Terez: correction

2021-08-18T00:23:28Z

correction

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:23, 17 August 2021
Line 26:		Line 26:
	*'''Inception Paradox''': No known paradox.		*'''Inception Paradox''': No known paradox.
	*'''Split Point''': None. Presumed to be the original timeline.		*'''Split Point''': None. Presumed to be the original timeline.
	*'''Story Arc''': [[Dragon Ball Chapter 1]] ([[Dragon Ball Episode 1]])–[[Dragon Ball Chapter 329]] ([[Dragon Ball Z Episode 107]])		*'''Story Arc''': [[Dragon Ball Chapter 1]] ([[Dragon Ball Episode 1]])–[[Dragon Ball Chapter 329]] ([[Dragon Ball Z Episode 107]]); [[Dragon Ball Extra Chapter]] ([[Dragon Ball Z TV Special 2]])
	*'''Events''': [[Goku]] dies of the heart virus. The [[Artificial Humans]], [[No. 17]] and [[No. 18]], wreak havoc on the world. The original version of [[Future Trunks]] uses the [[time machine]] to go to the past, creating the "unseen timeline", where he discovers how to neutralize the artificial humans, but learns nothing about Cell. After neutralizing the artificial humans, Trunks is preparing to return to the "unseen timeline" when Cell kills him, stealing the time machine so that he can try to find a world where 17 and 18 are still alive.		*'''Events''': [[Goku]] dies of the heart virus. The [[Artificial Humans]], [[No. 17]] and [[No. 18]], wreak havoc on the world. The original version of [[Future Trunks]] uses the [[time machine]] to go to the past, creating the "unseen timeline", where he discovers how to neutralize the artificial humans, but learns nothing about Cell. After neutralizing the artificial humans, Trunks is preparing to return to the "unseen timeline" when Cell kills him, stealing the time machine so that he can try to find a world where 17 and 18 are still alive.

Terez: base page, drafty af

2021-08-18T00:13:46Z

base page, drafty af

New page

{{incomplete}}
There are seven known timelines within the main ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' story, one of which has been destroyed by the [[Omni-King]]. Each timeline is a complete alternate reality containing the total number of [[universes]]; there are twelve universes in the main timeline of the story, but the number of universes may differ from timeline to timeline depending on whether the Omni-King has destroyed any of them. In the destroyed timeline, the Omni-King destroyed all of the universes at once.

==Time Rings and Paradox Overview==
[[File:Time_Rings.png|thumb|300px|The [[Time Rings]] at the beginning of the [[Future Trunks arc]].<ref name="ep54">{{Cite episode|Series=Super|Eps=54}}</ref>]]
[[File:Time_Rings_67.png|thumb|300px|The Time Rings at the end of the Future Trunks arc.<ref name="ep67">{{Cite episode|Series=Super|Eps=67}}</ref>]]
Alternate timelines are created as a paradox-avoiding mechanism that is triggered when history is changed. While infinite worlds along the lines of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse multiverse] theory might ''theoretically'' exist, the finite number of timelines created—or perhaps accessed—by time travel are represented by [[Time Rings]].<ref name="ep54"/>
{{Quotation|ゴワス：時の指輪だ。その名のとおり時間を自由に移動できる指輪だよ。（…）ただし未来だけだ。未来に行きそして元の世界に戻るのみ。 ザマス：時間をさかのぼり過去には…。 ゴワス：それは不可能だ。できたとしても厳しく禁じられている。歴史を変えてしまうのは常に危険が付きまとう。箱の中にあった色違いの指輪を覚えておるな？あれらは歴史を変えて別の世界ができてしまったために生まれたものだ。歴史…別の世界を…。上の段の指輪は数年前に１つ増えたばかりでなまた別の世界をつくった者がいるようで。まったくどこのバカ者の仕業やら。<hr>'''Gowasu''': The time rings. As their name suggests, these are rings that allow one to freely move through time. (...) However, only into the future. We can only go into the future and then return to this world. '''Zamasu''': What about turning back time and going into the past? '''Gowasu''': That is impossible. And even if we could, it's strictly prohibited. The altering of history is always fraught with danger. You remember the off-colored rings inside the box, yes? (...) Those came about because of a change in history prompting the creation of another world. A new ring was added to the top row just a few years ago.{{efn|It is not entirely clear which timeline [[Gowasu]] is referring to, since [[Future Trunks]] and [[Cell]] created at least three new timelines between them.}} Apparently, someone created another world. For mercy's sake, what kind of idiot would do such a thing?|[[Dragon Ball Super Episode 54|''Dragon Ball Super'' Episode 54]]}}
[[Gowasu]] implies that traveling to the future is not restricted because the future has not yet been written; visits to the future are hypothetical, while the past is already part of the time-traveler; the paradox is within the time-traveler himself.

