New Reality Seeds

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by robkelk

And what does this worldline call what we call The "Unicorn In The Garden" Rule?

Thurber's story was about a Gnome in that timeline, because he believed unicorns are real.

[fchase8]

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

They can deduce that there aren’t many, and that the few there are haven’t let the cat out of the bag yet — because the general public on that timeline specifically aren’t aware. (If they were, sure, it becomes a diplomacy/first contact assignment.) When you find a world that looks like 1960 but with some awfully specific anachrotech, you assume probably out-time meddling, possibly a local jumper or magician with limited clues. So you investigate, carefully but efficiently, backtracking through the local patents system. Then, you carefully identify the names and number of the local jumpers and bat the problem upstairs for policy determination.

Which, on past form, may mean Coventry (because these goofballs might blow the Secret on a dozen timelines in a moment of alcoholic stupidity or something), but maybe careful contact procedures and explanation of how you’re much nicer as a friend than an enemy would seem the best choice. A certain amount of damage is already done, these people are being discreet, it’s a chance to observe the consequences of anachrotech introduction on a moderate scale, you get a chance to hire some consultant wizards without Cabal commitments, and a snatch mission always carries the risk of going pear shaped.

Yeah, in worlds where some people know the Secret and have their own method world-jumping, Infinity tries to Coventry them (while Centrum would likely just kill them). Though there would be some though of recruitment, though that seems more for individual world-jumpers & mages (particularly those who want to leave their homeworld, not change it).

Basically, Infinity hasn't encountered an open crosstime world, other than Centrum. There are ones with a secret crosstime agency (Reich-5, Merlin-1), and ones with limited skerry reach (The Nine Worlds, Yrth).



What would Infinity do about a 'horse is already out of the barn, but not yet the farm' situation (rough metaphor) - the info to create parachronic travel is out there on a world, and it's just a matter of time before someone figures it out?

If the rituals of pulp fiction or horror already widely published on a world can create crosstime travel, there's no single or group of people to stop.


In Infinite Worlds, theoretically anyone on any world could 'invent' parachronics the same way Van Zandt did. It might not work the exact same, at least for projectors, but conveyors could be invented by any world, late TL 7 or above. And on Shikaku-Mon, it might work the exact same way.

I had come up with a world where Hugh Everett's 'Many Worlds' theory became accepted wisdom when published in the fifties. It's now 1984 and computer technology is soon to become good enough for anyone to invent parachronics, not just Van Zandt.

(it's also a world where alternate history is a popular genre of fiction, and numerous real worlds are represented in fiction)

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

There are no unicorn horns.

Not even narwhale tusks?

[AlexanderHowl]

Who would believe a fiction writer if he claimed while drunk to have visited other worlds? In fact, I believe that a few fiction writers claimed to have done exactly the same before they were sent to an asylum for the rest of their lives in our world. Of course, if everyone could pick up the secrets to jumping worlds with ritual magic through the fiction books of a group of pulp writers, I think that the I-Cops would be racing against time to destroy every copy of the books.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Alicorn-3

Alicorn-3 is a weird parallel where the defining features is the physical existence of unicorns. The horns of unicorns posses the ability to magically cure diseases and to neutralize poisons while attached to the unicorn, as well as acting as fearsome melee weapons for the unicorn. In addition, they posses magical Invisibility, allowing them to avoid detection even when they are within plain sight (which they extend to anything that they carry if they are trained for battle).

Unicorns possess a marked preference for human females who have not engaged in consensual sexual activity with human males (they do not care about lesbian relationships between women and do not refuse potential riders who suffered rape). They do not require golden bridles to control them and will in fact refuse any bridle and bit because they are sapient creatures with their own autonomy and dignity. Throughout the history of Alicorn-3, virgins have ridden unicorns into battle and have turned the tides of war.

It is 1800, and the American Uprising was crushed by the Unicorn Cavalry of the all-female Hussein mercenaries hired by British and by the Unicorn Cavalry of the Native American allies of the British Empire. While the American rebels possessed some Unicorn Cavalry, the tendency for colonists to marry early reduced the number of virgins capable of serving as unicorn riders. With each battle, the Unicorn Cavalry under the control of the British routed the armies of the rebels.

After the mass execution of the rebel leaders, George III pardoned the remainder of the rebels, though he awarded freedom to every slave in the colonies as punishment for their masters and guaranteed the territorial claims of his Native American allies by giving titles and land rights to the prominent citizens of the Native American Tribes. The members of the Hussein Unicorn Cavalry stayed in the American colonies and joined with the Native American Unicorn Cavalry to form the American Unicorn Corps, which guards the American colonies in exchange for land and payment and have crushed half a dozen smaller rebellions against British rule since the end of the American Uprising in 1783. Since the beginning of the War with Napoleon, the American Unicorn Corps has conquered every bit of French territory in the Americas, and their might in battle has convinced a number of Native American tribes to join the British Empire in exchange for titles and land rights.

Later on this would be the basis of deep anti-unicorn feeling and bitter distrust between the former colonies and Britain, which was weaker without the US as any ally. In this world unicorns are a symbol of corruption and oppression, in North America.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Not even narwhale tusks?

Yes there are narwhal tusks. These lack magical properties as far as Infinity can determine and are genetically identical to equivalent specimens on Homeline.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Yes there are narwhal tusks. These lack magical properties as far as Infinity can determine and are genetically identical to equivalent specimens on Homeline.

You do know that narwhale tusks are often displayed as unicorns horns. Also the narwhale tusks are what artists based the look of unicorn horns on.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

You do know that narwhale tusks are often displayed as unicorns horns. Also the narwhale tusks are what artists based the look of unicorn horns on.

Narwhal tusks aren't physical evidence of unicorns, even if you call them unicorn horns. This is no less true on Frazier-2 than it is on Homeline, as far as Infinity is able to determine. The existence of narwhals didn't lead to the impossible mass hunting to near extinction of undetectable, and probably nonexistent, unicorns on Frazier-2 because I don't see how these things are even related.

[AlexanderHowl]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Later on this would be the basis of deep anti-unicorn feeling and bitter distrust between the former colonies and Britain, which was weaker without the US as any ally. In this world unicorns are a symbol of corruption and oppression, in North America.

Why would a Britain that possessed North America be weaker than a Britain that did not possess North America? With North America under its control, Britain would have been the world power, as it would have possessed the wealth of Australia, the Subcontinent, North America, and dozens of other colonies and commonwealths within the grasp. I imagine that Britain would have been able to conquer Latin America after it gained independence from Spain and could have eventually become the world government (One World Under The Queen).

[mr beer]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Why would a Britain that possessed North America be weaker than a Britain that did not possess North America? With North America under its control, Britain would have been the world power, as it would have possessed the wealth of Australia, the Subcontinent, North America, and dozens of other colonies and commonwealths within the grasp. I imagine that Britain would have been able to conquer Latin America after it gained independence from Spain and could have eventually become the world government (One World Under The Queen).

The best of all possible worlds!