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Old 02-11-2011, 07:13 AM   #31
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Default Re: [IW] Ordinary Worlds with valuables!

Trying again.

On the timeline Carter-2 (were president Carter is re-elected in 1980, present year 1987) the BBC followed very different policies about preserving it's TV programs. From 1935 on it was official BBC policy that at sometime in the future someone would invent a televisual equivelent of the phonograph. Thus any film was potentially valuable. Thus such British TV programs as Doctor Who, The Avengers (and its earlier incarnation Police Surgeon), and Z-Cars, were preserved in full.

On timeline Null-Hitler-3 (were Adolf Hitler choked to death on a fish bone in the spring of 1932 and the S.A. gained temporary power in Germany, present year 1942) almost no prominant or interesting European films of the pre-1940 period have been lost. Complete pristine prints of films like Metropolis and Rules of the Game are availible.

On timeline Wallace-1 (Wallace becomes President in 1945 and Stalin dies of Heart Attack [possibly with Barria's aid], local year 1973) Fredrick Whertham is caught up in a scandal at work and his book Seduction of the Innocent is never published. The comics craze goes on unabated. Leading to a period of truely amazing and rich literary and visual artistic expression in the USA in all genres.
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Old 02-11-2011, 04:07 PM   #32
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Default Re: [IW] Ordinary Worlds with valuables!

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Originally Posted by Tyneras View Post
How about a timeline where Joseph McCarthy died in WW2, and thus his witch hunts for communists never started, and Hollywood was never forced under the shadow of the House of Unamerican Activities? Or am I overestimating his impact on the film industry?
Given that Senator McCarthy's big bugaboo was Communist sympathizers in government and he obviously wasn't part of the House Unamerican Activities Committee, you probably are. Looking at the dates in Wikipedia, it appears that HUAC's scrutiny of Hollywood predates his rise to prominence (though not his election to the Senate). If anything, McCarthy's fall probably hastened the demise of HUAC.
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Old 02-13-2011, 12:40 PM   #33
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Default Re: [IW] Ordinary Worlds with valuables!

Timeline Null-Carter Howard Carter died very young and King Tut's tomb was never found, there are effects on popular culture and fashion, but everything is otherwise the same. Local year 1994. Can you get to the tomb and gather the goodies. The Egyptian government would like duplicates and a chance to see the mummy and grave goods BEFORE anyone gets at them with primitive techniques.
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Old 08-11-2014, 03:13 PM   #34
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My personal geekish fantasy:

On Whedon 1 the science fiction show "Firefly" was given the full support and backing of the Fox network, and it's executives took a hands-off approach to Joss Whedon's show. As a result, Firefly built a solid following of fans over time and increased critical appreciation.

As of local year 2006, the show has eclipsed the popularity of the earlier "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Fans are eagerly anticipating it's 5 season.
I... I think there's something in my eye... excuse me... (sniff)... where was I...

Hayes-3 is named for the leader of the team that discovered it, as are most unremarkable worlds. In this world, Alan Turing moved to California in 1948, where he lived happily with Christopher Morcom, a close friend of his, who had iced tea instead of milk several years earlier.

As a result, computer science advanced at least as quickly as it had in Homeline, and possibly moreso. Although Turing and Morcom produced little in terms of new computer innovations, they both spoke with other scientists throughout the next twenty years and contributed to the ideology and technology, subtly. As a result, closed-source software remained in the industrial field, while open-source software became the primary civilian market.

In turn, the computer was less accessible and more powerful. It grew more slowly, but the exponential growth of the technology was merely delayed by a few years.

Current year 2010; portable electronics are everywhere, and they are secure, private, and more expensive than they were on homeline at the time... the software is far more efficient, more than making up for the less powerful hardware used there. Most consumer software, including games, "office software," and tools, is free and produced by nonprofit groups.

After recompiling to work on Homeline hardware (there are only a few major conflicts between homeline and local hardware), most of this software is perfect for homeline use, and usually better and faster than similar programs.

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Old 08-12-2014, 11:36 AM   #35
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While Homeline doesn't worry about compensation to anybody in other timelines, Infinity or whoever is planning to distribute these things may run into major trouble from the artists, estates, or companies controlling the rights to anything that hasn't gone into public domain on Homeline itself. Lost Dickens is going to be fine, but the character and stories of Northwest Smith are likely to still be in copyright, and couldn't be distributed even in another medium unless license terms were arranged.
True enough, but if there was an out time film where Bogart and Hepburn played Northwest Smith and Jirel of Jory, with a script co-authoired by C.L.Moore, her estate and heirs would both want the work distributed and a cut of the cash. Deals can be made.
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Old 08-12-2014, 11:44 AM   #36
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I... I think there's something in my eye... excuse me... (sniff)... where was I...

Hayes-3 is named for the leader of the team that discovered it, as are most unremarkable worlds. In this world, Alan Turing moved to California in 1948, where he lived happily with Christopher Morcom, a close friend of his, who had iced tea instead of milk several years earlier.

As a result, computer science advanced at least as quickly as it had in Homeline, and possibly moreso. Although Turing and Morcom produced little in terms of new computer innovations, they both spoke with other scientists throughout the next twenty years and contributed to the ideology and technology, subtly. As a result, closed-source software remained in the industrial field, while open-source software became the primary civilian market.

In turn, the computer was less accessible and more powerful. It grew more slowly, but the exponential growth of the technology was merely delayed by a few years.

Current year 2010; portable electronics are everywhere, and they are secure, private, and more expensive than they were on homeline at the time... the software is far more efficient, more than making up for the less powerful hardware used there. Most consumer software, including games, "office software," and tools, is free and produced by nonprofit groups.

After recompiling to work on Homeline hardware (there are only a few major conflicts between homeline and local hardware), most of this software is perfect for homeline use, and usually better and faster than similar programs.
That's a really clever treasure.
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Old 08-15-2014, 12:29 PM   #37
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Default Re: [IW] Ordinary Worlds with valuables!

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Actually, straight mirror parallels (with no discernable differance from Homeline other than the fact "it's in the past") have tons of valuable stuff.
Very good point.

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Drop into Constantinople just before the Turks capture it.
Better yet, since the sack of 1204AD, caused by a venomous Doge of Venice, destroyed more Greek literature than all the burning of Alexandria's Library combined, drop in in 1203AD. Bring a means to photograph tens of thousands of books and art objects.
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Old 08-15-2014, 01:31 PM   #38
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Default Re: [IW] Ordinary Worlds with valuables!

All the native American Mayan codices and artifacts destroyed by the missionaries during the European conquest would make for quite the treasure.
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Old 08-15-2014, 04:25 PM   #39
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Rome-17 is yet another "different end of the Roman Empire" parallel, currently 2006, TL6, and politically incomprehensible to someone without a lot of background info. Althistorians and their ilk love to study it, but White Star loves it for a different reason: cuisine.

Rome-17 has three separate "gourmet" traditions that exceed (in critics reviews, at least) anything done on Homeline, and the local chefs are secretive, paranoid, and clannish, so the knowledge of exactly HOW they are making all this wonderful food is still not out.

But carefully prepped Homeline muckymucks pay a LOT to eat a fancy meal at their premier establishments, before heading out clubbing on Nergal-4.
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Old 08-15-2014, 07:36 PM   #40
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h Katherine Hepburn as Jirel of Jory, .
Nope, Maureen O'Hara.
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