Chapter 86
Space-time is a collective concept—it encompasses both time and space.
Time carries the connotation of being endless and eternal, while space is unbounded and everlasting. These ideas of "endlessness" and "unboundedness" represent the absolute notions of time and space.
"Hmmhmmhmmhmm traveling through time and space"
This lyric seems innocent, but its literal meaning implies traveling through both time and space—a notion that immediately feels contradictory. Sure, we talk about traveling across the sky, diving deep into the sea, or reaching remote islands. But how exactly does one travel through time and space?
To possess the ability to truly traverse both time and space would upend all existing theories of the world. It brings forth an unavoidable dilemma: the time paradox.
Time paradoxes are born from the very idea of time travel. Their logic folds in on itself. To simplify, it would be impossible for the same person to appear in the same place along the same timeline, regardless of the point in time they arrived from.
Why? Because even the slightest deviation in behavior can lead to unforeseen consequences. The butterfly effect tells us that small causes can trigger vast, unpredictable changes. Theoretically, a misstep could be so severe it could collapse the world's logical structure—causing reality as we know it to vanish.
Unless—and this is a very big unless—one specific condition is met.
The traveler has never impacted the world in any measurable way. Their birth, their actions, and even their disappearance leave not a single trace on the timeline. To the world, they are a ghost.
Of course, achieving true zero impact is nearly impossible. Even the act of breathing, of existing, alters the environment in minuscule but undeniable ways. So the goal becomes minimizing the impact. But how?
If a person or race exists without recognition from any living being—unseen, unheard, unknown—then perhaps they make the faintest ripple. If they are myth, legend, rumor, or nothing more than shadow, they may be the least influential of all.