Post by Johonaton1 on Aug 8, 2006 19:10:13 GMT -5
wow...yeah, that's a lot like what I had in mind, only I'm still not exactly sure what Bigboy's outside influence is that is supposed to start the loop in the first place.
I did some more thinking, finally during a massive brain freeze after chugging a mocha coolatta the pieces fit a little better.
Here's a shaky explanation, without algebra, theology, or phsychology.
One of the theories of how the "big bang" happened in the first place, if you've ever watched the Nova special on String Theory, is that two alternate universes collided and released a massive amount of energy. Some process similar to this could explain how the original jet engine appeared, and how the Tangent Universe got started.
Say we have the Primary Universe and an Alternate Universe. The original jet engine came from the Alternate Universe when it collided with the Primary Universe creating some sort of miniature "big bang". This would explain the spiral on the jet engine, which can't be explained adequately if it was the same engine as the plane in the Primary Universe.
One thing I like to believe about time is that it naturally corrects itself, otherwise paradoxes would remain unresolved. I also believe that the way by which time corrects itself doesn't matter, so long as the outcome doesn't create yet another paradox. Assuming that time works independently in each universe, the first jet engine is from a completely different space-time and therefore creates a kind of paradox just by being there. The Tangent Universe, in this case, is a kind of small, unstable bubble that leaves the Primary Universe for a short time before merging with it again. If the paradox isn't resolved by the time it merges back with the Primary Universe, bad things happen. Since the first jet engine isn't even FROM the Primary Universe, time must be corrected by creating the same outcome using something that DOES exist in the Primary Universe, i.e. the jet engine that Donnie sends back. As for the whole Frank thing, if time works independently in each universe, why not in the Tangent Universe? However, in the Tangent Universe it is a closed loop. This could explain Frank.
If someone dies in a Tangent Universe, they remain stuck in this closed loop every time it repeats, essentially they are trapped. In the case of this Tangent Universe, the loop is 28:06:42:12. Since time is working independently, the time this takes from the perspective of the Primary Universe is meaningless, the countdown only applies in the Tangent Universe. This loop could repeat countless times in the Tangent Universe before it falls back to the Primary Universe, which would allow for something like Bigboy's "wobble" graph, where several alternate versions of the events occur before the events in the movie, this would allow Frank many chances to figure it out and make sure Donnie gets things right.
I'm going out on a limb by saying that once the paradox is resolved in the Tangent Universe, it doesn't matter what happens in the Primary Universe once they meet again, the timeline from the Tangent Universe where Donnie finally got things right would become a permanent part of the timeline of the Primary Universe. Essentially, the paradox is corrected by being "patched" by the Tangent Universe. The Primary Universe's timeline could then be viewed as a line with a loop coming off of it. In the loop, the events that occured in the Tangent Universe act to resolve the paradox of the jet engine's appearance.
As for Donnie dying at the end, there's many possibilities as to why. Maybe, since he returned to the Primary Universe, the MU Frank could no longer exist to save him if he didn't recall what had happened. He may have even though that everyone would be better off if he died...for one, his survival had ultimately led to the death of Frank and Gretchen. If he was recalling it like a dream, then memory of it could have faded and things could have somehow, through unforseen circumstances, led to a similar outcome since he wouldn't know.
P.S. Sorry for the different username, I'm still waiting for my account to be approved, but I didn't want to forget what I was going to post
I did some more thinking, finally during a massive brain freeze after chugging a mocha coolatta the pieces fit a little better.
Here's a shaky explanation, without algebra, theology, or phsychology.
One of the theories of how the "big bang" happened in the first place, if you've ever watched the Nova special on String Theory, is that two alternate universes collided and released a massive amount of energy. Some process similar to this could explain how the original jet engine appeared, and how the Tangent Universe got started.
Say we have the Primary Universe and an Alternate Universe. The original jet engine came from the Alternate Universe when it collided with the Primary Universe creating some sort of miniature "big bang". This would explain the spiral on the jet engine, which can't be explained adequately if it was the same engine as the plane in the Primary Universe.
One thing I like to believe about time is that it naturally corrects itself, otherwise paradoxes would remain unresolved. I also believe that the way by which time corrects itself doesn't matter, so long as the outcome doesn't create yet another paradox. Assuming that time works independently in each universe, the first jet engine is from a completely different space-time and therefore creates a kind of paradox just by being there. The Tangent Universe, in this case, is a kind of small, unstable bubble that leaves the Primary Universe for a short time before merging with it again. If the paradox isn't resolved by the time it merges back with the Primary Universe, bad things happen. Since the first jet engine isn't even FROM the Primary Universe, time must be corrected by creating the same outcome using something that DOES exist in the Primary Universe, i.e. the jet engine that Donnie sends back. As for the whole Frank thing, if time works independently in each universe, why not in the Tangent Universe? However, in the Tangent Universe it is a closed loop. This could explain Frank.
If someone dies in a Tangent Universe, they remain stuck in this closed loop every time it repeats, essentially they are trapped. In the case of this Tangent Universe, the loop is 28:06:42:12. Since time is working independently, the time this takes from the perspective of the Primary Universe is meaningless, the countdown only applies in the Tangent Universe. This loop could repeat countless times in the Tangent Universe before it falls back to the Primary Universe, which would allow for something like Bigboy's "wobble" graph, where several alternate versions of the events occur before the events in the movie, this would allow Frank many chances to figure it out and make sure Donnie gets things right.
I'm going out on a limb by saying that once the paradox is resolved in the Tangent Universe, it doesn't matter what happens in the Primary Universe once they meet again, the timeline from the Tangent Universe where Donnie finally got things right would become a permanent part of the timeline of the Primary Universe. Essentially, the paradox is corrected by being "patched" by the Tangent Universe. The Primary Universe's timeline could then be viewed as a line with a loop coming off of it. In the loop, the events that occured in the Tangent Universe act to resolve the paradox of the jet engine's appearance.
As for Donnie dying at the end, there's many possibilities as to why. Maybe, since he returned to the Primary Universe, the MU Frank could no longer exist to save him if he didn't recall what had happened. He may have even though that everyone would be better off if he died...for one, his survival had ultimately led to the death of Frank and Gretchen. If he was recalling it like a dream, then memory of it could have faded and things could have somehow, through unforseen circumstances, led to a similar outcome since he wouldn't know.
P.S. Sorry for the different username, I'm still waiting for my account to be approved, but I didn't want to forget what I was going to post