If Annorax (or someone else) erased the remnants of a device that cause a supernova, then using the above explanation, the supernova wouldn't have happened, and Romulus would still be here.
And a LOT of other things would be completely screwed up.
Annorax's timeship is a weapon far too dangerous to use.
If it's used at all, it would most likey be on very minor, recently existing things, the minute you try and use something like that recklessly you destroy yourself.
The RSE was always evil, that was never in question. The Romulan people at large were not evil, but their leaders were real galactic jerks.
The RSE was not always evil. In the original presentations of Romulans (TOS, "Balance of Terror" and "The Enterprise Incident"), they were a society of honorable warriors. Something happened between the end of TAS and the beginning of TNG which changed them (from a real-world perspective, the movies stole the honorable warrior motif from the Romulans and gave it to the Klingons; from an in-universe perspective, the most logical explanation is the one which says that the Tal'Shiar wasn't formed until 2344, and that things began going downhill after that).
It seems to me the OP simply wants cryptic to dump the Romulan faction we have now so he can play the true Romulan faction that players would rather play as.
Romulan Republic already exists.
Speak for yourself, but I'd prefer a Republic Romulan over an Imperial one anyday. I'd have no interest in an Imperial Romulan.
In fact, anyone who is very familiar with the Romulan Gameplay forum will be aware that a very vocal minority have agitated for RSE and/or Tal'Shiar as playable faction (and often agitated for the destruction of the Republic), but most of the participants in that forum have supported the Republic, realizing that what the RSE became was no longer worthy of maintaining, and that it was time to take back the older presentations of Romulans.
Haven't read through the thread completely, but as the destruction of Romulus is part of hard-canon, I don't see this happening except as a quickly-corrected Temporal Ambassador-style mission. It can't be left as the "prime" timeline, because that would erase the alternate reality, and I don't think PWE/Cryptic has authorization to do that.
That's the first post I saw (I also didn't read the entire thread) that mentions the IRL implications of such a story arc within STO. The reboot movies/alternate timeline ("JJTrek" for the haters, not me BTW) would be completely undone by the Hobus supernova never happening and I agree that a licensee like PWE/Cryptic probably doesn't have authority to alter "canon" in such a way.
This was the first conclusion I drew from this theory, though technically I have to agree with the OP that it is a viable story arc due to the vast universe-changing implications of Krenim temporal technology. The STO writers are going to have to scramble to avoid that minefield (if they haven't already brainstormed around it).
Seriously, what couldn't be changed? Stop the Hobus supernova? Somehow avoid the Enterprise-D from encountering the Borg (gotta mess with Q for that one)? Avoid the Dominion War? Avoid Voyager's disappearance (and, hence, the Undine contact)? A huge selection of retcon story arcs...and, judging from the "Year of Hell", the chance that someone could actually make things worse.
I have a feeling if it gets employed at all, it's going to be a Year of Hell type thing..... timeline changed for the purpose of the episode and eventually reverted by the destruction of the ship.... because as we've seen the best thing that can happen with the Annorax ship is for its temporal core to blow up and take out its own timeline and bring things back as they are.
Hmm, I didn't think about this. Using it could lead to Season 11. We erase the Iconians, and end up changing the timeline with regards to the Dominion some how.
Temporal paradoxes are difficult for the most intelligent and knowledgeable people. I do not claim to be one but I know enough to theorise the problems that will ensue and know that experience and good handling is needed when writing time based stories.
Cryptic is holding the pen to the script for STO....be afraid....be very, VERY afraid.
Comments
The RSE was not always evil. In the original presentations of Romulans (TOS, "Balance of Terror" and "The Enterprise Incident"), they were a society of honorable warriors. Something happened between the end of TAS and the beginning of TNG which changed them (from a real-world perspective, the movies stole the honorable warrior motif from the Romulans and gave it to the Klingons; from an in-universe perspective, the most logical explanation is the one which says that the Tal'Shiar wasn't formed until 2344, and that things began going downhill after that).
In fact, anyone who is very familiar with the Romulan Gameplay forum will be aware that a very vocal minority have agitated for RSE and/or Tal'Shiar as playable faction (and often agitated for the destruction of the Republic), but most of the participants in that forum have supported the Republic, realizing that what the RSE became was no longer worthy of maintaining, and that it was time to take back the older presentations of Romulans.
I have a feeling if it gets employed at all, it's going to be a Year of Hell type thing..... timeline changed for the purpose of the episode and eventually reverted by the destruction of the ship.... because as we've seen the best thing that can happen with the Annorax ship is for its temporal core to blow up and take out its own timeline and bring things back as they are.
Cryptic is holding the pen to the script for STO....be afraid....be very, VERY afraid.