The Secrets of James Tiberius Kirk

It means life!

Over a shore leave Jim Kirk had been asked by the Admiralty to teach a class on what he thinks is necessary to know in order to be a successful Star-fleet Operative. 

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"Time. Time doesn't pass. The passing of time is an illusion, and life is the magician, because life only lets you see one day at a time. You remember being alive yesterday, you hope you'll be alive tomorrow, so it feels like your traveling, one to the other, but nobody is moving anywhere. Movies don't really move, they're just pictures, lots and lots of pictures, all of them still, none of them moving, just frozen moments." This is when Jim freezes in the spot and moves again. "But if you experience those pictures one after the other, then everything comes alive.

Imagine if time all happened at once. Every moment of your life layed out around you, like a city. Streets full of buildings made of days, the day you were born, the day you died, the day you fall in love, the day that love ends. A whole city built from triumph and heartbreak and boredom, and laughter and cutting your toe nails, it is the best place you will ever be.

Time is a structure relative to ourselves. Time is a space made by our lives. Where we stand together forever."

Jim turns to write on the black board The words (Time and relative dimension in space)

"Time. And. Relative. Dimension. In. Space... It means life."

One student puts up her hand, she is a Vulcan "Yes, T'Lora?" Jim asks

"Sir, with what you have just said, would that mean that time travel would be possible, like looking at different pictures from different time periods?"

Jim smiled slightly "I like your thinking, let's open that question up for class discussion" Jim turns around and wipes the chalk off the black board.

"What is time? While most people think of time as a constant, physicist Albert Einstein showed that time is an illusion; it is relative — it can vary for different observers depending on your speed through space. To Einstein, time is the "fourth dimension." Space is described as a three-dimensional arena, which provides a traveller with coordinates — such as length, width and height —showing location. Time provides another coordinate — direction — although conventionally, it only moves forward.

By theory, time is very much like light" Jim draws a simple ball of light. "The theory goes that one photon can pass through a wormhole and then interact with it's older self " Jim turns to the class and they all see a detailed drawing of a wormhole and a ball of light passing through it.

"The source of this time travel conundrum comes from what are called 'closed time-like curves or CTC'. CTC's are used to simulate extremely powerful gravitational fields, like the ones produced by a spinning black hole, and could, theoretically (based on Einstein's theory of general relativity), warp the fabric of existance so that space-time bends back on itself - thus creating a CTC, almost like a path that could be used to travel back in time."

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"What does it mean to be a good person?" Jim poses to the students in his lecture class. "Come on... someone answer the question... what do you think it means to be a good person?"

"Honesty" Someone says.

"Yes that would be considered a quality" Jim turns around and writes 'Honesty' on the blackboard.

"Kind" Someone else says.

Jim nods and writes 'Kind' on the board. They continue this until the board is filled with words such as "Bravery. Sympathy. Smartness. Willingness."