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Multi-Dimensions Theory

Austin

Austin
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
For those who remember a while back I posted the thread The Paradox Theory, which explains multiple time lines. It explains how and why they would exist in Hyrule. Thinking again, I'm curious about Link in particular. I more or less ask the question "Why is he still around?!". He can travel through time and do various stuff without altering his own life. We know he does this with Ocarina of Time because we see an kid and adult Hyrule.

backtothefuturez.jpg

I know this may not be the best of examples, but its the best I can think of. In the movies Back to the Future, Marty McFly (Micheal J. Fox), time travels with Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) using a time machine (shown above). In their adventures, they alter events which almost causes Marty from being born. Specifically, they alter the meeting of his parents, and he had to fix to keep himself a live. We know that Link doesn't have such grave problems, but he should have some. Then, why doesn't he?

He alters Hyrule and everyone around him, but never himself. He even retains information from events, that may never had happen. The hero will always succeeds as long as he/she exists, but that debate is a thread of its own. However, is he time traveling?

So the topic of this theory thread is "How is this possible?". For a world and people to exist, time is needed. This idea of "Why Time Exists" is difficult to explain, and can take me hours, but I'm going to simplify it greatly! We know that distance exist. We can look at objects near us and objects away from us and their size's are different. We know that if we wish to increase the size of the further objects, we must travel to them. Since, we have to travel to the further objects, it takes time. If time didn't exist, we would see them as they were close up. If we were to walk to them, it wouldn't take time. This can be explained in more detail by a wise man known as Einstein in Theory of Special Relativity.

A little more on this idea...
If you're fine with the abstract idea I posted above, you can skip this paragraph, but if you're critical then go read on. In my previous example, I made the assumption light exists. Since, light refracts, or it changes angles/direction in which it flows. Further objects, appear smaller because they are further. Science can also use lens to manipulate this refraction to make the objects seem bigger. You still get the same information from the same light, just refracted differently. Light only refracts with time! So if it refracts, time exists! I can go on-and-on about this, but I'll stop here.

lightreflection.jpg

Back to the point...
Now that I've convince you time exists we can talk why Link can break its strict laws with out consequences. The answer is simple, he doesn't time travel! He doesn't effect time at all, he simple goes away from it. Think of it like this! You live in a town, and everyone is just weird and they like it! There is no way you can change them all! Then, what do you do? You simply go to another town! You go to a town that will not weird you out and meets your needs. The same thing can be said with dimensions of space!

We'll say that each dimension runs at their own speed, but based off where they are in the universe, They're relatively different (lol, at Einstein again) in speeds.. Picture it like this:
There are 3 clocks in your room. Whatever clock you hold, the time it says will be the time around you. One clock is at 4pm, another is at 1am, and the last is at 1pm. The minute of one clock may rotate 2x faster then the other, or another rotates 3x slower. We use small integers in this example, but they may be bigger.

multidimension.jpg

When our hero wishes to time travel he goes to a different dimensions. There he may wait few minutes, and days or years goes by in another (aka Hyrule). This can easily explain how Link goes into the future, but how does he go back in time. Remember when I said each clock runs relative to the other. What may be forward in time, may be backwards for the other. Direction of the time itself is dependent on the clock. For example, you pick up one of the clocks and it rotates in the opposite direction of the others, but it always was rotating that way. That is how the time of that clock moves forward For example it is like looking at a clock in a mirror.

duallclocks.jpg

Now that I've explained how Link can move back/forth through time without messing with stuff. In fact he doesn't do anything at all! He just goes away and waits. This explains how he can time travel and not mess Hyrule up (or at least he doesn't try). More importantly, it explains how he can "reset time" in Majora's Mask. He goes into another dimension, waits as it goes in reverse, and then goes back to Termina. One could research and claim, that Hyrule and Termina could run in reverse, but I don't have the evidence for that, lol. Assuming Termina and the area where Ocean King relies, are dimension, we already know that multiple dimensions exist! Thus, with the power of the triforce, Link can go to these different dimensions!

