Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-02-2013, 10:37 AM   #61
tshiggins
 
tshiggins's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

Quote:
Originally Posted by Prince Charon View Post
There's no imbalance, because the Slayers and Slayeroids of Earth One are generally different beings (as well as being from a different dimension) than the line on Earth Two. SMG does read as 'The Slayer' to those Earth Two sensitives who can detect it, but she still feels different, because her power source is the pressure of fandom, not an ancient curse.

Also, a clarification: Earth Two has multiple types of vampire, some more monstrous than others. None of them sparkle in the sunlight, though some do catch fire.

(SNIP)
This raises all sorts of interesting questions. How many teenage girls on Inp-Earth become sparkly vampires, as compared to how many young men? I'm betting quite a few of the former, and almost none of the latter, except for Robert Pattinson and he is seriously unhappy about it.

Also, you know there will be at least a few Lestat-wannabes in the Anne Rice fan club who turn to high-protein liquid diets.

I think there's no question about who the "Lestats" go after first: Tom Cruise is designated target Number One, and not to turn into a vampire, either. They'll want him dead. The question is, do they then proceed to Brad Pitt or Kirsten Dunst? (I'm thinking, "maybe" for Pitt -- although he wasn't offensive, in the role of Louis, but "probably not" for Dunst, because she was decent enough of as Claudia and she's all grown up, now. I bet they'd go after Suri Cruise, though...).

Ick. SMG is probably gonna want to borrow that katana she bought for Freddie...

Which raises another question. What happens when Tom Cruise begins to (sorta) function as an Operating Thetan? That would be seriously creepy.

In fact, this whole part of this discussion is seriously creepy. The notion that Anne Rice fans might slowly become what they most desire is really... out there. After all, her books used vampires to explore deviant behaviors that are almost wholly rejected by the larger society.
__________________
--
MXLP:9 [JD=1, DK=1, DM-M=1, M(FAW)=1, SS=2, Nym=1 (nose coffee), sj=1 (nose cocoa), Maz=1]
"Some days, I just don't know what to think." -Daryl Dixon.

Last edited by tshiggins; 06-02-2013 at 11:07 AM.
tshiggins is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2013, 07:53 PM   #62
Prince Charon
 
Prince Charon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

Oh, my. Yeah, that's pretty damn disturbing. I'd say you're right about the sparklypires, though they won't be nearly as resistant to damage.

I have no clue what an Operating Thetan would be capable of, but Cruise would also have powers from characters he's sufficiently well known for (Lestat, but a weaker one than some of the obsessive fanboys/girls), all jumbled together, and divided.

On another note, it occurs to me that I should make another clarification: Actors gaining power tend to be weaker, on average, than the characters they played, and those who aren't tend to be the ones who played 'street level' supers. Sarah, in the snippet above, has the advantages that 1. Buffy is very much a street level hero, and 2. she's only well known for the one superpowered character (and is pretty typecast, for that matter), and thus her power isn't divided onto multiple powersets like Sir Christopher or Sir Ian. If she fought the Slayer of Dp-Earth (which I'm not planning, but they might spar or something), she'd probably still be a little slower and weaker, but she's also more mature, and probably luckier, especially if they meet on Earth One, instead of Earth Two.

EDIT: Crunchy bit: An actor gets X points to spend on powers, based on how famous they are, how long they've been famous, how emotionally invested people are in the parts they played, and probably other factors, but must divide those points among Y powers, which might be many, a few, or one. A significant fraction of Sir Christopher Lee's points would have gone into building up the stats that he lost to time, for example, but he'd still be more powerful casting-wise than Daniel Radcliffe or Alyson Hannigan, because he's been so well-known, for so much longer. Being a knight probably helps, as well.

Later EDIT: On another note, an interesting Cracked.com article on 'immortal' animals. Lobsters don't get old, they just get big, which has the potential for interesting effects, especially if their brains get bigger, as well. Even if they don't, older living things have a probability of becoming more spiritually significant.

Think about it.

Lobsters aren't the only creature in that link, they're just the first one I thought of an application for, albeit a roundabout one: XCOM: Terror from the Deep has strong hints of the Cthulhu Mythos (which also informs the Wold Newton Universe, which Dieselpunk Earth partially reflects), and among of the threats in X: TftD are the Lobster Men. Of course, giant, sapient lobsters are going to be a hell of a lot less common on Dp-Earth or Fa-Earth than they are in the game (and will have more limbs, but are unlikely to walk upright), but will also be a hell of a lot scarier - imagine a completely inhuman intelligence that's over two thousand years old, has been sapient for nearly half that time, and a spellcaster for not much less time than it's been sapient.

Be a bitch and a half to GM well, though.
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.

Last edited by Prince Charon; 06-10-2013 at 06:25 PM.
Prince Charon is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2013, 06:30 PM   #63
Prince Charon
 
Prince Charon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

Have updated March. This is probably the final update for March. Let's see it the whole month fits in one post. No, it does not, so I'm going to be doing it in several posts, for the readers' convenience.

First, the additions to earlier parts, then starting in the next post, the Month as a whole.

March 7: The empowerment of many scientists on Inp-Earth (along with the massive infusion of money for mundane research) now allows, among other breakthroughs, near-Hollywood levels of image enhancement (the magic is in the machines, and/or the users, not so much in the programmes, as yet). While it is not yet possible to distignuish individual humans as more than a few pixels at thirteen light seconds out, and not at all at twenty-six, such a high resolution is now plausible in the near future, rather than a pipe-dream. Of course, the reliability and accuracy of these enhancements is still questionable, but experiments so far have been very promising.

March 9: Inp-USA launches its first interplanetary fire mission, a retaliatory strike against Nazi Germany. Estimated time of arrival of the missile is June 13. Also on Earth One, much discussion is made online, and the the boardrooms of Time-Warner and DC Comics, about the way Black Lantern Ring toys have begun vanishing, first from peoples' homes, and sometimes even from stores; occasionally, they are witnessed to fly off, but mostly, they disappear when no-one's looking. Combined with the number of people gaining working Power Rings, albeit rather weak ones, it paints a potentially scary picture.

March 10: The Russian Federation launches its first interplanetary fire mission, also striking at Nazi Germany. The ETA is June 17.

March 14: The People's Republic of China launches its first interplanetary fire mission, aimed at Dp-Japan. Due to the strap-on solid rocket boosters on the first and second stages, it has an ETA on June 14, 11 hours after the American missile, despite being launched several days later.

March 25: DC Comics cancels all production of Black Lantern ring toys and props, and the destruction of existing stocks, as well as ordering a recall on them. Unfortunately, the warehouses are found to be empty of such rings, contrary to the records. Though this is reported to the police and the FBI, the government has lots of other things to worry about, and the law enforcement, intelligence, and military services don't admit to how concerned they are, wishing to avoid public panic over what may be only a super-prank. On Stp-Earth, the Scandinavian Federation rocket field in Dutch Guiana (Surinam) launches its first interplanetary astronef towards Earth Two, carrying personnel and equipment from all signatories of the Compact of Mainz (the HRE and ScandFed are treated as single nations, rather than collectives). On Earth Four, initial reports from the Papal expedition tell of a strange sort of Clockpunk Renaissance world, in the year 1556.