Gowasu also implies that the Time Rings are incapable of time-travel to the past. And even if it were possible, as it is with a [[time machine]], it is strictly forbidden because these paradoxes create alternate timelines and complicate the established order of existence. When Gowasu and [[Zamasu]] travel to [[Planet Babari]]'s future, they do not encounter anything that has contributed to their lived experience, even in the most indirect way. There is no paradox; the "future" they visit is like a computer model based on events as they stand before the visit occurs.

Furthermore, the word "future" can be ambiguous in ''Dragon Ball''. "Future Trunks" comes from the future, but since his past shaped who he is as a person, his visit to that past creates a paradox. He visits [[Earth]] before he was born, meeting his father and mother and risking his own existence and drastically changing the course of events. Trunks's "future" is not just a model to the people of the new timeline—it is represented by a real person whose lived experience adds value to their lives—but his future is not their future.

Despite the ambiguity, the Time Rings can be used to travel to alternate "futures" that are connected to the home timeline in some way. This is how [[Goku Black]] traveled to [[Future Trunks's timeline]] in ''[[Dragon Ball Super]]''.

==Timelines==
The seven timelines are detailed below in the order that they were created.

===Cell's Timeline===
[[File:Cell_Kills_Trunks.png|thumb|300px|[[Cell]] kills [[Future Trunks]] in the original timeline.<ref name="DBZ143">{{Cite episode|Series=Z|Eps=143}}</ref>]]
{{Main|Cell's timeline}}
Cell's timeline is presumed to be the original timeline. [[Future Trunks's timeline]] splits from this timeline after Trunks encounters Cell in an alternate version of the past ([[Goku Black's timeline]]) and then returns home.
*'''Parent Timeline''': None. Presumed to be the original timeline.
*'''Children''': The "unseen timeline", Goku Black's timeline and Future Trunks's timeline.
*'''Inception Paradox''': No known paradox.
*'''Split Point''': None. Presumed to be the original timeline.
*'''Story Arc''': [[Dragon Ball Chapter 1]] ([[Dragon Ball Episode 1]])–[[Dragon Ball Chapter 329]] ([[Dragon Ball Z Episode 107]])
*'''Events''': [[Goku]] dies of the heart virus. The [[Artificial Humans]], [[No. 17]] and [[No. 18]], wreak havoc on the world. The original version of [[Future Trunks]] uses the [[time machine]] to go to the past, creating the "unseen timeline", where he discovers how to neutralize the artificial humans, but learns nothing about Cell. After neutralizing the artificial humans, Trunks is preparing to return to the "unseen timeline" when Cell kills him, stealing the time machine so that he can try to find a world where 17 and 18 are still alive.

===Universe 12 Timeline===
[[File:U12-Timeline.png|thumb|200px|[[Gowasu]] explains alternate universes to [[Zamasu]].<ref name="ch17">{{Cite manga|Series=Super|Chp=17}}</ref>]]
[[Universe 12]] was the first to discover time travel, and the alternate timeline created by [[humans]] in that universe is likely the reason that it is forbidden to travel to the past. This timeline is only mentioned in the ''[[Dragon Ball Super (manga)|Dragon Ball Super]]'' manga.<ref name="ch17"/>
{{Quotation|Long ago, there was a human civilization in Universe 12 that possessed highly sophisticated technology. They invented a device that could send a person back in time. Such a thing was assumed impossible, but they somehow managed it and changed history. These <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Time Rings]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> are for the new parallel worlds that emerged because of that mistake.|[[Gowasu]]|[[Dragon Ball Super Chapter 17]]}}
It is unknown whether all of the timelines of ''Dragon Ball'' branch from this alternate timeline or the original timeline.{{efn|Since the [[Universe 12]] timeline was created so long ago and has verified knock-on effects in other universes (time travel being forbidden to all [[Kaiōshin]]), its course should have veered significantly from the original timeline.}}

*'''Parent Timeline''': The original timeline (presumed to be Cell's timeline).
*'''Children''': No known children. Divine laws were created to discourage further time travel.
*'''Inception Paradox''': Someone in Universe 12 travels to the past. Details unknown.
*'''Split Point''': "Long ago" (かつて ''katsute'').
*'''Story Arc''': None.
*'''Events''': Unknown.

