A New World, an immersive game experience - Chapter 1003: Discussing time manipulation (2) - Like a river

“Let us go back to how you can manipulate time. Think of time as a flowing river.” Ziraili said. “One which is extremely strong, and encompasses everything.”

“In such a river, with a current nearly impossible to fight, it is mostly considered impossible to fight against the flow.”

“That does not mean that time is constant, however. We’ve already discussed how some things can affect its passing.”

Eldrian nodded. “Right. Gravity and velocity.”

“Indeed. Time passes fastest when there is no matter present and when there is no gravity. The more gravity there is, the slower it passes. You can think of matter and the gravity its existence causes as banks in a river. Causing the flow to alter and slow. Yet, it does not stop.”

“Unless you somehow move at the speed of light, right?”

“Let us ignore that for now, since that isn’t quite the same thing. I just want you to understand how you are able to manipulate time.”

“Okay?”

“We’ve established that time is like a river, and things that affect it are like banks of a river. Causing it to twist and turn, or causing the river to become shallower or deeper. All of these things alter the flow. Causing it to slow, in most cases.”

“That still leaves the question of how you, and others, can alter its flow without using gravity or increasing the speed you move to that of near lightspeed. The answer is simple: you can’t. Not really.”

Seeing Eldrian wanting to protest, Ziraili continued. “What I mean is that you can try, but to affect time as a whole, you need to fight the entire river.”

“This requires an impossible amount of energy, and, at any given time, you might run short. Resulting in all the building pressure to explode forth at once.”

“…That’s—”

“Yes, that is what causes these ‘explosions’ you mentioned. It occurs when you are attempting to alter time itself.”

“But, then what of the others?”

“I am getting to that. First, let us discuss dimensional storages.”

“Oh, right. Time stops in them.”

“Exactly. But this isn’t because they combat time, nor do they exist outside of the flow of time.”

“Then, how?”

“You can think of them as anchors. To make dimensional storages, space is folded in on itself. This process causes a veritable wall of gravity. And this wall acts as the construct of pocket dimension. The wall of gravity, of folded space, acts as a physical manifestation within the river. Not a bank, not natural. More like a square or sphere.”

“While they are physical, they are only thin walls, hollow on the inside. But solid on the outside. These walls block the flow of time from affecting what is inside. Yet, the physical part itself still experiences time as it weathers the currents of time.”

Eldrian’s eyes went wide. He wanted to ask, “Why, if it was that simple, didn’t you explain it like so before?” He managed to keep his accusing question to himself. Thinking of what this revelation meant..

It made perfect sense, really. The dimensional storage item; be it a ring, necklace, or anything else, wasn’t itself exempt from time. You could modify it, damage it, and indeed, use it. If it had been exempt from time, it would be impossible to use.

Which meant that the space inside it was different, somehow. And what Ziraili said made it clear what that difference was. It was still inside the river, but it wasn’t being affected by the river due to the actual magical item shielding what is inside it from time.

When you use it, then, it was like opening a door to the inside. Eldrian had experienced this plenty himself. Which allowed time to flow, and thus allowed items to be taken out, or brought in.

In time, however, the item would degrade. And, when that happens, time would start to flow inside too. And, once the degradation is significant enough, the shell, the folded space, would collapse.

“So, we now have three different methods of effecting time,” Ziraili said. “Natural banks, slowing the flow of time. Artificial constructs, protecting the contents inside and exempt them from the flow of time. And then, fighting the current. Be this by attempting to swim against the current or attempting to create a film, bank, or wall that would slow time as a whole.”

“This last method is too energy intensive. No matter how fast you swim, you can beat the current. You might slow the passage of time for yourself, but you can’t go into the past.”

Just like that, Ziraili revealed why time travel (into the past) was impossible. Or at least, why it was improbable. Eldrian could already think of a loophole. Though this loophole of his was contingent on time being an actual river. Which naturally isn’t the case.

“Now, on to your successes.”

‘Finally!’ Eldrian thought.

“Your concept was to exclude the object of your focus from the effects of time. This is similar to how dimensional storages exempt items inside them from the flow of time. When you picture a single thing, or a limited amount of items, being exempt, you aren’t fighting time itself.”

“Sure, time still flows and will interrupt your attempt. But you aren’t trying to change the current as a whole. Instead, you are focusing in on a single area.”

“Now, if you tried to simply alter the flow of time in that area, you would be fighting time again. But you wanted to exempt it from the flow. That difference is key.”

“By picturing it as you did, you essentially created a copy of what dimensional storages do. However, you don’t have any physical material to buffer the currents. Everything you do is done with energy. Hence why you can never last even a second.”

“Wait, is it useless then?” Eldrian asked. Hearing that he was copying dimensional storages in how he had excluded things from time wasn’t all that great. After all, dimensional storage couldn’t house living things.

Eldrian had no idea why, and heck, he felt he might as well ask.

“It isn’t. When you slow time, your perception of it increases. That, in and of itself, is incredibly powerful.” Ziraili, of course, understood that Eldrian’s concern wasn’t solely about power.

He needed to master his powers if he wanted to survive when GAIA uses him as a conduit to connect ANW and Earth. And from what she explained, it sounded like his ability was useless in that regard.

“For now, it is true that you can’t do much more than that. But, if in time, you manage to master Chronos, you might be able to change the river to your will.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Eldrian asked, already forgetting he wanted to ask why living things couldn’t go into storages.

“The cost will be great, but if you can find the energy, and learn how to anchor things to make them fixed in reality. It is possible to add banks, voids, or even boats onto the river.”

“Boats?”

“Think of them as a more optimal method of fighting time. Instead of swimming against the current, or trying to slow the current as a whole, you can instead float atop it. Lessening the drag, and thus allowing you to better move about.”

“Would that enable me to go back in time?” Eldrian asked. Obviously, he had already tried making a promise to himself to come back in time if it was possible. Since he had yet to meet his future self, Eldrian assumed it wasn’t possible.

“No, I doubt it will. Not even GAIA can go back in time. However, they can perceive the past.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. They can’t actually go into the past, but they are capable of sending their consciousness along the river of time. To view past events.”

“I believe you’ve experienced something similar, have you not?”

“Oh, right!” This mention made Eldrian remember the quest, and the aspects he needed to complete it.