Timey-Wimey Stuff

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

A post on TOS by Red Lemon has me intrigued:

This has actually been at the back of my mind for quite some time now so I suppose this would be as good a chance as any to voice my opinion on the matter. I think it would be interesting if it turned out that when Rimmer accidently used the quantum rod to summon the Columbus III, the ship that was carrying Howard and Crawford, instead of pulling that ship from the past to them three million years later what had in fact happened was that the Trojan and Red Dwarf were pulled back to three million years earlier, the time when the Space Corp was still intact and the simulant uprising was yet to happen and of course the human race was still thriving.

Now trust me I know this theory is flawed, obviously it doesn't entirely sit right that Red Dwarf would be pulled along too when at that point Trojan hadn't yet been towed but undeniably it would be a great twist that would help to establish an ultimate goal for the crew outside of the arguably neglected search for Kochanski. Depending on how you look at it, it may or may not be reconcilable with series X continuity as it wouldn't make sense that there would already be a rogue simulant death ship freely drifting across space although Crawford's statement in Trojan implies that the situation leading to that possibility is imminent from their timeline's point of view.

If you ignore the obvious continuity issues (as Rob and Doug usually do, let's face it), this is actually a damn good idea, so good I can't help wondering whether Doug's thought of it himself.  It'd be a great ending for the whole series if Lister's search for humanity finally paid off by taking him back in time.

If they went back to, say, five or ten years after the accident, long enough for Howard to have died and been brought back as a hologram, there would be all kinds of consequences, good and bad.  Rimmer might be put on trial for the deaths of the RD crew and Kryten might defend him by pointing out Hollister's incompetence, for example.  And what would the presence of other humans do to the Lister / Rimmer relationship?  Would Cat be put in a laboratory?

This quote is from a thread about what other historical periods the crew should visit, so I'll reiterate my vote for the time of Alexander the Great and Rimmer realising just what type of relationship he had with Bagoas. ;)

Comments

[missflibble.livejournal.com]

That's...a bloody good idea. I had similar reserved for a particular fic of mine. I love the idea of a happy ending.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

But would it be happy for Rimmer? Once Lister gets back around people and Earth and all - living people, not holograms - well, what happens to that relationship, actually?

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

It is good, although of course there are continuity issues. But someone else in that thread pointed out that the simulant Death Ship in "The Beginning" could still fit in as the simulants are smartly dressed and well organised as they would be if the rebellion had recently occurred. Perhaps Crawford's rebellion was in response to theirs, even.

The simulant in "Justice" is dishevelled and deranged, as could be expected millions of years later.

There's still the question of Hogey's references to being in the future, but given that he gives the impression of not knowing what day it is, you could fanwank that away too. ;)

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

That's what I was wondering. I'm sure Lister would do his best to get Rimmer off any charges relating to the death of the crew, but after that, I'm not sure.

I think a lot depends on which version of Rimmer this is - original hologram, Series 8 Rimmer as a hologram or a combination of both. Just because Arn-Ace would have a lot more confidence and might be able to build a life for himself that wasn't dependent on Lister.

I imagine they'd all want a break from each other after decades of forced companionship. The question is whether their shared bond would be enough to draw them back together.

Of course in this scenario, original Kochanski is still dead, but assuming that the technology for hard light holograms was developed shortly after Red Dwarf's accident (Howard), Lister might have the option to bring her back that way. Hmmm...

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Now in my head there's the idea for them all getting back to Earth, going through a blast of media, and then fanning out their own ways - like the novel, but being a case where L/R had a casual sort of thing going beforehand. Maybe they try being together for a short while, it's disastrous because maybe Lister wants more, needs more people, needs to live the young adulthood he was robbed of with other people, and it hurts Rimmer's feelings. And then after a while, a couple of years or so, they come within each other's orbit again, and things go differently ....

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

That's a great idea - a very loose rewrite of "Better Than Life" without the fantasy element. Maybe they could use their knowledge of the future and the planned simulant rebellion (if it's only isolated groups so far) as some kind of plea bargain to get Rimmer off and then cash in e.g. by selling the rights to their story to a film company.

Everyone wants to use their money differently - perhaps Lister brings back KK's hologram in a fit of pique after falling out with Rimmer and realises he's made a mistake when she doesn't fall into his arms. But it's too late to stop Rimmer leaving and Lister throws himself into the single life and drinks too much. Eventually he realises he's too old for that and this coincides with bumping into Rimmer again.

Not that Rimmer spends years moping, of course. Maybe he tries to buy his way back into the Space Corps, realises there's no way in hell that's happening and - I don't know - searches for Dungo?

Just throwing out ideas. :)

[missflibble.livejournal.com]

In my fic? Not necessarily 'Earth'. And for one Rimmer, yes. Very much so.

Apologies, that sounds more cryptic than I meant it to.

[missflibble.livejournal.com]

the simulant Death Ship in "The Beginning" could still fit in as the simulants are smartly dressed and well organised as they would be if the rebellion had recently occurred. Perhaps Crawford's rebellion was in response to theirs, even.

Again - VERY interesting and clever.

And indeed, the simulants in series 6 are described as 'Rogue'.

Hehe. Fanwank.