Doppelganger (43 page)

DENSITY
– A relative term describing factor counts in temporal events. The more density, the more difficult it is to discern possible outcomes on a meridian, and plan intervention.

DOPPELGANGER
–
“Double Walker.”
A duplicate of a person or object arising as a result of a
Dual Heisenberg Wave
during
Paradox Time.
Doppelgangers
are rare and unique duplications of information in the time continuum. They can only arise when one information set, object, or person, is protected in a
Nexus Point
, or protected by some other force,
during
Paradox Time,
particularly if
the second duplicate information set, object or person is associated with an
Imperative
or
First Cause
event that must occur.

DUAL HEISENBERG WAVE
– A
Heisenberg Wave
that has separated into two wave sets after encountering
Paradox Time
on the continuum. Such conditions give rise to a
Chaos Zone
in the hours and days immediately following
Paradox Time
, and can also lead to many strange effects, like Déjà vu, Jamais vu, Presque vu, alterations in physical matter, memory loss, and the creation of a
Doppelganger
.

ELASTICITY
– The tendency of Time to resist alteration and reassume its original shape.

FACTOR
– An element contributing to convolution in temporal events.

FINALITY
– A catastrophic
Grand Imperative
(like the Cuthulu asteroid strike that led to the eradication of the dinosaurs and other life.) See Also:
Grand Finality and Imperative.

FIRST CAUSE –
A crucial event in a chain of causality that initiates all following events. A first cause is often associated with a
Time Loop
, and it becomes more and more imperative the longer the looping occurs without proper resolution.

FREE RADICAL
– A dangerous, erratic variable in the course of temporal events – usually only existing within a
Deep Nexus.

GOLEM
- A special search program written by Kelly Ramer and distributed to hundreds of thousands of computer users via the Internet. Golems are able to search and report on information on the net, and can perceive data on every Meridian during a time of
Deep Nexus
through the phenomenon known as “Resonance.” Golems are arranged in to modules, and one notable module responsible for fetching crucial variations was designated “Golem 7.”

GORDIAN KNOT
– A series of time loops that cannot be untangled, even by using the annihilating power associated with
Paradox
. Such a knot can occur when objects or persons are protected from the effects of
Paradox
by one means or another. The presence or existence of a
Doppelganger
is a warning that a
Gordian Knot
is starting to form from a
Time Loop
influenced by
Paradox
.

GRAND FINALITY
–
The inevitable end or result of a
Radical
Transformation
to the time continuum. Such an occurrence can permanently rupture the meridians of time, creating infinite
Time Loops
that can never resolve. In effect, time becomes hopelessly tangled into a
Gordian Knot
, and this can lead to the annihilation of the future, as events cannot progress beyond the point of the knotted or looped time. Grand Finalities differ from natural finalities in that they are the result of willful action, and not acts of nature.

GREAT VOID
– An interminable shadow or
Penumbra
cast by a
Grand Imperative
. It can also refer to the void in time created by a
Grand Finality.

HAZE
– Obscurity in the understanding of a temporal situation.

HEISENBERG WAVE
– The transforming effect of an intervention in time, which propagates forward along the continuum to radically alter all subsequent events. All major variations in time, including
Paradox
, result in the creation of a Heisenberg Wave, like a stone thrown into a still pool. See also:
Time Tsunami.

IMPERATIVE
– An event in Time which
must
happen – Usually a natural event, but not always, as in the case of a
First Cause
. A
Grand Imperative
is a natural event of special significance. Some
Grand Imperatives
can become a
Finality
.

INEVITABILITY
– A progression of events that is inexorable and unalterable.

INITIATOR
– A person directly responsible for a new
Time Meridian
(Like Mohammed, or Christ). A
Prime Mover
of great significance.

LEVER
– A secondary contributor to movement in a series of events.

MERIDIAN
– An established line of temporal events on the continuum. A possible line of causality. See also
: Prime Meridian

NEXUS POINT
– A point of connection, intersection or branching of one or more possible
Meridians
in the Time continuum.

NODE
– A specific point on a
Time Meridian.

OUTCOME
– A desired result achieved by a temporal
Transformation
– Usually referring to the positive.

P-WAVE
– A “predictive” or “precursor” Heisenberg Wave that acts as a harbinger of changes to come, but does not introduce major changes to any meridian.
P-Waves
resonate across all possible meridians, and can therefore be detected as possible variations in the
Resonance
around a series of events. Minor effects may accompany P-Waves, which are often perceived as a sense of emotional dread.

