New Reality Seeds

[Drifter]

Originally Posted by Dr. Beckenstein

But wouldn't it make more sense for Centrum to support the USA and bring down the rest? After an English-speaking world government is established, Centrum can take over. That's their usual way.

And why are the Arabs, et. al., bitter? The Oil Shocks came in the early 1970s, so that seems problematic to me to keep this Secret, unless the solar sats aren't in place yet. The sudden collapse of oil prices in the early 80s would make US oil companies just as bitter, and better placed to do something about it. While the US and its European allies could export energy - the Middle East is a perfect receiving area for microwave energy transmissions from the solar energy sats. I would think Washington would just buy out the Arabs.

And you have the whole Nixon in China thing in the 70s, an outgrowth of keeping the Chinese and Soviets divided. Sure, you might get the huge mistake of treating both as enemies and driving them into each others arms (like what happened in RL to an extent in the '00s), but if Washington offers China good terms on energy, and orbital communications and protections, you have another huge ally in Asia against the Soviets.

The overall danger is the US overplaying its hand in the UN - or whatever organization it decides to use to start administering its burgeoning multi-world empire. Centrum would get in on that, as the good Doctor points out. And probably helping them overplay their hand, or at least be somewhat more domineering that the US otherwise would be. That might be a good way of ferreting out who is a Centrum agent, or at least in the pay of one - the guy that demands English Only for energy distribution technologies, for example.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Drifter

And why are the Arabs, et. al., bitter? The Oil Shocks came in the early 1970s, so that seems problematic to me to keep this Secret, unless the solar sats aren't in place yet.

The solar sats come on line in the 1990's for America and Europe. The early 2000's for the rest of the world. Most of the energy is in fact given away free. America simply gains power because they control the on/off switch. Power to the people is a common quip.

The sudden collapse of oil prices in the early 80s would make US oil companies just as bitter, and better placed to do something about it. While the US and its European allies could export energy - the Middle East is a perfect receiving area for microwave energy transmissions from the solar energy sats. I would think Washington would just buy out the Arabs.

You run your games your way. But I will take notes.

And you have the whole Nixon in China thing in the 70s, an outgrowth of keeping the Chinese and Soviets divided. Sure, you might get the huge mistake of treating both as enemies and driving them into each others arms (like what happened in RL to an extent in the '00s), but if Washington offers China good terms on energy, and orbital communications and protections, you have another huge ally in Asia against the Soviets.

The overall danger is the US overplaying its hand in the UN - or whatever organization it decides to use to start administering its burgeoning multi-world empire. Centrum would get in on that, as the good Doctor points out. And probably helping them overplay their hand, or at least be somewhat more domineering that the US otherwise would be. That might be a good way of ferreting out who is a Centrum agent, or at least in the pay of one - the guy that demands English Only for energy distribution technologies, for example.

Clever ideas.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Dr. Beckenstein

But wouldn't it make more sense for Centrum to support the USA and bring down the rest? After an English-speaking world government is established, Centrum can take over. That's their usual way.

Homeline has no idea as to why Centrum isn't working that way. Meanwhile the Cabal seems to be active here, and most active in the USA. This may be a three way fight. Or the Cabal might simply let Homeline and Centrum duke it out and keep the prizes for themselves.

[robkelk]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Homeline has no idea as to why Centrum isn't working that way. ...

We're not Homeline.

The GM needs to know: Why isn't Centrum working that way?

[Drifter]

Originally Posted by robkelk

We're not Homeline.

The GM needs to know: Why isn't Centrum working that way?

Maybe Centrum tried and the project went south fast - look in Guantanamo for Australian spies the Australians won't acknowledge. Plan B is China/Soviets.

This is a project run by a Centrum outsourced team. Maybe from an alt based in parallel Russian/China/Arabia, by people helped by Centrum. They want to aid Centrum now that they are on their feet, as it were, and Centrum says "OK, we have deal on this timeline here..."

Now these would be useful for a group that has seen Centrum agents a few times and thinks they know all there is to know about Centrum, without actually getting there. Throw the PCs a curve ball and see how they do.

[patchwork]

It can also simply be a controversial choice. This USA is progressing WAY TOO FAST technologically, and is relatively into democracy. Common language is nice but it isn't everything, if the analysts believe this USA can't become a stable, orderly society without a Final War. Still, there would be Centrans unhappy about this command decision.

[David Johnston2]

Judas, Magdalene and Magus, a set of three biblical seeds.

Judas: In this setting Judas is not given the blame for Jesus's arrest and execution. Instead he goes on to turn the early Christians into a widespread revolutionary movement that ultimately overthrows the Roman Empire, replacing it with a highly aggressive theocratic regime that converts by the blade. More concerned with spreading the faith than administration, the vast empire it conquers fragments massively with the Heirarchs of Byzantium exerting commercial and spiritual influence of over many kingdoms.

