Timeline-Altering MacGuffin: Difference between revisions

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* In ''The Hanged Man'' episode of ''[[Journeyman]]'', a digital camera Dan accidentally left in the early 1980s causes technology to leap far forward when he returns to modern times -- including a family member being wiped from existence because of a "nanotech accident" on the day of his conception.

* A non-time travel version occurs in the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episode "A Piece of the Action": A pre-Prime Directive starship 100 years prior had inadvertently left behind a book on Chicago gangs of the 1920s, which caused the civilization in question to develop into the original [[Planet of Hats]], with an entire culture based around 1920s gangsterism. After the crew has fixed the entire planet, McCoy leaves his communicator behind, alarming Kirk who worries that this trope will take effect. "In a few years they could be demanding a piece of ''our'' action!"

** One of the comics actually referenced that event when various representatives were at Admiral Kirk's trial including one from that planet, with the only result being that the representative simply gives it back to [[~~Mc Coy~~]] after saying how he'd left it behind.

** One of the comics actually referenced that event when various representatives were at Admiral Kirk's trial including one from that planet, with the only result being that the representative simply gives it back to [[McCoy]] after saying how he'd left it behind.

** The ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]'' writers at one point considered doing an episode that revisits the planet and finds that all the inhabitants are now dressing up as Kirk and Spock. This episode was to be a Star Trek 30th anniversary celebration, and was dropped in favour of "Trials and Tribble-ations". Considering how good "Trials and Tribble-ations" turned out, they probably made the right choice. The concept was later picked up in a comic.

** The 1989 tie-in book ''[http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_Worlds_of_the_Federation The Worlds of the Federation]'' had the same idea. When contact was re-established sometime around the Next Generation time period, the entire planet had restructured their society around TOS-era Starfleet and extrapolated enough technology to build a working starbase and apply for Federation membership.