Jonathan was now in a white room where only one computer was running.
"We know how to do it because Albert Einstein showed us the way over 100 years ago," a voice explained, speaking about travel to the future.
"Einstein proposed that if you travel into space near the speed of light, turn around, and come back, your clock will run more slowly. So, when you step off your spacecraft, it will be the future on planet Earth. You will have traveled through time."
A paradox in time travel to the future, in his special relativity theory, explains that time can pass more slowly or more quickly, depending on the speed at which an object moves relative to another.
Hence the twin paradox. It's like a thought experiment Einstein proposed when he formulated his theory of relativity. The exercise imagines two identical twins on Earth. Identical in every way; but while one chose a powerful career in Communication Sciences, the other became an astronaut and took a high-speed journey into space.
Because time is relative, according to Einstein's theory, if we observe this peculiar story from Earth, the clock of the twin who remains behind runs faster, and therefore, he ages more. So, when his brother returns to Earth after having traveled through space at near-light speed, he would find a much older twin. The galactic backpacker, so to speak, would return to a future Earth.
However, the paradox arises when considering the passage of time from the traveling twin's perspective. Again, because time is relative, if we were observing the astronaut twin's space journey, the one moving at near-light speed would be the twin on Earth, who would then age less.
In the twin paradox, one would age faster than the other.
This is how science explains the possibility of traveling forward in time. But…
What about traveling through time to correct past mistakes?
For Jonathan, any physicist who knows what they are talking about agrees with these space-time considerations. However, controversy arises when speaking of travel to the past.
"The main proposal people consider, at least worthy of attention for traveling to the past, is to use a strange concept called a wormhole, one that connects to different dimensions which could be the opposite of the one you are currently in."
A wormhole, also described by Albert Einstein, is a theory about a topological feature in the universe. This theory indicates that in space there could exist a passage connected by two ends through which matter could travel.
'Shortcuts through a wormhole… it seems the government doesn't have the faintest idea what the Underworld is.' Jonathan thought, slightly relieved.
"Einstein realized that if the openings of a wormhole are manipulated, then the time at the two ends will not be synchronized. In this way, one would not travel from one place to another, but from one moment to another. Going one way, you would travel to the past; the other way, you would travel to the future."
However, this remains theoretical, as there is no evidence that such wormholes exist in space, nor that they can be traversed. Not until now, when it had just been confirmed that another wormhole exists, though not that it can be crossed.
The bootstrap paradox involves an individual trapped in an infinite loop where, as everyone knowledgeable knows, the beginning is the end and the end is the beginning.
The paradox proposes that a man receives a mysterious package. Inside is a book containing instructions to build a time machine. After 33 years, he finishes building the machine. On his first trip, he decides to go back 33 years and leave his younger self the instructions to build the time machine. The paradox arises when one asks: where did the book with the instructions come from in the first place?
One of the problems with this hypothetical is that it would violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that any spontaneous natural process evolves toward an increase in entropy. In simpler terms, everything wears down.
Over time, an object like the book trapped in the temporal loop would wear out. But since it is precisely in an infinite loop, the original state of the book would be unknown.
The book A Journey Through Time by H.G. Tannhaus. A possible solution to this problem is that the book is restored when it travels to the past. But if this occurs with an object, could it happen to the traveler? If so, time travel to a distant past would not be possible.
However, in physics theory, parallel universes are also considered. In fact, the answer to paradoxes and their solution would be an alternate universe.
In the case of the time traveler leaving his younger self the instructions to build a time machine, the solution is that the traveler arrived in the past of a different universe. In this way, the loop would break, and time would flow normally and linearly in the original universe.
For the grandfather paradox, the parallel universe theory would also be the solution. The depressive traveler who returns to kill his grandfather would actually be killing a second version of his grandfather in an alternate universe.
Jonathan knew that traveling through time is impossible. But now that he has powers, that possibility has been completely erased from his mind.
Time always moves forward; that is something we all know. We don't experience it being 12:30, and a moment later, it's 12:25, nor do we glance out the window and see a pigeon flying tail first.
"In the dimension we discovered, which we know the Hawkins lab also contacted, we must find a way to seal it. Your second mission is to kill this man, Martin Brenner, a scientist who previously opened the dimensional door that endangers humanity," Amanda said, handing Jonathan a package of documents.
Jonathan looked at them and asked, "What makes you believe this man isn't already dead because of his experiments?"
"Nothing, we don't know, but we also have no proof that he died while attempting to study the dimension." Amanda sat across from Jonathan and said, "The only reason I'm telling you all this is because we trust you. We studied you constantly while you were in Jericho, and we know you're the right candidate."
Jonathan frowned and said, "So that's why my arrival here was delayed…"
"Indeed, we needed time to control things and not ruin what we've managed to control so far."
"You've also been chosen for your psychic ability of telekinesis, which is extremely important for crossing the space-time dimension in that place and finding a way to seal it."
"No one else can move material objects with their mind?"
Amanda shook her head and said, "You're the only one with that much strength."
"Past, present, future, or a dimension completely different from this one. Those are the possibilities that await me if I cross the dimension," Jonathan murmured, looking at the documents, knowing that what lies beyond that portal is a dimension he knows well.
"We have a special suit, and drugs that will enhance your psychic abilities. The only reason we are interested in closing that space is because unknown creatures are emerging from that dimensional opening."
Jonathan looked at the creatures that had been killed so far, nodded, and glanced at the documents full of essential information, asking, "Do you have weapons?"
"Whatever you need."
'They're using me, but I'm also using them. It's mutually beneficial,' Jonathan thought, focusing only on completing his mission, saving Will, and getting him out of the Upside Down.