March 26: The Martian scout in the Steampunk timeline returns to Stp-Earth, and begins a survey. Attempts to communicate with it are unsuccessful. On Inp-Earth, the result of the IAU meetings began on March 19 is published online: a new system, based loosely on that published in Star Trek: Star Charts (they seem to have been in a great hurry), though several letters are left unused for future expansion, or have slightly different definitions. Under the new system, Sol has eleven planets, counting Pluto. The Martian scout ends its survey of Earth One early, being paced by two other vehicles - one triangular, the other more saucer-shaped. The three vessels dance around each-other for a few minutes, and then the scout fires off several small, glowing objects, some of which fail to hit either craft (though the ones that hit Earth's atmosphere make a pretty light show, exploding in the lower Mesosphere). The other vessels do not appear to fire back, but flashes on the scout's surface may be indicators that they do, possibly using lasers (which also means that one or both of the others could have fired first, but at an angle where we wouldn't see the flashes). The scout leaves on a course for Earth Two, followed at about 1,700 km by the two UFOs. As with the others, it comes to a dead stop when it crosses the portal, then zooms off for Mars Two. When the other spacecraft pass that point, however, they briefly keep going, then stop and go back, and then move forward again, only to once again stop. Observers on Dp-Earth indicate that the UFOs disappear when attempting to cross the barrier, and reappear when returning. Apparently, they can't cross into the other timeline. A number of sensitives on both Earth One and Earth Two claim to hear something at that moment, 'as if an ancient and powerful being were laughing, the way we might laugh at a cat, chasing a spot of light on a wall.'

March 27: On Clp-Earth, the Papal expedition reports that they are unable to meet with the Pope, Leo X, as yet, because he's busy meeting with ambassadors from Venice. That's important because a few years after the election of the previous Pope, Joan II (Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Alexander VI, and mother of Leo X - all three Earths with radio are rather surprised by this, as well as the fact that they have three female cardinals, one of whom is known to be the lover of Leo X, and mother of his 'cardinal nephew'), Venice tracked down a relative of Constantine XI Palaiologos, crowned him Emperor Emanuel III Paleologus, and claimed to be the Eastern Roman Empire. The took Montferrat (the other nation ruled by a Paleogus) through a dynastic marriage in 1510, are a rising power in Italy, with more and more seeing them as a legitimate successor to Rome, itself (something the Pope and the HRE both rather dispute). Currently, they're trying to stir up a Crusade against the Turks, to reclaim Greece and Constantinople.
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
Prince Charon is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2013, 06:33 PM   #64
Prince Charon
 
Prince Charon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

March 1: Stp-US President Edward J. Phelps (Whig) offers a reward for the design of an orbital rocket with greater lift than any in use by the Great Powers, and an astronef able to cross the void to the other Earths swiftly, safely, and comfortably. This reversal of the usual Whig policy surprises many, but most of the smarter Stp-American politicians can see the way the wind is blowing. Stp-Earth's Russian Empire declares war on Nazi Germany. The fact that the Tsar's current favorite mistress is Jewish has nothing to do with that, of course. On Dp-Earth, a massive BRG rocket attack strikes at Peenemünde. The rockets that get through the crude-but-effective German missile defenses damage launch facilities and disrupt the next interplanetary fire mission. In the Dp-USA, Dr. Goddard's next 'probe', this time sponsored by the US Army, is launched, along with its attendant boosters. Hitler orders the alternative long-range launch facilities in German East Africa to be made ready ahead of schedule. On Inp-Earth, the Argentinian government points out that they are not at war with the Space Nazis, and thus the most moral act in regard to the Falkland Islands (which they call the Islas Malvinas) is to 'return' them to Argentina - several British tabloids make the claim that the reason Argentina isn't at war with the Nazis is that they're already ruled by them. Also on Infopunk Earth, the Papal sede vacante begins, Pope Benedict XVI having retired.

March 2: After some debate on both sides, Stp-France agrees to support Charles de Gaulle's Free French Forces, on the condition that the new Dp-French government will be a constitutional monarchy, with a strong monarch, under either the current head of the House of Bourbon on Dp-Earth, current head of the House of Orléans on Dp-Earth (either of whom would be Henri VI), or current head of the House of Bonaparte on Dp-Earth (Napoléon VI Louis), depending on which of the three Houses is the choice of the Estates of post-war Dp-France. Copies of the treaty are signed and witnessed on both Earths, and Stp-France declares war on Dp-Germany. The Papal States launch the first of four expeditions to the Romes of the other worlds, to 'help' the other Popes adjust to the 'correct' doctrines (those being the doctrines of Clement XV). This first mission is on its way to what some will later call Clockpunk Earth.

March 3: In orbit of Dp-Earth, the boosters are mated, all the math checks out, and the 'probe' (actually a delivery vehicle for military secrets FDR has elected to share with Inp-USA) is on its way. In Dp-China, Mao Tse-tung is executed by the Imperial Japanese Army. On Dp-Luna, several of the domed cities begin using masers mounted on the larger travel-spheres as transmitters, as these are less inconvenient to use than flashing the city lights, can still be used when the cities are in daylight, and are mobile, thus useful when the cities are facing away from Earth Prime. Instructions for a 'techbane' spell called Hexus are posted to the internet. This is surprising mainly because it's a bit difficult for a Dresden-style spellcaster to use a computer (you generally need someone who uses a different style to shield your computer, or you need to be very, very calm while using it). The existence of this and similar spells is a large factor in the interest so many governments and corporations have in the development of 'anti-magical' or 'anti-psionic' defences.

March 4: On Stp-Earth, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Holy Roman Empire (restored by treaty after the Franco-Prussian War, both to further humiliate the Prussians, and to make Germany less of a threat; if not for Prussia being a member, would be slightly smaller than OTL-Germany; Alexander IX did offer some Italian territories and a nice enclave in Rome, to go with the 'priviledge' of the Holy Roman Emperor being crowned by the Pope, but the Lutherans weren't having it), Papal States (only joining because Clement XV is an ardent monarchist - Divine Right of Kings, you see), Scandinavian Federation, and a few minor powers sign the Compact of Mainz, in which they pledge to join whichever side, Axis or Allies, will swear by oath and treaty to restore the legitimate governments (by which they mean, and clearly state in the text, monarchies under the Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns, Wettins, Wittelsbachs, and so forth, with significant de facto and de jure power) of the German territories currently ruled by the Third Reich (analysts note that this would not actually require Hitler to step down, he'd just have to hand over some significant amount of real executive, legislative, and/or judicial power to them, as constitutional monarchs). While the Inp-USA and various other Earth Prime powers aren't pleased by this, most of the other Allies are fine with it (especially the Stp-British, French, and Russians, and the Dp-British and Free French; not all for the same reasons, of course), and begin drawing up just such a treaty. In Infopunk Iran, the 'mutant' rat problem reaches the point that ten sniper teams are sent to hunt them (from Real Life, but weird enough to belong here; they're probably weirder and more threatening in this timeline, though).

