Temporal Scientists
Temporal Scientists
Causality-Ethnic Identity | Time as Medium, Paradox as Method, History as Experiment
Overview
Temporal Scientists are individuals whose professional or cultural identity revolves around the study, manipulation, or preservation of temporal phenomena. These include chronometric researchers, timeline theorists, subspace fluctuation modelers, and in rare cases, active time navigators.
They are not time travelers (usually), but they are intimate with the mechanics of time travel, causality collapse, and reality editing through quantum anchoring. Some follow ethical protocols like the Temporal Prime Directive. Others believe time is a toolkit — meant to be refined, not feared.
In Shadows of the Galaxy, they are sought, watched, and feared — by Starfleet, Section 31, Swayze… and time itself.
Origins
- Federation Temporal Physics Division – Based out of Daystrom Annex sites, often monitored by DTI (Department of Temporal Investigations).
- Romulan Temporal Archives – Now fragmented after the supernova; some elements went independent, others underground.
- El-Aurian Time-Tuned Researchers – Capable of sensing nonlinear disruptions in emotional chronologies.
- Independent Post-War Black Labs – Conducting “causality prophylaxis” and chronotopic weaponization.
- Temporal Refugees – Some scientists are survivors of timelines that no longer exist. They remember. No one else does.
Cultural Identity
- Causality as Canvas: They treat the timeline like a medium — paintable, mutable, but always dangerous to overstroke.
- Ethics as Entropy Control: Most walk a narrow moral path — knowing even inaction is action when time is unstable.
- Always Observing: They constantly scan the “edges” of reality — watching for echo events, loop bleed, or branch instability.
- Temporal Fatigue: Many suffer from overexposure to nonlinear logic — memory drift, sleep-cycle distortion, phantom recall of futures that never happened.
Traits and Behaviors
- Detached Empathy: They may seem cold or offbeat — emotionally exhausted from witnessing timelines where everyone died… again and again.
- Obsession with Record-Keeping: Logs, mind-maps, and paradox journals are essential. Some keep personal reality anchors.
- Paranoia of Duplication: They often check surroundings for subtle loop cues — knowing that they might not be the first version of themselves today.
- Secret Faith in Recurrence: Some believe all things return — not spiritually, but mathematically. They prepare accordingly.
Temporal Knowledge Types
| Type | Focus | Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Chronometric Engineers | Manipulation of subspace timefields, warp-time harmonics | Chrono-compensators, variable time relays |
| Causal Analysts | Theorists of timeline divergence and multiversal forking | Predictive algorithms, ethical modeling AIs |
| Loop Specialists | Experts in temporal stasis fields and feedback anomalies | Temporal dampeners, stasis bleed detectors |
| Anchor Theorists | Study of individuals/events that resist temporal change | DNA echo tracking, neural-loop resilience scans |
| Field Survivors | Scientists who’ve lived through causal shifts | Memories of alternate events, paradox resilience |
Heimdahl Relevance
- Swayze’s Watchfulness: He will not allow timeline destabilization aboard his ship. Any tampering will be logged, sealed, and countermanded.
- Nyx's Curiosity: May begin recognizing temporal bleed patterns unconsciously — seeing contradictions in crew behavior no one else notices.
- Mission Hooks: The Heimdahl may carry temporal-contaminated cargo, crew unknowingly altered by timeline shift, or black ops tech designed to observe branching causality in live environments.
Cultural Identity Tags (For Character Creation)
- Species: Any (El-Aurians, Vulcans, Humans, and Trill are common)
- Cultural Identity: Temporal Scientist
- Common Traits:
- Temporal Acuity: +1 to detecting time anomalies, loop structures, or false memory artifacts
- Chrono-Resilience: Immune to minor paradox stress or altered memory states
- Loop Recall (GM tool): May recall fragments of alternate timelines once per arc — at cost of disorientation, mistrust, or unwanted knowledge
Sample NPCs
- Dr. Alren Kai – Federation-trained chronophysicist. Knows a timeline where the Borg won — and still hears voices from that reality.
- Sira Venn – El-Aurian mnemonic analyst. Senses “emotional anachronisms.” Claims Heimdahl’s corridor layout is wrong. Wasn’t always.
- Vor Leth – Romulan timeline defector. Uses collapsible chrono-tools to map potential enemy reactions. Has died four times. Once yesterday.
Campaign Hooks
- Heimdahl’s internal clock begins fluctuating by less than a second, unnoticed… until someone on the crew recalls a conversation that never happened.
- A field of debris carries chronoton shadows — pieces of a future ship that will one day be destroyed. And it matches Heimdahl’s configuration.
- Nyx starts experiencing double logs. Swayze runs a diagnostic… and confirms she’s remembering the future.
Related Organizations
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