[IW] Looking for Lost Loves

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Apollonian

Or for another adventure seed, an alternate is recruited by a crosstimer to replace someone else, non-consensually. Need a useful patsy, or want to turn a neutral into an ally? Is the mistress of the Burmese dictator your ticket to wealth and power, but she just won't cooperate? Just replace them with themselves, from another timeline, carefully turned to your own ends. You could have a whole campaign based on Patrolmen trying to end a ring of crosstime criminals committing this caper on multiple timelines... and endangering the Secret no end.

I vaguely remember a character in a series of books starting with just that plot point. A relatively normal guy kidnapped and forced to impersonate a famous parallel for necessary political reasons. At least necessary from a larger picture, if not for the poor kidnap victim.

Depressing example of organizations, but awesome introduction back story for new characters.
Imagine coming across an escaped victim of these guys? What if they aren't the actual victim but the one that orchestrated it? They saw their plans falling apart so decided to play the look alike victim, and "removed" the actual victim.

[cptbutton]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I vaguely remember a character in a series of books starting with just that plot point. A relatively normal guy kidnapped and forced to impersonate a famous parallel for necessary political reasons. At least necessary from a larger picture, if not for the poor kidnap victim.

Likely Worlds of the Imperium by Keith Laumer. It is almost impossible to invent crosstime travel without destroying the world, so only 3 habitable timelines exist. Brion Bayard is a diplomat in ours, kidnapped by a worldwide British Empire to take over the third timeline where he is the dictator of a ruined Europe. An omnibus version is available from Baen Books.

[Flyndaran]

If it's the one I'm thinking of, then it's three habitable HUMAN worlds where cross time experimentation was likely.
Non-humans of the multiverse aren't so reckless.

[cptbutton]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

If it's the one I'm thinking of, then it's three habitable HUMAN worlds where cross time experimentation was likely.
Non-humans of the multiverse aren't so reckless.

Yes, I was leaving that out for brevity.

[fchase8]

I would think that Infinity would ban travel to timelines close enough to have parallel versions of Homeliners (basically, worlds where the divergence is that parachronics wasn't invented).

First off, any such world would be technologically capable enough to develop parachronics. All it took was 1990s era tech to build the first conveyors - these worlds would all be dangerous should The Secret get out.

And not just the risk that crosstime kidnappers would let The Secret out. There's also the risk that the outtimer on Homeline would want to get back to their world, and 'save' it by revealing The Secret.

Homeliners would also just be so concerned with their alternate versions that an enforced "hands off" policy would be the only feasible. Any intervention that would help one person could easily hurt someone else.

Also, a number of these worlds seem to have secrets that Infinity would like to keep under wraps - secret psionics, secret magic, secret horrors, a role-playing game that exactly mirrors Homeline...



There's also the issue that there wouldn't be a lot of worlds with alternate versions of Homeliners.

Homeline being in 2027, any alternate version would be younger, and the more likely ones would be way younger.

The invention of parachronics is such a massive divergence that everyone's lives would be different afterwards (particularly the richer folks who would be most likely to pay for a finder of lost loves). Homeliners under 30 likely wouldn't even have been born on these other worlds.


I think Infinity would keep the coordinates of any such worlds a tightly guarded secret, and wouldn't approve any travel there. Way too much messiness...

There would still be some crosstime kidnappers, but it would be very expensive and dangerous work.


Infinity & national governments likely have a registry of all outtimers on Homeline - they're the ultimate foreigners. Anyone brought to Homeline from another world is special, and must be kept under surveillance.

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

And when the kid acts like the unique individuals they are, the parents continue down the path of psychosis. There would likely be a whole Law And Order: Crosstime Crimes Unit.

Love this idea! Started in the nineties, and is still on in 2027...

[scc]

Originally Posted by fchase8

First off, any such world would be technologically capable enough to develop parachronics. All it took was 1990s era tech to build the first conveyors - these worlds would all be dangerous should The Secret get out.

There's a few references to the 'local now' in Infinite Worlds which I think is about this, if I'm figuring it out right then the timeline has to have the same universe date as Homeline, so if a world is so much a 1 year younger then Homeline the working theory seems to be that developing parachronics is impossible on that timeline, magic, superscience, and other paranormal powers excluded.

[warellis]

Originally Posted by scc

There's a few references to the 'local now' in Infinite Worlds which I think is about this, if I'm figuring it out right then the timeline has to have the same universe date as Homeline, so if a world is so much a 1 year younger then Homeline the working theory seems to be that developing parachronics is impossible on that timeline, magic, superscience, and other paranormal powers excluded.

Outside of Shikaku-Mon, what other worlds are at the same year as Homeline is at? Not counting Centrum I mean.

[AlexanderHowl]

I do not think that there are any other concurrent canon parallels (which would now be at 2040 since thirteen years have passed since 4e was first published in 2004). Homeline should probably be 23 years ahead of our timeline, with our timeline probably being a close parallel (with divergence occurring in 1995). They could be observing us as a natural sociological experiment, an example of what might have happened without paratronics.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by cptbutton

Yes, I was leaving that out for brevity.

It's been so long that many fantasy/sci fi books tend to blur together. I wasn't sure if my memories were of more than one series or not.

[scc]

Originally Posted by warellis

Outside of Shikaku-Mon, what other worlds are at the same year as Homeline is at? Not counting Centrum I mean.

None, which is kind of the point, other then Shikaku-Mon there are no timelines that might develop parachronics, Gernsback is a noted exception because it's full of superscience.