05-31-2020, 03:53 PM | #1 | ||
Join Date: Dec 2007
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The Secret
I think it's time to discuss just why the Secret exists. As far as world-building goes, it's simple. It preserves the individuality of the worlds. If it didn't exist, then say good-bye to your quaint steam punk setting. Look for Macdonald's arches in your Roma Aeturna as they start wearing suits and jeans. That setting where John F. Kennedy was cast as the captain of the Starship Enterprise will be just as familiar with Star Wars and the MCU as we are.
But digging deeper we should look at the roots of Infinity. Where did it come from? It comes from two places. The first is H. Beam Piper's Paratime series in which: Quote:
The Secret exists for a reason. There are probably thousands of known worlds that are potentially capable of learning parachronic technology with a bit of help. And among those worlds there are hundreds who would cheerfully go on a campaign of conquest and enslavement extermination of the populations any world they find over which they have a technological edge as well as any underdefended colonies on previously uninhabited worlds. And dozens who are paranoid enough to eliminate potential threats with a pre-emptive parachronic WMD campaigns of extermination before they others can do it to them first. Paratime doesn't want to fight a war. Sure, they'd doubtless win with their head start, but they'd still be put into the position of obliterating entire worlds and maybe losing a few of their own in the process. So yeah, they grab people who know too much and erase their relevant memories or kill them if they refuse. Infinity is already fighting a couple of low intensity conflicts. But it could get a lot worse. But there's Infinity's other parent and that's Keith Laumer's Worlds of the Imperium which raises another issue: Quote:
The answer is simple. Van Zandt, or or whoever gave Van Zandt the finished technology isn't from Homeline. And the Other Secret...the one that Van Zandt revealed in that secret council meeting that caused the major nations of the world to agree to the joint monopoly, might very well have something to do with what happens to a world where someone develops parachronics...the wrong way. When they abduct those "innocent" witnesses and physicists they may think that they are saving those worlds from stumbling into something that will likely lead to death or worse than death. Last edited by David Johnston2; 05-31-2020 at 06:26 PM. |
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05-31-2020, 05:31 PM | #2 |
Join Date: May 2007
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Re: The Secret
I always sort of assumed the "secret" that Van Zandt revealed was his possession of compromising photos [EDIT: Or their counterpart on a larger scale]. I don't see any matter of the general good or the survival of the human race or anything as trivial as that being able to command universal assent from the representatives of the world powers, unless Homeline differs from our world in ways far more fundamental than Parachronics.
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I predicted GURPS:Dungeon Fantasy several hours before it came out and all I got was this lousy sig. Last edited by ravenfish; 05-31-2020 at 05:34 PM. |
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