Now I'm curious of what your comments are! Approve or disprove? Got something better or something to add, please say it! I have more of this theory saved up for replies!
 

figthersword

Hylian Coward
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Location
Philippines, Manila
I'm 100% approve with your statement Mr. Cooldogs_1, but i think Link can travel from present to future just because of some kind of a magic or mythical powers which can't be true in the reality.
 

athenian200

Circumspect
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Location
a place of settlement, activity, or residence.
That is a very interesting theory.

I've watched Back to the Future, so I understand the basic idea of timelines and creating alternate realities. I've heard that in some situations, time may appear to slow down or go backwards for an observer, so that must be where you got the idea of time changing in each universe. Within each universe, time seems to be going at the same speed. To an outside observer, however, they're going at different speeds.

I can see your theory applying to Majora's Mask, but I'm not sure we need something like this to explain time travel in Ocarina of Time. It could work, however, but most of what happens in OoT could be explained by the simpler model of simply moving back and forth on the timeline in the same dimension.

The only thing in OoT that would seem to necessitate alternate dimensions, is that the man who teaches you the Song of Storms has already heard it from you, and that the well is already drained. This could imply that you're in another dimension, perhaps one with a Child Link who pulled the Master Sword and WASN'T sealed in the temple... and somehow died on his quest after finding the Song of Storms and getting to the bottom of the well in an attempt to stop Ganondorf.

So, it's an interesting theory, but ultimately there's not enough in-game evidence that works in a consistent manner to indicate that any particular theory of how time travel works in it, to verify or discard it.
 

Zemen

[Insert Funny Statement]
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Location
Illinois
With Ocarina of Time, I think what is happening is that Link is, in fact, traveling forward and backward on a timeline in the same dimension and the future part of that is a time where kid Link has already succeeded in a way. If we know that Link is going back in time and doing the well and the song of storms (as the future suggests he already did without the player playing through it) then it would only make sense that the future reflect what you know you have to do as a kid. Let's use the well as an example. The well is drained in the future and closed off. You need to be kid Link in the past, drain it and go in it. As gamers we know this needs to be done so this makes sense of the whole "how is it already drained and sealed off in the future if I haven't gone to the past to beat it yet" problem. How does that make sense? Well think of it this way. If it is already saved in the future then obviously at some point in the past, Link saved the well, even if he hasn't yet. If Link does go back in time and save the well then nothing would change in the future since it was already saved. It's basically the universes way of telling Link "Hey, I know you haven't gone through the well yet, but as you can see in this time period it is sealed off which means you succeed in the past."

Does that make any sense? It was hard to try and type my thoughts out on this.
 

TheGreen

is climbin' in yo windows
Joined
Jul 12, 2010
Location
San Antonio
But what if the past link and the future link meets? what happens to their body? are they going to vanish or what?

They can't meet because there is only one, that is removing himself from existance when he leaves to another dimension.

I don't find this theory more than plausible. Which link's are we talking about?:
Does OOT link use two dimensions in oot, then after MM he goes into another and arrives in WW? but somehow has no recollection of the events?

I suppose that this theory works quite well with OOT and I think ALttP as well, but I don't think we can use it for the whole series. This is mainly because of the Adult timeline; Adult like would somehow have to grow younger and lose all memory of past events to arrive at wind waker.

[Although this theory negates the prequel/sequel relationships because they don't have to occur chronologically so my argument fails :/]

With Ocarina of Time, I think what is happening is that Link is, in fact, traveling forward and backward on a timeline in the same dimension and the future part of that is a time where kid Link has already succeeded in a way. If we know that Link is going back in time and doing the well and the song of storms (as the future suggests he already did without the player playing through it) then it would only make sense that the future reflect what you know you have to do as a kid. Let's use the well as an example. The well is drained in the future and closed off. You need to be kid Link in the past, drain it and go in it. As gamers we know this needs to be done so this makes sense of the whole "how is it already drained and sealed off in the future if I haven't gone to the past to beat it yet" problem. How does that make sense? Well think of it this way. If it is already saved in the future then obviously at some point in the past, Link saved the well, even if he hasn't yet. If Link does go back in time and save the well then nothing would change in the future since it was already saved. It's basically the universes way of telling Link "Hey, I know you haven't gone through the well yet, but as you can see in this time period it is sealed off which means you succeed in the past."