March 5: A group of four glowing, spindle-shaped objects enter the Dieselpunk Earth-Moon system on a vector from the Mars of that world, pass through, and continue on separate courses for each of the other Earths, traveling at an average speed of around four light-seconds per hour. Maser flashes from Dp-Luna indicate that these are high-speed scout vessels of a design common to the more advanced Martian races: the Ice Warriors, the Changing Martians, and the Mysterons (each has variations, but the Lunarians aren't sure which is which), and that they travel by 'compressing and stretching the cosmic tapestry,' a process which allows very high apparent speeds and great maneouverability, and leaves them at rest relative to the largest mass near anything they collide with. Four light-seconds per hour appears to be their cruising speed, and the highest pseudovelocity the Lunarians have seen them use is nine light-seconds per hour, for about seven minutes. As each scout enters the 'portal' it's aiming for, it comes to an immediate dead stop relative to that Earth, starts and stops a few times at various speeds (and not the same ones in every dimension), makes a partial orbit around that Earth, and slowly accelerates to something other than normal cruising speed (to various degrees), on a course for the Mars of that timeline.

March 6: In Inp-Britain, a series of mysterious disappearances and other strange occurrences in and around Nether Wallop cause UNIT to first cordon off the village, and then evacuate it the next day. Advanced Idea Mechanics founded, in Dp-USA. Also on Dp-Earth, the Frank family is among the more than a hundred Jews smuggled out of Amsterdam to the UK on this date, by the reformed 'Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' (Special Operations Executive). Young Anne is rather startled to learn that there are many millions of people on another planet who know her through a diary she hasn't even been given, yet. Speculation in the press that tight-beam masers are used to supply the Dp-Earth Allies with intelligence in a way the Germans cannot intercept are refuted when it's pointed out that at a range of about 26 light-seconds, the beam would be too wide to remain unnoticed (which is not necessarily true).

March 7: The astronef carrying Stp-UK's ambassador to Inp-UK, along with various trade goods, scientists, and so forth, is launched from British Guiana, along with the first unmanned supply flight to the Stp-British space station. The crew, and some of the passengers, are veterans of both space and war. Stp-Russia announces plans to assemble a 'heavy' astronef at their space station, the first sections of which will be carried into orbit next month. Also announced is the launch of an embassy to Inp-Russia, next week. The empowerment of many scientists on Inp-Earth (along with the massive infusion of money for mundane research) now allows, among other breakthroughs, near-Hollywood levels of image enhancement (the magic is in the machines, and/or the users, not so much in the programmes, as yet). While it is not yet possible to distinguish individual humans as more than a few pixels at thirteen light seconds out, and not at all at twenty-six, such a high resolution is now plausible in the near future, rather than a pipe-dream. Of course, the reliability and accuracy of these enhancements is still questionable, but experiments so far have been very promising.

March 8: Around 3am GMT, reporters and other curious folk lurking near the perimeter outside Nether Wallop hear shouting, gunfire and other explosions, and 'electric noises', as well as seeing strange lights. First confirmed Drop-Bear attack, in Inp-Australia. In Dp-Sunnydale, California, having been tipped off by observers on Inp-Earth who were also BtVS fans, the FBI, assisted by Dr. Fate, arrests Mayor Richard Wilkins II (who as it turns out, is also Mayor Richard Wilkins I), for electoral fraud, negligence in office, and general corruption, among other things.
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
Prince Charon is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2013, 06:35 PM   #65
Prince Charon
 
Prince Charon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

March 9: Inp-USA launches its first interplanetary fire mission, a retaliatory strike against Nazi Germany. Estimated time of arrival of the missile is June 13. Also on Earth One, much discussion is made online, and the the boardrooms of Time-Warner and DC Comics, about the way Black Lantern Ring toys have begun vanishing, first from peoples' homes, and sometimes even from stores; occasionally, they are witnessed to fly off, but mostly, they disappear when no-one's looking. Combined with the number of people gaining working Power Rings, albeit rather weak ones, it paints a potentially scary picture.

March 10: One of Dp-Japan's submarine oil prospecting boats discovers petroleum near the Senkaku Isles. Dp-Japanese PM Konoe orders drilling operations to begin as soon as possible, using designs relayed by radio from Inp-Japanese civilians; in support, the Imperial Japanese Navy is ordered to begin the construction of bases on those islands best suited to it. (Daqing oil field, mentioned in one of the first messages from Inp-Japan (along with information on better methods of refining the thick crude there), has a higher priority at the moment, but doesn't make the news on Inp-Earth like the Senkaku Isles do.) The Russian Federation launches its first interplanetary fire mission, also striking at Nazi Germany. The ETA is June 17.

March 12: On the 'forward' side of Inp-Earth's three light-second bubble, a small particle spray occurs, so faint as to be almost undetectable. Almost. While radar and infrared telescopes pointed at the area detect nothing, optical scopes observe something fantastic (once it slows down enough to be clearly seen): a gold and silver dragon larger than a C-130, flying through space, apparently by occasionally flapping its wings. Below the dragon is a bronze arch, with crossbars clutched in the great creature's front and rear talons. The arch carries a great bronze dish, upon which sits a magnificent roundhouse of the finest woods, ivory, and well-polished stone and bronze, not gaudy, but likely far more beautiful than any such structure was in our history. (OOC: No particulate matter is transferred, but it will be some time before people in-story realize this.)

March 13: The dragon and dwelling enter Inp-Earth's atmosphere, heading toward Britain, and more specifically, London. As they approach Hyde Park, a hill rises to meet the house (at a rate of about seven inches per second), in the clearing a little east of The Long Water. As the house touches down at the crest of the hill, the bronze dish and arch seem to collapse into themselves. A bronze fence grows three feet high at the base of the new hill, as the dragon seems to shrink to the size of an elephant, and gently dives into The Long Water, splashing around for a while. The people who exit the house are dressed quite finely, despite the over all look of their clothing being evocative of Ancient Britain. All are quite comely, and have pointed ears. The most beautiful woman among them approaches the fence, and attempts to speak to the British police and military personnel who by that point have arrived. After trying one incomprehensible language after another, the dragon sticks its head out, snickers, and says 'Lingua Latina.' Luckily, one of the officers remembers enough of his time at Oxford to establish a dialogue: The woman is named Brigith, and she is the daughter of Imperator Ambrosius Aurelianus Romanorum, known more properly as Arthur, High King of the Britons. Her mother is the High Elf Indeg, the eldest of the king's three principle concubines, and a daughter of the King of the High Elves of The Isles. Her father and maternal grandfather have empowered her to speak for them to the Queen of this Britannia, as her brother and sisters have been sent to the other Britanniae (the missions to Stp-Earth and Clp-Earth haven't arrived yet, but the one on Dp-Earth is on it's way down, being escorted by a great flock of RAF fighters). The dragon, Dyfnallt, is only sticking around long enough to move the embassy, if requested, and then he needs to go back and get the embassy for the next Earth over (Clockpunk Earth). The Martian scout in the Infopunk timeline reaches Inp-Mars, and begins its survey of the planet.

(For those who are wondering, Brigith and her siblings are a non-standard type of half-elf, being the children of a spirit who was not possessing anyone at the time, and thus being spirits, themselves (which is how they can survive unprotected in the vacuum of space). They are 'half-elves' only socially, and in being more psychologically human than most elves are. The staff and guards of the embassy are mostly half-fey of various kinds. On another note, I sadly lack the skill to write the epic tale of how Arthur got the King of Elfland's daughter as his first concubine, but Brigith is perfectly willing to tell it, in the grand style of ancient British bards (save that she'll be speaking it in Latin).)

