History Literature / PastwatchTheRedemptionOfChristopherColumbus

%%* BoldExplorer: The famous {{Historical Domain|Character}} explorer-protagonist himself, of course.

* 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.

* 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's no mention made of this, and there are still explicitly Christians and Muslims around in this future (this despite the fact that one character became famous by discovering the historical event that became the basis for the Great Flood).
** This actually becomes a problem when Diko discovers Columbus' vision of the Christian Trinity. Her father immediately points out that they can't release it without context, as doing so would result in massive riots and condemnations that the past-viewing technology is evil and is, therefore, untrue. Or even begin new religious wars.
** Somewhat {{handwave}}d away when one character mentions in passing that every religious vision observed has been too subjective to tell what really happened (this how 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 unambiguous).

* AlternateHistoryWank: Given that Orson Scott Card is an observant Mormon, what else could his creation of a peace-loving ModernMayincatecEmpire that embodies an anti-racist, egalitarian interpretation of Christianity be?
** 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.

** All three are infected with genetically engineered "Carrier Virus", which will infect and immunize anyone who comes near them against Smallpox, Measles, the Cold, Syphilis ect. to keep both the Europeans and Natives from gaining the upper hand with Biological Warfare. It's noted that this will spread even from their corpses, so even if one of them immediately dies, it will still immunize potentially all of Europe and America.

* AlternateHistory: The main plot of the novel is around the characters trying to ''design'' an alternate history which they can then create. [[spoiler:They also learn that we are living in alternate history created by beings who changed their own past.]]

* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: {{Inverted|Trope}}. All three time travellers are given a backup plan for if the "moment" fails to last long enough and only one of them actually makes it. Naturally, then, the moment expands just fine and those particular plans end up unneeded.

* 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 buy 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.

* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: On a historical scale.

* IncestIsRelative: Having had much experience directly watching Columbus throughout his lifetime, Diko describes him as being an older brother, father, and grandfather to her despite never actually interacting with him [[spoiler:and later ends up marrying and having a child with him]].

* 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.]]

* TheCakeIsALie: [[spoiler:Despite what the politicians are saying, human civilization is doomed, as the ecological damage will not be reversed in time to save humanity from being thrown back to the Stone Age]].

* BoldExplorer: The famous {{Historical Domain|Character}} explorer-protagonist himself, of course.

* RetGone: It's clear that changing the past will wipe everyone on earth out of existence, except those who are sent. Everyone would have to accept having never existed in order to (hopefully) make the world better.

** 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.

* BackToFront: In universe example. One of the pastwatchers has a habit of watching the lives of individual figures starting at the end and working their way to the beginning.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: Everyone knows about the time-viewing technology, but they're not worried about it being abused by those in power, as it can only go back no closer than a few centuries ago. It's later revealed that this is a blatant lie, and the tech can actually view anywhere on Earth as near as 15 minutes ago. Of course, the only ones who are aware of this are a group dedicated to ''exposing'' the governments' lies.

* FlingALightIntoTheFuture: Knowing that people of the 15th century wouldn't be able to understand, they left their history as a sealed record that would be found only when society had the technology to detect it.

* 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.

** Presumably, doing so would result in massive riots and condemnations that the past-viewing technology is evil and is, therefore, untrue.

** Somewhat {{handwave}}d away when one character mentions in passing that every religious vision observed has been too subjective to tell what really happened.

* {{Atlantis}}: Thanks to Pastwatch (and one obsessed meteorologist), it's eventually discovered that Atlantis is the name later given to an ancient civilization at the end of the last WesternAnimation/IceAge. It was the first civilization to organize into urban-like groups and set up (more or less) permanent structures in the Red Sea. The melting of the ice caps has resulted in the rising of the ocean levels and a destructive tidal wave wiping out the entire civilization. Only a man named Naog, foreseeing this outcome, builds a sturdy wooden boat, just big enough to hold his family and the families of his slaves. After making it to shore, he becomes a shepherd, telling the story of his lost homeland to all who would listen. He advocated two things: slavery (as a replacement of human sacrifice) and a nomadic lifestyle (believing God was against cities). It wasn't until Babylon that large cities were again attempted. What all this means is that Noah was from Atlantis.

* {{Atlantis}}: Thanks to Pastwatch (and one obsessed meteorologist), it's eventually discovered that Atlantis is the name later given to an ancient civilization at the end of the last IceAge. It was the first civilization to organize into urban-like groups and set up (more or less) permanent structures in the Red Sea. The melting of the ice caps has resulted in the rising of the ocean levels and a destructive tidal wave wiping out the entire civilization. Only a man named Naog, foreseeing this outcome, builds a sturdy wooden boat, just big enough to hold his family and the families of his slaves. After making it to shore, he becomes a shepherd, telling the story of his lost homeland to all who would listen. He advocated two things: slavery (as a replacement of human sacrifice) and a nomadic lifestyle (believing God was against cities). It wasn't until Babylon that large cities were again attempted. What all this means is that Noah was from Atlantis.

* 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's no mention made of this, and there are still explicitly Christians and Muslims around in this future. (This despite the fact that one character became famous by discovering the historical event that became the basis for the Great Flood).

** Somewhat handwaved away when one character mentions in passing that every religious vision observed has been too subjective to tell what really happened.
* {{Atlantis}}: Thanks to Pastwatch (and one obsessed meteorologist), it's eventually discovered that Atlantis is the name later given to an ancient civilization at the end of the last IceAge. It was the first civilization to organize into urban-like groups and set up (more or less) permanent structures in the Red Sea. The melting of the ice caps has resulted in the rising of the ocean levels and a destructive tidal wave wiping out the entire civilization. Only a man named Naog, foreseeing this outcome, builds a sturdy wooden boat, just big enough to hold his family and the families of his slaves. After making it to shore, he becomes a shepherd, telling the story of his lost homeland to all who would listen. He advocated two things: slavery (as replacement of human sacrifice) and a nomadic lifestyle (believing God was against cities). It wasn't until Babylon that large cities were again attempted. What all this means is that Noah was from Atlantis.

* FlingALightIntoTheFuture: Knowing that people of the 15th century wouldn't able to understand, they left their history as a sealed record that would be found only when society had the technology to detect it.

* 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.

* 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]].

** Notably, not just the Europeans--the native Taino and Zapotec tribes the protagonists interact with have plenty of their own problems with sexism and racism to fix too.

** There is some variety -- basically, of the events happening before the time travellers 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).

* 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.]] [[spoiler:A more peaceful incarnation of this is 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 their own timeline and existence is the fact that things have gotten to the point where no matter what is done (other than changing the past) to remedy the situation, an even ''worse'' apocalyptic scenario than the one they've already experienced will happen, 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.

** Even the Mayan time traveler is stated to be a foot taller than the Mayans of that period.
*** This only serves to help him to pretend to be a messenger from Xibalba (the underworld).