In a fateful trip to the prehistoric era, Eckel learns — a little too late — that even the tiniest alteration to history has drastic effects, changing the course of history. Small actions, such as stepping on and killing a delicate butterfly, can have disastrous, perhaps even deadly, repercussions. These extreme effects show that an action can never be separated from its respective consequence.
Ray Bradbury blurs the line between past, present, and future with the use of a time machine. Of course, according to quantum theory, time, as we know it, does not exist. What is currently regarded as an important rubric determining train times and class schedules is just a “social construct,” according to several scientists. Time actually is just a progression towards chaos, which correlates strongly with the butterfly effect. As Travis tells Eckel, “A little error here would multiply in sixty million years, all out of proportion.” A simple action done in the past, such as crushing a butterfly underfoot, gets amplified as “time” moves towards chaos.
More than just the butterfly effect, however, Bradbury is ultimately warning his readers that every event will have a consequence, no matter how mundane. Time Safari Inc. clearly didn’t truly understand this principle. Though the time traveling company painstakingly set up all sorts of technologies to minimize any trace of their presence in the past, and they warned all potential clients of the danger, they still overestimated their ability to control all events. In reality, humans can’t possibly govern the flow of time and their effects on reality. Travis admits that “Maybe Time can’t be changed by us,” further proving how little humans know about time traveling. This uncertainty shows that the time travelers are foolhardy and thoughtless, dabbling in something they don’t understand. This entire scenario is a paradox: Time Safari Inc., while warning about the dangers of time traveling and changing the past, are overconfident of their ability to protect the past from any alterations.
When Eckel tramps off the path, Travis is too preoccupied with the t. rex to care. By the time the that they realize what has happened, it is already too late. Nothing can bring back the dead butterfly; Deutscher is the president now, not Keith. Using technology without fully understanding it has disastrous results, serving only to inflate human arrogance. Eckel, on realizing the disastrous effects of his mistake, asks, “Can’t we start over?” showing he still doesn’t grasp that his actions will have consequences. The damage has already been done, and there’s no way to go back.