Shifter

"The number one killer is time. It destroys us all..."

Shifter, contains plot and/or ending details of Quantum Break and its related media. Proceed at your own discretion.

Shifter

Enemy information
Establishment	2021 (first known appearance)^[1]
Affiliation	None
Type(s)	Chronon Disrupted Lifeform
Strengths	Distortion field Click "expand" for full list Nearly impervious to harm, Exists in state of Superposition, Requires multiple selves to be killed to kill
Weakness	Stablized Meyer-Joyce field
Weapons Used	None
Equipment	None
Game information
First Appearance	Act 3, Part 1: Research Facility (mentioned)
Last Appearance	Act 5, Part 3: Final Moments

"Chronon Disrupted Lifeform. Extremely hostile. ...Only ever heard of them."

—Liam Burke^[2]

Shifters^[3] (also known as Chronon Disrupted Lifeform^[2] and Chronon Disrupted Wave Function Subjects^[3]), are the end state of a Chronon active individual suffering from Chronon Syndrome. They exist in a Zero State environment and are extremely hostile lifeforms that dislike movement.

Biography[]

End of Time[]

Shifters were first encountered by a young Paul Serene following the malfunction of the University time Machine's core^[4], and later Beth Wilder, who was sent to the year 2021 by Sofia Amaral.^[5]

Without the presence of Chronon energy to sustain the Meyer-Joyce Field, Shifters were able to exist and roam freely within the End of Time. Their routine existence was seemingly disrupted by the appearance of Beth and Paul, whose movement disturbed them. The Shifters spent their time of hunting the Chronon active Paul, and Chronon Harness protected Beth, who were largely unable to defeat the Shifters they encountered, save for a few exceptions.^[6]

Preparation and Infiltration[]

When Paul Serene returned to 1999, he founded Monarch Solutions, a corporation he would use to prepare for the fracture in time, and the Shifters that would inevitably appear and populate the End of Time. A paramilitary branch, Monarch Security, was created as a means to defend against the threat of the Shifters. During 2001, Serene hired a named Martin Hatch, who climbed the corporate ladder to become a crucial part of Monarch Solutions' public relations.

He became a close confidante of Paul's, and helped shape the company.^[6] Unbeknownst to Paul, he had allied himself with a Shifter that learned to maintain a single form after succumbing to Chronon Syndrome, following an encounter with a natural irregularity in the Meyer-Joyce field.^[7] Hatch began working behind the scenes with individuals such as Clarice Ogawa^[8] to ensure overall failure of Paul's plan to survive the End of Time.

2011 saw the development of Stutterproofing, the creation of an artificial that sustained the normal flow of time within a single area. Hatch oversaw the Striker and Juggernaut programs that began in 2013 and 2014, iterating the Chronon technology that would allow security officers within their ranks to operate within stutters to fight Shifters.^[9]

When Monarch Solutions came into possession of William Joyce's Countermeasure in 2010^[10], Paul, who was exposed large amounts of Chronon energy that created Ground Zero, began to experience symptoms of Chronon Syndrome and sought a cure.^[11]

Sofia Amaral worked with Chronon scientists like Fiona Miller and Henry Kim to work on a cure that would permanently halt the effects of Chronon Syndrome. Hatch worked to block their efforts, rerouting the departments manpower elsewhere.^[12] He was presumably responsible for the accident that exposed Dr. Kim, a professor at Riverport University and former teacher of William Joyce and Elton Meyer, to a severe amount of Chronon energy that hypersaturated his body and transformed him into a Shifter.^[12]

Monarch Solutions' Chronon Department created a containment field that kept Kim from escaping Gull Island's Monarch Research Facility^[2], and a story regarding his death was falsified for the public.^[13] 2016 saw the development of the Chronon dampener, a device meant to weaken or halt Shifters by draining the Chronon energy from their bodies.^[3]

Events of Quantum Break[]

By the time the events of October 9th, 2016 occurred and the breakdown of time began, Monarch Security was deployed with the latest iteration of Chronon technology to use against possible Shifter threats.^[14] Hatch used his position in Monarch to create confusion within Monarch, using false information regarding a traitor within Monarch, to maneuver himself closer to obtaining the Countermeasure.^[15]

Following the kidnapping of Sofia Amaral by Jack Joyce and Beth Wilder^[16], Hatch's deceptions were discovered by Paul. He was disavowed by the company head, and had authority rescinded.^[17] Hatch was arrested by Monarch Security^[18], but managed to escape, killing his captors in the process.

Hatch's attempts to take the Countermeasure for himself failed and resulted in the death of one of his multiple forms.^[18] When he returned, he blackmailed a Bernard Riker, a Monarch Technician, into shutting down the stutterproofing system protecting Monarch HQ from stutters. Without the stutterproofing to protect the building, Hatch was free to roam within stutters. Despite the efforts of the Strikers and Technicians within the building, Hatch killed them.^[17] Prior to his encounter with Jack, he wrote a unsigned letter discussing his transformation into a Shifter.^[17] Hatch attempted to attack Jack himself but vanished when the stutter ended.

Paul, whose Chronon Syndrome advanced to its presumed end state^[11], faced Jack at the Bradbury Swimming Hall in an attempt to take back or destroy the Countermeasure.^[19] His instability eventually led to his death at the hands of Jack, who punched him hard enough that he landed awkwardly on his neck, breaking it. His body was revived from the Chronon energy emitted from the Countermeasure during Jack and William's attempt to rejuvenate the Meyer-Joyce field. He then was vaporized by the discharge that restabilized the Meyer-Joyce field.^[19] With Paul out of the way, Hatch took position as head of Monarch.

Characteristics[]

Behavior[]

As individuals who've endured Chronon Syndrome, Shifters by their nature are violent, driven by physical pain.^[7] As observed by both Paul Serene and Beth Wilder, Shifters are easily provoked into violence by movement within stutters.^[1]^[20]

Their vehement dislike for movement is often at the core of their violent behavior. In other instances, they not be provoked and remain docile unless intentionally spurred into violent behavior by an aggressor.^[20]^[21]^[22]

Chronon Abilities[]

Shifters are Chronon active individuals that exist in a state of quantum superposition. They exist as all possible past, present and future versions of themselves, existing both everywhere and nowhere. Shifters are capable of appearing anywhere they wish. Shifters are extremely resistant to damage. They are also quite physically formidable, but their biggest threat is the distortion field around them.^[21]^[22]

It warps the properties of the space surrounding them, exerting great physical stress and unpredictable forces on its surroundings. Close proximity to a Shifter may be fatal even if no actual physical contact takes place. They are essentially mobile repositories of vast amounts of Chronon Particles, and that they can only exist in a zero state an area which has been depleted of Chronon particles, typically by a fault in the Meyer-Joyce field that encompasses the universe. Most Shifters are theorized to inhabit the End of Time.^[21]^[22]

Known Shifters[]

The following list are characters who've succumbed to Chronon Syndrome and became Shifters, not characters still actively suffering from Chronon Syndrome (i.e., Jack Joyce).