Time loops: The Terminator
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008Google is going to make a space elevator once they’re bored of search. Pretty sure I’m going to make a time machine. Can’t get enough time travel. Jon dug up this post by Amit Patel on time loops in the Terminator series.
In the Terminator series (movies and TV show), there are some odd time loops.
John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time. Kyle and Sarah have a son, John Connor. But John sent Kyle back in time only because of Skynet. Without Skynet, John wouldn’t exist. The timeline protection hypothesis suggests John can’t kill Skynet.
Skynet sends a Terminator back in time. The Terminator’s arm and CPU are left behind. The technology in that CPU is what Dyson uses to build the beginnings of Skynet. But Skynet sent the Terminator back in time only because of John Connor. Without John, Skynet wouldn’t exist. The timeline protection hypothesis suggests that Skynet cannot destroy John.
Food for thought.


