[hope...you nerd. it's fine because it would be lying to say if gemini wasn't vaguely curious. so there's a nod.]
I suppose we can try. I'd like to see if I can see them myself and obtain a better understanding of these paradoxes. Though do be prepared to explain if this isn't the case.
[ and off they go! hope leads gemini to the elevator and stabs them. (no.) a short walk over and he lets them into his room, leading them to the papers in question. ]
[ you know this just made me realize that i don't think there's no fuckin moment in xiii-2 where hope is sitting? his leggies... but yea, he goes ahead and sits on the edge of his bed. we are just bros here, gemini. ]
Right. You're probably familiar with the concept of time paradoxes, where conflicting iterations of history exist as the result of time traveling or some other type of temporal manipulation.
Paradoxes, as they're understood in my world, are similar in nature. However, where almost all depictions of temporal manipulation involve changing the past to reflect an idealized future, paradoxes can also work in reverse. That is to say, by manipulating the future, you can stabilize the past, allowing the flow of time to correct itself and revert to the "proper" timeline.
[ i hate this so much but hope is, again, legitimately jazzed to talk about time travel so i die ]
[they let hope talk because he is a nerd, but also gemini seems to actually be following along well enough to be able to understand the basic concepts.]
So long as you are only changing the before or the after, the timeline will stabilize itself into a remade history. Correct? And so long as you can conceptualize what it is you want to actually fix, you can manipulate your past or your future and erase the original timeline to replace with the adjusted one.
It seems relatively straightforward. If you take one part of the equation, you cannot change the other part of it otherwise it becomes something entirely new rather than a revised product. You've been researching these paradoxes frequently then?
[ he shakes his head courteously to dismiss their concern. it's a valid question! science and all that. ]
I have, actually, though it's only been recently that I've been able to actually test my theories. You see, I don't have the power to traverse time myself, so I could only hypothesize.
[they lean back in their seat, folding their arms over their chest as claws tap against their elbow.]
Hypothesizing is just as important as doing the actual work. Without investigative research and without information to begin, I imagine you wouldn't even know how to apply the power to start with. Is that...common? For people to traverse time where you're from.
[ his respect for gemini is growing so much you don't even know ]
It isn't. Thankfully—call it fate or luck or whatever you want—one such person happened to be a friend of mine I hadn't seen in a few years. With her help, I was able to start actualizing my theories. For the most part, I've been in the right track, but... of course, it's a whole different matter when you actually start to get empirical proof to back up your research.
I believe one may call that fate when matters of time are involved. It's the proof that solidifies everything you've started to bring into fruition, and without that proof you have nothing but mythical ideas.
After all, with proof you can expand and create new theories, and from there obtain more proof. A chain, if you will.
[ THEY'RE GENUINELY ENGAGING WITH HIM ON NERD THINGS... HE APPRECIATES IT... case in point, he listens to gemini speak with rapt attention, his eyes growing wide. then... he just laughs. ]
You know, for all my "expertise" on the matter, I've never thought about it that way.
And this is precisely why sharing your findings is so important. [they sound sort of pleased, actually.] ...it's tempting to do these things alone, I imagine, but there is a benefit in involving other people. Depending on your task.
Of course. Behind every great scientist is a team of colleagues supporting them every step of the way—I wouldn't be half the man I am today without my team, my staff... and my friends.
Even if your colleagues--or your friends--aren't always in agreement with you, it can still lead you to where you need to be. [but.] Tell me a bit about them. If you'd like.
[ he leans back on his hands, switching his focus from gemini themself to the sleek chrome ceiling as he reminisces. ]
Where to begin...well, maybe I should start with Serah. She's the one I mentioned previously—the one who gained the power to travel through time. It's funny...the last time I saw her, I was only fourteen, and she was eighteen. She reappeared in my life ten years later, but because of her temporal displacement, I was then 24, and she 21—it was quite a surprise for us both.
She remembered everything. In fact, she was one of the ways I had support for one of my earliest theories—when she met with me for the first time from my perspective, she mentioned that she had encountered a different version of me who had asked her to resolve a paradox. Given that I hadn't heard of that particular paradox, I could only surmise that she had corrected the anomaly "I" had told her about.
...Of course, to the layperson, it might seem like a whole—pardon my language—load of bullshit [ thanks seasons friends ]. But to me, it made perfect sense—history that Serah had borne witness to had been changed, thus allowing the future she met me in to exist.
