Consciousness transfer is the process of "wirelessly" moving a consciousness from one body to another, usually from its original one to a host. It is the only means by which Travelers from the future come back to the past to inhabit hosts and enact missions according to a Grand Plan to save humanity.
Overview[]
Information is the only thing known to travel between the past and the future; consciousness and computer data are forms of information, hence why Travelers must use host bodies in the past instead of physically time traveling to the present.
Consciousness transfer is represented by a high-pitched whine preceding an intense, searing headache. Hosts undergoing the process often have no choice but to scream and clutch their head. The transfer is unstoppable once started and takes a few seconds to complete, and once done the Traveler has assumed full control of the body while nothing remains of the original personality. (S1E01: Travelers)
The body departed by the transferred consciousness becomes an empty shell, still alive but with no brain activity apart from autonomic functions. Uploading a consciousness into the empty body is therefore instantaneous and painless. (S2E12: 001)
Quantum entanglement is one of the physical processes involved. A quantum bridge is created from the future to the past during the transfer. (S1E12: Grace) The event interferes with electronics and can cause disruptions in surveillance or video feeds. (S2E02: Protocol 4, S3E10: Protocol Omega) As with other wireless signals, consciousness transfers can be blocked with a space-time attenuator. (S1E12: Grace)
Consciousness transfer can happen with or without a time travel component, which is a separate but related field. With time travel involved, transfers are sequential and can only happen after the previous one. Messengers or Travelers cannot be sent further back than the most recent one due to ripples in the timeline. (S1E11: Marcy)
Misfires[]
- Main article: Misfire
A misfire is the result of an inaccurate T.E.L.L. or some other error which results in a Traveler's consciousness never being successfully transferred to a host's body. The incoming consciousness is killed in the process while the host body and original consciousness survive. Misfires are fairly common as Rick Hall mentions that it's rare for all five members of a team to transfer successfully. Trevor later says that the misfire rate when the Traveler program first began was over 30%. (S1E04: Hall)
Messengers[]
- Main article: Messenger
Messengers are the Director's way of making direct contact with Travelers in the 21st century. Most messengers are children: their brains are young and malleable, while an adult brain cannot take the shock of receiving a message from the future and it will kill them. The Director will send messages through an adult if they're dying and it's an emergency. (S1E03: Aleksander, S1E04: Hall)
Messengers find a team member, deliver their usually short message, and then return to normal. They are often very confused about what just happened and don't know what went on, as many of them wander off their normal path to deliver the message. (S1E03: Aleksander)
Overwriting[]
Consciousness transfer works by overwriting the consciousness inhabiting the host body, be it the original one or a Traveler. The overwritten consciousness is considered dead, although there may still be some remnant memories that are normally inaccessible to the Traveler. (S1E10: Kathryn, S2E10: 21C)
The Director uses overwriting as a punishment because the current Traveler who occupies the host has broken one or more of the protocols or acted against the interests of the Grand Plan. With the rise of the Faction after emerging in a timeline where Shelter 41 didn't collapse, Faction members who have traveled to the past are considered exempt from Protocol 3 and subject to death or overwrite, as aside from treason they have taken host bodies who weren't supposed to have died yet. (S1E11: Marcy, S2E06: U235)
Repeated Transfers[]
Consciousness transfer is inherently traumatic, sometimes resulting in a nosebleed even in the first time it happens. Repeated overwriting in rapid succession wears down the host, and will result in their death. (S2E07: 17 Minutes)
Travelers who have transferred hosts multiple times are at risk of Temporal Displacement Aphasia. (S3E07: Trevor)