===The "Unseen" Timeline===
This timeline has never been depicted or directly described, since the version of Trunks who went there was killed. The existence of this timeline is only implied in the main story. If the original [[Future Trunks]] neutralized the [[artificial humans]] in [[Cell's timeline]], but was not prepared for Cell, then there must be a timeline where Trunks learned how to neutralize them but did not encounter Cell (since Cell had not yet stolen his [[time machine]]). The timeline was officially recognized in [[Daizenshuu 7]].<ref name="D7">{{Cite guidebook|Title="明かされる４つの未来"|Book=13|Page=p. 34}} ——{{Cite web|URL=http://magikarp46.com/dragonball/guidebooks/07-fourfutures.php|Website=magikarp46|Title="Four Futures Revealed|AccessDate=17 August 2021}}</ref>
{{Quotation|In [Cell's timeline], at the point in time when Cell is born, No. 17 and No. 18 do not exist. For that reason, Cell heads for the past, but what happened to No. 17 and No. 18? The truth is, Trunks, who obtained blueprints for the functional shutdown controllers in the past, returned to the future and used that to defeat No. 17 and No. 18! When it comes down to that, there must be a history where Trunks is absent at the time of the Cell Game. That is [the "unseen timeline"]. Whatever kind of future happened after that is of endless interest.}}
It is unclear whether the writers of the Daizenshuu text realized that the time-traveling Cell could not have been present in that timeline, and should not have appeared until roughly Age 788.
*'''Parent Timeline''': Cell's timeline.
*'''Children''': Goku Black's timeline (indirect).
*'''Inception Paradox''': Trunks travels to his own past, presumably to give [[Goku]] the heart medicine.
*'''Split Point''': Age 764.
*'''Story Arc''': None.
*'''Events''': Trunks learns how to neutralize the artificial humans without encountering Cell.

===Goku Black's Timeline===
{{Main|Goku Black's timeline}}
The timeline where [[Goku Black]] originates is the main timeline of the story from [[Cell arc]] and the [[Majin Boo arc]] up through the [[Future Trunks arc]] of ''[[Dragon Ball Super]]''. In this timeline, [[Zamasu]] steals [[Goku]]'s body and then kills him, along with [[Chi-Chi]] and [[Goten]], before traveling to [[Future Trunks's timeline]].

*'''Parent Timeline''': Cell's timeline, the "Unseen" timeline.
*'''Children''': New Main Timeline.
*'''Inception Paradox''': Cell travels to his own past, but crosses paths with the time-traveling [[Future Trunks]], who appears in this new timeline to give Goku the heart medicine just as he did in the "Unseen" timeline.
*'''Split Point''': Age 763. Cell arrives about one year before Trunks.
*'''Story Arc''': [[Dragon Ball Chapter 329]] ([[Dragon Ball Z Episode 108]])–[[Dragon Ball Super Episode 48]] ([[Dragon Ball Super Chapter 15]])
*'''Events''': Trunks defeats [[Freeza]] and [[King Cold]] on [[Earth]]. Goku survives the heart virus. [[Gohan]] defeats [[Cell]]. Goku wins the [[God of Destruction Selection Tournament]]. Some time in the next few years, Zamasu steals his body and escapes to Trunks's timeline after killing Chi-Chi and Goten.

===Future Trunks's Timeline===
[[File:Trunks_vs_Dabra.png|thumb|300px|Trunks lives long enough to defeat [[Dabra]] and [[Bobbidi]].]]
[[File:DBS-chp26-Time-Ring.png|thumb|300px|The Time Ring representing this timeline self-destructs when the [[Omni-King]] destroys the timeline.<ref name="ch26">{{Cite manga|Series=Super|Chp=26}}</ref>]]
{{Main|Future Trunks's timeline}}
The timeline commonly known as "Future Trunks's timeline" is the second version of that timeline. In the first ([[Cell's timeline]]), [[Future Trunks]] was killed by [[Cell]].

