Practical problems with Sliders.

[conuly]

1. Why did all the words they slid into speak English? Even the one where the not-so-ancient Egyptians
ruled... they speak English? And dress in suits? I don't see many business suits on sarcophagi.

2. Why did all the worlds vary so much? I know the theory behind parallel universes. So, if two universes happen when a choice has to be made, why didn't they ever go to "the world where I was born in the morning instead of in the evening" or "the world where that sun a trillion lightyears away went supernova"?

3. Why did the Cro-Mags impregnate human females? Why not just find a world where there were more Cro-Mags without that disease? Wouldn't that be better for their racist ideology?

4. Why did all the sliding devices look exactly the same?

5. Why aren't there more sentient species wandering about the planet?

6. Okay, so originally they were just trying to get home. But which home? In the time since they left, more historical events have happened. Instead of one original planet, they've got billions. How do they decide between them?

7. Aren't there billions of Sliders by now as well? No, no, listen. You've got four Earths, let's call them A, B, C, and D. You are on A. You can go to B, C, or D. When you slide, doesn't that make three different sets of sliders? The set that went to B, the set that went to C, the set that went to D? And couldn't that also multiply the number of As you have? The A where you went to B, the A where you went to C, the A that you went to D. I'm dizzy now.

Comments

[conuly]

The problem with that question however my dear, is that the sliders do not choose where they slide to. In this particular case the options for the device to send them to are infinite - number of universes they could possibly slide to + members of the party, and some complicated math crap that I'd rather not think about. So yes, there would be not only billions, but an infinitely growing number of sliders by now that should eventually by that logic, begin to bump into one another in the various universes they visit.

I knew that as I typed. I just simplified it so I could give a clear example of what I meant. And some sliders (not our sliders) do have control over where they go. There's probably a way to explain that, of course.

I can't quite answer your other questions, because I asked them myself at some point. I agree with the all English thing, unless the sliders posess some universal translation device like Starfleet uses.

I'm not going to get into why That Is Just Not Possible (Telepathy that lets you learn their language? Yes. Technology that translates as they speak? No.), just say that if this is what they were doing they should've introduced a device like that somewhere in the show.

This kind of reminds me of the Simpsons episode with the time traveling toaster, where Homer went back and changed something small, which in turn affected his whole world when he got back. Finally at the end he settles for a life that seems like he was used to, except everyone had snake tongues. He shrugs and says, "Eh, close enough."

They actually ended up in a world like that. Only Quinn didn't believe that it was really their world, so he kept finding tiny details to prove that "we're not home". Finally, Wade notices that the Golden Gate Bridge is blue, so they have to leave. They were kinda stupid, actually. This world even had their doubles leaving at the same time as they had!

[eofs.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to get into why That Is Just Not Possible (Telepathy that lets you learn their language? Yes. Technology that translates as they speak? No.), just say that if this is what they were doing they should've introduced a device like that somewhere in the show.

That Is Just Not Possible yet sliding between alternate universes is? ;0)

I would say the reason that they didn't is that there was no answer they could think of that fit within the universe they were creating, so rather than address the issue with something out of place, they just choose to ignore it. The babelfish works beautifully in Douglas Adams' universe, but that doesn't make it an appropriate solution in Star Trek.

[conuly]

1. Yes. Trust me on this one.
2. Oh, no, no. I didn't say a babelfish. *I* said telepathy. Very different.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying that you said a babelfish. This was in response to them not attempting to address the issue at all. I was just trying to think of a language solution that was perfect in one case but wouldn't work in another universe to demonstrate my point.

[conuly]

Ah, okay.