PARADOX
– Time’s way of correcting errors in the Time continuum.
Paradox
arises when an insoluble conflict occurs in the continuum, and time attempts to avoid or correct that problem. It is therefore a real force, and quite dangerous. It kills or erases people and objects from the
Time Meridian
when unaccountable complications arise from their actions. A Paradox is NOT simply a thorny problem; it is a real effect and the force of annihilation—a kind of “Anti-Time.” See also:
Heisenberg Wave,
and
Time Loop.

PARADOX HOUR
– The moment when an object or person in the past reaches the moment of their first arrival at a point on the continuum, their birth, or moment of first cause. The annihilating force of
Paradox
attempts to resolve potential conflicts by removing them from the continuum or any contact with
Paradox Hour.

PARADOX TIME
– The time prior to, and during, a
Paradox
event. Odd effects of
Paradox Time
can begin occurring, hours, days, weeks or even months before the actual
Paradox
event, as a result of the subtle generation of
P-Waves
in the Heisenberg field.

PENUMBRA
– The shadow of influence on future events cast by an
Imperative
, often impenetrable or a great obstacle, to time travelers.

POINT OF DIVERGENCE
– The point of initial vitiation in any previously established time meridian.

POINT OF ORIGIN
– The temporal locus where a person or object becomes a
Prime Mover.

PRIME MERIDIAN –
The initial or first meridian of time, and the one that all other potential meridians must return to after a variation. Heisenberg Waves created by variations serve to rejoin potential altered meridians back into one new prime, which could then be a
Altered State.

PRIME MOVER
– A primary causative lever or agent for an event – usually a person but sometimes an object.

PUSH POINT
– A moment of insignificance that gives rise to a key event on a
Time
Meridian
. Often associated with a
Prime Mover
.

QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT
– A relationship between two quantum particles where the state or condition of one causes the other related particle to also alter its state, location, spin or other condition—instantaneously.
Quantum Entanglement
can lead to
Backward Causality
and other strange time effects, as the two entangled particles need not be in the same
spacetime
.

QUANTUM KARMA
– The influence of causality on a
Time Meridian
. Each moment on the Meridian affects the next with a kind of momentum, and certain Prime Movers accumulate an aura of Quantum Karma around them that also has profound effects on the configuration of future moments in Time.

RADICAL TRANSFORMATION
– A catastrophic alteration of the
Temporal Condition
that can lead to a
Grand Finality.

RESONANCE
- Information available in the intersection of a Nexus Point, where many alternate Meridians “resonate” data concerning the possible outcome of events. This data can be picked up by the Meridian Team
Golem
software, registering as potential variations in the history in conflict with data stored in the
Touchstone Database.

TEMPORAL CONDITION
– The matrix, pattern or state of affairs in a given time period.

TIME LOOP
– A replay of events that occurs as a result of a
Paradox
event. Movement to any point on the continuum prior to one’s first appearance in the past is dangerous, as the arrow of time slowly brings that person or object forward on the continuum to approach the point of its first entry. The prohibition against
Co-Location
creates a
Paradox
, and associated
Paradox Time
when the object or person arriving from the past encounters the moment of their first arrival, or moment of
First Cause
. Time loops can result in a
Gordian Knot
if not properly resolved, which can lead to
Grand Finality.

TIME TSUNAMI
– A series of
Heisenberg Waves
generated by a
Grand Paradox
and initiating changes and transformations so profound that they create a
Finality
.

TOUCHSTONE DATABASE
– The history of all known recorded events as established in a protected RAM bank by the Meridian Project Team at the outset of their project. This data is thought to define events native to the Prime Meridian, prior to the first opening of the continuum on the team’s initial time mission. This data is often used as a reference to indicate a variation in time has occurred when the
Golem
search modules fetch resonance information that conflicts with that in the database.

TRANSFORMATION
– Any change in a
Time Meridian
that alters a future
Temporal Condition
.

TRANSFORMER
– A person who causes a
Transformation
.

VANISHING POINT
- The exact moment in Time when an object is removed and transported elsewhere in the continuum.

VARIATION
– A subtle change in a
Time Meridian
that does not significantly alter
Temporal Conditions
.

WEIGHT OF OPINION
- The culmination and likely outcome of future events as a result of a potential
transformation
, as perceived and reported by the Golem search cloud.

WILLFUL EVENT
- Events resulting from decisions or actions taken by human beings

ZOMBIE
- The walking dead. A person, fated to die, but whose life has been spared due to a willful intervention in a Time Meridian. Paradox will allow the elimination of a Zombie by restoring the moment of his natural death to the continuum.

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