Our on-going gains in understanding the time-travel phenomenon took something of a leap last night. Emma began talking about something the version of her born in 1861 wouldn’t have known about—a movie the version of her born in 2005 saw in 2020.
Before the night ended, we learned that we all have memories from—as Jacob called them—other timespaces. I vividly recall experiences from University of Tennessee before I headed for Memphis in 1880.
Addison and Jacob described a model that might explain what we are experiencing. It combines a computer analogy with theories of psychology. Here’s the idea…
Each version of us is a copy that exists in a particular timespace. Like instances of a video game, they interact within the context of their timespace. Sticking with the computer idea, each event is stored into the same database. Everything that happens in 1880 goes into the same database as whatever happens in the 1984 and 20024 timespaces.
Swapping into psychology, the database of memories would be the subconscious aspect of our personhood. The memories are there, waiting to be activated by a question or other stimulus.
And, whereas dreams are thought to rise from the subconscious, it fits with our experiences where dreams have connected us to each other.
I’d add to the models that there is yet at least one other factor. What I’ve been calling that metaphysical bonding we feel might be explained in Jacob’s model as interaction between the databases of each of our memories.
To sum up what we know for sure we have…
…at least 3 timespaces exist with versions of us in each.
…some portion of our experiences and memories are shared with other versions of us.
…among those who have shifted time, there is a strong feeling of connection and bonding.
And, we've come to agree that the different versions are, in essence and substance, essentially the same. The more the memories blend, the less different the versions become, aside from timespace.
The model isn’t perfect; there are problems.
A glaring issue is that the bodies in which the versions of Addison exist are very different. (Addison identified memories from the one in 1984.) The one in the 1880 timespace is a man; the other two are not. It stretches the idea and implies that, at least for Addison, gender is not a determinant of her personhood. She’s okay with that, actually liking the fact that her case is an exception to the norm.
Another issue is that I still know which version I am, as do the others. I can tell which memories are original to my experiences and which have appeared based on the experiences of the duplicates.
So, we think that in time, ones shifting will know they shifted, but they will shift with memories available from wherever they shift, too. This, in fact, happened when I shifted back to Memphis. I knew where some things were stored in the house. At the time, I just accounted for it as being the logical place.
Another example is that the Shay from 1880 was able to do a little of the Shay from 2024’s work, with help from Kent and Tia Thomas (who jumped in again to help out).
We also decided that, right or wrong, with regard to relationships, we’ll just go on as if the shifted version is the same person with different memories. And given how everyone has ended up coupled, it makes sense. Had one version of me ended up with Hannah and the other two with Emma… Well, we decided that it was best that it didn’t come down that way.
So, we have to conclude that the model Jacob and Addison proposed doesn’t perfectly represent what’s happening. But it gets really close.
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