SoS Time-flow confusion...

[Kronz]

Spoiler:

I have had a question burning my mind since I first read the closing DT trilogy a few years ago and it only came back to me when I re-read through the series over the last two months. My real problem, and maybe it was even explained and I missed it or didn't understand it or something, but how here it is: why did Keystone Earth time slip from 1977 to 1999? In Wolves, after going Todash, they have a rough idea of the time correlation between the Keystone world and the Callas. At the end of WoC, we know Suze has taken the Unfound door to Keystone 1999, but after that, Eddie and Roland are able to still go to 1977. Being told repeatedly that time in Keystone flows only one way and can't be re-acted upon made this more frustrating for me. If Mia was already in 1999, shouldn't 1977 be closed off? Also, when they are back Mid-World side later on, the current date and time correlated to 1999, as they have to race to beat Smith to King in Lovell, right? Also, aside from the Unfound door and the NY/Fedic door, do we know if there were other active routes to Keystone from Mid-World?

Did the beamquake cause this skip forward? Is it a plot hole? Am I just stupid? If there is an easy answer I just somehow missed I apologize. Having read the book twice and read Bev Vincents essay/summary on the novel in his book multiple times, I don't feel I have found a satisfying explanation to this question. I know deus ex machina is a big part of the series but I can't believe that's the only explanation to this. It really feels like I missed something or misunderstood some passage of the novel.

[Brainslinger]

Hi Kronz.

Keystone Earth didn't actually time-slip. The way it worked is as follows:

To use the kestone door, the person has to visualise where/when they want to go, then they open the casket with Black 13. Hence the door opens at their destination.

Eddie and Callahan were using it to access the 1977. Mia (in Susannah) later used it to access the 1999s. (I.e that was the 'address' given to her by Sayre and co.)

When Mia skedaddled with Black 13, the Manni used their 'persistence of Magic' ritual with their bob things (I forget what they're called) to open the door on the last two destinations accessed. Hence it opened in the 90s and the 70s.

As to this:

If Mia was already in 1999, shouldn't 1977 be closed off?

I wondered about that too since there are no do-overs! However from the 90s guys points of view, I think all the actions of the 1977 guys would be part of their past time-line. If things didn't turn out how they liked, they couldn't then just leave and try to redo their actions though.

do we know if there were other active routes to Keystone from Mid-World?

We don't know for certain, but

Spoiler:

there were a lot of doorways under the Fedic dogan, so I think it's very possible, even likely. Many doorways access other Earths apart from the Keystone world, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were more.

[Kronz]

I got all that, I think, but there's still the nagging question in my mind about why time in End-World at the beginning of DT7 is correlated to 1999 when they are racing to beat Bryan Smith, when only weeks earlier in WotC they were racing time against 1977, do you see what I mean?