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Old 07-21-2019, 06:57 PM   #1471
Flyndaran
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Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

The rapid advantageous physical changes would be major evidence against Darwinian evolution. That should have an effect on the science and culture of the parallel.
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Old 07-21-2019, 07:20 PM   #1472
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The rapid advantageous physical changes would be major evidence against Darwinian evolution. That should have an effect on the science and culture of the parallel.
To which I say ... bullfinches.

Actual evolution has been observed to occur in just a few generations in a high-stress environment. What the Ghouls are doing is the beginning of the process. Meaningful speciation should be complete in a few more generations.
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Old 07-21-2019, 10:28 PM   #1473
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Speaking of alternate takes on evolution...

Null-Mammal would simply be an uninhabited parallel with no mammals whatsoever... were it not for banestorm activity about 9000 years ago introducing a few communities of hunter-gathers to the shores of the Tigris.

With no human opposition and rich resources in every direction -- not to mention that native life had never before seen Humans, let alone domesticated dogs, cats, rats, and goats -- they grew rapidly. From the approximately 1500 people that came across, they soon matched historical populations in the Old World, aided by a relative infrequency of plagues.

Their history was in a few ways similar to Homeline's, but was decidedly different in all of its fine trappings. Nonetheless, by 1200 CE Homeline time, vast multiethnic states covered the planet, and the population was beginning to explode in the western hemisphere.

It was also in approximately this time that the first issues of human origin arose. Humans were unlike all other life, except for a small portfolio of other beings, and thoughtful people were for the first time considering that the religious answers -- that those things with hair were a special creation, or some other aspect of divine providence -- were insufficient.

The arguments only grew more complicated over the following centuries as the examination of fossils and the natural world really did reveal no sign of any nursing being before some point nearly 9000 years ago. Eventually, some religions of the world took this to be part of their teachings -- material evidence proving that no material origin could explain human existence.

Generally, the locals consider the "five nursing animals" to be equal in stature; cats, rats, dogs, goats, and humans are equal before the creators, or at least all part of the same special creation, and thus there are sophisticated legal protections in place. Mere lizards, birds, and fish, which are not miraculous, have no protections. Having evolved from muck, they are worthless protoplasm, and deserve no consideration.

More philosophical persons look to other answers. Starting around 1700 CE, some rationalists once again revisited the question and looked up at the stars as an answer. The similarities shared with other life on the planet couldn't be ignored, but the differences still seemed too great to explain with some isolated nursing land where they could have evolved. If, however, primitive life evolved on some other world from seeds delivered from space, then the mammals could be from Mars or Venus. Perhaps fur and warm blood were needed on the colder worlds of the universe?

Homeline is not sure how to proceed: is it better to let them come to some ancient astronauts theory on their own, or to direct them back to mystical answers? Will either of these discourage them from prodding the question enough to start investigating alternate universes as an answer to the human origin question?

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Old 07-23-2019, 01:02 AM   #1474
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Pazder-1 appeared to be different from Homeline history only in that the Satanic Panic of the 1980s was significantly more widespread and long-lasting. Even in the contemporary year of 1997, many people are still highly suspicious of any counter-religious symbology. In contrast to Homeline, vastly more people acknowledge Atheism and Wica as valid philosophical systems... and even more oddly, people consider them to have evil variants! So too Buddhism, Islam, Taoism -- every even remotely significant religion seems to have a secret "shadow" version, despite all lack of material evidence in the existence of such groups and practices.

(For reference, Atheism's supposed counterpart is Malhumanism, Wica has Crowley's Secrets, Buddhism has the Cult of Mara, and Islam the Ḥashīshiyya, despite the lack of a reasonable connection to the actual Nizaris.)

Homeline was suspicious. In investigating, it became clear that no such groups actually exist on this worldline; it's a no-mana world and the early, mid-80's techniques that instigated Homeline's panic were identical.

But by '86, a new technique swept through the psychotherapist community, resulting in clearer, more coherent and relevant "memory recovery," based in part on hypnosis and the use of some "non-invasive crystal resonances." Accidentally or maliciously, they stumbled upon a way to enhance and direct cross-worldline viewing in psionic sensitives.

Their questioning, however, still directed people to view their crosstime doubles in worldlines troubled with malign cults and evil magic. The lack of material evidence to corroborate the stories means they remain merely shocking news media pulp... with the occasional grain of truth sufficient to keep the information spicy.

