| abstract
| - Timeline 2 or Timeline A is the timeline brought into existence by Marty's unintended alteration of history during his week in 1955. When Marty returns to 1985, ten minutes before he left, he watches himself from a distance. However, Marty's own memories are different than those of the Marty whom he sees jump into the DeLorean and travel into the past. When Marty returns to 1985 from 1955, the first hint that his present has been altered is the broken ledge on the Courthouse. The ledge was unbroken when Marty was talking to Jennifer the previous afternoon. Now it's been broken for almost 30 years, exactly in the place where Doc Brown had stepped on it in 1955. A more obvious sign that the world has changed is that what was once called Twin Pines Mall is now the Lone Pine Mall. Marty witnesses his alter-ego escape into a past that has already been rewritten, giving way to Timeline 2. In this timeline, Doc had worn a bullet-proof vest underneath his radiation suit. Here, Doc has been waiting for almost 30 years to watch the events of October 26, 1985, unfold, and has had the benefit of Marty's letter to warn him that he would be shot by terrorists (Doc has had to operate on the assumption that a vest would be enough, and perhaps has guessed that Marty's warning would otherwise have been more explicit). When Marty awakes the next day, his bedroom is exactly as it was in Timeline 1. When he walks into the kitchen, however, he finds that the furnishings are more expensive, and that his brother and sister have changed. Dave, who had been working at a Burger King, now works at an office at an indeterminate job. Linda, who had been lonely, now wears contacts and is popular. Marty's Mom and Dad "look great". His father has published a novel, A Match Made in Space, which is apparently based upon Marty's "Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan" scheme in 1955. George's wrecked car has been replaced by a BMW, and George employs Biff's Auto Detailing to keep the McFly vehicles washed and waxed. Biff, who had been George's tyrannical boss, now addresses George as "Mr. McFly". Finally, Marty now owns the Toyota 4 x 4 truck that he had dreamed of in Timeline 1. As Doc Brown points out in Back to the Future Part II, when leaving Jennifer behind in the alternate 1985, there is only one reality (rather than a series of parallel universes. The family photograph and the 2015 newspaper confirm that when the past is altered, items from the previous timeline change accordingly. This phenomenon is seen again with the alteration of other newspapers and photographs. As described in the Starlog magazine article, "The Other Marty McFly", the person seen escaping into the past at the end of the film has grown up in a different reality than our Marty McFly. Because of changes wrought by Marty's presence in 1955, the 1985 of Timeline 2 is, of necessity, different:
* It is more likely that Marty would drive his 4 x 4 to Doc's home, and then on to school, although he would still be tardy.
* Mr. Strickland can no longer claim that "No McFly has ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley", in that George has been successful; however, Marty would still be a slacker, who needs to be "more like his old man".
* Though Marty might still be rejected at the audition, Jennifer would remind him that one rejection isn't the end of the world, and point to the good advice that "If you put your mind to it, you can do anything." In Timeline 2, however, that advice has come from Marty's father, rather than Doc Brown. In fearing rejection, Marty is no longer starting to sound like his old man; if anything, he would be worried that he will not be as successful as his father has been.
* In Timeline 2, Marty already owns a truck identical to the 4 x 4 that he sees at the Texaco station. It is likely that when he talks about "someday", he will be dreaming of an even better vehicle. Another possibility would be Marty musing about how he has a truck just like it, and anticipating the night at the lake.
* In Timeline 2, Marty's Mom does know about tomorrow night, and has no objections to Marty and Jennifer going up to the lake. It's likely that she has still given him "the standard lecture" about things she didn't do when she was his age, and Marty probably still thinks that "the woman was born a nun". On the other hand, she would maybe be much more understanding of how teenagers could be.
* The conversation might be different, but Marty is destined to be at Courthouse Square, where the "Clock Tower lady" will hand him the flyer (presumably, the Preservation Society also wants the broken ledge preserved exactly as it was).
* As established at the end of BTTF, the family car is not wrecked. Marty might be pouting over something else when Jennifer calls twice, but it isn't about a lack of wheels.
* If there is a confrontation between George and Biff in 1985, it isn't over George having to do Biff's reports, because George and Biff move in different circles.
* George and Dave would no longer be trying to advise Marty to avoid "headaches", nor discourage him from trying to work with his band.
* According to the deleted scenes of Part II, it was likely that Joey Baines was also imprisoned in this timeline. Thus, Lorraine would likely still be discouraged about Uncle Joey not making parole - and suggest that the kids "send him a line". Marty would likely still respond with the "Uncle Jailbird Joey" comment, and Dave and Linda would likely still express embarrassment in him.
* But most notably, Grandpa did not hit Dad with a car in this timeline, and Lorraine has a different story about she and George met; one in which he was heroic rather than helpless, and rescued her from Biff, "fighting for the woman he loved". What happens in 1955 after Marty from Timeline 2 escapes into the past would be similar, but Marty's perspective of what was supposed to happen would be different.
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