March 14: The scout in the Earth Five/Fantasy Earth timeline returns, and begins what appears to be an orbital survey of Fa-Earth. The People's Republic of China launches its first interplanetary fire mission, aimed at Dp-Japan. Due to the strap-on solid rocket boosters on the first and second stages, it has an ETA on June 14, 11 hours after the American missile, despite being launched several days later.

March 15: The Russian ambassadorial astronef is launched, and is mated to its long-range booster. The Russian ambassador is Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia, who hopes, among other things, to meet and court whichever of Putin's daughters will find him most attractive, as it's clear to the Tsar that Vladimir Putin is Tsar Vladimir IV in all but title. In the Vatican City of Earth Prime, Pope Innocent XIV takes office. His choice of papal name comes from his desire to 'restore innocence' to the Church; among other things, it is his intention to seek the resignation and, where possible and necessary, prosecution of those in the Church who have 'deeply betrayed the trust of those in their care'. This strong stance is said to be of great surprise to some of those who elected him, and to popes on the other Earths who become aware of it.

March 17: The Stp Allies sign the Treaty of Avallon, acceding to the Compact of Mainz. On Dp-Earth, Churchill and de Gaulle sign a similar treaty in London. The signatories of the Compact of Mainz begin declaring war on the Axis powers. For the moment, it is agreed that their assistance will flow primarily through the Scandinavian Federation's space program. A fairly small particle spray (though larger than the house and dragon produced) is detected in Earth Prime orbit, on the vector from Dp-Earth. The operational detection stations narrow down the location fast enough that the satellites are able to focus in time to see an older man in a labcoat and a suit that was out-dated even in 1941, silently screaming and struggling as he suffocates in the vacuum of space. His remains are carefully monitored, as military and intelligence personnel begin making new plans, and in a few cases, having a bit of a panic (as they have no way to know that the three light-second 'barrier/gate' is as close as teleportation can get you). DARPA is ordered to begin serious work on teleportation, as are the R&D services of other governments; many Trekkers, Gaters, and Schlockers do likewise, with much tinier budgets. It is made more dificult due to the paradigms they are working with, which include the belief that matter transmission involved breaking up that matter into it's component particles (whether molecules, atoms, or even smaller particles), and reassembling them at the destination. This tends to result in test objects being dissociated into said particles, or at best, being somewhat... rearranged. Unfortunately, the DARPA scientists assigned to Project November are mostly using the same paradigm.

March 18: In a small town in northern California (Inp-USA), the high school is the site of a very strange and violent incident, in which several students are killed and more injured, by a person wearing what appears to be riot armour and a black cape. The attacker, who called himself 'Darth Venger', is described as having a voice 'like an angry nerd trying to sound like Darth Vader', but his actions were far more intimidating: those security cameras that were working at the time show him cutting up doors, furniture, and people with a glowing red lightsabre, as well as apparently causing several students and one teacher to choke or fall back by gesturing at them, and throwing bolts of lightning from his off hand (which accounted for some of the non-functional cameras). The school's lock-down procedure prevented the victims from escaping the assailant, who seemed to focus on suspected bullies, only incidentally harming others. In the last classroom he attacked, he ordered several attractive female bullies, some forced to follow him from other classrooms, to strip, but seemed at a loss for what to do once they were naked. At that point, the security camera in the room was destroyed, and the assailant was himself assailed, by 'a Jedi Knight and some superheroes', according to witnesses. 'Darth Venger' was forced to flee, and the 'superheroes' vanished after attempting to pursue. The entire incident took less than twenty minutes, a significant proportion of which was spent in the last classroom. It is not known who leaked the security footage to the Internet, but several clips had 'gone viral' by the end of the day.
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
Prince Charon is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2013, 06:36 PM   #66
Prince Charon
 
Prince Charon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

March 19: The International Astronomical Union gathers online for an emergency meeting, intended to replace the current definition of a planet, due to 'strong reactions to the current designation of Pluto, particularly given that an exception was made for Neptune.' Rumour has it that many members of the IAU were personally visited by the Roman goddess Proserpina (Persepone, in Greek), to inform them that her husband Pluto, god of the dead, is not a dwarf by any measure, nor is he minor, and that they ought to remove such insults from their way of naming things in the Heavens, before he chooses to take notice, and smites them in great wrath.

March 20: On Earth Prime, the parents of the girls who were stripped by 'Darth Venger' file lawsuits against the school, school district, and so forth, for damages and emotional trauma caused by their failure to keep the video off the Internet (no, none of the girls were under eighteen - in fact, one fifth-year senior is nineteen - but that's not what their parents are angry about). They and others also join a lawsuit against the police department (and the city), for not arriving in time, or promptly capturing the offender. At the Tower of London, the late Queen Anne Boleyn engages in a lively theological discussion with several women taking the castle tour, among them an Anglican vicar and a Catholic nun. Also in Inp-England, the people of Nether Wallop are permitted to return to their village, which UNIT and the Royal Engineers cleaned and repaired for them, as an apology for the inconvenience. The place had never looked so good.

March 21: On Dp-Earth, James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes, a few days after his 17th birthday, applies to join the Army - which is very difficult, due to his youthful appearance. He is eventually recruited by the Military Intelligence Division, where his mastery of linguistics and disguise are greatly appreciated. Also on Dp-Earth, American businessman Andrew Ryan first has the glimmer of an idea that might become the under-sea city of Rapture. On Earth Prime, a rampage by an apparent 'Red Lantern' ends when a cop with a Sinestro Corps ring cuts off the finger that the perpetrator's ring is on. This results in the Red Lantern's death, as the ring had already rendered his heart unusable. Paramount Pictures and CBS make substantial donations to the IAU. In the UK, Scotland's devolved Government announces that a referendum on Scottish independence will be held on 18 September, 2014. Reactions off-planet are decidedly mixed, although the governments of Dp-Germany and the USSR come out strongly in favor of it, and of similar movements in Dp- and Stp-Scotland. Alex Salmond's reaction to this 'support' is... not printable.

March 24: The capsule from Dp-USA penetrates the three light-second bubble around Earth Prime, accompanied by the now-familiar particle spray. Captain Henry Wales of The Blues and Royals (Prince Henry of Wales) returns to Britain, and is seconded to UNIT UK. The Stp-Earth Papal expedition arrives in orbit of Earth Four. After a few hours of checks, the astronef Sanctus Christopherus enters the atmosphere, splashing down around half past one in the afternoon, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Italia, just a bit west of (and easily visible from) the port of Ostia (which is in rather better shape than one might have expected from OTL history). In the Dp-UK, the seven greatest mystery guilds of the British Isles agree that while they dislike or despise each other, the Nazis are just that much more offensive, for various reasons. The Grand Masters of the seven styles (though not all of them use the same term for 'highest-ranking member') make an appointment to see King George, to renew the guilds' long-lapsed oaths to the Crown, and offer their services in the War, and in dragging the other mystery guilds into it. The Martian scout in the Earth One timeline reaches Earth One, and begins a survey, ignoring all attempts at communication.

