Mind-Blowing Logical Inconsistencies in Megamorphs #3: Elfangor's Secret

[Estelore]

Right after Ellimist Chronicles, #54, and #8, this was easily my favourite book in the series... and it also did the most of all the books to creep the everlovingheck outta' me.

SPOILER, woop.

So they go back in time to kill the bad guy by preventing his birth, right?

Wrong. They kill his HOST. Not the villain, the villain's host.
Doesn't this mean that logically, except for the part about Shakespeareian annoyances, the story would still have happened approximately the same way, with another host? And on top of that, a perfectly innocent human being was prevented from ever living, and who KNOWS how that could've altered history!?

I don't know about you, but that prospect is more than a bit chilling to me.

Feel free in this thread to discuss this and any other logical eff-ups in this book.

[morfowt]

yeah I've noticed that for a while too. I think it was mentioned in another thread before... the answer was, without that particular host, the yeerk might not have passed through the construction site... *shrugs*

p,s, elfangor's secret is megamorphs #3

[AniDragon]

Yeah, that always bothered me, too. I think I made a post about it in the group re-read thread... Just a sec, gonna go find it...

Well, apparently I hadn't posted as long of a rant on it as I originally thought. lol.

7) They eventually succeed in fixing the timeline by preventing John Berryman's existence. How do you think this may have altered subsequent timelines? Was this the best/only solution?

This seemed very iffy for me, actually. Because it's not John Berryman who found the Time Matrix, it's Visser Four. Even if he ends up in another host, he might still find the Time Matrix, and then they have to go through all this again.

Other than that, though I enjoyed the book. ^_^.

Thread is found here: http://animorphsforum.com/forum/index.php/topic,3165.0.html

In the end, it looks like it was agreed that Crayal had put the location of the Time Matrix in his head, and so after the Animorphs prevented Berryman's birth, Crayak gave up on trying again, since he knew that they'd just stop him again.

[Estelore]

yeah I've noticed that for a while too. I think it was mentioned in another thread before... the answer was, without that particular host, the yeerk might not have passed through the construction site... *shrugs*

p,s, elfangor's secret is megamorphs #3

Cookie +1 for Morfowt.
I know, I know, sad joke, but still.

[Phoenix004]

yeah I've noticed that for a while too. I think it was mentioned in another thread before... the answer was, without that particular host, the yeerk might not have passed through the construction site... *shrugs*

p,s, elfangor's secret is megamorphs #3

Agreed, that's what I always assumed as well. And I've edited the subject title.

[Shock]

Paradoxs tend to occur when you introduce Time Travel to any plot.

however, i could go into really high-minded theorical phyics and say about how time is like a bunch of streams and in reality, you are just using a higher demintion to jump into another.

but that would take a full page long essay.

to apply occum's Razor, i would just say that the Ellimist and/or Crayak just hit the reset buttion and make it so that the host would have never found out about that.

[Chad32]

Everyone loves using time travel, even though no one really knows how it would work. That's why it's always confusing, complicated, and sometimes contradictory.

It is sad that the guy had to be wiped out of existance through no fault of his own. Not to mention his parents, though hopefully they find love and happiness elsewhere.

[Mr. Guy36]

An ellimist did it.

Otherwise, you get into the classic grandfather paradox. If the whole thing never happened, then they didn't go back to stop Berryman's parents. But then it did...etc...etc...

[RYTX]

Personal theory is that Berryman was somewhere from the vicinity of the time matrix. So while it was V4 who found it, it's because he was sent back to the right place after his demotion.

Maybe with no Berryman he gets a Hork-Bajir host or something, and after his failing gets shipped to guard duty on the Taxxon planet or something.
As they say in real estate, it's all about location location location.
Wrong host, wrong location, no time to find time warping super machines

[Myitt]

Yeah, I agree RYTX, without John Berryman as a host the Yeerk Visser Four was probably sent to some other planet, another assignment or whatever. 

I loved this book, it was filled with really serious moral issues and some great scenes.  Cassie demorphing as a young black woman in front of racist 1930s Princeton students, modern slavery (of handicapped people no less), some messed up scenes where wars just haven't gone the way they were supposed to, Jake mentioning that Jews could still be considered easy targets for treason...very very dark stuff, for the series.

...plus someone (Marco?) in Hork-Bajir morph, holding a pitchfork, scaring the hell outta some poor medieval churchgoers XD  Best ever.

[Kitulean]

Tobias was the one in Hork-Bajir morph. That poor priest.

[EscafilDevice]

Personal theory is that Berryman was somewhere from the vicinity of the time matrix. So while it was V4 who found it, it's because he was sent back to the right place after his demotion.

Maybe with no Berryman he gets a Hork-Bajir host or something, and after his failing gets shipped to guard duty on the Taxxon planet or something.
As they say in real estate, it's all about location location location.
Wrong host, wrong location, no time to find time warping super machines

^This.

You know, there's a difference between "illogical" and just not liking something.

[SkyMorpher]

My main beef is why the time matrix never came up again after that.

[Kitulean]

Because using the same plot device might be a bit much, and there was already enough time travel/time inconsistencies in the books.

[Chad32]

You would think SOMEONE would think to use the TM to bring Rachel back. Tobias, Cassie, Jake, anyone.