Magdalene: In this setting Mary Magdalene is remembered as Jesus's wife (although it's impossible to confirm the truth of that claim). The full priesthood is reserved for women until Mother Church has its own Reformation. Scholarship with its initial association with the church, is widely regarded as a pursuit for women and homosexuals (with all the great Western scholars of the past being presumed to have been homosexuals.) Women dominate the sciences and the civil services and get a lot more representation in the political realm.

Magus: In this setting Simon Magus becomes bishop of Rome instead of Peter, and the church actively researches spell casting while regarding any non-Church spell casters as "witches".

[Drifter]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Judas, Magdalene and Magus, a set of three biblical seeds.

Judas: In this setting Judas is not given the blame for Jesus's arrest and execution. Instead he goes on to turn the early Christians into a widespread revolutionary movement that ultimately overthrows the Roman Empire, replacing it with a highly aggressive theocratic regime that converts by the blade. More concerned with spreading the faith than administration, the vast empire it conquers fragments massively with the Heirarchs of Byzantium exerting commercial and spiritual influence of over many kingdoms.

This is a cool parallel. Not to toot my own horn, but I still like my Barabbas the Insurrectionist timeline too.

http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread...us#post1814126

Magdalene: In this setting Mary Magdalene is remembered as Jesus's wife (although it's impossible to confirm the truth of that claim). The full priesthood is reserved for women until Mother Church has its own Reformation. Scholarship with its initial association with the church, is widely regarded as a pursuit for women and homosexuals (with all the great Western scholars of the past being presumed to have been homosexuals.) Women dominate the sciences and the civil services and get a lot more representation in the political realm.

Clever, again. If the local year is around the 1950s a local scholar can be hiding the terrible secret that he or she is heterosexual.

Magus: In this setting Simon Magus becomes bishop of Rome instead of Peter, and the church actively researches spell casting while regarding any non-Church spell casters as "witches".

Now this is really cool. One possiblity is with a low to average mana level you get a pretty nice D&D setting, although probably without non-human humanoid intelligences.

[Astromancer]

The first world I wrote about with the Gate to Mars in Northern Utah, was Gateway-3.


Gateway-1 Q5 has a seemingly natural gate on the Moon. From the earliest recorded times to the present Dianna's Hearth was seen on the moon. In 1971 US astronauts finally got a close look at it. It was a gate that lead to what they assumed was another solar system. (Homeline has found out it leads to another Q5 Earth where history diverged hundreds of millions of years ago so the continents are radically different.) The local year is 1995 and the Space Race has continued unabated. The USA, the Russians (the USSR still fell), The Europeans, the Japanese, and just lately the Chinese, all have bases on the Moon. The politics are hot and edgy because no one wants to miss out on the vast opportunity.

Gateway-2 Q4 has a Gate in the Austrian Alps. In 1589, after an earthquake, many local springs suddenly became hot springs. Clearly this included springs under a rather nasty glacier. With the sudden collapse melting of the glacier, a mountain pass, closed from before Roman times became open. While exploring the pass local villagers discovered the gate in 1593.

The Gate leads to an Earthlike world. Humans, speaking a language related to the Celtic tongues, were already here. The local flora and fauna resemble that of the Pleistocene but the geography isn't much like Earth's. The Quantum of this new world is hard to establish. Those Homeliners that have been there assume that it can't be mapped to the standard Q system.

From the discovery to the present day (1738) the Habsburgs have worked to conquer and evangelize this world. The local Celtic Empires are fighting back hard.

Gateway-4 Q4 has a Gate at Delphi in Greece. The Gate is old enough to have been mentioned by Homer and Hesiod. The local year is 460BCE. The gate leads to a Q5 world and comes out in the Hudson valley near what on Homeline in the border between the Bronx and Yonkers. The Greeks have settled the farmland and the nearby coast extensively. The local native American tribes are largely absorbed. Meanwhile, Homeline notes that the local year on this side of the Gate is 1491. As there are Greek colonies in the Caribbean, how will they great Columbus?

[TGLS]

Gateway-5 Q2: In 1983, a late TL9 high energy physics experiment at Cambridge created two gates about 3 feet apart. This led to an unfortunate incident during a bowling ball pendulum demonstration at a lecture later that day. Local year is 1986; the balance of power is fracturing as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Netherlands has announced the ability to create gateways between any two points in the world, rendering the missile shields of the Mexican Confederacy, Qing China, and Syndicated Poland moot. Infinity discovered the worldline using the Alea (IW30); some elements in Infinity are inclined to start a nuclear war before any of the Gate research programs accidentally (or possibly deliberately) create a gate to another worldline.