specifically paradoxes.
Ignoring the one instance of branched time that I know of (the Kelvin timeline), assuming that the prime universe has a single dynamic timeline (considering all the times Voyager reset the timeline):
my thoughts are time travel creates a permanent linkage between two points in the timeline.
- The linkage stores all changes caused by the time travel.
- Linkages are vulnerable to paradoxes.
- Too much paradox stress causes the linkage to rot and break. (like an old rope?)
- If a linkage breaks, all changes it caused are naturally lost, thus the timeline self corrects.
I haven’t seen much around about how paradoxes would physically work. this just came to mind and makes the most sense to me, I’m curious if something like this has been explored before?
very simple illustration below, black line is the main timeline, red line is a linkage created by time travel:
OH and the reason they retain certain things after timeline resets like Harry Kim and the slipstream drive could be because one end of the linkage would rot off but the other end would still be kinda connected ?
like depending on where each point of the linkage is, one side could be weaker to paradoxes than the other