Children of Time

*** (3 stars out of 5)

Remember that time a planet's weird atmosphere made two Rikers with different experiences? What if that happened to an entire shipload of Rikers? And O'Briens and Bashirs? Today we find out.

Two days from now, the Defiant is fated to crash and wind up two centuries in the past. Sisko's attempt to cut down on coffee will pass into legend.

The 48 crew have been fruitful and multiplied. Miles, after ten years mourning for Keiko and the Kids, married Ensign Rita Tannenbaum and made Irish babies. Julian made his super-babies with Angie Kirby. Worf's descendants (and fan-girls) have kept Klingon culture alive as 'The Sons of Mogh'.

But it's not all sex and candy here: Kira died of her injuries a few weeks after the crash.


Captain Sisko makes the obvious point: forewarned of the crash they can probably avoid it. Downside: Erasing the almost 8000 people of New Gaea Colony.

Odo of the present can't hold his shape in the quantum anomaly, but Future Odo (Old-o?) is good at it. He's good with expressing his feelings too. He tells Kira he's always loved her. She's just broken up with Shakaar, so who's up for a May/December Rebound? Kira's having a weird day: but praying over her own grave has not made her hot to trot for the 200-Year-Old Man.

Worf's descendant used Worf's mek'leth to slay a Yar-Bear once. Maybe it was named Tasha? Tasha Yar-Bear? Too soon? No? Anyone?

The Sons of Mogh don't think "Erased By Paradox" is a death worthy to get them into the Klingon Heaven Sto-Vo-Kor. They'd rather Worf slay them now. Would he mind? Does a Yar-Bear shit in the woods?

A day planting crops with the colonists, and Sisko can't go through with ending them. Fortunately, Oldo can. To him, one Kira is worth any 8000 nobodies. Or more accurately, the non-births of eight generations of nobodies. Now THAT's a guy with priorities.

"Children of Time" is well done, but not a favourite. The death of the maybes and the might have beens. It's kind of poignant. It's also such a bloodless slaughter that it's more like an imaginary story. Is Oldo really a mass murderer? Or is he the clear-thinking hero who saved the only true life that was REALLY at stake? Why can't the story make me care? I usually care about people who never existed all the time.