Enhanced memory
| Enhanced memory | |
|---|---|
 Charlie helps out with a crossword puzzle. | |
| Originally held by: | Charlie Andrews (deceased), Matt Neuenberg (deceased), Katherine Murry, Pacy McNeil, Trevor Tanaka |
| Absorbed by: | Sylar (lost) |
| Ability to: | Quickly absorb and accurately retain great amounts of information |
| Examples of enhanced memory | |
Enhanced memory (also referred to as eidetic memory, enhanced thought processing, and photographic memory and reflexes) is the ability to quickly absorb and accurately retain great amounts of information.
Characters
- Charlie Andrews naturally possessed this ability. (Nothing to Hide)
- Matt Neuenberg naturally possessed this ability. (The Man with Too Much Brains)
- Sylar stole this ability from Charlie, but lost it after being infected by the Shanti virus. (Road Kill, Kindred)
- Katherine Murry naturally possesses this ability. (Faction Zero)
- Pacy McNeil naturally possesses this ability. (Faction Zero)
- Trevor Tanaka naturally possesses this ability. (Faction Zero)
Limits
The limits of what a character with this power may remember are not yet known. To date, all of the examples shown are based on information the user has read; whether other information can be recalled is unknown. However, Charlie did state that she was able to remember things whether she wanted to or not.
Charlie was able to remember everything she read since she first manifested this power. She was also able to comprehend and use the knowledge gained almost immediately.
Charlie has the ability to remember everything that has happened in her entire life. She can memorize books word for word that she read in elementary school. She even remembers the night her parents died in a car crash when she was only six months old. (Saving Charlie)
Sylar was able to read the owner's manual for a tractor-trailer and immediately use that knowledge to drive the vehicle.
According to the testing the Company has done on him, Matt Neuenberg has the capability of remembering great amounts of information. With the aid of a goggle device, Matt is able to store an entire mainframe computer's worth of data and have his brain be a makeshift backup drive. (Hana and Drucker's Plot Discovered)
Through her ability, Katherine is able to process thoughts faster than that of an average person. She can also learn a new language within a matter of days.
Pacy can remember things that he sees and hears. His brain is always recording things, his eyes are like a camera and his ears are like a tape recorder, recording things that are said. It also helps him with simple things like reading, he can basically skim a book and remember it, so reading is much faster, this also works with a computer, and he can type really fast. If he watches something over and over he will be able to do. If he watches someone skateboard over and over again, whether it be on television or actually in front of him, he will be able to skateboard like the person he watched. But if that person does the technique wrong then Pacy will also inherit that when doing the skill. He can also by listening to people talk, he can 'pick up' accents quickly, and if the voice range is in the same range as he then he can pretty much copy someone's voice.
Trevor can use his ability to quickly absorb and accurately retain great amounts of information and it serves as a virtually unlimited potential for information storage.
Examples
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Charlie Andrews immediately knows the answer to a crossword puzzle on which Sheriff Davidson was working... -
...and later begins to speak some basic Japanese, having only started reading her phrase book one week ago.
(Seven Minutes to Midnight) -
Charlie learns both spoken and written Japanese in a matter of days from a Japanese phrase book.
(Six Months Ago) -
Sylar skims the operations manual for an eighteen-wheeler and successfully drives it cross-country.
(Road Kill) -
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Matt's brain overloads during an "upload" of the information he memorized from the Company's mainframe, causing him to die.
(The End of Hana and Drucker)
Memorable Quotes
"If you really want to test me, you oughta ask if I remember your credit-card numbers."
"Very! Good! Memory!"
"Yeah, I remember lots and lots. It's just something that my brain started doing lately, whether I want it to or not."
- - Hiro, Charlie (Seven Minutes to Midnight)
"Lately, I've just been able to remember everything."
"You have power, big memory."
- - Charlie, Hiro (Six Months Ago)
"Are you kidding, Einstein? You've got a mind like a search engine."
Notes
- In a blog entry, Hiro described Charlie's power as being "like Wikipedia, Google, my own Jeeves," referring to popular search engines and online encyclopedias.
- Sylar says to Peter, "I remember you." It is unknown whether Sylar was using his newly acquired enhanced memory or if he was simply remembering Peter on his own. (Parasite)
- In an interview, writer R.D. Hall said, "I'd say [Charlie's power] is more just her remembering anything--whatever she reads, whatever she sees. Matt's is all visual...Matt is more like a card reader. You put in an SD card, he'll read it." However, Elle states that Matt is also an audible learner (Hana and Drucker's Plot Discovered).
See Also
- For other uses of memory, see memory (disambig).