#timeless faq

Does the time machine have to return to its current to make the changes, or simply leave the time it has traveled to?

This can be debated either way. I maintain that if the time machine left the time it was in, but did not return to its current, the it would create a "soft change" that can be seen in the timeline by those in the current. Once the time machine returns to the current, then these changes solidify along with any changes their visit to the other timeline might create.

Who is affected by the timeline change?

Anyone who is not outside of their current will be affected by the change.

What happens to people outside of their current when they return?

If someone else changes the timeline via a separate time machine while another person is in a different time in the past, then when the second group returns, they will find a world where both their changes, and the other group's changes, exist.

If the changes of one group affects the changes of the other group, then the second group to return is the one who's changes will take priority and "overwrite" any of the other group's changes.

Example: Emma goes back to kill Mx. Doe. At the same time, Lucy goes back to save Mx. Smith. If Emma returns first, she will see that Doe is dead and this would be a hard change. She will also see that Smith is saved, and this would be a soft change because Lucy hasn’t returned yet. If Emma does nothing, then when Lucy returns, Emma will now believe Smith was always saved, but she will know she killed Doe and changed the timeline.

What if Person A goes back and makes a change that leads themselves to getting killed at some point before their current, do they live?

Yes. They will return to a timeline where they did die. They will be alive much to the surprise of everyone.

What if they change the timeline so they gain a physical wound, like a lost limb?

The physical body will be as healed or as broken as it was in the past when it returns to the current, regardless of what the new timeline says.

Example: If Wyatt changes something in the past where he now losses his thumb in an incident in Afghanistan, then when he returns, he’s going to have a hell of a time explaining to his doctor how he grew his thumb back.

What if Person A goes back and makes changes leading to them never joining the team, and instead Person B does? What happens when they return?

Person A overwrites themselves with memories of being on the team. Their physical body now exists where the time machine is. This will cause confusion to anyone Person A was supposed to be interacting with, but it will not be a blink and they are gone. The timeline change will cause a memory gap where others will have no idea where Person A got off to. Person B will have memories of going on the missions that Person A remembers. Again, there will be a memory gap as Person B should have been on the time machine, but for for reasons they probably can't remember, they stayed behind.

What causes the memory gap?

The fact that the human mind can't comprehend what is happening when the changes are made... so it just, kinda, ignores it. The mind if good at doing things like that.

What if while Person A from 2020 is in the past, Enemy B from 2020 goes to 2019 and kills Person C?

When Person A returns, they will remember a 2019 where Person C existed and all the changes that resulted in. Anyone who wasn't in the past when Enemy B killed Person C will only remember the timeline where Person C died. If Person C was in the past when their 2019 self was killed, then everyone in 2020 is gonna be in for a surprise.

Can someone vanish while in the past?

No. When you are outside of your current, you are safe from being erased. If you make a change that leads to your death before this trip, or your ancestor dies prematurely, then you will return alive and well. But there will be changes to the timeline resulting from you not existing.

Can someone currently dead in the present appear from the future?

No. If you are dead in the present, then you are still dead in the future.

Example: Iris died in 2014, she cannot grow up to return to 2019 to save her father. 

What if that someone is saved and is no longer murdered or erased? Can they travel back in time?

Yes, they could travel from the future into the present. But they would have to be alive in the present. They would not be able to travel onto a timeline where they are dead.

Example: If Flynn believed Iris was dead, but her murder was actually faked, then she could travel back to 2019 to save Flynn. But she would be crossing over her own timeline and would have limited time in 2019 to do what she needs to do.

Why can't someone cross onto their own timeline for more than a few minutes?

Short Answer: The Law of Conservation of Energy.

Long Answer: This post. 

How is it then that the Lifeboat existed for years in San Francisco on its own timeline?

Non-animate objects are not affected by the energy issue. Or if they are, the result is negligible and isn't considered an issue.

How do you get a causal loop inside of a causal loop?

I explain this here. 

How does Jiya see the future?

She doesn't. Jiya is seeing the past. Even if it's hers or Rufus' "future," it still takes place in the past. And as it hasn't solidified yet, each time she looks she will get a different version based on what changes current events might have made.