Let's say we have a character (let's call him Nelson), who can stop time and let's pretend like it's possible and comfortable for him to do it. He can see and move in stopped time, can apply force to objects and move them, hit them, whatever. Gravity still applies in stopped time.
Nelson can st...
I fail to see a problem here. Any of the usual assassination methods would work just fine. Shooting, blowing op, poisoning, cutting the throat, you name it.
Maybe a good question to expand the story is "what methods don't work"? Like, what actual good is his time stopping ability in terms of self preservation? If he can't see into the future and/or reverse time he is really just a normal person with the ability to flee attacks really well (only if he knows to flee). Now say Nelson is really paranoid (because he suspects he angered a rich, resourceful person) so what does he do to with his power to make sure he can't be killed?
It would be more interesting if he instinctively stopped time whenever his "spidey-sense" detected danger, but now we're in the realms of comic-book fantasy.
@Richard well you could make it a sort of reflex, which would render physical attacks pretty pointless, as soon as something touches him, the reflex stops time. Sniper rifle bullets are a bit of a problem though - even in 10ms (one of our fastes reflexes) the round would travel 10m, so still a killer.
@arsenal - X-Men gets around the by having Kitty's phasing ability as her ground-state. If you try and shoot her the bullet passes through unless she wants it to hit her.
This question, like all time stop questions, ignores the fact that change and time are one in the same. If you stop time, light stops moving, as do air molecules and everything else. Really the only thing a person can do when they stop time is think...and suffocate. If you are ignoring physics time stops can work but again...just because he can stop time doesn't mean he can see an assassination attempt coming...bullets move real fast...
@Sejanus I would write your comment up as an answer. You are right, the ability doesn't mean he can protect himself from assassination.
@James I'll copy-paste my previous comment here. "Well, he's not actually STOPPING time. He creates another timeline on top the main one, just for himself (not even cm of space around him, only him). Inside that timeline (more accurately would be to call it timeflow) time flies normally for Nelson, but very, very fast relatively to our "normal" timeline, so fast, that it appears he teleports. I had not much time to work on this, so any critique of this system would be appreciated". That's is the reason he doesn't suffocate or freeze to death and can see in "stopped" time.
I don't understand the "35 minutes" thing. Can he stop time for 35 minutes in total forever and then he loses his power? Or can he stop time for up to 35 minutes, then start time (for just a millisecond?) and stop it again for another 35 minutes?
The commonality of all answers is his ignorance to his murder, often utilizing the element of surprise. His defense only works if he is aware he is being killed. There are a near infinite ways to kill someone by surprise or without them knowing.
@LukenN He stops time for 35 minutes, then it resumes. He can do that again, but it's extremely tiring for him (physically and mentally). Usually after 3 timestops in a row he can't even stand normally. Usually that's his limit for a day.
@Skypho An additional question: Does he really stop time? You wrote about a distinct timeline, but I don't see if time is swapped or an external timeframe is inserted. If he really stops/suspends time, does it take an active effort to maintain the suspended state? If not, we are in big trouble. Let's assume, he is stabbed in the back and stops time to get a solution, then dies in the stopped timeframe! If maintaining the suspended state of time takes no effort, time remains stopped forever.
@mg30rg it's not a switch, but a continuous action that takes mental effort. Imagine...imagine that you trying to hold an animal in your hands, which actively tries to get away. At first, its easy to hold it, but as time passes your concentration is weakening, you get tired and you come to the point where you physically can't hold it anymore. The same thing with time. You can't hold this crazy animal if you killed ;) and this is the reason he can't hold time "stopped" for more that 35 minutes, it's his limit. In his early days it was easy to distract him and make him accidentally "let go".
@mg30rg so yeah. Actually answering your question, he does not actually stop time, he just makes it a lot, lot slower relatively to himself, so it APPEARS he stopped it to others. And killing him while he's in this state would just make him return to "normal" speed, without affecting our time. Sorry for English, I write it Russian
I would try and twist the situation - maybe he believes he can stop time, but he's actually doing something else and appears that he stopped time, but he doesn't realise it. (not sure what - I need to think about it. Perhaps temporarily change the speed of light to 0, so nothing can move etc). then use the twist is some odd way to kill him. This idea sort of comes from a SF book where someone has an anti-gravity suit and leaps off a high building on a space station to float to the ground. Unfortunately the 'gravity' is actually centrifugal force caused by spin and...splat.
Discussion on question by Skypho: How…
Discussion on question by Skypho: How…