Understanding the different concepts and distinctions within time travel in a Star Trek-based universe can be challenging, as the explanations provided in canon are often minimal. As the Star Trek series progressed beyond The Next Generation, the scientific details behind these concepts became less prominent, further complicating matters.
Time Travel and Phasing share similarities when explained, but they are portrayed differently in canon. However, the difference between them is never explicitly clarified in the shows because it was not necessary for the storylines. Consequently, comprehending the distinction can be conceptually challenging, especially after delving into the mechanics of time travel in the storyline.
Phasing in Canon Trek
In the Star Trek universe, the concept of Phasing is described as being out of sync with normal time. In the two-part episode "Times Arrow" from Star Trek: The Next Generation, it is referred to as synchronic distortion, which places individuals out of sync with the regular flow of time. If two people are in a room and person A becomes phased while person B remains unaffected, person A essentially shifts forward or backward in the current stream of time, unable to catch up or be caught up with. Conceptually, this seems plausible, except that being out of phase is also shown to reveal an alternate world overlaying the normal reality, which remains unseen as our eyes never synchronize with it.
Similarities to Time Travel
To move into another time, person A would need to become out of sync with normal time. Since this universe is not solely based on Star Trek, ideas and concepts from other works of fiction are borrowed to help describe the finer details. For instance, in Back to the Future, Doc Brown explains his time machine as leaping forward in time by skipping over the minute to land precisely one minute in the future. In this scenario, the time machine catches up with the skipped minute, unlike being out of phase, where one never catches up with the normal timeline.
Of course, various other concepts of time travel exist in different descriptions. Another idea involves time travel occurring when an individual accelerates or decelerates the speed at which they move through time. This concept is exemplified in H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, where the protagonist's contraption allows him to witness time passing outside the machine by moving faster than anything else, rendering it invisible to others.
In Our Writing
In our game, Time Travel occurs in two ways. Firstly, there is the concept of Time Displacement Equipment, which can be likened to the "Doc Brown" method, where a vessel instantaneously jumps from one point in time to another, bypassing both time and space. Secondly, there is the Dimensional Fold Drive, which resembles the "Time Machine" method, where a vessel phases out of sync with normal time and then accelerates or decelerates the passage of time. This concept aligns with the slingshot method used in Star Trek IV, where time travel is depicted as a stream of sensations, thoughts, and images, suggesting that the crew progresses (albeit at an extraordinarily rapid pace) through the timeline rather than instantaneously jumping to their destination.
How does this differ from Phasing? Becoming asynchronous to normal time implies that we reside in a specific segment of space-time, and other regions within our own space-time are either invisible or barely perceptible to us. In several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, being out of phase allows characters to become invisible, pass through normal matter, perceive but not interact with the normal world, and so on. It is not inconceivable that, if we consider our universe as the starting point, becoming out of sync could grant us glimpses of other parallel streams of time that exist alongside our own. In fact, going slightly out of phase might align a person partially with another world, enabling them to perceive both realities.
Consequently, Phasing differs from Time Travel in that Time Travel involves traversing our own stream of time and existence, while someone becoming out of phase shifts out of our own universe/reality and into another.