Practical problems with Sliders.
Jan. 2nd, 2005 05:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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.
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.
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no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:15 pm (UTC)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 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 also agree that the worlds do indeed vary more than one would expect. However, given the infinite number of huge changes plus the infinite number of minor changes, they could conceivably and mathematically actually keep sliding to vastly different universes. It's like rolling dice. You could conceivably continuously roll only odd numbers, maybe even infinitely. The chance is 1 out of 2, just like flipping a coin. Coming up heads 1 million times in a row IS possible; Just not probable.
3 and 4 I can't answer because I don't know enough about the Cro-Mags or the sliding devices.
For 5, maybe they didn't arrive at places with that many sentient species. Again we come to the infinity deal. From a producer's perspective however, I definitely see how queer this seems.
Getting home. Think about it. Every place they slide to, at first maybe seems okay, but as they explore they find weirder and weirder stuff, and then get captured or just can't take it anymore. They just want to find a place that feels more normal, that they can function like they used to back on their earth, or hopefully at some odds they can find their earth, without their doubles floating around somewhere. 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."
Blah, I babbled too much there. I hope that made sense.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:15 pm (UTC)It's just one of those things that they ignore because it'd be too inconvenient to deal with it all of the time.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:20 pm (UTC)Well, I could suggest it, but that would just be devious and quite harmful to the brain cells. ^_^
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:29 pm (UTC)If I were the creator of the show, I'd probably explain it with some sort of "it's not completely random" theory, which would include something about webs which only connect to some of the possible universes, etc.
But to be blunt, it would just be too much to bother with and mostly boring if they considered every possible "what if" in a TV show like that.
Actually one of the things that really bugs me about SG-1 is that most of the people speak English. :-P
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:36 pm (UTC)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!
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:37 pm (UTC)2. Definitely, but I wish they'd given some explanation for it on the show!
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:39 pm (UTC)Oooh... that'd be interesting.
Actually one of the things that really bugs me about SG-1 is that most of the people speak English. :-P
Originally, they didn't, as I recall. That's why they had Daniel along, so he could translate. But then... they got stupid.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:36 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:47 pm (UTC)2. Oh, no, no. I didn't say a babelfish. *I* said telepathy. Very different.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:51 pm (UTC)Here. (http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=s112)
And here. (http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=s225)
And not quite the set up, but the answer applies... (http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=ss32)
We don't do Sliders I'm afraid, so you'll have to make do with Star Trek and Stargate
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 05:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 08:21 pm (UTC)sliders
Date: 2005-01-02 11:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:15 pm (UTC)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 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 also agree that the worlds do indeed vary more than one would expect. However, given the infinite number of huge changes plus the infinite number of minor changes, they could conceivably and mathematically actually keep sliding to vastly different universes. It's like rolling dice. You could conceivably continuously roll only odd numbers, maybe even infinitely. The chance is 1 out of 2, just like flipping a coin. Coming up heads 1 million times in a row IS possible; Just not probable.
3 and 4 I can't answer because I don't know enough about the Cro-Mags or the sliding devices.
For 5, maybe they didn't arrive at places with that many sentient species. Again we come to the infinity deal. From a producer's perspective however, I definitely see how queer this seems.
Getting home. Think about it. Every place they slide to, at first maybe seems okay, but as they explore they find weirder and weirder stuff, and then get captured or just can't take it anymore. They just want to find a place that feels more normal, that they can function like they used to back on their earth, or hopefully at some odds they can find their earth, without their doubles floating around somewhere. 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."
Blah, I babbled too much there. I hope that made sense.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:15 pm (UTC)It's just one of those things that they ignore because it'd be too inconvenient to deal with it all of the time.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:20 pm (UTC)Well, I could suggest it, but that would just be devious and quite harmful to the brain cells. ^_^
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:29 pm (UTC)If I were the creator of the show, I'd probably explain it with some sort of "it's not completely random" theory, which would include something about webs which only connect to some of the possible universes, etc.
But to be blunt, it would just be too much to bother with and mostly boring if they considered every possible "what if" in a TV show like that.
Actually one of the things that really bugs me about SG-1 is that most of the people speak English. :-P
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:36 pm (UTC)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!
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:37 pm (UTC)2. Definitely, but I wish they'd given some explanation for it on the show!
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:39 pm (UTC)Oooh... that'd be interesting.
Actually one of the things that really bugs me about SG-1 is that most of the people speak English. :-P
Originally, they didn't, as I recall. That's why they had Daniel along, so he could translate. But then... they got stupid.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 03:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:36 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:47 pm (UTC)2. Oh, no, no. I didn't say a babelfish. *I* said telepathy. Very different.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 04:51 pm (UTC)Here. (http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=s112)
And here. (http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=s225)
And not quite the set up, but the answer applies... (http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=ss32)
We don't do Sliders I'm afraid, so you'll have to make do with Star Trek and Stargate
no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 05:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-02 08:21 pm (UTC)sliders
Date: 2005-01-02 11:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-08 08:06 pm (UTC)2. Why don't the worlds vary more? We are very lucky that the sliders always slid into universes where, say, Earth exists!
3. Because since all the worlds are so similar, there's only one world with Cro-Maggs at all!
OK, enough of this. :)
no subject
Date: 2005-01-08 08:06 pm (UTC)2. Why don't the worlds vary more? We are very lucky that the sliders always slid into universes where, say, Earth exists!
3. Because since all the worlds are so similar, there's only one world with Cro-Maggs at all!
OK, enough of this. :)