Temporal Law

Mendalian scientists have discovered that travel through time is not only possible, but also not uncommon given the right situations. This is largely due to the presence of dimensional rifts combined with quickening. The principles that govern quickening deal largely with dimensional and temporal movement. Because of this, certain quickeners have been able to break away from the normal flow of time and thus, "time travel." Several truths have been uncovered as more instances of time travel have occurred. Collectively these truths are known as temporal law. Several hundred books have been written on the subject.

Principle Concepts of Temporal Law

Time

Time is a concept that exists only within a dimension or dimensional void. Outside of dimensions (and thus outside of the universe itself) there is no such concept. All beings born within the universe (temporal beings) have a conscious or unconscious sense of time similar to the other senses. Though time is not tangible it is real and is the strongest bond that any being has to the dimension they exists within. In addition time is the construct on which all other concepts within a dimension are based on. In other words, all things, at their lowest level, are built on the foundation of time. This means it is impossible for any temporal being to conceive of any concept that does not have a basis in time.

It is because of this, that it is impossible to define time without referencing a concept that in itself references time. Since a concept's definition should never be self-referential, time is universally considered to be the single hardest concept in science to adequately define. However since all temporal beings have a conscious or unconscious sense of time, it is conversely the easiest concept (disregarding the scientific complexities) to explain.

Nevertheless, time can be defined as the dimensional construct that forces all action and non-action of all things to occur in a sequential order.

Without time, everything would happen instantaneously and thus nothing could exist because its existence could never be perceived. In addition time forces all things to always be in only one place within a dimension. This is because it requires action to change location within a dimension and any action requires time. In short, time prevents objects from occupying more than one place within a dimension and actions from being undetectable within a dimension.

Temporal Sense

Temporal sense or the "sense of time" is a being's ability to perceive and measure time. Just as with the other senses, all beings consciously or unconsciously react to time as if it were a physical stimulus and thus have a part of the brain that react to that stimulus and can interpret the "passage of time".

Temporal sense is what allows people to give structure to time, define intervals, and form the basis of temporal measurement (seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc.).

Time Line

A dimension's time line is the culmination of all actions (and non-actions) that have taken place since that dimension's [Origon Event]. Since time forces actions and events to occur sequentially, the "time line" is perceived to be linear, as one event or action triggers one or more other events or actions in the next step of the sequence. Since time does not force all actions to occur in sequence, any point in the time line can consist of any number of actions or events that in turn trigger an undefinable number of actions or events at the next point.

The time line is always perceived to be finite, meaning there is a beginning (the origin event) and an end, the present. There is no concept of "the future" on the time line itself, because it does not exist.  In other words, no temporal being can move to a point in the time line consisting of actions that have not yet happened on the time line. This does not negate the possibility of traveling "forward" in time, but one can only do so if they are at a point before the end of the time line to begin with (in the past).

Though every point in the time line can consist of innumerable events and actions, and each of those actions can produce multiple events or actions at the next point in the time line, it is important to note that no action can produce two or more conflicting or paradoxical results or actions at the next point in time.  In other words, it is not possible for the time line to "split" to accommodate two possible results of an action. 

For example: If you hit a hyperball and it flies through the scoring ring, there cannot be another result where the hyperball does not fly through the scoring ring because those two results could not both be true. The time line only accommodates that which will allow time to flow in a uniform direction without the possibility of multiple outcomes. If any action or event in the time line  is changed and thus its results changed, all actions, events, and results from that action are subsequently changed to accommodate this.