glau are at the helm.

The cardinal rules of time travel in Terminator movies confuse me upon reflection. The basic premise of the technobabble explanation offered is that only living tissue can be transported.

Upon close examination, rules of Time Travel do not make a lot of sense even within the context of T1 and T2. The Terminator endoskeleton is not living, but presumably can be transported by virtue of being covered in flesh. Weapons, however, cannot be encased in flesh and transported. Things that were once living — cotton, leather, can’t go through. Furthermore, the T1000 was neither living tissue nor covered in living tissue and could still time travel.

Furthermore, if time travel is possible, why only send 1 person back in time? Presumably in the future there is infinite time to evaluate and send infinite corrections into the past in order to change it.

In conclusion, I want to say that the best explanation is that only intelligent beings (or simply Terminators and Humans if you like) and not objects are be able to time travel. This would permit the head of a Terminator to time travel.

Furthermore, this Time Travel mentioned is definitely Science Fantasy. In Science Fiction, there is a proposed scientific mechanism or principle in how the gadgets work. There is no credible reason for me to believe that living tissue time travels better or worse than non-tissue. I can’t even make one up in wildly theorizing.

The Verdict:

Terminator time travel is a plot device to set up unique story line and plot opportunities. It is a tool of the writers and therefore follows whatever rules they deem necessary. There is no well conceived scientifc theory behind this time travel upon which to scrutinize or form an objection.
Nerds, let’s let this one go. It will never make Sci-Fi sense, so let’s spend our efforts elsewhere. After all, a time machine in a bank vault is flippin awesome.

Here is a great article about Time Travel and Modern Physics take a look.