[IW] Ordinary Worlds with valuables!

[Flyndaran]

Does it sit next to a barbershop?

Even if it didn't originally, I bet some black humor ridden accomplices-after-the-fact might help one get located there.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Does it sit next to a barbershop?

Even if it didn't originally, I bet some black humor ridden accomplices-after-the-fact might help one get located there.

Indeed.

The book mentions that some Homeliners tend to think of humans from other timelines not quite being "real people."

This one seems bad enough, despite being very localized and small scale, that I think even a corrupt I-Cop would likely do something about it.
That's why I went with White Star. Not because they are an evil megacorp, but because I figured they wouldn't be quite as rigorous in their psych screenings.
The WS agent involved is a sociopath, of course.
He fakes normality pretty well, but to some extent he's getting away with this stuff because his bosses aren't looking for a problem they don't know exists. Why should they care about some local missing persons, even if it came to their attention(and who would tell them...)? That's a downtime problem. Strictly native stuff.

PCs might catch in on the course of a game.

I wonder how that might go down?

[dcarson]

Finding a timeline where you have a double for someone wealthy and powerful could be profitable. Replace them and loot their assets.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by dcarson

Finding a timeline where you have a double for someone wealthy and powerful could be profitable. Replace them and loot their assets.

Eww. Or double for someone that wants to fake their death and disappear. You only need part of the double even.
Organ legging. You can be darn certain of a match with no need for immunosuppressant drugs. Different environments mean that even genetic diseases might not be as mirrored as one might assume.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

...

PCs might catch in on the course of a game.

I wonder how that might go down?

Probably by trying to alert the local authorities. But some moral characters may not be willing to wait that long, especially if corruption slows things down.
An interaction with a frantic loved one retracing a victim's last movements would be wonderful GM-players emotional blackmail.

A much harder part may be GMs avoiding making enough Soylent Green, Hannibal, etc. puns to endanger their own lives.
They may have to be Fleet of foot on that Street.

[combatmedic]

Puntastic.

[starslayer]

Singularity-17

Most worlds that have a technological singularity AND mass human extinction are strictly off limits, super-intelligent robots are generally bad news.

Singularity-17 is different.

Roughly the same relative time as home, it is unknown if Singularit-17 is an echo or not, what is known is that they have a super-high level of automation but no functional AI. The entire civilization prepared to support 9 billion is still in perfect condition, every lawn is mowed, every street spotless, all the towering buildings perfectly maintained by tireless, dumb, robots. But the world population is a mere 300,000, and dwindling. Most of the cities are completely empty, with what few people remain engaging in adventure activites (sailing, skiing, mountain climbing, hunting, small scale farming, etc).

The society as a whole, who's history does not match homeline's at all, has almost always held up science as a golden placenta for everything, with minimal attachment to religion or superstition. Development of mechanical engines date all the way back to the bronze age (essentially as soon as people were able to hob gears), the first mechanical calculators appear only slightly after that, and as such computing and automation are radically advanced.

An additional quirk of the timeline is that the speed of light (and therefore electricity) is faster, this causes everything to be effectively 'blue shifted' to homeline observers, making the already lush, virtually polition free, perfectly maintained cities take on even more of a 'utiopia' view.

But the most interesting part of the world is why there population droped by several orders of magnitude- The development of a completely immersive virtual enviornment that requires no surgery to enter, and through thought reading builds a perfect interaction scenario for the 'gamer', a perfectly addictive system. The robots will tirelessly tend the body of anyone inside 'the game', replacing failed components bit by bit until they have effectivley undergone a complete brain upload into the game, at which point they effectively live forever in there virtual world.

What few people remain outside are 'luddites' by comparison to those inside, or by nature of mutation or disability are unable to utilize the immersion hardware.

Before its fall/ascention (depending on who you talk to) the society had already become well aware of the ability to travel crosstime , and have even experiemented with it with several successful launches (and event beat homeline to this state), but since all of there technology (including there myriad medical implants) relies on a higher c speed- it prooved problematic, and ran coincidental to the development of the immersive enviornment- before the problems could be overcome more then 90% of the population was 'plugged in' and scientific reasearch basically ground to a halt.

The worldwide survallance networks, widespread use of biomedical implants, and sheer number of robots all connected to a massive facial recognition database meant that the instant infinity warped in they were detected, and contacted- largely with about 300,000 messages of 'hey, welcome, enjoy your stay, come to this location for a barbeque'. This was good because the increased c speed meant that all of the computers and electronic devices infinity brought with them promply died, but the locals had no issues giving the infinity visitors one of there own (now basically mothballed) conveyers to head home with. The team plugged into the virtual enviornment while they were waiting and was able to interract with some of the other 23 billion minds stored within before being told that there conveyer was ready.

So it's a world, with no need to maintain secrecy about crossworld travel, full post scarity enviornment, eager to welcome guests (as they are something new and there is no resource scarcity), with a perfect virtual enviornment, and immortality (if your willing to stay there and eventually be ascimilated by the machine), and zero threat of there society-upheaving technology 'leaking' into homeline.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by starslayer

... it is unknown if Singularity-17 is an echo or not ... whose history does not match homeline's at all

It isn't an echo. Echoes match Homeline history exactly up to their current date.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by johndallman

It isn't an echo. Echoes match Homeline history exactly up to their current date.

Even more importantly they match exactly until and unless cross-time interference alters them.

It still could be an echo if they have a legend of a scientific messiah of sorts that helped them to see the light of pure scientific thinking thousands of years ago. And boosted light speed with super tech for unknown reasons.
Home liners would argue on whether it's a lingering aspect of religion in a distant alternate or raw fact in a true echo.

[starslayer]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Even more importantly they match exactly until and unless cross-time interference alters them.

It still could be an echo if they have a legend of a scientific messiah of sorts that helped them to see the light of pure scientific thinking thousands of years ago. And boosted light speed with super tech for unknown reasons.
Home liners would argue on whether it's a lingering aspect of religion in a distant alternate or raw fact in a true echo.

Or like lizardia three divergence is the faster light speed.

But yes, if the gm wants to use it as is but as an echo then the divergence is somewhere in the bronze age which works still leave history sending very different.