Forum:Time Travel
For legal purposes, keep in mind that there are a couple spoilers below...
Even if it is truly impossible, even if it only happens in fiction, I really like the idea of time travel, especially the "mechanics" that go behind how that time travel works. For instance, it can be boiled down to two factors; Fate and Freedom.
A mechanism that follows Fate very strictly doesn't allow the past to be altered in any way; if a person goes back in time, their travel already happened when their destination was the "present," not the "past." Everything that "will" happen in the past because of time travel has already occurred, as those events took place in the past.
Chrono Trigger has a considerable deal of freedom as far as what you can do with your time-travel powers; you can even have two instances of Robo chatting in the Middle Ages. It seems that Chrono Trigger's timeline only complains if there's a major contradiction, like with Marle in her first trip to the Middle Ages. The Black Omen is pretty clear evidence that the timeline is not "permanent"- you never see it until you watch it rise, not during the Present, Future, or Middle Ages. Even Magus' life would be ripe for Fate to find a paradox, but for sake of saving the discussion for later, I'm just going to say that Janus grew up without meeting "the prophet," and that Chrono Trigger's universe does not observe Fate at all.
Not that there's anything wrong that, conceptually. But there is a pretty big contradiction, considering the span of time between the Dark Ages (12,000 BC) and the Middle Ages (600 AD), in which the world all but loses magic. The only explanation for the loss of this population is the cataclysmic event which, while is happening, seems to be directly the result of Crono and friends going back in time in the first place. This would make sense if their world observed Fate, but this would pretty much be the only time that it does. Either way, I scrape one index finger with the middle of my other index finger at you, Squaresoft, for... having an inconsistency. Now give me a cookie, because I deserve it :) NightChime 01:27, October 18, 2009 (UTC)
There is a certain case to be made for fate. At least, in terms of the CT story. While I agree that there is freedom in the choices you can make, there are indications that this was all fated to occur.
During the campfire scene, the characters discuss the possibility that an 'Entity' wanted them to see all these different time periods. Ayla/Frog suggest that these are the memories of an Entity that is seeing it's life pass before it's eyes just prior to death. If you're willing to accept this as fact and not mere speculation by the characters... and also assume that the entity in question is Lavos. Then, Lavos is already dead by the time the campfire scene takes place. He's just re-living his past through your actions. Which means the entire game is taking place in the moments just before you finally kill Lavos.
As far as your contradiction... In the DS version it is clear that the Enlightened Ones of Zeal gain their magical power from Lavos via the Mammon Machine. The Enlightened Ones lose their magical abilities after Zeal falls. More significantly, it happens after the Ocean Palace rises as The Black Omen. The Black Omen transcends time. It exists in every era. It is the same in every era, too. Which means that it somehow exists outside of time. This might be why the Enlightened Ones can no longer cast spells. Perhaps their connection can't make it now that the Black Omen is undergoing some sort of time-shift. Or maybe Lavos no longer deigns to share his power with them.
To avoid contradicting myself, I have some thoughts on the Black Omen. You say that the Black Omen would exist in all times if this had already happened? It would, if not for this reason: Most likely, you'll destroy the Black Omen before Lavos. If Lavos's memories have somehow created all the gates, then the Black Omen is destroyed on the way to killing Lavos. Just before Lavos dies, he remembers all this. So, you do watch the Black Omen rise, but that's not to say, this hasn't all happened before.
My conclusion is this... The whole game is fated to happen. In being Fated, the game is also a giant paradox. Lavos created the gates as he remembered the events of his life, just before his life ended. That being the case, how did the 1st Chrono get to and defeat Lavos? I could speculate endlessly. The answer is that we don't know about the 1st Chrono because we exist within the Paradox. We only know what happens from the 2nd time and on. 01:19, March 20, 2010 (UTC)onyx_sword
I have found an interesting paradox. Crono and the others found Robo in a world that was ruined by Lavos. Say you use him in the final party. That would mean Robo directly helped to defeat Lavos. However, if he defeats Lavos, then Lavos never destroyed the world, making Robo cease to exist. If Robo ceased to exist, than the party cannot defeat Lavos, thus killing them. But if they die, they can never find Robo. So technically, this would mean the events of the game post Robo never happened. Puzzling. Crono's Descendant 18:54, June 8, 2010 (UTC)
When you start mentioning all that SilverCrono, it got me thinking and then gave me a headache. Time Travel is a very complex process, it's no wonder nobody develop a time machine yet. And if someone does, it could really effect the future and way we live now. I do believe in the multiple dimension, and every action and opposite reaction lead into an alternate universe. Zeypher 19:36, June 8, 2010 (UTC)
You're forgetting that there is the possibility of Robo still exist in the future, and I think that he does, after all in a ending he is seen back to the future with Atropos--Xabryn 14:52, July 2, 2010 (UTC)