History Literature / PastwatchTheRedemptionOfChristopherColumbus

* FlingALightIntoTheFuture: Knowing that people of the 15th century wouldn't be able to understand, they left their history as a sealed archive that would be found only when society had the technology to detect it. [[spoiler: The map to the archive is broken into pieces, one implanted in each of the time traveler's skulls.]]

* AlternateHistoryWank: Given that Orson Scott Card is an observant Mormon, his creation of a peace-loving ModernMayincatecEmpire that embodies an anti-racist, egalitarian interpretation of Christianity might be seen as this. However, the story goes to great lengths to show it more as a merging of religions, with the protagonists going out of their way to shift the past dogma just enough so that the multiples religions can coexist and even combine without complaint.

** When Diko discovers Columbus' vision of the Christian Trinity using a new, more sensitive device her father immediately points out that they can't publicly release it without context, as doing so would result in massive riots and condemnations of the technology that has apparently confirmed Christianity. [[spoiler:They quickly decide, correctly, that the vision must be a fake.]]
** Somewhat {{handwave}}d away when one character mentions that every religious vision observed has been too subjective and could not be confirmed by watching through the past-viewing technology. This is one way they can tell [[spoiler:Columbus's vision of the Trinity was a fake]], because it's the only religious vision they've seen that was visible and recordable by the time-viewing device.

* HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct: {{Averted}}. It turns out it is possible to change the past, but we can only speculate whether previous iterations were better or worse than our own timeline. Also, the mere act of sending any object or time traveler into the past instantly causes the present to never have existed.

* ModernMayincatecEmpire: The Tlaxcala apparently took over the world in a previous iteration of the world's history. The people of that timeline [[spoiler:apparently considered it such a catastrophe in the long run, they changed history (and prevented themselves from ever existing) to avoid it, resulting in ''our'' timeline.]] [[spoiler:Ironically, the CosmicRetcon created by our timeline ''restores'' this trope, but in a more peaceful incarnation as the result of Diko, Hunahpu, and Kemal's work in changing the past.]]
* MortonsFork: What spurs the decision to change the past even though it'll erase our timeline and existence is the fact that [[ApocalypseHow Earth is doomed]] to an even ''worse'' apocalyptic scenario than the one they've already experienced. [[spoiler:The damage done to the planet's ecology by the European-dominated Earth has simply been too severe to recover from. Forecasts are that the human population will be reduced to under 10 million, and humanity will be plunged back into the Stone Ages with little hope of ever rising to civilization ever again, as they have exhausted all easily available energy sources and climate change means they will soon be facing a new ice age.]]
* NobleSavage: {{Played straight}} and averted. The characters watch the slaughter and plunder of peaceful American tribes by European invaders. This is initially seen a simple good vs. evil conquest, but they later realize that, left to themselves, the post-Aztec kingdoms would have created an even worse empire based on conquest and human sacrifice. They seek to find a way to [[TakeAThirdOption bring the cultures together and prevent their worst excesses]].
* NoEqualOpportunityTimeTravel: Averted. The three time travelers are a Mayan, an African and a Turk. Only one was the 'appropriate' race for that time and place. [[spoiler: One of them ''intended'' to be killed because of his race.]] Of course, advanced technology and a detailed knowledge of future events can make you more acceptable to any society.

* RetGone: It's perhaps the largest obstacle the characters face, as they have to come to terms with the fact that a single trip through time will erase everyone except those who are sent. The characters also also have to convince every single person in their time to accept having never existed in order to (hopefully) make the world better. They do this by having all of Earth's population vote, [[spoiler:but they wait to hold the vote until devastating famines begin. And even then, the vote is not unanimous, but is overwhelming.]]
** This is also stated to be one of the reasons why [[spoiler:Diko doesn't want to start a romantic relationship with Hunahpu: any child will end up being erased before adulthood]].
** Tagiri also realizes that this won't just erase everyone in the present. It will erase everyone between the present and the target date, or at least five hundred years and billions of people. None of ''them'' will get a vote.
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Done twice. Once by an alternate timeline that changed the timeline to the history we know [[spoiler:by sending Columbus a false vision]], and once by the future timeline described in the novel, when they decide to interfere. But in both cases there is no "right" present they are attempting to restore, just "hopefully something better".

