57 pages • 1 hour read
Michael CrichtonTimeline
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1999A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 3 Summary: “Black Rock”
As the team travels to the ITC laboratory in Black Rock, Stern asks Gordon about the concept of transit through quantum foam. Gordon explains that to travel between multiverses, objects (and humans) must be compressed in a manner similar to how images are compressed for faster transmission. In order to do this, ITC uses quantum computers that have incredible processing power. The team arrives at the ITC headquarters, and Robert Doniger meets with Chris, Kate, André Marek, and David Stern. He says that Johnston threatened to tell the world about ITC’s quantum technology, so three days ago, they allowed him to use it to travel back in time. He still has not returned. Doniger says that before this incident, no one has ever left the machine to explore the other world; he claims that Traub’s death has nothing to do with this project and insists that the technology is safe.
With Gordon, the graduate students begin preparing for their trip back to 1357.
Gordon has an employee named Gomez demonstrate the technology. The transportation machines are summoned and directed using navigational markers. He explains that the machines have 37 hours in their battery cells and that they cannot be summoned unless they have two meters of space on all sides. Gomez steps into the booth, and the whole machine shrinks. Then there is a flash, and the cage vanishes. Gordon assures the team that the process is painless. Stern is skeptical about Gordon’s honesty and suspects that the technology is dangerous. Gomez returns and seems fine. She says that before they leave, she will also prepare a spare navigational marker (the ceramic square with travel coordinates for the machine).
The technicians put an organic polymer in Kate’s ear that acts as an automatic translator and a communication device. Kate worries that she will be able to understand but not speak, but Marek assures her that even if the device does not work, he speaks fluent Occitan and Middle French. The whole team is outfitted with the listening devices. Gordon also gives them a first-aid kit that includes a knock-out gas, fire starters, and a pocket tool with lockpick and knife. Finally, they dress in period-appropriate clothing, such as leggings and a doublet. Kate has to wear a wig to cover her short hair.
Meanwhile, Kramer argues with Victor Baretto, the security man. Baretto wants to bring anachronistic weaponry and insists that such tools will be necessary because the company has “already lost two people. Three, if you count Traub” (167). Kramer claims that Traub took his own life because he was depressed after the death of his wife, but Baretto retorts that Rob Deckard didn’t take his own life. Kramer says that Deckard kept going back even after he was warned about “transcription errors” (168) that cause side effects. Kramer forbids Baretto from taking any modern weapons and tells him not to mention any of these details to the graduate students.
Susan Gomez briefs the team. They will be going to the Monastery of Sainte-Mère at 8:04 a.m. on Thursday, April 7, 1357: the day of the professor’s message. Historical records indicate that there is a tournament on that day. The date is in the middle of the Hundred Years War between England and France. She explains that Castelgard and La Roque Castle are held by the English Sir Oliver de Vannes, known as the “Butcher of Crécy” (169). These holdings are being challenged by the former French priest, Arnaut de Cervole, known as the “Archpriest” (170). Their mission is to go to the monastery, find the professor, and return. They will be escorted by Baretto and Gomez.
Chris asks if time paradoxes will be a problem; he wonders whether changing things in the past will have effects on the future. Doniger reassures him that one person cannot severely impact events in history. Stern is dissatisfied with Doniger’s reassurances of safety and decides to stay behind. Kate, Chris, Marek, Gomez, and Baretto get in the machines and go. After they leave, Stern talks to Gordon, who explains that after being compressed and sent, the people are rebuilt on the other side “by another universe” (179). They aren’t sure how it works. Gordon admits that the person who appears in the other universe is technically a totally different person, but they are essentially identical in every way.
Chris arrives outside Castelgard.
Part 3 Analysis
The primary purpose of Part 3 is to introduce and explain the technology that ITCs utilizes to send people back to 1357. As such, this part of the novel most closely adheres to the conventions of the science fiction genre. A clear example of how Crichton takes scientific theories to their logical conclusions can be found in Gordon’s description of “quantum foam” and its use in the teleportation devices. As Gordon tells Stern, “Quantum foam is just a way of saying that at very small dimensions, space-time has ripples and bubbles […] There may or may not be wormholes in that foam (136).“ This passage is a largely accurate description of the quantum foam theory, and Crichton uses this idea to fuel his broader premise. In the world of Timeline, ITC has developed a way to harness these theoretical wormholes by using quantum processing—a technology that has been actualized since the publication of Timeline, although in a much more limited fashion—to shrink objects to a size that can enable them to be sent through it (see Linda Rosencrance, “Is Quantum Computing for Real,” Techopedia, July 12, 2023). Although this teleportation system is based on real scientific discoveries, it is entirely science fiction.
While this aspect of the premise is at least loosely based on scientific research, Crichton takes far more liberties with other elements of the of the novel. For example, the inner-ear translators and communication devices are essentially a convenient plot device to enable the characters to communicate with each other and interact effectively with the people who inhabit the medieval world. In 14th-century France, the languages that people spoke are not mutually intelligible to modern-day English or French speakers. Additionally, Marek’s deep interest learning medieval languages and mastering medieval technology serves the practical purpose of rendering him an effective “tour guide” for his companions. As he notes, Kate will need to stick with him and rely on his ability to speak Occitan and Middle French, as well as his proficiency with medieval concepts of True Chivalry and Honor. With these details resolved, Crichton relies on vaguely worded descriptions to explain any lingering questions, such as how the characters are able to be rebuilt in the new universe without a receiving machine; this dilemma is merely waved away by Gordon as “a characteristic of the multiverse” (158).
Similarly, the question of “time paradoxes” is left ambiguous. Time paradoxes are the notion that, by acting in the past, one can irreparably alter the course of the future; the classic example of this is the so-called “grandfather paradox,” which posits that a time-traveler could jeopardize their own existence if they were to travel back in time and kill their own grandfather. Kramer and Doniger insist that such a thing is impossible, believing that no single person could so dramatically alter the course of history. However, Crichton has already established the fact that Doniger is an unreliable character; as a classic example of the stereotypically corrupt CEO, Doniger is frequently shown to lie to minimize the dangers of his company’s prize technology. Likewise, the inclusion of Professor Johnston in the “excerpt” from The History of the Hundred Years War in France” in the Introduction suggests that it is quite possible to disrupt the timeline. Furthermore, if time paradoxes are not a concern, it is unclear why Kramer would insist that Baretto must not bring modern weaponry to 1357. However, as is common with such plots the paradoxes and contradictions of time travel are never entirely resolved.
As the characters prepare to journey through time, the narrative highlights a variety of Similarities Between Past and Present. For instance, Kate, the architect, notes that the machines, which are surrounded by concentric circles of curved glass walls, are “slightly reminiscent of medieval castles” (157). The construction of castle wall is itself a form of medieval technology. By drawing an explicit connection between these two forms of construction, Crichton connects the advancements of modern technology with the scientific advancements of the medieval era, and this thematic trend will continue as the novel progresses.
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