Does that make any sense? It was hard to try and type my thoughts out on this.
Yes that does make sense, but if the one and only like (according to this theory) didn't go back to drain the well or play the song of storms... well that's just impossible (according to this theory). There are no other possible outcomes i suppose.

and I agree that adult and child Link are in the same dimension, but that doesn't mean he can leave to another dimension to travel time, like Cooldogs said. It could happen like this:
He pulls the master sword and enters dimension x. He stays there while he ages.
He puts the master sword back and enters dimension y. He grows younger and reappears in Hyrule.
He pull the master sword again and could enter a new dimension z, or he could just chill for 7 years again. Your choice.
 

Austin

Austin
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
@ Everyone

With this theory I was trying to think of ways that time travel could work without breaking theory of relativity. A theory that could let Link travel between time that seem plausible. With semi-realistic or theoretical time travel, one has to move at the speed of light to time travel. Also, they can only go into the future. Think of it like this, if you were to go in your rocket ship, and you fly around the world going at the speed of light. What may seem like couple hours for you, may seem years for earth and your friends. You wouldn't really be able to go back in time, just into the future. In simple, only forward time travel is possible.

This rule doesn't apply to Link because he is able to travel back and forth freely. The simplest answer is magic, but I like to beg a different with some sort of explanation. I came up with another example when picturing the game frogger. In frogger, you have these logs that move right and left. You can use the multi directional logs to get to your destination. Your destination is to cross the river.

froggerscene.jpg

Applying this idea to Link, you can say Link needs to jump between these different logs (dimensions) to get to a certain spot across the river (time). Using the frogger example, you can say that child Link is on the left most area, and adult Link is on the far right. For child Link to go to adult link, he needs to go on a log (dimension) that moves towards the right, and vice versa.

linkfrogger.jpg

@ Fightersword
No such thing will exist. There is only one body, one Link. So when he goes into the future, he leaves Hyrule's dimension and goes to one of the "logs" (dimensions). He then rides it to the certain point and then hops off (re-enters Hyrule's Dimension).

I hope this gives some idea of what I mean. Thanks for the replies!
 

Locke

Hegemon
Site Staff
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Location
Redmond, Washington
I was going to thoroughly disagree with you until I read the first part of your second post. It still doesn't quite make sense with MS travel, as it would only be his consciousness that would be travelling between dimensions (his body remains in the ToT for the entire 7 years and experiences them in the correct order). But shifting to a 'backwards' dimension does seem like the only perceivable way to travel back in time without magic. Of course he'd have to have magic or some extremely advanced form of technology anyway in order to actually make the journey and control his destination.
 

dumb180

Warrior Postman
Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Location
AL
He alters Hyrule and everyone around him, but never himself. He even retains information from events, that may never had happen.
Let's assume time flows backwards in one dimension, causing Link to regress to the physical state of a child. How does this explain Link's ability to retain knowledge from the future? If his body is changing, his mind should as well, no?

Also, wouldn't Link still be paradox vulnerable in this scenario? For example:

Let's say Link talks to Malon as an adult, and then goes back in time and tells Malon not to speak with him on that day seven years from now. Assuming she listens, some sort of paradox should be created immediately (or at the very least Link should have "false" memories)- before Link can get back outside of the dimension.

Anyway, I think this is an astonishing thread, sir. Also, my current understanding is built on the assumption that you mean Link ultimately lands in same dimension at the end of the day. Is that right?
 
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