Mirror Universes and Parallel Realities
In September 2001, Discover magazine printed an article about the science behind the alternate universe theories. But this isn't the first time I've been introduced to the possibilities of alternate dimensions. Science fiction television got to me first....
The parallel universe theme makes for great science fiction television—science notwithstanding
In September 2001, Discover magazine printed an article that tickled my scifi-loving heart. Called "Quantum Shmantum" and written by Tim Folger, the article states, "We...must exist in many states at once, even if we don't realize it. There must be many versions of...Earth, and the entire universe. All possible events, all conceivable variations on our lives, must exist.... We live not in a single universe...but in a vast and rich 'multiverse'."
I'm no scientist, so I can't respond to the validity of such theories, but I do like the idea that I'm only one version of myself. However, this isn't the first time I've been introduced to the idea that there just might be another me out there somewhere. Science fiction television introduced me to the possibility years ago.
String Theory, and its successor M Theory, also seems to indicate that parallel universes not only exist, but that they must exist—or at the very least, parallel dimensions must exist.
Alternate realities in science fiction
Science fiction television has long used this parallel universe theme as the basis for intriguing "What if?" episodes in which we get to explore alternate versions of familiar characters.
Take Star Trek. The mirror universe is a recurring plot in Star Trek, including the ended-much-too-soon Enterprise.
Star Trek the original series started it all with the episode "Mirror, Mirror" in which a transporter accident sends Captain Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Uhura to an alternate universe (a mirror universe) where everything is different. Anarchy rules and the characters as we know them don't exist. Their counterparts have been shaped by a different set of circumstances and their lives and character are vastly different from the "real" Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Uhura.
Deep Space Nine picked up the mirror universe plot and turned it into an entire series of episodes, starting with "Crossover".
Enterprise (later renamed Star Trek Enterprise) continued with the mirror universe plot, and payed homage to the original series in a strange prequel/sequel to "The Tholian Web" with "In a Mirror, Darkly."
But Star Trek isn't the only TV show out there playing with the idea of parallel or alternate universes. Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, Sliders, and others base episodes, even the entire show on the premise of alternate/parallel realities.
Stargate SG-1's episodes "There But For the Grace of God" and "Point of View" dealt directly with the theory of alternate realities. A piece of alien technology—a quantum mirror—allowed the SG-1 team to travel between alternative universes at will. They took a trip through the mirror and when they returned, how do we know they came back to the same universe? We only think they did...
Stargate Atlantis, not to be left out, dealt with an alternate reality where Rodney McKay's personality was radically different than that of which his teammates were familiar.
Sliders' Quinn Mallory, a physics graduate student, discovers that he can travel to parallel dimensions of Earth. He becomes trapped in the alternate realities along with the people he took with him on his trip, most by choice, one by accident. The sliders spend the next five seasons of television trying to get home, dealing each episode with a new alternate or parallel dimension and quite often encountering other versions of themselves.
While science continues to search for the truth of alternate and parallel realities, we get to watch the "What ifs?" play out in our favorite scifi television shows—whether on TV or DVD. The parallel universe theme makes for great science fiction television—science notwithstanding.
I wonder if I love it this much in every reality?
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