"But if it wasn't, what would your friend have to go on? It's his past, so it's happened for him, but it's your future. It hasn't happened for you, so presumably you can change it -- change his past." Hojo shook his head. "I've never had a reason to think about it before, to be honest. I suppose it works if time is nonlinear, but I have a difficult time picturing that." Even if he didn't strictly believe in the timelines the way most others seemed to -- and e didn't -- it certainly made for an interesting thought exercize.