*'''Parent Timeline''': Cell's timeline, Goku Black's timeline.
*'''Children''': New Future Timeline.
*'''Inception Paradox''': Trunks returns home armed with knowledge of Cell—knowledge he gained in Goku Black's timeline—preventing his own death.
*'''Split Point''': Age 785. Trunks says that Age 788 would have been three years after he departed to return to the past, so he is presumed to have returned home in Age 785.
*'''Story Arc''': [[Dragon Ball Chapter 419]]–[[Dragon Ball Chapter 420]] ([[Dragon Ball Z Episode 194]]); [[Dragon Ball Super Episode 47]] ([[Dragon Ball Super Chapter 14]])–[[Dragon Ball Super Episode 67]] ([[Dragon Ball Super Chapter 26]])
*'''Events''': Future Trunks kills No. 17 and No. 18 after traveling to the past. Three years later, he kills Cell. Still later, he kills [[Dabra]] and [[Bobbidi]]. This battle leads to the death of [[Shin]], which causes [[Beerus]] to die and [[Whis]] to be deactivated. Around this time, [[Goku Black]] arrives and, seeing that Beerus is dead, decides to stay. He teams up with the [[Zamasu]] native to Trunks's timeline and together they kill the rest of the [[Kaiōshin]] and [[Gods of Destruction]]. Zamasu uses the native [[Super Dragon Balls]] to wish for immortality, then destroys the balls. Later, Black attacks [[Earth]], causing a resistance movement to form headed by [[Future Mai]] and Trunks, who develop a relationship during this time. After Black kills [[Bulma]], Trunks uses the time machine to return to the "past" he had visited before, enlisting [[Goku]] and [[Vegeta]] to return to his timeline and fight Black. Black and Zamasu use the [[Potara]] to become [[Merged Zamasu]]. They are defeated by Trunks, but Zamasu's immortality allows him to somehow merge with the fabric of reality. Goku summons the [[Omni-King]], who destroys Zamasu, in effect destroying the entire timeline. Later, Goku returns to the emptiness to take the Omni-King back to the New Main Timeline.

===New Main Timeline===

*'''Parent Timeline''': [[Goku Black]]'s timeline, Future Trunks's timeline.
*'''Children''': New Future Timeline.
*'''The Paradox''': Trunks travels to Black's past, leading to the death of [[Zamasu]] at the hands of [[Beerus]].
*'''Split Point''': Age 779 or 780.
*'''Story Arc''': [[Dragon Ball Super Episode 48]] ([[Dragon Ball Super Chapter 15]])–[[Dragon Ball Chapter 519]] ([[Dragon Ball Z Episode 291]])
*'''Events''': Zamasu is [[Destruction|destroyed]] by Beerus. [[Universe 7]] wins the [[Tournament of Power]]. [[Goku]] meets [[Oob]] at the [[28th Tenka'ichi Budōkai]].

===New Future Timeline===

*'''Parent Timeline''': Future Trunks's timeline, New Main Timeline.
*'''Children''': No known children.
*'''Inception Paradox''': [[Whis]] travels to [[Future Trunks]]'s past at some point before [[Shin]] and [[Beerus]] were killed (by [[Bobbidi]] and [[Dabra]]) to warn their counterparts in that timeline about the danger of Zamasu, thereby preventing the eventual destruction of the timeline.
*'''Split Point''': Somewhere between Age 788 (when Trunks killed Cell) and Age 797 (when Trunks departed to visit Black's past).
*'''Story Arc''': Future Trunks and [[Future Mai]] depart for their new timeline in [[Dragon Ball Super Episode 67]] ([[Dragon Ball Super Episode 26]]).
*'''Events''': This timeline is never seen, but Whis warns Trunks and Mai that they both already exist in that timeline. They decide they want to live there anyway.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DB World}}

Alternate Timelines in Dragon Ball - Revision history

Terez: correction

Terez: base page, drafty af