March 25: DC Comics cancels all production of Black Lantern ring toys and props, and the destruction of existing stocks, as well as ordering a recall on them. Unfortunately, the warehouses are found to be empty of such rings, contrary to the records. Though this is reported to the police and the FBI, the government has lots of other things to worry about, and the law enforcement, intelligence, and military services don't admit to how concerned they are, wishing to avoid public panic over what may be only a super-prank. On Stp-Earth, the Scandinavian Federation rocket field in Dutch Guiana (Surinam) launches its first interplanetary astronef towards Earth Two, carrying personnel and equipment from all signatories of the Compact of Mainz (the HRE and ScandFed are treated as single nations, rather than collectives). On Earth Four, initial reports from the Papal expedition tell of a strange sort of Clockpunk Renaissance world, in the year 1556.

March 26: The Martian scout in the Steampunk timeline returns to Stp-Earth, and begins a survey. Attempts to communicate with it are unsuccessful. On Inp-Earth, the result of the IAU meetings began on March 19 is published online: a new system, based loosely on that published in Star Trek: Star Charts (they seem to have been in a great hurry), though several letters are left unused for future expansion, or have slightly different definitions. Under the new system, Sol has eleven planets, counting Pluto. The Martian scout ends its survey of Earth One early, being paced by two other vehicles - one triangular, the other more saucer-shaped. The three vessels dance around each-other for a few minutes, and then the scout fires off several small, glowing objects, some of which fail to hit either craft (though the ones that hit Earth's atmosphere make a pretty light show, exploding in the lower Mesosphere). The other vessels do not appear to fire back, but flashes on the scout's surface may be indicators that they do, possibly using lasers (which also means that one or both of the others could have fired first, but at an angle where we wouldn't see the flashes). The scout leaves on a course for Earth Two, followed at about 1,700 km by the two UFOs. As with the others, it comes to a dead stop when it crosses the portal, then zooms off for Mars Two. When the other spacecraft pass that point, however, they briefly keep going, then stop and go back, and then move forward again, only to once again stop. Observers on Dp-Earth indicate that the UFOs disappear when attempting to cross the barrier, and reappear when returning. Apparently, they can't cross into the other timeline. A number of sensitives on both Earth One and Earth Two claim to hear something at that moment, 'as if an ancient and powerful being were laughing, the way we might laugh at a cat, chasing a spot of light on a wall.'

March 27: On Clp-Earth, the Papal expedition reports that they are unable to meet with the Pope, Leo X, as yet, because he's busy meeting with ambassadors from Venice. That's important because a few years after the election of the previous Pope, Joan II (Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Alexander VI, and mother of Leo X - all three Earths with radio are rather surprised by this, as well as the fact that they have three female cardinals, one of whom is known to be the lover of Leo X, and mother of his 'cardinal nephew'), Venice tracked down a relative of Constantine XI Palaiologos, crowned him Emperor Emanuel III Paleologus, and claimed to be the Eastern Roman Empire. The took Montferrat (the other nation ruled by a Paleogus) through a dynastic marriage in 1510, are a rising power in Italia, with more and more seeing them as a legitimate successor to Rome, itself (something the Pope and the HRE both rather dispute). Currently, they're trying to stir up a Crusade against the Turks, to reclaim Greece and Constantinople.

March 28: The Dp-USA capsule enters Inp-Earth's atmosphere, and makes a fairly soft landing at Area 51, pleasing and/or worrying conspiracy theorists all over the planet. The capsule, which looks like a slightly larger and sleeker Apollo Command Module, is found to contain: about a tonne of neatly organized microfilm, half a tonne of equipment and materials, a little over a third of a tonne of frozen and/or otherwise preserved biological samples, and about another third of a tonne of lead and a third of a tonne of water, as radiation shielding - mostly around said biological samples. The Martian scout in the Steampunk timeline finishes its survey, and returns to the Earth Two universe.

March 30: A number of old famous people on Earth One have been reporting improved health and 'feeling younger' since the first Dp-Earth probe arrived. Also, some older or better-known actors and actresses seem to be gaining powers consistent with their more famous roles (though greatly toned down, in the more powerful cases). This is demonstrated quite strongly when a Neo-Nazi attempts to assassinate Sir Christopher Lee, and is rendered unconscious by bolts of force lightning. Interestingly, despite the use of 'The Dark Side', his personality seems unchanged. Even Jedi and other psychics feel that he's still very much himself, not Dooku, nor Saruman, nor Dracula. Lee, Sir Ian McKellen, and Ian McDiarmid are officially hired by UNIT for part-time research work.
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
Prince Charon is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2013, 07:51 PM   #67
Prince Charon
 
Prince Charon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

April has been finalized. Let's see how many posts it takes.

April 1: A little after midnight that morning, NASA begins receiving transmissions from the Spirit rover on Mars. At first, this is believed to be a joke in poor taste, but it is repeatedly confirmed. The rover is mobile, but only just. In Infopunk Britain, a newspaper called The Sun reports the crowning of a new King o' the Cats, witnessed by a reporter for The Sun, Queen Elizabeth II, and Ambassador Brigith mírchArthur ('mírch' means 'daughter of'; it seems to have been 'merch' in Old Welsh, but she's from about 300 years too early for Old Welsh to exist). Also in The Sun, a young couple reports having been chased out of a graveyard by a weeping angel statue, though what they were doing in a graveyard at night is left to the readers' imaginations. In orbit of Clp-Earth, the last Martian scout begins its survey of the planet, starting with the debris ring, from which it takes a few small samples.

April 3: A civilian-owned, refurbished, and modified F-104 Starfighter is launched from Japan. The highly unusual design includes a crude fusion impulse engine, using a pair of enhanced polywells for power, and somewhat based on a partially lithium-fueled engine that NASA is working on. This is not the only innovation on it, which is proven when the old fighter leaves the atmosphere, makes three orbits around the Earth, and re-enters the atmosphere (protected by an endothermic force field, which took longer to make than any other component of the spaceplane, being a new creation, rather than modified and enhanced off-the-shelf technology), requesting landing clearance at Vandenberg Space Force Base (which is eagerly granted). Step-by-step instructions for the upgrades are made available online, in Japanese and fairly understandable 'Engrish'. The pilot, Kurita Omiko, applies for and receives a job at Lockheed-Martin, as do some of her team. The rest, unskilled in Engrish, much less English, are hired by the Japanese equivalent of DARPA. The most flight-worthy (which in this context mainly means 'the airframe can still take the load') of the retired F-104s under US government control are ordered transferred to DARPA and LockMart for testing and possible upgrade (start with what already worked, before trying it on other vehicles). Other governments in possession of F-104s begin to do likewise (as do some that have other fighters, with varying degrees of success).

April 4: The Martian scout at Clp-Earth appears to have finished its work, for it returns home. On Stp-Earth, Congressman Jesse Woodson James (D-Mo.) files suit against various Inp- and Dp-Earth filmmakers, authors, and publishing houses, for defamation of character. Also on Stp-Earth, the Papal Expedition to Inp-Earth is launched. On Dp-Earth, at a site code-named 'Ort Fünf' (Location Five), in German East Africa, a new group of rockets is launched, while that part of the world is facing away from the other Earths. The rockets dock in orbit and vanish, as before.

