Shikaku-mon, Elisha Gray and the Secret

[Tom Mazanec]

I think the the Secret is doomed in worlds like Shikaku-mon. Centrum got crosstime travel without Van Zandt, and focusing on him in Shikaku-mon will miss the true inventor for that world.
Nature cannot keep secrets. If you prevent Bell from inventing the telephone, Elisha Gray invents it. If you prevent Van Zandt from inventing parachronics in Shikaku-mon, Joe Shlabotnik invents it instead.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Tom Mazanec

I think the the Secret is doomed in worlds like Shikaku-mon. Centrum got crosstime travel without Van Zandt, and focusing on him in Shikaku-mon will miss the true inventor for that world.
Nature cannot keep secrets. If you prevent Bell from inventing the telephone, Elisha Gray invents it. If you prevent Van Zandt from inventing parachronics in Shikaku-mon, Joe Shlabotnik invents it instead.

You could get a difference of a century or so easily enough. The inevitability of railroads when it's time to build railroads depends on all the supporting technologies and intellectual concepts being in place.

Shikaku-mon's focus on electronic sophistication may have left some critical element Van Zandt or the nameless fellow (or research team) from Centrum used not in place yet.

Indeed, there is some reason to believe that Van Zandt made his discovery well before the point of its' inevitability i.e. he got lucky. The worry with a true Echo timeline is that he'll get lucky again at the same time and in the same place. Shikaku Mon may not even have a Van Zandt never mind its' other divergences from Homeline..

[somecallmetim]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Shikaku-mon's focus on electronic sophistication may have left some critical element Van Zandt or the nameless fellow (or research team) from Centrum used not in place yet.

If I remember correctly, Parachronics was invented by a woman named Minot on Centrum. Linda Minot possibly.

Perhaps Infinity would be better off not tryng to find Van Zandt, but trying to subvert technologies that are prerequisites for parachronics. Eliminating or suppressing them might be hard, but providing new technologies to "leap frog" developments that would eventually spin off into those prerequisites.

[Flyndaran]

I don't remember it being stated outright that parachronics work there. Only that it's the only known parallel other than Centrum with the "current" date. And that only Centrum and Homeline allow full parachronic technologies.
Those two facts could be simple coincidences or due to incomplete understanding.

[warellis]

Originally Posted by somecallmetim

If I remember correctly, Parachronics was invented by a woman named Minot on Centrum. Linda Minot possibly.

Perhaps Infinity would be better off not tryng to find Van Zandt, but trying to subvert technologies that are prerequisites for parachronics. Eliminating or suppressing them might be hard, but providing new technologies to "leap frog" developments that would eventually spin off into those prerequisites.

Wait where is that revealed?

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by warellis

Wait where is that revealed?

Alternate Earths 2 page 111. The book where centrum is explored in detail