The characters in Glitch continuously grapple with the ethical implications of time travel. Even though the authorities in the novel argue that these ethics are straightforward, Regan, Elliot, and others conclude that they are actually complex, dependent upon context, and impossible to reduce to absolutes. In Glitch, time travel is typically illegal because tampering with the past is considered inherently immoral; the only people who are allowed to time travel are “Glitchers.” These law enforcement agents are trained to capture “Butterflies,” who want to change the past, thereby altering the present and future. Despite the normative legal and moral ideas that Regan and Elliot have been taught at school, they still decide to become Butterflies and change the past to save lives and protect the future. Thus, the novel ultimately suggests that what is legally right does not always reflect what is morally right, and the ethics of time travel are too complicated to encapsulate in a simple, absolute rule.

Authorities such as professors, Regan’s mom, and Officer Salzburg argue that tampering with the past is always immoral because history must be preserved to protect the present. Although this is true in many cases, it isn’t always, which causes the ethics of time travel to become murky.