Temporal Displacement Aphasia is the name given to the extremely rare condition which is experienced by individuals who have undergone multiple consciousness transfers. (S3E05: Naomi, S3E07: Trevor)
There have only been two cases of temporal aphasia: Traveler 0115 and his unnamed wife.
Causes[]
Temporal Aphasia is caused by a single consciousness being transferred into multiple host bodies. Hence, the only two people to have suffered from the condition are Trevor Holden and his unnamed wife who were early test subjects in the consciousness transfer program and lived multiple lives in different hosts. They both lived three lifetimes: 0115's wife developed the condition in her third body while 0115 contracts it in Trevor Holden's body, when the fifth consciousness transfer is triggered to repackage his consciousness minus an AI threatening to take over the host.
Symptoms[]
Traveler 0115 experiences an early-onset of the condition, describing it as a dissonance in his perception of time, where what seems like a passing second to him could actually be several minutes or longer in actuality. To bystanders the afflicted appear to freeze, like a computer. The breaks are random in both duration and occurrence, but eventually results in longer and more frequent episodes until the body dies.
The symptoms seem to progress similarly to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease) in that one sees an increasing deterioration of their cognitive effectiveness, eventually leading to death. Only the Traveler consciousness is affected and the host body appears eligible for reuse: Trevor negotiates a deal with the Director to be overwritten by another Traveler, indicating that the next consciousness to inhabit the body won't inherit the condition as long as it hasn't been transferred multiple times.
Treatment and Outcomes[]
0115 developed plans for a sub-neural implant in the future to counteract the blackouts. It connects to the parietal lobe and basal ganglia, releasing a combination of electric signals and a synthetic compound to jolt him out of a break. However, he had no means to anticipate when the episodes occur. In the 21st century, using data gathered on Trevor's episodes and with the help of the Ilsa supercomputer, Grace Day is able to create a fractal predictive algorithm that, combined with Trevor's implant, can mitigate the worst effects of the blackouts.
The treatment is relatively successful. Trevor still suffers the occasional freeze, but not as frequent nor debilitating without the implant. It is merely a delaying tactic: the Director has determined no viable long-term solution exists because of entropy. The condition will still claim 0115 eventually.
0115's wife didn't receive treatment for the condition, being the first to suffer from it and even making the Director unsure of what to do. She eventually had an episode that she never came back from.
Notes[]
Traveler 001 has expressed interest in the condition indirectly by asking Trevor about his implant. It is unknown if he will be affected by it, considering he has gone through multiple known and unknown hosts (his original body, Vincent Ingram, Katrina Perrow, at least one temporary host, then Jeff Conniker) and even spent time diffused into computers worldwide. (S3E10: Protocol Omega)