Theory:Space-time manipulation

Main Article Theories about space-time manipulation Main Discussion

The following fan theories are about space-time manipulation.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
There is some kind of higher-power/cosmic authority that prevents Hiro from creating paradoxes.	When Hiro seems on the verge of saving Charlie and thus causing a causality paradox, he returns unexpectedly to the present. (Six Months Ago)	+ Hiro's forced return to Present-Day Japan and inability to use his powers to go back and make further attempts to save Charlie Andrews suggest that something is blocking his ability to go back to that specific point in space time. + Also, Future Hiro has to get someone else to go back to present-day Odessa to save Claire rather than taking matters into his own hands, perhaps due to his inability to return to that point in space and time due to a rift his past self created. - If this were true, then Hiro shouldn't have been able to change the events of the explosion, because Future Hiro wouldn't have come back and told Peter to save the cheerleader. • If this is true, then it could be the same cosmic authority that controls Hiro's "accidental" time travel, in Genesis, Five Years Gone, and How to Stop an Exploding Man. Perhaps the authority is not simply keeping Hiro from causing paradoxes, but actually making sure he goes where he needs to go. • This "cosmic authority" could be the writers.
Hiro's presence in the past manipulates objects, but not people's memories.	Charlie does not recognize Hiro when she first meets him in the present. (Seven Minutes to Midnight)	+ Charlie still had a Japanese phrasebook in the present after Hiro gave it to her in the past. Yet Charlie did not seem to remember Hiro when he first came to Odessa in the present nor did any of Hiro's co-workers at the diner recognize him despite his having worked there six months earlier. The change in the photograph of Charlie's birthday party also shows an object recording a historical event that nobody remembered. - However, when Ando shows the photo to Lynette, she does recognize Hiro, telling him "they were tight". This suggests the common comic book device of a second time dimension - the timeline is changed only "after" the time-traveler goes back in time to change them. • However, this would raise the question of who gave Charlie the Japanese phrase book "before" Hiro traveled back in time. This suggests that the timeline can be changed, but not in a way that would give the time-traveler no reason to travel back in time (which would create a paradox).
There is no predestination in the world of Heroes.	Hiro's trip to the past appears to have actually changed past events from his perspective. (Six Months Ago)	+ If Hiro's trip to the past to try and save Charlie were meant to have happened, then all of his former co-workers at the diner (to say nothing of Charlie herself) should have recognized Hiro when he came into the diner for the first time, six months after he had been working there. + From a writing stand-point, it doesn't make sense for Hiro and Isaac to have the powers that they do if they cannot use those powers to change future events. • However, although some events can be changed, it seems that others (such as Charlie's death at the hands of Sylar) are immutable. + Future Hiro's trip to the past allowed Claire to live five years longer following Sylar's first attempt to kill her. This shows that the timestream can be altered. (Five Years Gone)
Hiro's ability is the cause of others' abilities, by transporting himself or someone else into the past. It would represent a closed loop.	None.
A person with the power of space-time manipulation cannot have their memories altered by a change in their own personal timeline. In short, they are immune to the effects of a paradox changing time and if a person changes the past, their own memories of what things were like before the change will remain unaltered. The one exception to this is if they die in another time.	Future Hiro traveled back to talk to Peter to tell him what to do to save Claire. (Hiros) Future Hiro must have figured that Peter, who could copy his power, would remain immune to the affects of any paradox Future Hiro caused by going back in time to deliver the warning. Future Hiro's memories of what the Dark Future was like before he went to talk to Peter remained unchanged, though some details about the past did change. (Five Years Gone)	+ This would explain why Future Hiro needed to find an exact point to talk to Peter, before they "met for the first time" in the Dark Future. + It would also explain why he chose Peter - who he knew would gain his power and become similarly immune to the effects of paradox. + It would also explain why Sylar, disguised as Nathan, would be so insistent on killing Hiro - especially after it was confirmed to him that Hiro COULD travel through time.
An evolved human with the power of time/space manipulation is theoretically invulnerable within his/her realm of awareness.	Hiro has demonstrated the ability to reverse time on a single object. Therefore by reversing time on projectiles hitting either himself or others, he could reverse harmful effects on himself or others.
An evolved human with the power of space-time manipulation could reverse the aging process on other (specific) human beings or inanimate objects.	Hiro reversed time on a bullet travelling out of a firearm. Looking at that phenomenon, the bullet in the eyes of everyone else never left the firearm it only seemed to "misfire" at that point in time. Therefore, by applying this ability to a human being, it can be possible to reverse an individuals lifespan.