April 5: At Dartmouth College, on Inp-Earth, Dr. Paul Vincent says "Gee, that's funny," and vanishes, along with his lab bench, and the equipment thereon. A particle spray is detected, centred on that location, but is markedly different from those of arriving spacecraft, seeming somewhat 'inverted'. Also on Inp-Earth, all bearers of the surname 'Spock' (an old and respected English family, sometimes found in the colonies) have developed Vulcanoid characteristics by this date. In many cases, this is limited to pointed ears, upswept eyebrows, and an increased ability to control the expression of emotion (though 'ability' is not the same as 'desire, or 'necessity'), but quite a few also report increased strength, touch telepathy, and so forth - none of them have hearts where their livers should be, though. NYC's 'vigilante problem' makes the international news, when the Russian ambassador is saved from an assassination attempt by a minor Chechen faction by a 'Batgirl' (Steph Brown version, w/ gas mask) and a 'Spider-Man' (Miles Morales costume, but an adult). The superheroes could not be reached for comment. General William L. Shelton, USSF Chief of Staff, breaks ground for the United States Space Force Academy campus, by San Francisco Bay.

April 7: Time-Warner/DC begins founding Green (and other colours) Lantern- and Justice League-related NGOs. Their purposes are primarily SAR and other disaster relief, but also private investigation and bonded security, with required classes for any branch, and some overlap between branches by individuals and teams. They do this mainly because they are scared of Nekron, and deeply worried about the lack of visible government response to the vanishing Black Lantern rings. A few Inp-Earth aerospace corporations begin plans to test the Japanese 'Starfighter' upgrade on their own products. Last transmission from the Sanctus Christopherus indicates that the whole expedition is being arrested, on the orders of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition.

April 9: A second attempt is made on the Russian ambassador's life (well, the life of his body-double), this time by what appears to be a shapeshifting clay-golem, which later admits to being 'in it for the money', and a guy in a Rhino suit, as well as an Orange Lantern who arrived late (and was also in it for the money). They are defeated by a 'Batman, three people who acted as superheroes before the Event (with names made up themselves), and two Spiders (adult Miles again, and an Iron Spider of uncertain gender). The arrival of the Orange Lantern attracts a Green Lantern, a Blue Lantern, and a male Star Sapphire (purple speedo with boots, gloves, and a full-face mask), who contain both the Orange Lantern and the shapeshifter, allowing the others to overwhelm the Rhino and the small team of disposable terrorists.

April 10: As a publicity stunt on Infopunk Earth, Robert Downey, Jr. and Troy Hurtubise (and several less well-known, very well-paid, and very nerdy engineers, mostly off-screen) build a suit of working Mark I Iron Man armour, in a cave, with a box of scraps (well, more of a large crate of carefully selected scraps, and a few more crates of tools). The armour is capable of keeping the operator fairly comfortable in the Nevada desert for twenty-four hours of operation (though Downey is only in the suit for about three hours of filming, before handing it over to an Army Ranger for the full twenty-four), before needing replacement of food and water stocks, and is eventually shown to be able to work for a week (much to the shock of the Ranger testing it, and other Army personnel) without needing any maintenance that the operator cannot provide in the field, mainly thanks to the multi-mini-polywell 'Arc' reactor in the chestplate (and redundant mini-polywells elswhere). It cannot fly, and is technically unarmed, but the enhanced strength is close to peak human limits, though with greater endurance, the speed is about equal to what an Army Ranger could make in the same terrain (though he'd make less noise without it), and the armour plating is highly resistant to bullets. The engineers are immediately hired by DARPA, to work on the next model of the suit, while Hurtubise is hired by the Canadian equivalent.
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
Prince Charon is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2013, 07:53 PM   #68
Prince Charon
 
Prince Charon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

April 11: Disney/Marvel announces plans to create Avengers and X-Men Academies. Not to be outdone, DC announces their intention to create a few Titans Academies (which include the same sort of classes that you need to be a field agent in one of the League or Lantern NGOs, once you're old enough). One selling point for the Titans Academies, at least to some adults, is that they're not 'segregated', in the sense that they don't care whether you self-identify as a 'mutant' or not (of course, comics fans know that's not the point: Avengers fans want to go to one, X-Men fans want to go to the other, fans of both pick one). The stated purpose of these schools is to educate the children in the safe, ethical, and legal use of their powers, keep the kids in school until they're eighteen, and more importantly, keep them from going out and getting themselves and other people killed (or more cynically, to keep them from ending up dead on the news, in costumes from the comics those companies publish). Of course, telling the kids that they're going to have to wait years before they can go out and 'be superheroes' doesn't exactly endear the idea to them, regardless of how the parents feel. Near Cape Canaveral, FL, President Obama breaks ground for the Space University. On Stp-Earth, the first section of the Russian Empire's heavy astronef Pyotr Velikiy is launched to their space station. It will arrive at the station on April 14th. Pope Clement XV announces that all new expeditions to the other Papacies, including a second, larger expedition to the Renaissance Earth, will be delayed until after the war, due to the need to build up resources for them, and the costs of the war.

April 13: On Inp-Earth, Ed Greenwood becomes a Chosen of Mystra (and Mystryl, and Midnight, but all three treated as one goddess) around this date. A small number of other Forgotten Realms fans also become Chosen by her, but only Greenwood is Chosen by all three Aspects. None of them are more than a small fraction as powerful as the Chosen in the books, of course. US President Obama orders all surviving OV-100 class Space Shuttles (OV-101 Enterprise, OV-103 Discovery, OV-104 Atlantis, and OV-105 Endeavour) returned to active duty, and flown to Vandenberg and other suitable locations, for refitting. While technically part of NASA and the USSF's Space Exploration Command (a.k.a. Star Fleet Command, among other nicknames), for the duration of the war, the OV-100 class (and the subsequent OV-200 class, to be designed from lessons learned from the upgraded OV-100s) will be on temporary assignment to the USSF Space Assault Command, or SAC. To help pay for the retrofits, special 'Shuttle Bonds' are issued by the government. More general war bonds are predicted, and a number of advertising companies are already preparing commercials for them; some comic and magazine companies have simply dusted off the ones they used in the 1940s, with or without updates. USSF PR personnel begin reviewing the records of USSF officers and other ranks with names similar to those of Star Trek characters (whether their superiors will listen to their advice on this, or not).

April 14: One of Infopunk-Earth's nascent mages begins serious work on codifying the rough equivalent of the Transmutation School in D&D parlance. Tellingly, some of his "talismans of power" (reusable material components) include his lucky dice in a small leatherette dice bag, and a small purple unicorn figurine. In an interview at Sea World, scientists admit to having made repeated telepathic contact with various dolphins, and confirmed that they really don't want to talk to them. They also recommend that all 'Swim with the Dolphins' activities be cancelled, for the safety of the swimmers. Disney/Marvel establishes Avengers and X-Men NGOs. Cooperation with other NGOs and government organizations is explicitly part of their training, and cross-training with local League and Lantern teams is scheduled in areas where both are present, as company policy.

