Tamal Kundu
As a concept, time travel has always fascinated us. There is something about venturing beyond the constraints of time that immediately draws our attention. As there is no real-world application of it yet, we have to be satisfied by reading about it in a book or watching it in films or TV shows.
In ‘The Adam Project,’ time travel serves as the core of the narrative. It teases us with the notion of speaking to our younger selves and helping them navigate through the tricky waters of life. Here is everything you need to know about time traveling in ‘The Adam Project.’ SPOILERS AHEAD.
What Is Fixed Time?
In ‘The Adam Project,’ fixed time refers to the place in time where an individual belongs on the quantum level. As the name denotes, fixed time is unchangeable unless someone travels through time and meets their younger selves, like Adam does in the film. In the real world, the concept of absolute space and time has existed for a while. It exists in Aristotelian physics, and according to Robert S. Westman, it is present in Copernicus’ ‘De revolutionibus orbium coelestium’ as well.
In ‘Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica,’ Sir Isaac Newton used the concept of absolute space and time to build the foundation for his Newtonian mechanics. The British physicist believed that absolute space and time exist without regard to anything external. In contrast, relative time is affected by external forces. In later years, the concept has been worked upon by other scientists, and more nuanced theories like the Theory of General Relativity by Albert Einstein were obtained.
What Is Time Travel?
In the future depicted in ‘The Adam Project,’ time has become the most valued commodity. The film’s title refers to the magnetic particle accelerator that Adam’s father, Louis Reed, has built. According to his theory, with a powerful enough pulse, one can generate utilitarian wormholes in space, which can be used in time travel. He created ISPCA or Infinitely Shifting Plasma Containing Algorithm to stabilize the wormholes. In November 2018, the accelerator went online. Maya Sorian, once a partner of Louis, used a time jet to travel to 2018 and deliver certain information to her younger self, effectively changing the history.
Adam’s wife, Laura, was investigating this when Adam was told she died during re-entry. While depicting time travel, ‘The Adam Project’ makes references toward projects that came before it — from ‘Back to the Future Part II’ to ‘Timecop’ to the MCU. In the world of ‘The Adam Project,’ every ripple in time doesn’t create a parallel universe, nor do people remember the erased timelines. It is believed that when someone goes back to their fixed time after an encounter, memories reform and reconcile.
Read More: The Adam Project Ending, Explained: Does the Reed Family Save the Future?
