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"Someone once told me that 'time' is a predator that stalks us all our lives. But I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment because it will never come again."
– Jean-Luc Picard, 2371 (Star Trek Generations)

Time, also known as the time continuum, time continuity, or time frame, was a non-spatial dimension in which events occur in a seemingly irreversible transition from one state to the next as governed by the laws of the local universe. These sequential events form what was known as a timeline. More timelines can be formed, and time travel can result in splits in the timeline.

It should be noted that the primary timeline addressed in Star Trek is colloquially referenced as the Prime timeline. Events that disrupt continuity of the Prime timeline are often referred to as Alternate timelines (ENT: "Shockwave"; TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever"; TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise"; Star Trek) , while in contrast, timelines which have a distinct history with no notable point of diversion from the Prime timeline, are often referenced as alternate quantum realities, also known as parallel universes. (TNG: "Parallels")

The universe also contained several parallel time continuums occupying the same space but in a different time. (TNG: "Time's Arrow") The quantum singularity lifeforms were a species which originated from a different time continuum, (TNG: "Timescape") as were the Devidians, who lived in a time continuum only a fraction of a second away, with a positive phase variance of 0.004 percent from the normal timeline. (TNG: "Time's Arrow", "Time's Arrow, Part II")

The reverse universe was a parallel universe where the flow of time was reversed. Operational controls, for example, worked in reverse. Reverse beginning a process ended it and reverse ending it began it. The inhabitants of the reverse universe counterpart of Earth, the planet Arret, began their life at an old age in a reverse death and slowly grew younger and died in reverse birth. For this reason, a person would call her mother or father the individual she would eventually give reverse birth to. (TAS: "The Counter-Clock Incident")

The symbol for time was a t. This symbol was used for counting down to an event, as in "T-minus", or for measuring time after an event has occurred, as in "T-plus". (TOS: "Assignment: Earth", TNG: "Contagion")

The second season of Star Trek: Picard was promoted using the tagline "The true final frontier is time."

The Prophets, also known as "wormhole aliens," were lifeforms who existed outside of linear time, and were simultaneously aware of the past, present, and the future. (DS9: "Emissary", "Destiny")

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