To me, the reason why the alternate timeline exists is because its the first time that what happened was actually NOT what was supposed to happen. So the multiverse corrects itself and spews the changes out into a separate universe.

That of course goes into a whole other line of discussion, especially when you discuss the parameters of what is the right universe vs the alternates, because from anyone in those other universe, they are in the correct one, and everyone else is in an alternate. You can also get into the Inteligent Design vs Mother Nature discussion in this way, and with that point made, .....


I'm out of here!

That's true, but that statement comes from the PRIME 10 Forward thread. This is the alternate 10 Forward thread, which exists in its own right but no way impacts the prime thread.

The true question is whether alternate universes operate as AC or DC? I thought you'd get a charge out of that question.

The time travel model they use in the film is causal one, and change to the time line creates a new brance in superspace and an new time line.

while you can return to whence you came (if you method if travel was stable) any changes would not affect you prime universe on the one you created by traveling back.

Ah! The crux of the matter is, though, sir, that the means you travelled to the past may not provide you with the same means to return. Let's say we live in Universe A. Universe A's a pretty cool place, where birds sing, the sun shines, and forum browsing singers get the really hot babes.

Please, say we live in this universe!

If you, sir Hop of Lite, travelled from Universe A back in time and created a parallel universe, and you then used the similar means of travelling to then move forwards in time, you'd be travelling along the timeline of Universe B, where the birds rap, the sun glows, and forum browsing singers get the really hot babes.

For you to return to Universe A, you would need a different mode of transportation than the one you used to go back in time, because you're not trying to time travel, but dimension jump. It can all be summarised nicely by watching the Back To The Future movies, or, for Hoppy/Chat/Khorak, re-reading the Guardian Chronicles, in which I covered this quite extensively.

qft....but wouldnt it be possible to return to a point beofre the point of divergence, ot to the point of divergence itelf and jump forward?

Now, that's an interesting idea. However, the flaw with this is that, whilst you're still jumping from a point before the divergence takes place, I believe you'd still end up in Universe B, for the simple reason that the divergence still takes place. If you're on a bus that's supposed to go one route but goes another instead, getting on the bus any earlier won't help, because the bus would still go the second route. The only way to ensure a return to Universe A would be preventing the divergence from taking place. However, the act of stopping it may ensure that an entirely different divergence takes place, and creating Universe C.

However, I'm certain that in Universe C, forum browsing singers get the really hot babes, so I don't mind so much.

I am much more in preference of the works of Mr Arron Diaz

Also i have read the guardian chronicles.

Damn right you have.

And you will again, thats the beauty of it!

The best anology I heard about time travel is its a like riding a rapid river.
Lets say you get on at point A and paddle down, letting the currents take you till you get to point B, and then get out and go back to point A and start again, its a totally diffrent ride even thou your start point is the same.
Basicly trying to figure out how you traveling back in time will effect your future is akin to trying to figure out if Schrödinger's cat is alive or dead.
Go look that up if you want your mind blown on quantum mechanical theory