April 16: The Kingdom of Hawai'i opens Earth Three's first audio-broadcast radio station, transmitting news, music, and radioplays throughout the Hawai'ian Islands. The first broadcast is a plea from King Kamehameha VI, in both English and Olelo Hawai'i, to the USAs of the 'Future Earths', to free 'the captive peoples' of their worlds' respective Hawai'is, and 'allow them to choose their own, legitimate governments, be they Kingdom, Republic, or any other'. It is not received well in either America, though many anti-colonialist organizations on both worlds seize upon it as a cause, generally without bothering to ask the 'captive peoples' how they feel about it.

April 17: On Dp-Earth, 12-year-old genius Alexander 'Lex' Luthor creates an advanced radio-computer, capable of easily accessing the internet of Infopunk Earth. A remote terminal for the device is given to his father, the criminal mad scientist Dr. Alexei Luthor, as a birthday present. On Inp-Earth, an early failure in Project November's teleportation experiments is adapted into a potentially long-ranged disintegration ray. During a round of 'horse trading' between the armed services, USAF 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron ("Phoenix Squadron") is redesignated 964th Space Flight Test Squadron, upon transfer to USSF Space Force Materiel Command. The move is widely criticized, as the only items actually transferred are the number, the nickname, and three of the best pilots.

April 19: The astronef Myrmidon, carrying the embassy from Stp-Britain, arrives in Earth One orbit. After circling the planet twice, she enters the atmosphere, and glides down for a landing at London Heathrow Airport, chosen for the length of its runways. In Inp-Germany, Heinkel Raumschiffwerke is founded by a group of investors, including a few empowered relatives of Ernst Heinkel. Their medium-to-long-term plan is to manufacture the Space Jet vessels from the Perry Rhodan series, starting with the HSJ-1 Gribbon (page from a fanfic used, because one of the Heinkels read it; listed FTL drive and some other components not present).

April 21: On Dp-Earth and Inp-Earth, respectively, Robert A. Heinlein and J. Michael Straczynski announce that they are collaborating on a movie serial script, tentatively named Star Trek: Star Fleet Academy. Casting has barely begun, but both James Doohan and DeForest Kelley are already under contract as stars, and Gene Roddenberry has expressed interest in this adaptation of his late counterpart's work. Many visual effects will be done by computer on Inp-Earth, and transferred to Dp-Earth by the power of radio (Dp-Earth TVs are getting a lot better, thanks to information for Inp-Earth).

April 23: Lex Luthor joins several Inp-Earth internet forums (including this one, having stumbled across it on a Google-walk), and his impressionable young mind is somewhat warped by the experience. On Inp-Earth, several enhanced F-104s begin test flights outside the atmosphere, including one successful delivery of a small satellite to LEO. A graduate student named Michelle Logan delivers a prop she built to DARPA, as it has become a working Portal Gun. Unfortunately, being a spontaneously enchanted item, Ms. Logan does not know how to duplicate it.

April 25: After several days of analysis, the numerous samples of Haversham's Sovereign Cognitive Enhancer brought by the Myrmidon are distributed to various scientists, pharmacists, and engineers in the UK, including several visiting from the Commonwealth nations and the US. About half of these luminaries are already enhanced, and the other half are not.

April 27: Starship Enterprises, Ltd. is founded in California, by CBS, Paramount, and a large group of Star Trek fanclubs, for the purpose of manufacturing enhanced (enchanted) technology on a Star Trek theme. On Stp-Earth, US President Phelps breaks ground at Cape Canaveral for the William Cranch Bond Rocket Field. The Stp-Russian ambassadorial astronef Aleksandr Nevskiy arrives in Inp-Earth orbit, and lands at Domodedovo International Airport outside Moscow.

April 29: Lex Luthor discovers the TV Tropes entry called Cut Lex Luthor A Check, and is deeply inspired, despite his father's insistence that the idea completely misses the point of his villainy. Dp-Germany launches Earth Two's first ballistic missile submarine. On Inp-Earth, 42 Commando Royal Marines is redesignated 42 Commando Royal Space Marines. On Stp-Earth, the second section of the Russian Empire's heavy astronef is launched to the space station.

April 30: The elder Luthor discovers the Evil Overlord List... and promptly discards it as the meaningless prattle of small-minded fools, like anything else that points out what he's doing wrong. The younger Lex holds a different opinion. Four B-52Gs are delivered to DARPA, to test whether the Japanese Starfigher upgrade can be adapted to larger aircraft.


Huh. Just two? That's good.

May should be finalized by July 1st or 2nd.
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
Prince Charon is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 08:30 AM   #69
Prince Charon
 
Prince Charon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

Thought I should share this, for those who aren't on SB.com:

Blue, Green, Orange

"Robert Forester of Earth, you have the ability to instill great Hope," said the ring hovering in front of him. As it slipped on to his finger, it said "Welcome to the Blue Lantern Corps."

"Wha- what the hell?" said Bob, having really not expected his boxed set of power rings to come to life. Sure, things had gotten damn weird since the other Earths appeared, and more since that probe came, but even so, this was a bit outside his experience.

Still, paramedics are trained to act under stress and surprise, so rather than boggling at his new uniform (which oddly felt just like the t-shirt and jeans he'd been wearing a moment ago, despite having gloves and long sleeves), he noticed that the rest of the rings had figured out how to get the door to his study (or 'nerdery') open, as the door handle was a lever, rather than a knob.

Bob followed the other rings through the house, not noticing he was flying. Some of the rings trailed behind in a lazy (or sickly) manner.

As they reached the living room, one ring sped up, rushing on to his wife's finger.

"Alicia Barret-Forester of Earth, you have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps."

"Ouch!" said Alice, pinching herself, as she examined her rather form-fitting uniform.

'She looks hot in that,' thought Bob.

"Warning: Ring power at 200%!"

"Bob," she asked, "what the hell is going on?"

"Language, Alice," Bob replied, relishing the ability to be the one doing the correcting, for once, even in these strange circumstances.

As she glared at him, the other rings moved about, searching. The orange ring moved to their cat, briefly, until another resident entered the living room. Circling their four-year-old son, Timmy, the orange ring began, "Timothy Forester of Earth, you want it a-"

"NO!" Timmy's parents interrupted. The Will of a mother to protect her child, and the Hope of a father for his offspring's future, are powerful things, especially when combined. The Orange Ring of Greed was, for all its potential, still just coloured plastic carrying a new-born spirit, with no mortal host to help it. The ring was crushed and disintegrated, and the thoughtform within, dispersed.

The remaining unclaimed rings immediately flew off very fast, breaking a window.

"Do it AGAIN!" shouted Timmy, happily. His parents, wishing for something to distract him, were a bit startled when their rings provided a light-show. They were pleasantly surprised that they were able to maintain it while still having a conversation.

"Bob," Alice began, "did you do something? Where did these rings come from?"

"They were the ones on my desk," he told her, "that full set I got in November, before the other Earths showed up." His face pales as he continues, "... even the Black Lantern ring."

"Tha- that's the Zombie Apocalypse one, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah," he told her, "it- it is."

"W- who do we call about this?" asked Alice.

"A glazier?" Bob replied. As his wife glared at him, again, he elaborated, "For the window."