* TemporalMutability: Type 5. The characters make clear that, as soon as they enter the past, they'll begin to change it. Even contact with one of their dead bodies would introduce future bacteria and viruses into the past ecosystem, altering the entire timeline.
** There is some variety-basically, of the events happening before the time travelers act, those based more-or-less on random chance get a "re-roll" (sailors pick random girls to sleep with), while those based on conscious and informed decision proceed roughly the same way (a ship's captain's concerns stay the same and so does the ship's course).
** This is also why the scientists painstakingly work to make sure that all three get sent back simultaneously. If even one of them is sent back an instant before the others, then the others will cease to exist before they can also be sent back. They measure the length of the wires used by the computers down to microscopic measurements, and cut to exactly the same lengths. In the end, the lead scientist states that they can't achieve absolute precision, and hopes that the universe has enough "tolerance" to allow for all three to make it through. All of the travelers are trained to act as if only one of them got through, as they are sent to different decades and different locations, and therefore have no way of knowing if the others made it.
* TheTimeTravellersDilemma: Used to excellent effect. The characters agonize over whether changing the past would make things better, and whether it could ever be justified. It's especially difficult considering [[spoiler:the timeline they are living in now, about to face ecological collapse, is shown the result of time travelers from an alternate future changing ''their'' past in hopes of something better. Whether it made things better or worse can only be speculated on, as those travelers didn't leave a full record of their timeline.]]
** It's conveniently resolved by [[spoiler:revealing that the ecological damage in the current timeline is irreversible in time to save human civilization]].

%%* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: On a historical scale.

** It's conveniently resolved by [[spoiler:revealing that the ecological damage is irreversible in time to save human civilization]].

* XanatosGambit: The plan is designed so, even if only one traveler makes it back, and even if they are immediately killed once making the journey, they will still have changed enough of that the future will be a tad more hopeful.

** Hunahpu is sent back to Mexico in the 1470's, where he has roughly just over a decade to unite the divided tribes into a nation that can adequately defend themselves against the Europeans, while altering small but key parts of their religious dogma so that it can be merged with Christianity.

* ApathyKilledTheCat: With a past viewing device available, it seems likely that the first order of business would be to investigate every major religion, either confirming or debunking the accounts in each book of scripture. There are still explicitly Christians and Muslims around in this future, despite the fact that one character became famous by discovering the historical event that became the basis for the Great Flood.

** This is also why the scientists painstakingly work to make sure that all three get sent back. If even one of them is sent back a second before the others, then the other won't be there in the already-altered future to be sent back. This means that all the distances must be measured down to microscopic measurements, and all wires cut to exactly the same lengths. Even in the end, the lead scientist states that it all comes down to chance and his hope that the universe will expand the "moment" to allow for all three to make it through. However, all of the travelers are trained to act as if only one of them got through, as they are sent to different decades and different locations, and therefore have no way of knowing.
* TheTimeTravellersDilemma: Used to excellent effect. The characters agonize over whether changing the past would make things better, and whether it could ever be justified. Even when they learn that an ecological collapse is inevitable, they're concerned about taking on that kind of responsibility. It's especially hard considering [[spoiler:the world we're living in now is the result of time travelers from an alternate future changing ''their'' past. Whether it made things better or worse can only be speculated on.]]

* RetGone: It's perhaps the largest obstacle the characters face, as they have to come to terms with the fact that a single trip through time will erase everyone except those who are sent. The characters also also have to convince every single person in their time to accept having never existed in order to (hopefully) make the world better. They do this by having all of Earth's population vote, but have to wait until devastating famines start in order to convince people. And even then, the vote is not unanimous, but is overwhelming.
** This is also stated to be one of the reasons why [[spoiler:Diko doesn't want to start a romantic relationship with Hunahpu and have a child that will end up being erased]].
** Tagiri also realizes that this won't just erase everyone in the present. It will erase everyone between the present and the past, or at least five hundred years and billions of people, none of whom get a vote.

* MortonsFork: What spurs the decision to change the past even though it'll erase our timeline and existence is the fact that [[ApocalypseHow Earth is doomed]] to an even ''worse'' apocalyptic scenario than the one they've already experienced. The human population will be reduced to under 10 million, and humanity will be plunged back into the Stone Ages with little hope of ever rising to civilization ever again, as they have exhausted all easily available energy sources and climate change means they will soon be facing a new ice age.

%%* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler: Tagiri has one when it is finally spelled out just how time travel works, vis that any journey into the past will erase everyone who lived between the past and the present, in effect killing billions of people, even the billions who are already dead. In effect, they will be killing the dead.]]