Terminator: Timeline Theories (1 of 4)
Terminator: Timeline Theories (1 of 4)
The Terminator | Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Whether you are a fan only of the first two films, the whole series or pick and choose, the timeline of the Terminator films has always been convoluted at best, even within the context of those first two films. Perhaps you are like me and can enjoy things more once any open-ended items have been settled, at least theoretically and conceivably. Briefly stated I propose the Terminator film series' timeline is as follows: prior to the Connors and T-800 meeting the Dysons during the events of T2, everything happened within a time loop, seemingly a grand design of unknown source. I refer to this timeline with its loop as Timeline Prime. Every other story told is a branch from this timeline/loop, most containing loops of their very own. For the most part, characters are unaware of the branching, making their own fate.
First, to further explain time loops: The Time Traveller in H.G. Wells' The Time Machine defines time as a true fourth dimension like the three that make up objects we encounter daily. If a person has a cube, a finger can be placed at any point of its length, height, and/or depth. It can also be moved to any other point and all points exist at once. Time is no different: with the proper means (such as TDE), one can move to any point and all points exist simultaneously. The Terminator mythos further expands this that only living organic matter, or at least things encased in it, can make the jump presumably due to the bio-electric field produced. (Side bar: I also theorize the mimetic polyalloy of the T-1000 and T-X mimics this field.) So, for all intents and purposes, Kyle Reese always fathered John Connor, the wreckage of the T-800 sent to terminate Sarah Connor was always the source of the technology that led Cyberdyne Systems to create Skynet, and Sarah's experiences and knowledge of JD were always the driving force to teach John so he could be the "great military leader" he is in the war with the machines.
Because it is no fun to talk about time travel without mentioning Back to the Future, branches are best explained by Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown during the events of Back to the Future, Part II. He keeps it simple, opting only to identify awesome, slightly altered 1985 with its BMWs and Toyota 4x4s, and awful, dystopian 1985A with Hill Valley's version of Donald Trump as Marty McFly's step-father created by some event in the past. The difference with Terminator is there are multiple branches, akin to the multiverse concept popularized by recent comic book movies.
The first branch is created when Sarah decides to kill Miles Dyson, sure this will stop JD, and from the events that follow. Of course, T2 ends on a note of cautious hope, if somewhat ambiguous. This branch diverges from the original loop, but that loop in turn does not cease to exist altogether. Recall that all points in time exist at once, so a human or machine from the future is still in say, 1984 or 1995, even though the future containing them no longer exists along the new branch. Here is a crude diagram of Timeline Prime (P) and that first branch (A), which will be built upon in the subsequent posts on this subject.
For those who want to know how the dates were calculated: In T1, the opening future war scene occurs in 2029 according to the onscreen date. It is conjecture that this is the year the machines fell and Skynet attempted to win retroactively. The T-800 and Kyle arrive in present day, again according to onscreen text. The film was released in 1984, and confirmed by Sarah's opening narration in T2. A police officer tells Kyle the date is Thursday, May 12. In T2, John's birthday is displayed on the screen the T-1000 uses to search for him, and his age is stated as 10. The former aligns with his May 1984 conception, and the latter establishes the T-1000 and reprogrammed T-800 arrival as 1995. Dr. Silberman states Sarah's age as 29 at this time. Sarah states JD as 29 August 1997 in the opening narration and this date again to Dr. Silberman. The T-800 provides the 4 August 1997 date for Skynet's activation and provides the exact time as 02:14 that it became self-aware on 29 August.
To be continued next week with part 2...
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