How could time itself be an anachronism?

Where to begin?

What I'll do is present an alternate explanation. One that is consistent and logical, but one that I won't push you to accept. Why would I want to do that anyway? All I'll aim is to get you to admit that it holds water and is airtight. And that it could stand on its own.

As simply as I can describe, I'm going to propose that time as a dynamic phenomenon can be generated through a static process.

Let's say that time consists of instants. In other words, it is quantized, discrete, analogous or particulate (there, I believe that I have covered the field).

I'm going to suggest that consciousness consists of being 'uploaded' into a particular instant. If this includes the awareness of a set of other 'conscious-quanta', together with their cqs, nestled and contained . . .

No, I've lost you.

But I'm going to press on in the hope that I can re-express this better at some other . . . time.

Okay, well, what this means is that what results is the illusion of chronological progress. And the illusion--what is more--of a life that is distinct from that/those of other(s).

Somehow one has access to only a set of all the possible past-and-present memories. That constitutes a life. And you have awareness only in one direction, like a semi-diode or one-way transmitter. It's like an arrow pointing back into what we imagine/feel is the past.

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If you have a set of 'time moments', shall we say. Now, if they each contain within them a nestled subset, or the memory/awareness of other moments (imagine a Venn diagram with a set of smaller and smaller circles (see aside but ignore all primates, especially the gorilla (in the room?))) then, within the context or paradigm of a continuous expansion, growth or progress, then that, ipso facto gives rise to an illusion of time passing. (Within a paradigm of shrinkage or disappearance it ought to result in the opposite: that time is progressing into the past.)

The effect could be a little like flipping a set of cards where the image is in a slightly different position in each. It appears to be moving only. The interesting thing is that it doesn't matter in which order the cards are flipped.

Similarly, you appear to be moving through time. And you only appear to have a life and exist as an entity.