Precognitive dreaming
From Heroes Wiki
| Precognitive dreaming | |
|---|---|
 Peter's vision of himself exploding is reflected in his eyes. | |
| Originally held by: | Angela Petrelli |
| Absorbed by: | Peter Petrelli (lost) |
| Ability to: | See the future through dreaming |
Precognitive dreaming is the ability to see the future through dreams. Both Angela's dreams and Peter's dreams are examples of the power in use.
Contents |
Characters
- Angela Petrelli naturally possesses this ability. (The Second Coming)
- Peter has absorbed this ability from Angela (Genesis), but lost it when his father stole it from him (Dying of the Light). He has since replicated it again from Angela, (Close to You) but discarded it in favor of telepathy. (The Art of Deception)
Limits
In order to see and dream the future, this ability requires the user to be unconscious. It is not known, however, if the user can activate this ability at will.
The dreams, as dreams tend to be, are open to interpretation. There appear to be more often then not slight differences between the dream and the actual events. Whether this is related to dreams not being entirely literal, the future constantly changing, how far in the future the events take place, or simply a natural consequence of the power is unknown. Angela admits that she doesn't always understand her dreams, as they are open to interpretation (1961).
At the same time the dreams can be very accurate in relation to actual events. There are no known limits as to how far into the future the dreams can reach. Angela dreamed that security agents were coming to capture her in her limousine just a few seconds before it actually happened (Cold Snap). As well as dreaming events taking place the following day, and in some cases months and years ahead of time (1961).
The amount of detail that users of this ability are able to retain after waking up is unknown, although both Angela and Peter seem to remember their dreams.
These dreams are vulnerable to telepathic assaults: Arthur was able to trap Angela within a nightmare while she was dreaming. (It's Coming)
Angela has also demonstrated the ability to communicate with other people who are also in a dream state. She was able to communicate with Sylar while he was being kept sedated in Level 5 and help him wake up so that he could escape, despite being in a mental coma in a hospital bed herself (Eris Quod Sum).
These two incidents indicate that there may be more to her ability than simply dreaming about future events.
Also, after passing out from trying to control Ted Sprague's power, Peter had a dream where he visited Charles Deveaux in the past and Charles, who was shown to have the power of telepathy (1961), was able to interact with him and see him there.
Angela states that in order for her to have precognitive dreams, she must fall asleep naturally, rather than inducing it with pills (Into Asylum).
Angela states that her dreams always come true and that she can't change their outcome, but she can help it come to fruition (An Invisible Thread). However, it seems that the exact outcome of precognitive dreams can be somewhat altered: Peter dreamed of New York's destruction, with Simone present and buildings destroyed (Fallout). Though an explosion still occurred, some of the details of Peter's dream did not take place (How to Stop an Exploding Man).
After Nathan's memories had been placed in Sylar's body, Angela arranged to meet him for lunch. She dreamed about this occasion but did not see Nathan in the dream, but him in the form of Sylar. (Orientation)
People with this ability can apparently have the same dream: when Peter replicated this in order to see what Angela was warning him about Emma, he apparently had the same dream she did or one very similar. Angela also refers to this ability as a curse after Peter replicates it, saying that being able to dream the future is a curse not a gift like people would think (Close to You). Peter ends up having this dream at least twice, though in the second dream, things are slightly different and seem to show more detail than the first dream. (The Art of Deception) This is revealed to be a continuation of the first dream, taking place shortly after the first ended. (Brave New World)
Memorable Quotes
"I was just like you, my head in the clouds, full of hope. I was gonna be a teacher. And then my power manifested and the dreams came, visions of a bloody future of deceit and death, the Apocalypse. And when I awoke, I tried to warn everyone, but no one would listen."
- - Angela to Peter (Into Asylum)
"Don't you see the benefits your abilities could have for the world?"
"I only see my nightmares."
"People think that dreaming the future is a gift. They're wrong."
- - Angela (Close to You)
Notes
- Arthur Petrelli stole his son Peter's abilities, saying, "I have [your powers] now." (Dying of the Light). It is presumed that Arthur stole all of Peter's abilities, including precognitive dreaming. However, it is possible that Arthur did not steal all of Peter's abilities. Since Arthur never used this ability, there is no conclusive evidence that he actually stole this ability.
See Also
- For other uses of dream, see dream (disambig).
- For the similar ability to paint the future, see precognition.
- For a summary of the visions caused by this ability, see Angela's dreams or Peter's dreams.
- For the ability to manipulate another's dreams, see dream manipulation.
Fan Theories
Please refer to Theory:Precognitive dreaming for fan-created theories and other speculation.