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Old 07-23-2019, 06:29 AM   #1475
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Pazder-1 appeared to be different from Homeline history only in that the Satanic Panic of the 1980s was significantly more widespread and long-lasting. Even in the contemporary year of 1997, many people are still highly suspicious of any counter-religious symbology. In contrast to Homeline, people acknowledge Atheism and Wica as valid philosophical systems... and even more oddly, people consider them to have evil variants! So too Buddhism, Islam, Taoism -- every even remotely significant religion seems to have a secret "shadow" version, despite all lack of material evidence in the existence of such groups and practices.

(For reference, Atheism's supposed counterpart is Malhumanism, Wica has Crowley's Secrets, Buddhism has the Cult of Mara, and Islam the Ḥashīshiyya, despite the lack of a reasonable connection to the actual Nizaris.)

Homeline was suspicious. In investigating, it became clear that no such groups actually exist on this worldline; it's a no-mana world and the early, mid-80's techniques that instigated Homeline's panic were identical.

But by '86, a new technique swept through the psychotherapist community, resulting in clearer, more coherent and relevant "memory recovery," based in part on hypnosis and the use of some "non-invasive crystal resonances." Accidentally or maliciously, they stumbled upon a way to enhance and direct cross-worldline viewing in psionic sensitives.

Their questioning, however, still directed people to view their crosstime doubles in worldlines troubled with malign cults and evil magic. The lack of material evidence to corroborate the stories means they remain merely shocking news media pulp... with the occasional grain of truth sufficient to keep the information spicy.
Don't forget there is a long shadow tradition in the Christian world to. The Cathars and Gnostics held that Christ came to unseat Jehovah. That Christ was the son of the True God and Jehovah was merely a Demiurge. The Cainite heresy, that held that people should sin dramatically and gloriously so God could have the pleasure of forgiving them, might best meet your needs there.
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Old 07-23-2019, 01:08 PM   #1476
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Good point. While American psychotherapists tend to "discover" classic satanism, especially in the South, attempts at "recovering memories" in adults who have a firm grasp of religious history tend to discover any of a huge number of Christian heresies.

Homeline doesn't know it yet, but a group in Pazder-1's Southern California has detailed notes on Ezcalli from the perspective of a number of sacrifices.

As time goes by in Pazder-1, the growing counterculture movement is starting to embrace these anti-religions -- usually ironically. People who desire a career in politics need to follow a primary faith such as Protestantism or Atheism, but plenty of rock bands and video games embrace the themes of Karma worship, Plutonism, or Shinto Death Deniers.

The fact that the so-called therapists can find what they're looking for, even when it's something bizarre like a worldline dominated by counter-Pastafarianism suggests that there's an outside force at work.

Centrum can't reach this world and probably doesn't want to even get involved. The Cabal has agents here, but oddly enough they're here for the same reason as Homeline: to figure out how a no-mana world with only moderate psi activity manged to treat the cosmic barriers like an internet modem.

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Old 07-23-2019, 04:28 PM   #1477
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Nyx is another universe that can't be reached by conventional parachronic travel, but is linked by portals to a variety of different more normal parallels.

But the curious thing about Nyx is that is that it is a world in which day never happens. There is no sun. And yet Nyx remains nicely temperate from pole to pole. One thing explorers will notice is that any time they touch exposed stone it's substantially warmer than the ambient air temperature, as if there's a fire burning fiercely an inch behind it. The stone cools down with a few hours of being broken away from the ground or cliff.

Further despite the total lack of sunlight Nyx remains rich in oxygen-generating plantlife, something which seems to be explained by the generally high mana and the magical people ranging from tiny luminous sprites to human sized "elves" to a few mysterious colossi. They wander the land casting spell after spell to keep the plant life alive and growing. l
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Old 07-23-2019, 04:41 PM   #1478
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Further despite the total lack of sunlight Nyx remains rich in oxygen-generating plantlife, something which seems to be explained by the generally high mana and the magical people ranging from tiny luminous sprites to human sized "elves" to a few mysterious colossi. They wander the land casting spell after spell to keep the plant life alive and growing. l
That would seem to indicate that the sunless state is not natural and is relatively recent. Perhaps a magical accident (or deliberate action) less than a thousand years back?
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Old 07-23-2019, 07:34 PM   #1479
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Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

Unless the sprites are part of the naturally "evolved" ecosystem. Perhaps the sapient groups are recent but merely exaggerate the size and depth of plant life.
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Old 07-23-2019, 07:43 PM   #1480
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Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

Alternatively, the sprites moved in from a more habitable worldline.
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