IW: Menace from Beyond Time

[Saint]

Let's talk about the end of Infinite Worlds before the book's released ;)

Reading through the setting chapter of 4e, I took note of the closed-door session Van Zandt had with the U.N. Whatever they discussed, no record was released to the public.

The book gives a couple of possibilities for this. Always a lover of the apocalyptic, I'm partial to the The Menace from Beyond Time scenario.

In short, Van Zandt has advance knowledge of some impending disaster to the Quanta. Not only that, he had enough evidence to scare the bejeezus out of the assembled representatives. When it comes to world-jumping, they have given him almost complete free reign.

The text indicates that whatever's going to happen, there's a chance it won't end everything. (A line from the section says it's become important humans are spread to as many worlds as possible.)

At any rate, will you use this scenario in your game? What could the Big Secret be? What incredible event could endanger not just Homeline, but many other worlds as well? Post your best doomsday scenarious here.

[Microangelo]

Originally Posted by Saint

Let's talk about the end of Infinite Worlds before the book's released ;)

Reading through the setting chapter of 4e, I took note of the closed-door session Van Zandt had with the U.N. Whatever they discussed, no record was released to the public.

The book gives a couple of possibilities for this. Always a lover of the apocalyptic, I'm partial to the The Menace from Beyond Time scenario.

At any rate, will you use this scenario in your game? What could the Big Secret be? What incredible event could endanger not just Homeline, but many other worlds as well? Post your best doomsday scenarious here.

Possible secrets and story ideas, including variations


Natural Disaster: Destruction is inevitable (reality quakes?) and cannot be stopped, but it may be possible to redirect the destructive force to hit the bad guys.

The bad news is, they've alreay starting to shift it to us!

Maybe it can't be stopped or redirected, but people can be relocated to some areas/lines, but something has to be left behind-- technology, people or perhaps something even more indefinable.

Illuminati: The UN formed a secret pact with the Doctor who laid out a complex and secret plan to stop various dangerous lines/organizations from destroying everything (a man made apocalypse). But will thier solution (whatever it is) really work, or if it does, is the solution only the start of a new set of problems. (ie: the apocalypse can be avoided, but leads to an even more dangerous totalitarian conspiracy)

Is the above true or perhaps a lie spread by the enemy to sew confusion. Or perhaps they are spreading it, not knowing that it really is close to the truth!

Apocalypse a go-go: The Dr. Convinced the UN that Apocalypse is actually a nessesary restructuring of all timelines that will bring far greater stablity and a "golden-age".

Perhaps the PC's find out the real plan is to accelerate the destruction with the ultimate goal of "cleaning up" timelines and bringing on the coming Utopia. It will happen and it will be for the best, but will everyone understand? Can the Apocolypse be brought about quickly enough, or will entropy and chaos become entrenched, and the apocalypse made unnessesarily long and drawn out? And what will it all cost?

[DryaUnda]

So far, so good; I like where this is going (yes, it's that good a start).

Presuming that Hite doesn't beat us to the artha in the future, keep these ideas in mind for the Infinite Worlds Wiki.

[Saint]

Originally Posted by Microangelo

Natural Disaster: Destruction is inevitable (reality quakes?) and cannot be stopped, but it may be possible to redirect the destructive force to hit the bad guys.

The bad news is, they've alreay starting to shift it to us!

I like that!

Some predict a future event that's been dubbed The Singularity.* It has to do with the rapidly increasing rate of the development of information technology. To oversimplify it greatly, it's theorized there will come a point when the rate of progress and discovery reaches infinitely high levels. Those in the know can only guess what happens at this point - the revelation of all knowledge? The creation of a godlike intelligence? Probably a great many will be left behind simply because they can't keep up.

What if something similar has been born from parachronic technology? Time-space boundaries no longer have any meaning. Everything is moving towards one . . . big . . . um, whatever. The rules are breaking down, and reality quakes are only the first signs. Right now we're in the infancy of the coming disaster, but it's gonna get worse.

To make matters worse - the real problems didn't begin until humans started mucking about the Quanta. There's very little in the chapter to suggest that anyone else (other than parachronozoids and the Cabal) has been playing around with the parachronic travel before Homeline and Centrum both developed the technology. To draw a real-world analogy - modern technology and its alleged affect on global warming.

Anyhow, keep the brainstorms coming . . .

*Transhuman Space also deals with the coming Singularity . . .

[DryaUnda]

Originally Posted by Saint

Some predict a future event that's been dubbed The Singularity.*

*Transhuman Space also deals with the coming Singularity . . .

Orion's Arm is another setting that deals with singularities.

Note the lower case...

[Saint]

Originally Posted by DryaUnda

Orion's Arm is another setting that deals with singularities...

Yup. Vernor Vinge explains it so much better than I did. That's why he's an award-winning author, and I'm posting to a role-playing forum at 5 in the morning . . .

Bleh ;)

[DryaUnda]

Did you look at the second link?

[jSarek]

Remember the Things Man Was Not Meant To Know from Dr. Headley's bio?

There comin'. And Dr. Van Zandt knows it.

Cthulhu ftaghn, baby.

[Jürgen Hubert]

Originally Posted by jSarek

Remember the Things Man Was Not Meant To Know from Dr. Headley's bio?

There comin'. And Dr. Van Zandt knows it.

Cthulhu ftaghn, baby.

While there are certain similarities, I don't quite think that these entities are similar to those of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Mythos entities have always been there, and humanity evolved around them without really noticing them - and thankfully, that's mutual.

These, on the other hand, seem to be actual cross-time invaders...

[jSarek]

Originally Posted by Jürgen Hubert

While there are certain similarities, I don't quite think that these entities are similar to those of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Mythos entities have always been there, and humanity evolved around them without really noticing them - and thankfully, that's mutual.

These, on the other hand, seem to be actual cross-time invaders...

Who says Cthulhu and Friends (anyone think that would make a cool Saturday Morning Cartoon?) have to act the same way in every parallel?