Time Travel theories!

[TelekineticBanana]

Well the problem with alternate timelines based on actions taken is that we can only make assumptions on the information we have.

If what I understood from "Five Years Gone" is correct, Hiro had two different timelines in Isaac's apartment, intersecting at one point (the explosion). So to me, that means that Hiro experienced the initial timeline (Sylar blowing up NYC), went back to talk to Peter in the present, then when he went to his own time (the future), he was in the alternate timeline (Peter blows up NYC) without Sylar having Claire's ability.

This is where I get confused. P.Hiro and P.Ando go to the future and it is still a mess. Thus they traveled to F.Hiro's current timeline. How could they, if now Nathan was going to change that timeline? Wouldn't they have traveled to the new timeline (basically season two) instead of the one where F.Hiro is in? That would mean there are three alternate timelines, very confusing.

I kind of wish that they would have never gone to the future, or at least the "bad" future. That future wasn't going to happen now any way. I think it would have been better if they would have left that episode out.

[Robert_DarkFall]

Originally Posted by TelekineticBanana

This is where I get confused. P.Hiro and P.Ando go to the future and it is still a mess. Thus they traveled to F.Hiro's current timeline. How could they, if now Nathan was going to change that timeline? Wouldn't they have traveled to the new timeline (basically season two) instead of the one where F.Hiro is in? That would mean there are three alternate timelines, very confusing.

Well - if I'm understanding what you're saying correctly. At the time they travelled to the future the 3rd (season 2) timeline hadn't been created yet - so that is how they travelled to F. Hiro's timeline.

I hope that makes sense. If the alternate hadn't been created yet because the action hadn't been taken yet then they wouldn't have travelled to it.

This has been explained pretty well in a few shows I've seen regarding time-travel and alternate realities. But basically it's something like a tournament diagram with alternating branches like a tree..... kind of like the earlier post that I think you made about certain decisions being made at different points. Each of those creates in essence a new reality / timeline. But only at the point the action was taken to create it.

Look up "probability diagram" (http://www.regentsprep.org/Regents/math/tree/Ltree.htm) - these pretty much work the same way as an alternate reality / timeline diagram.

[meimei42]

Wow...yeah see, Time Travel = Confusing.

I see what you're saying, that Hiro and Ando going into the future, it shouldn't have been the bad future. If they had had some kind of an affect, did something to stop what happened from happening, that would make sense, but they didn't, it was Nathan who stopped things from happening and I would think that was predestined unless somehow what Ando and Hiro did had an affect on Nathan's decision to fly off with Peter.

If you want to start talking about alternate timelines, just about everything we do or don't do would create and alternate time line and therefore, Hiro would be able to jump into anyone of those theoretically. Wow...I think I just confused myself more! LOL.

Perhaps we should create a time travel thread and get this one back on topic?

[meimei42]

Post your theories on time travel and how it works in Heroes!

[Robert_DarkFall]

Awww you beat me to it! Well let me move my other post over here and you can delete that other thread if you want! LOL

[Robert_DarkFall]

Originally Posted by meimei42

If you want to start talking about alternate timelines, just about everything we do or don't do would create and alternate time line and therefore, Hiro would be able to jump into anyone of those theoretically. Wow...I think I just confused myself more! LOL.

Yes - I've had the discussion you mentioned on the other thread many times now. We had an excellent example of that one day at my old job.

There was a guy we really disliked in general at work - he was coming in for an interview with HR after having been suspended for a few days....

needless to say we were a little depressed that he was being allowed to return...

Well at the last minute - the girl who was supposed to go to the lobby traded with another guy (security personnel). To make a long story short (as possible) because of that last minute decision a guy was sitting out front when the suspended employee came out - The Security guy said something (not anything at all provocative - just something like "welcome back" and not sarcastically either) to him on his way out and the employee lost his cool and threw a punch and was terminated.

So because of that last second decision between the security people - our unbeloved friend lost his job.

We discussed that day how just one second in time can dramatically change an outcome.

[Robert_DarkFall]

Probably one of the best examples I ever saw about the stuff we are talking about was on an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation - when the enterprise met with the enterprises from multiple other realities. You could see the radically different courses some of the ships and crews took based on decisions and events made in their timeline / reality.

I think they could make a really cool Hiro episode like that if they wanted to have some fun. Have him meet with like 5 others of himself from various timelines/realities based on a decision he was facing.

[meimei42]

Dude, that would be nuts!

I think with time travel you have to have a certain school of though. Either everything done or not done creates muiltipul realities and timelines OR there is only one future and doing something in the past will directly impact the future. So if you kill someone in the past, in the future their decendants would have never existed.

In The Time Machine, the guy makes a time machine to save him fiancee from being killed, but he can't save her no matter how many times he goes back because if he saved her, then he would have never made the time machine and therefore would have never been able to go back and save her! The time machine wouldn't have existed, so his time travelling self would not have existed either and so whatever he did, she still died.

My heads going to explode if I keep talking like that LOL.

[Robert_DarkFall]

Originally Posted by meimei42

Dude, that would be nuts!

I think with time travel you have to have a certain school of though. Either everything done or not done creates muiltipul realities and timelines OR there is only one future and doing something in the past will directly impact the future. So if you kill someone in the past, in the future their decendants would have never existed.

In The Time Machine, the guy makes a time machine to save him fiancee from being killed, but he can't save her no matter how many times he goes back because if he saved her, then he would have never made the time machine and therefore would have never been able to go back and save her! The time machine wouldn't have existed, so his time travelling self would not have existed either and so whatever he did, she still died.

My heads going to explode if I keep talking like that LOL.

You know - I actually loved that they created that paradox for the movie - it was really thought provoking. When the Uber-Morlock told him that he created his own dilemma and explained it to him I was like.... WHOA! ehhehe It made so much sense and yet fried my brain at the same time.

[Robert_DarkFall]

Speaking of ironic dilemmas - I also LOVE the path that the Hiro story is taking - he is responsible for all the legends he grew up and idolized. HE is the one behind his own Hero's fame and legend! How paradoxical is that?