Alternate Histories, a branch of the science fiction genre, explores worlds very similar to our own, some with only subtle differences, others very different indeed. There is a variety of strategies used in writing Alternate History stories to convey a believable picture of what our world would be like if...

Some examples of these explorations which are dealt with here are a short story by Stephen Baxter, 'Moon Six', a motion picture, David N. Twohy's Timescape, and the obligatory Star Trek: First Contact. The variety in all of these texts shows that Alternate Histories are not just 'what if' scenarios, and certainly not simple, being able to be adapted to an unlimited number of different scenarios.

'Moon Six', a short story written by Stephen Baxter, explores a technique which may be described as hopping through alternate universes with alternate histories, due to the effects of a local singularity. This 'local singularity' is caused by a leak in a space ship, which exists in a different universe, but is not limited

This narrative is just an example of the variety of uses Alternate Histories can be put to. As opposed to a mere series of accidental transports, as seen in Baxter's 'Moon Six', or a voyage of discovering the past in Twohy's Timescape, Star Trek: First Contact shows how altering the past can also be put to military uses.

Timescape is a narrative built around a perfect society. So perfect in fact, that every aspect of it can be scientifically calculated and foretold. This of course takes away the factor that makes the human race so unique (as far as we know), the love for the unknown. In a world where everything goes according to a set plan, everything is perfect, there is no disease, no accidents, life for the citizens becomes linear and predictable. Many of this perfect society's members commit to a program similar in function to our sightseeing tours. The only but very significant difference is, instead of opting for a visit to the Taj Mahal, or visiting the Seven Wonders of the World, they choose to witness their history's major events, first hand. This is accomplished by time travelling to the exact location in time of the particular disaster by means of a small, passport sized device, which is incidentally called 'The Passport'. However, it is the society's policy that no matter what, the past may not be altered in any way, so as to prevent the forming of an Alternate History. Some events in the movie indicate that this is in fact 'true' time travel and not simple switching between multiple random universes. An example is the fact that the time of each and every major event in history has been recorded and can be accurately 'jumped' to. A feat like this would be impossible to accomplish if it were switching between random universes. Another thing that supports the theory of true time-travelling is the fact that Ben Wilson, the main character, can actually travel back in time, change the past and travel back to where he came from to find an alternate present, which he is directly responsible for. This demonstrates another technique used in writing Alternate History scenarios. It is the idea of not simple going to a different parallel universe where something is sl

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Approximate Word count = 1472
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)