Banished to prehistoric times

The Time Paradox

The companions woke up the next day due to a loud bellow, coming from outside. They scared awake, fearing the worst, but when they looked out of the window, their serenity returned. A small group of Stegosaurus was grazing in front of the time ship with their youngsters, enjoying the coolness of the shades that the trees had brought on this new, sunlit day. The sun, as always, was bright and early and stretched its rays across the gloomy sky, filling it with brilliance and warmth. The trees and bushes softly rustled in the undying wind which carried giant dragonflies or other extraordinary large insects, creating an otherworldly view. The rebels could be described as hopeful, almost enchanted and excited for the day that was about to come, for the repairs of the ship were almost finished. Nathan had essentially worked all night and told his friends that the time ship would be ready to depart after one more day of work, claiming that only a small piece of the light speed processor had yet to be replaced. The ship itself, on the other hand, had suffered only minor damage since time ships were built from an incredibly strong material. The wings, together with the many engines, were still intact and perfectly able to survive another time jump. But the vital parts of the ship that made those jumps possible, such as the power generator and the light speed processor, had incurred some serious damage and needed to be repaired by Nathan. These, together with the demolished dashboard, had drawn most of his attention due to the fact that the rest of the ship simply didn't require much. "It'll take a few hours," Nathan said while cleaning his hands with a rag, "but our salvation is underway." Kathryn jumped up in response and gave him a big kiss on his cheek, delighted by his remark. "You're the best," she said. "Didn't I tell you that you could do it?" Jack said, smiled and hugged his brother enthusiastically. "Take all the time you need, kid," Alec said. "We've got all the time in the world. literally." He then went to the cockpit, grabbed his laser gun, put on his coat and walked to the tailgate; Alec was evidently preparing for something. "Where are you going?" Victoria asked when she noticed this. "Hunting," Alec said and pressed the button that opened the tailgate. The sound the gate made while it slowly moved towards the ground made the Stegosaurus uneasy, causing them to go away. Victoria scowled slightly when they did, unhappy that Alec had scared the beautiful creatures. "We need food," he said while letting his firearm rest on his shoulder. After he had walked down the tailgate, he turned around and said: "I'll be back soon. And don't you dare to leave without me." He smirked one more time before disappearing into the thick forest, leaving behind his new, worried friends.

Victoria decided, together with Jack, to sit on the lowered tailgate and await Alec's return, while Nathan continued working on repairing the ship with Kathryn. As they sat on the cold, metal gate, Victoria and Jack picked up the conversation they were having in the cabin the night before and talked about the fascinating concept called time travel. "This is where I've been thinking about," Victoria said. "If you travel back in time to undo an event, that very same event shouldn't even exist anymore for you to go back in time for and undo because you already undid it and subsequently set history in its correct course of events for yourself. Also, the fact that you knew about the event in the first place and travelled back in time for it to undo doesn't make any sense. It had already erased your own reason for going back in time to change the event. But does that mean that you won't go back in time to undo the event, which doesn't exist anymore, and if you don't undo it then the reality where that event didn't happen, and where you're living in, actually isn't real because you won't undo the event in the future due to the fact that you're living in a reality where the event already is undone? It's an infinite loop, come to think of it."Jack opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He looked at Victoria with confusion and did not know what to say. "You're following?" Victoria said and laughed. "I think..." Jack replied, "...I do. You mean, for example, that if you traveled to the past and killed your grandfather, you would never have been born and would not have been able to travel to the past, right?" "Exactly!" Victoria responded and smiled. It's either that, or..." "Or what?" Jack asked. "Or that any changes to time will create an alternate timeline." "That's brilliant!" Jack replied, excited about the prospect. "Brilliant?" Victoria said, "I find it rather annoying." "No," Jack said, "I meant you're brilliant." "Well," Victoria said and smiled, "I hope that we're about to find that out when we get out of here." "Yeah," Jack responded, smiling as well. "But what about this?" he said. "What if you end up being the causal factor of an event when you travel back in time to change that very event? Because by travelling back in time to that event, you participate in it, and that may ultimately cause the event you're trying to prevent to take place. So that would mean that any attempts to stop something from happening in the past will simply lead to the cause itself, instead of stopping it. Then things are always destined to turn out the same way; whatever has happened must happen." "I hope not," Victoria said worriedly. Her eyebrows angled upward slightly, indicating deep concern. "I don't believe that, though," Jack said when he noticed this. He smiled again when they locked eyes, and the wrinkles on Victoria's forehead disappeared. "I firmly believe that we can change the future," he said, "despite all those incredibly complicated paradoxes." "I hope so..." Victoria replied dreamily, barely more than a whisper. As she gazed into Jack's dark eyes, she slowly started to lean towards him. Jack did the same, moving his head closer to hers, and the world around them fell away. It was just him and Victoria; no suffering, no concerns, no war. Just them. But when their foreheads hadn't even touched, the world around them had already returned and they were pulled out of their dream. "What's that?" Victoria suddenly said and looked around, pulling back. A scream could be heard, followed by another one, and it was coming closer by the second. "I..." Jack said, still dreaming. "...I don't know," he then continued after finally waking up, realizing the danger they might be in. They stood up and looked around, searching for the source of the scream, but the companions were unsure what to expect. But after a while, Alec appeared from the thickness of the forest, and it became clear that he had been that source. He was screaming something unintelligible while sprinting towards the time ship, and only when he was about 200 feet away from the rebels it became clear what he was yelling. Not only could they hear him now, but they could also see the reason behind his screaming, and it terrified them. "Not again..." Jack said hopelessly and sighed. "Close the tailgate!" Alec yelled while running for his life, for two Velociraptors were chasing him. The feathery creatures had once again appeared before the rebels, forcing their way back into their little adventure. "Close the gate!" Alec repeated when he had almost reached the ship. Victoria and Jack, however, had already recoiled and were ready to follow Alec's orders as soon as he was within reach of the ship so that he could jump to safety. Victoria stood on the edge of the ship, the beginning of the tailgate, with her hand on the button, while Jack stood next to her. He anxiously awaited the moment when they could close the tailgate, for the Velociraptors began to come awfully close. Alec, on the other hand, was coming closer too, with great speed. His face glistened with cold sweat and the largeness of his eyes indicated that he suffered from a great deal of fear; he was terrified. His laser gun dangled from his belt with each step he took, apparently not able to defend its master this time. "Come on Alec!" Victoria shouted as her hand touched the button, waiting for the right moment to push it. Then, with Alec only being 90 feet away, she pushed it, causing the tailgate to close slowly. After this, the rebels drew back, towards Nathan and Kathryn who had watched in awe from the cockpit. They had spent the entire morning repairing the light speed processor, but in order to do that, Nathan had to remove a vital part of the processor, one which he was now holding in his hands. "Come on..." Victoria said when the tailgate had started to cut off her view of the chase. Her eyebrows were raised and pulled together as she stared at the gate, hoping that her estimations had been correct. Her answer came when she saw two hands grabbing the tailgate, followed by Alec, who jumped over the door sideways just in time. She sighed in response but fear returned to her heart when she heard Alec's remark. "It's closing too slowly," he said while catching his breath and nodding towards the gate. "They're coming."