Timeshift Stones Theory?

[Emmanuel]

I'm curious what thoughts people have about the timeshift stones in Skyward Sword. In particular, one of the things I have been wondering about is whether creatures who exist within the radius of an active timeshift stone's influence are aware of what is going on and the temporal effects that are occurring. Basically, are characters like Skipper aware that they are only "alive" because they have been restored by the timeshift stones? Are they aware how much time has passed since their original lifetimes, and are they aware that they cannot leave the area affected by the timeshift stones? Are they able to "see" beyond the radius of the active timeshift zone to see the Lanayru sand sea, or do they see things how they were in their own time, as a great lake?

Skipper is an especially interesting character because Link spends some time with him, speaking to him and travelling with him over the course of Skyward Sword. When Link first strikes the timeshift stone on the little boat that restores Skipper, the little robot guy takes a look at Link's map and says there is something funny about it, so he changes it. Skipper updates the map to reflect how it would have looked millenia ago when there was still a great lake in the Lanayru region. He does not seem to realize that the region has changed, and doesn't seem to realize that outside of the short radius of the little boat, there is a great sand sea.

Later, when Link and Skipper travel to Skipper's Retreat, Skipper sends Link up to the retreat by himself to go get an item they need to proceed forward, and he remarks that he can't leave the boat. It is possible that Skipper knows he cannot leave the boat because he will "die" if he wanders too far from the timeshift stone, but it seems more likely that Skipper does not know this and only says that he cannot leave it in order to protect it, possibly from nearby monsters or pirates. If Link speaks to Skipper later outside of Skipper's Retreat, Skipper will remark that he wonders how long it will be before he can go see his family again. He does not seem to be aware that his family is long dead, even though Link sees their remains in the retreat.

If I remember, correctly, however, there was another instance where Skipper says something that specifically shows he is aware that he is only alive because of the timeshift stone. I was I had written it down or could remember exactly when/where he said it, but maybe someone else will know what I'm talking about. (One thing I just remembered though is that when Link and Skipper find Skipper's ship and make it visible, Skipper comes on board as soon as Link activates the timeshift stone that restores the whole ship. He remarks something to the effect of "You did it! The ship looks just like how it used to," which would imply he was aware of the passage of time.) If Skipper is aware of the effects of the timeshift stone, or becomes aware at some point, does this contradict the evidence to the contrary - or does it show that Skipper is/was in denial about what was happening? If Skipper knows that many hundreds of years have passed and that his friends and family are dead, his remarks about hoping to see his family again soon or the whole adventure of recovering his ship from the pirates and saving his crew becomes even more sad, because Skipper knows what is going on but has gone into denial because he can't accept the truth!

Anyway, am I over thinking this? Did others have the same impression as me, or a different take on things?

 

[Ninten*]

Maybe Skipper decided to change the map so that it would be easier to navigate since the Timeshift Stone is active. When he wanted to go see his family. He might've thought that he could have taken them to a Timeshift Stone which he could activate. I think that after the robots started to die, the survivors mined for Timeshift Stones to revive them. All of the ones who were alone, Skipper for example, died because they weren't able to get to an active Timeshift Stone at the time.

 

[Emmanuel]

Any other thoughts?

 

[Shadsie]

Maybe the Skipper suffers the inherent confusion of a being "outside of time." He "feels" like he's within his own time when he is alive via the Timeshift Stone, yet he knows that Link is "futureboy" who activated it and has an awareness that he is only alive and able to communicate with Link because of the effects of the Stone. There is a difference between the "knowing" and the "feeling," between being outside of time, yet feeling within one's own era.

 

[Cuju]

I could write a huge post about this, but I'll try and keep it short.

In terms of whether or not Skipper knows about the conditions under which he is alive, I think that he wants to believe that his world is still as he remembers it, but he can't ignore how much the world around him has changed (we know he can see the sea of sand since he said that the boat looked like it used to, implying that he could see it's different present apearence.) I think this made him and excellent character, we can all relate to how sad it would be to loose your friends or your familly, and realating to a character like that makes us care...

 

[Dragoncat]

Yeah, the timeshift stones are confusing when you start to wonder about them...like all time travel paradoxes tend to be.

I second Shadsie. Poor little robots...

 

[blue-eyes]

Well, I was thinking about this earlier. I believe that the timeshift stones bring Link in the past, and that anything in its area sees Link, but when h exits the effects of the timeshift stone, he disappears, as in they cannot see him any longer. This is just what I think, and I'm probably not correct, as there are flaws in my theory.

 

[felipe970421]

Try to put yourself in his position, imagine you have a stone which would revive you after you die, now, in a milennia someone uses it, you are unaware of the change at first but there would be some signals that would let you know that you are actually dead, you would know, but you could still remark on your family or friends, hoping to bring their remains or something like that.

One thing that is very hard to explain though is how the outside world looks from the inside of the "timeshift sphere", Link sees the world as it is, but ow would Skipper?