"Dear," said Alice through clenched teeth, somehow making the endearment sound like '*******', "if I weren't so freaked out about this, you'd be sleeping on the couch, tonight."

"Sorry, honey," said Bob, "I'm a bit freaked out, too (but the glazier is still a good idea). I'll go check out the DC message boards, try to see if this has happened to anyone else."

The answer was a rather worrying 'yes'.


The story helps to explain something that I think the timeline wasn't able to: Why the Lanterns are numerous enough to get there own NGO, separate from the Justice League. DC makes and licenses a lot of Power Ring toys and jewelry, including boxed sets of seven or all nine, and when they get empowered, someone who owns multiple rings isn't going to be compatible with all of them. While the Rings that don't choose their creator will still tend to choose someone who's already mildly empowered, if possible, sometimes they just choose the nearest strongly compatible person, even if that person is a complete mundane who has somehow never heard of 'Green Lantern'. Though only Timmy and the cat qualify as unempowered in the scene above (and Timmy does know, as well as a four-year-old can, what a Green Lantern is), the other unclaimed Rings are well on their way to finding Wielders. If someone wants to write something following the story of one of those escaped Rings (except for the Black and the White, which aren't going to show up for a while), feel free.

So, thoughts?

EDIT: Orange text changed to black for reasons of contrast, sorry.
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
Prince Charon is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 07-02-2013, 09:47 AM   #70
Prince Charon
 
Prince Charon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

May is now finalized:

May 2: DC's cancelled 'Earth 2' comic is replaced by one called Earth Two, set on DP-Earth, and based on news stories and other information from that Earth (though only using the Dp-Earth versions of characters owned by DC). On Stp-Earth, Thomas Alva Edison's rocket design wins the Phelps Prize for that category, but his astronef is passed over in favor of that designed by Dr. Artemus Gordon, an inventor, adventurer, dime-novel Action Scientist, and retired Secret Service agent (which requires a partial redesign of both, and incenses the prickly Edison).

May 4: On Inp-Earth, Disney/Lucasfilm founds a group of holding corporations, and some subsidiaries thereof: Republic Space Services (containing Corellian Engineering Corporation, Incom, SoroSuub, et cetra), Republic Automation (Cybot Galactica, Indudstrial Automaton, etc.), Republic Defense Industries (BlasTech, Taim & Bak, etc.), and Republic General Products (Fabritech, Novaldex, etc.), as well as endorsing the Jedi Church's attempts to become an official NGO. Star Wars fanclubs are informed of this in advance, allowing rapid recruitment of empowered ('Force-sensitive', according to corporate documents) engineers and other workers (in a few cases, whole fanclubs are recruited together, into the same subsidiary). The point seems to be a mix of 'good PR' (or the hope that such will develop), 'going with the flow,' and 'making a profit off of existing copyrights, since Star Wars fans were most likely going to make these things, anyway' (similar reasoning inspired the creation of Starship Enterprises, on April 27th).

May 7: Inp-USA's 82nd Airborne Division is officially renamed 82nd Spaceborne Division, and all members who qualify (which is most of them) are requested to undergo astronaut training. On Stp-Earth, the Edison Radio Company opens audio-broadcast radio stations in New York City, N.Y., Menlo Park, N.J., and Washington, D.C., though there are less than a hundred households in all three cities that have receivers.

May 9: Stp-Japan launches their first satellite, a communications relay, into orbit. Scientists in the Ottoman Empire announce the success of a new 'eugenic enhancement' potion, which if given to a pregnant woman during her first trimester, will result in her giving birth to an Sahih Àdem ('Better Man') or Sahih Hatun ('Better Woman'), a new races of healthy, friendly, non-aggressive people, far less inclined to go to war. The oldest are now fifteen, and far enough into puberty that the Ottoman scientists are fairly sure they've got it right (though it is too early to say that the traits will breed true in the next generation). The Kingdom of the Greeks calls the new people 'Helots', and criticizes the Turks for making an 'obvious slave race' (which is unsurprising, given the amount of dislike the Greeks have for the Turks, but could certainly have been someone's motivation). Edison and Hawai'i report both the announcement and the Greek response, which is the first anyone on Earth One or Earth Two have heard about Earth Three's successes in 'eugenics' (which is rather more like genetic engineering than selective breeding) - it's not common, and isn't something often discussed by radiotelegraphy, and wasn't something anyone really asked about, who was in a position to get a response.

May 11: In Inp-Tokyo, a gang war between two rival groups of magical girls ends when the leader of a third group, calling herself Bishojou Senshi Sailor Moon, 'purifies' both groups (incidentally saving the smaller group from being transformed into monsters by their own adviser/mascot). Opinions on this event are mixed, as no-one is entirely certain what this 'purifying' process actually does, nor whether this 'Sailor Moon' intends to rule the world. The B-52Gs being given the Starfighter upgrade are officially designated SB-52I Astrofortesses, which surprisingly enough, accelerates the upgrade process, and greatly reduces many complications in it.

May 14: In Inp-Japan, a boy named Ikari Kenji is startled by seeing what appears to be the ghost 'Sadako' coming out of his television. He kisses her, so that at least he will have done that before his death. The spirit is so surprised that she doesn't kill him, but now he has quite possibly the creepiest girlfriend ever. At DARPA, testing of the portal gun continues. The portals tend to collapse in a few minutes to an hour or two, expelling anything still transiting the wormhole through either portal, either to the side that more of the item's mass is on, or the side with more room (if one side doesn't have enough), or the side least dangerous to the testing body. Today's test is particularly interesting: the areas on both sides of the wormhole are dangerous to the testing body (a wooden dowel) and too cramped to hold it's entire length. To the surprise of some of the scientists (though others predicted something like this) the blue end of the portal 'jumps' to dump the testing body into the lead scientist's trousers - rather painfully.

May 15: Inp-Greece announces its intention to exit the Eurozone at the end of the month. In a clearly coordinated move, Inp-Cyprus announces the same. Handley Page Ltd. recieves permission to attempt a Starfighter refit on two of the surviving Victors, which are redesignated Victor*s ('Victor Stars') for this purpose.

May 16: The 'Valentine's Gift' (see February 14) arrives at Dp-Earth orbit, then makes a landing at a custom-built runway, a bit east of Blackpool, defended by a full Group of RAF fighters, and the Blackhawk Squadron. In Inp-China, a mysterious white ooze leaks from the middle of a street in Nanjing, China. On Stp-Earth, the Nazi KKVs become visible in the upper atmosphere, striking points in or near (mostly near) London, Kristiania, Paris, and St. Petersburg. The points of impact suggest difficulty aiming at such long ranges. The third section of the Pyotr Velikiy is launched.

May 18: In Inp-Syria, Bashar Hafez al-Assad is killed, along with most of his top military officers, and a number of government workers by what appears to be one or more djinn. Some leaders of conflicting rebel movements are also killed, leading to even greater chaos in the region. The Stp-Earth Papal astronef Sanctus Aloysius arrives in Earth One orbit, and lands at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, outside Rome. The Nuncio is quickly conducted to a meeting with Pope Innocent XIV.
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
Prince Charon is online now   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
5 earths in a row, alternative earths, infinite worlds

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:48 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.