“Based on my understanding, in the universe of Terminator, the future can be altered. Even the past can be altered. This is done with the time machine that can send someone back to decades ago.”
Chen Chen pondered. “But in practice, this shouldn’t be possible because Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity tells us that time cannot be reversed. Humans can travel to the future by moving close to the speed of light, but it’s impossible to return to the past in any way.
“Otherwise, time paradoxes such as the ‘Grandmother Paradox’, ‘Banana Peel Theory’ or the ‘Time Traveler’s Party’ may occur.”
“But the plot of the movie was verified by the USB drive,” Little X stated.
“To start, let’s look into the parallel universe theory.”
Chen Chen nodded. “When discussing parallel universes, apart from Quantum Mechanics, we also have to mention the most well-defined M Theory. The reason this theory was proposed in the first place was that physicists wanted to settle on a unified physics framework which encompasses the four forces in physics – strong force, weak force, electromagnetism, and gravity.
“With that, the earliest form of String Theory was born.
“After another laborious process, the String Theory was merged with the concept of supersymmetry, forming the Superstring Theory which astounded the physics world...
“Later, Jewish scientist Edward Witten used the Superstring Theory to verify the existence of a new dimension in the universe – the 11th dimension which soon led to the formation of the definitive theory of physics, the M Theory.”
Chen Chen arranged the thought in his mind. “Explanations such as Quantum Mechanics and M Theory in relation with the time paradoxes such as the ‘Grandmother Paradox’ are essentially an embodiment of the parallel universe. After all, there are multiple facets to the universe known as a multiverse. The multiverse is a cumulative sum of countless parallel universes while each one of these parallel universes is a division of the original universe. They are simultaneously the same as but also different from the original universe.”
With that said, Chen Chen glanced at the USB drive. “In this vein, all of the movie dimensions accessed from the USB drive are parallel universes, this point has already been proven. This means that the time machine from Terminator doesn’t actually send someone back to the past but instead to a separate universe closely identical to the original universe.
“And inside that universe, there are also the Skynet, John Connor, and all of the inhabitants from the original universe as well. The only difference between the two universes is that the timeline of the other universe is set nearly a decade in the past.
“This is also the reason that the protagonists had been trying to stop the arrival of judgment day ever since the first part of Terminator, but was never able to accomplish it.”
Chen Chen remarked and sighed, “This means that the device in the Terminator universe is almost an identical copy of the USB drive, save for its only flaw – it can only send someone to a parallel universe of the Terminator series and is unable to cross over the boundary of the series.”
“Cross over the boundary of the series?”
This statement was rather abstract and caused Little X to struggle with grasping its meaning for a moment.
“This means that inside the movie Terminator, the protagonist and his group can only transport themselves to a ‘separate timeline parallel universe’ of the ‘base universe’, but they cannot transport themselves to a parallel alteration of a separate universe.”
Chen Chen made an example. “For instance, the protagonist and the Skynet would never be able to send themselves to the world of Avengers. Even if they were to somehow pull it off, director Cameron might find himself receiving complaints from Disney...”
“...”
“From here, we can see that the time machine in the Terminator universe should operate on a space-time dimension principle, which is unlike the molecular teleportation device which operates on a separate principle. In that sense, it’s also spared from the concern of ‘killing the messenger’.”
Chen Chen elaborated further, “But inside the movie Terminator: Genisys, there was another time machine apart from the hill-sized teleporter shown in the opening sequence. It was a teleporter handcrafted by the female protagonist and T-800 which was used to send them back to 1984. This means that if we can get our hands on the design specification of that custom-made time machine, then we should also be more than capable of replicating it.”
Chen Chen continued prodding into his thoughts. “If I can get my hands on that machine, then I’ll be able to traverse across a parallel universe of varying timelines. I’m curious to see if the ‘me’ from other parallel universes will also own the USB drive or am I a special exception across the multiverse?”
“Sir Godfather, I think it’s better to avoid such methods.”
Little X advised, “If the USB drive isn’t a unique instance, then your actions may very well trigger an unpredictable chain reaction!”
“I understand what you mean.”
Chen Chen smiled, suddenly realizing. “If the USB drive isn’t a unique instance, then if I instantiate the time machine technology from Terminator, the ‘me’ from other parallel universes may do the same as well. If that happens, there’s a great chance of ‘me’ from another parallel universe arriving in our current universe, which may cause an unprecedented conflict...”
“That’s right, which is why I think this approach isn’t recommended,” Little X answered.
“But even if I don’t do this, what guarantees do you have that the ‘me’ from another parallel universe will not go through with it?”
Chen Chen shook his head and turned it around on Little X. “The reason it’s called ‘parallel universe’ is that there’s no such thing as a main universe or sub-universe. The universe which we reside in doesn’t function as the core of plenty of other universes, since the others are on an equal level as ours as well. Just because I choose to not commit to this option doesn’t mean I can stop the others from doing so.”
“Is that so...” Little X responded helplessly.
“Still, I have to say that the teleportation technology from Gantz fits my needs better than the time machine from Terminator.”
Chen Chen considered for a moment before resuming. “For now, I don’t have any particular requirement for parallel universe traversal, since I hardly have a grasp on my own universe so it’s not the time to be concerned about other parallel universes yet. So from here on, we shall prioritize attaining the teleportation technology from Gantz.
“Of course, the operating principle of the teleporter in Gantz is unlike the molecular teleporter. You can see from the show when the protagonist and his crew were transported by the black sphere otherwise known as Gantz, the continuity of their consciousness is preserved. Meanwhile, the basis of molecular teleportation cannot achieve such a result where the teleported can preserve their consciousness.”
“How do you explain the resurrection as shown in the movie then?” Little X asked.
“There are already plenty of explanations online.”
Chen Chen’s expression turned grave as he considered this. “There are many minor hints that can be taken from the canon story. For example, when the protagonist and his group went on missions, they could achieve real-time teleportation while also preserving their consciousness. However, it’s another matter if they sustained injuries in the middle of a mission...
“If they sustained grave injuries or in certain cases, attempted to resurrect a dead ally, the black sphere would’ve to run a slower ‘print’ process. With this, the ‘printed’ person will lose all memories they have of the injuries they sustained. Therefore, many people online speculated that the resurrected person isn’t the same as the original ‘person’ anymore but a mere copy...
“This means that the black sphere has two abilities. The first one: perform real-time teleportation on a living person and the second: use every single detail of a person, including that person’s memory to produce a replica, in a fashion similar to 3D printing.
“This is the true nature behind the black sphere’s ability to resurrect a person.
“Even after the resurrection, the person brought back to life is no longer the original ‘person’ anymore. Instead, the person becomes a mere replica with the same genes, memory, and even thoughts of the original version.”