  This paper examines two cosmological models of quantum gravity (from string
theory and loop quantum gravity) to investigate the foundational and conceptual
issues arising from quantum treatments of the big bang. While the classical
singularity is erased, the quantum evolution that replaces it may not
correspond to classical spacetime: it may instead be a non-spatiotemporal
region, which somehow transitions to a spatiotemporal state. The different
kinds of transition involved are partially characterized, the concept of a
physical transition without time is investigated, and the problem of empirical
incoherence for regions without spacetime is discussed.
