Ben Farrow is the central young character whose fate drives the time war plot. He is the unwitting catalyst for the entire conflict, experiencing a traumatic and world altering ordeal due to his historical lineage.
Ben is initially the epitome of innocence and typical youth, a contrast that highlights the brutality of the world he is thrust into.
Excitable and Affectionate: He is a normal, happy child, full of excitement about their family trip. He is eager, smiling, and physically affectionate, sprinting toward his mother and hugging her tightly before their vacation.
Unknowing Centerpiece: He is completely unaware of the role his existence plays in a distant totalitarian regime. This historical unawareness is his most defining trait at the start, making him utterly unprepared for the violence of the revolution.
Resilient, Yet Scarred: He survives the trauma but is clearly marked by it.
Ben’s challenges are monumental, transforming him from a normal boy into a psychological victim of chronological warfare.
Ben’s primary challenge is existential: he is the direct ancestor of Dictator Thayne, making him an unwilling weapon and target.
His existence alone makes him a threat to the rebels’ future and a necessity for the dictator’s regime. This conflict is external, profound, and entirely beyond his control, defining his purpose in the plot.
His world shifts instantly from a vacation to a warzone. He experiences a kidnapping and is exposed to the fear of death and moral chaos, which is a massive psychological burden for a child.
The challenge is simply surviving the ordeal, the exposure to adult violence leaves him with deep psychological scars.
The Excited Son. He is enthusiastic about the Disney trip and affectionate, displaying normal youthful joy.
He is passive and helpless, a frightened object being fought over by adult forces, lacking any personal agency.
Ben Farrow ultimately represents the innocence consumed by time war. His story explores the idea that even if the timeline is saved, the trauma experienced by the individual remains, an enduring cost of revolutionary interference.