[ if this doesn't make sense to you, don't worry, it doesn't make sense to me either. i'm talking out of my ass. i hate time travel ]
[the worst thing is that gemini listens, arms folded over their chest as they mull over that silent.]
A history that had been realized, and one common factor in Serah. She was able to recall both the old timeline and the rectified timeline due to being the controlled variable. A redirection, if you will.
And that history only exists in her memories. Changing any one bit of it would then create a second history outside of the one where you met one another again.
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I suppose we can try. I'd like to see if I can see them myself and obtain a better understanding of these paradoxes. Though do be prepared to explain if this isn't the case.
[lead the way!]
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[ and off they go! hope leads gemini to the elevator and stabs them. (no.) a short walk over and he lets them into his room, leading them to the papers in question. ]
Can you read them?
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...it seems as though these papers may simply be for aesthetic purposes, Hope. I can't read these.
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[ he's about to start talking, but he stops himself and gestures to a chair that i've just now decided this room has ]
Feel free to take a seat. Please don't feel like you need to stand because of your position.
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Likewise, don't feel you need to stand because you're presenting. Whenever you're ready then.
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Right. You're probably familiar with the concept of time paradoxes, where conflicting iterations of history exist as the result of time traveling or some other type of temporal manipulation.
Paradoxes, as they're understood in my world, are similar in nature. However, where almost all depictions of temporal manipulation involve changing the past to reflect an idealized future, paradoxes can also work in reverse. That is to say, by manipulating the future, you can stabilize the past, allowing the flow of time to correct itself and revert to the "proper" timeline.
[ i hate this so much but hope is, again, legitimately jazzed to talk about time travel so i die ]
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So long as you are only changing the before or the after, the timeline will stabilize itself into a remade history. Correct? And so long as you can conceptualize what it is you want to actually fix, you can manipulate your past or your future and erase the original timeline to replace with the adjusted one.
Is that right?
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Yes, exactly. I'm impressed—a lot of people can't quite wrap their head around the concept at first.
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I have, actually, though it's only been recently that I've been able to actually test my theories. You see, I don't have the power to traverse time myself, so I could only hypothesize.
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Hypothesizing is just as important as doing the actual work. Without investigative research and without information to begin, I imagine you wouldn't even know how to apply the power to start with. Is that...common? For people to traverse time where you're from.
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It isn't. Thankfully—call it fate or luck or whatever you want—one such person happened to be a friend of mine I hadn't seen in a few years. With her help, I was able to start actualizing my theories. For the most part, I've been in the right track, but... of course, it's a whole different matter when you actually start to get empirical proof to back up your research.
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I believe one may call that fate when matters of time are involved. It's the proof that solidifies everything you've started to bring into fruition, and without that proof you have nothing but mythical ideas.
After all, with proof you can expand and create new theories, and from there obtain more proof. A chain, if you will.
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You know, for all my "expertise" on the matter, I've never thought about it that way.
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And this is precisely why sharing your findings is so important. [they sound sort of pleased, actually.] ...it's tempting to do these things alone, I imagine, but there is a benefit in involving other people. Depending on your task.
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Even if your colleagues--or your friends--aren't always in agreement with you, it can still lead you to where you need to be. [but.] Tell me a bit about them. If you'd like.
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They weren't included in the files you have on us?
[ ...he's being cheeky, just a bit. ]
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A researcher such as yourself must know that there's a difference between written data and first-hand accounts.
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[ he leans back on his hands, switching his focus from gemini themself to the sleek chrome ceiling as he reminisces. ]
Where to begin...well, maybe I should start with Serah. She's the one I mentioned previously—the one who gained the power to travel through time. It's funny...the last time I saw her, I was only fourteen, and she was eighteen. She reappeared in my life ten years later, but because of her temporal displacement, I was then 24, and she 21—it was quite a surprise for us both.
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...Of course, to the layperson, it might seem like a whole—pardon my language—load of bullshit [ thanks seasons friends ]. But to me, it made perfect sense—history that Serah had borne witness to had been changed, thus allowing the future she met me in to exist.
[ if this doesn't make sense to you, don't worry, it doesn't make sense to me either. i'm talking out of my ass. i hate time travel ]
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A history that had been realized, and one common factor in Serah. She was able to recall both the old timeline and the rectified timeline due to being the controlled variable. A redirection, if you will.
And that history only exists in her memories. Changing any one bit of it would then create a second history outside of the one where you met one another again.
[...]
Where is Serah now?
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