Howling:Time travel theory

The Howling → Time travel theory

There be spoilers about un-released stories here.
Run back to the forums if you're scared.

I've been having a "discussion" with an IP about time travel. They don't understand my theory. Originally the post was about River and how River didn't know Rory in Series 5, even though they'll both appear in series 6 and most probably meet, which is set before River meets the Doctor at the end of the Big Bang. My theory was that, unless Rory was absent from series 6 when River appears, River had the series 6 adventures before she returned to the wedding, which would explain why can know of Rory in series 6. I want to know who understands the theory as one IP claims that it is impossible.

The events follow as such:

1. The Doctor resets the universe making himself non existent in the future of that time-line.
2. Rory and Amy are returned to their wedding day, River to wherever she would be in the future.
3. Amy remembers the Doctor and brings him and the TARDIS back. This creates a new future (a split time-line) where the Doctor exists.
4. The Doctor, Amy and Rory then travel to the future where the Doctor exists and pick up River.
5. The four live through the events of series six, which is how River wouldn't know Rory in the Pandorica Opens, but would have met him by the events of series 6.
6. From the future, they travel back to the wedding and drop River off with her diary.
7. The diary's writing would disappear as at that point in the time-line, Amy had not remembered the Doctor, so the time-line had a future in which the Doctor did not exist. This is the same as in City of the Daleks where Amy was beginning to disappear since she came from a future that did not exist at that point in the time line.
8. Amy remembers which brings us back to point three, and the paradoxical cycle begins again.

Have a look here for and explanation of how the split time-line basically works.

Here's a break down of the individual time-lines:

Amy and Rory's timeline:

1. Return to wedding
2. Amy remembers
3. Pick up River and they live through series 6
4. Drop River off at the wedding and leave

River's timeline:

1. River is returned to the far future
2. Just as happens to Jennifer in Back to the Future, the time-line changes around River when Amy remembers
3. The Doctor, Amy and Rory pick up River and live through series 6
4. River is dropped off at the wedding. Her book looses it's writing, as the future it came from does not exist because the course the timeline is on will not lead to that future
5. River gives Amy the diary to remember, causing the future to change around her past self, bringing us back to point 2.
6. River gets her diary back from the newly brought back Doctor and warns him of the series 6 events.

The Doctor's timeline:

1. The Doctor causes himself not to exist
2. Amy remembers him and brings him back
3. River warns him of the series 6 events
4. He, Amy and Rory pick up River from the future and they live through series 6.
5. Knowing River caused his re-existence as he knew she had given Amy her diary, he drops her off so she can give Amy the diary and cause him to re-exist, bringing us back to point number 2.

Now, I'd like the opinions of others about this theory. --The Thirteenth Doctor 21:36, August 1, 2010 (UTC)