New Reality Seeds

[Drifter]

I wonder about the motives and resources of this Jumper or Jumpers.

Why alter a timeline? Unless you are an agent of Centrum, trying to get timelines to shift, it seems that knocking echos around is a dangerous business and not to be taken lighly. More than likely you'd be stranded in some distant Quantum, or possibly your reality disappears, and you with it. So this Jumper has to be determined and ready to risk it all (or most, anyway), so you'd guess his reward would be great.

Why alter the timeline in this way? This assumes Babbage, but counts for Holland as well. It couldn't be random chance that brings our Jumper to Babbage, he must know about him and his theories, and have the needed metallurgy information ready. And he'd have to be patient. Even if he could get Babbage to build the thing, he'd have to wait years, probably decades, for anything to come of it. That's years of living in a world without indoor toilets or germ theory. Then again he could just jump home whenever he wanted, but still, this timeline would have to be his focus of attention for a long long time. Again this implies a substantial reward of some sort.

The Jumper would need the money and information needed to effect the changes, and the skills to do so. If he was an eEngineer, with a diplomatic background, that could make sense, at least if he had some major backing. Or, if he was just bored and rich, he could be a Rumfuddler. But that seems an odd hobby for a bored, rich engineer, historian, diplomat, businessman. The Vance story gives a rationale, and source of funding for the changes made, but the alterations had a purpose, even if it made sense only to the Rumfuddlers.

Note that I'm not trying to knock holes in this timeline, I'm trying to figure out why this Jumper would bother doing any of these things.

You can just say "because he wants to" but the Jumper has to have access to a large amount of resources to effect the changes we see. Usually resources like that are not commanded by only one person, so why would his organization, whatever it is, allow him the resources to give England the computer a century plus early?

[Drifter]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

That's indistinguishable from North Korean rhetoric, isn't it?
;)


Which naturally makes it great for a horror setting.

What if the Hermit Kingdom has always been, instead of isolated, just hard to reach because it straddles several timelines? What we see as crazy propaganda is a reality that many of the citizens enjoy. Sure they occasionally have to suffer through bouts of dystopian Korea, but usually they get Happy Funland Korea.

[Flyndaran]

My alternate with its strong space race to Mars landing in 1980 might work as a Jumper/ Secret masters altered reality.
For unknown reasons "they" have enflamed the public's need for space exploration with an unusual focus on Mars.
The fact that that planet doesn't appear any different from those of all the other time lines' long dead realistic ones may pique curiosity.

"Their" plans, whatever they are, seem to be very long term with no overt manipulation or physical interference on either the earth or mars side.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Drifter

I wonder about the motives and resources of this Jumper or Jumpers.

In each case I assumed some one who wanted to change history closer to what they desired. The Babbage timeline is easier. It's closer to what could have happened. The Holland timeline isn't so far off. The Dutch did nearly achieve an industrial revolution based on wind power.

Most Jumper altered timeline would involve romantics trying to rewrite history The WAY it Should have been!!! That means lots of nutburgers going to major battles and the like and trying to change things for their version of the better.

You can just say "because he wants to" but the Jumper has to have access to a large amount of resources to effect the changes we see. Usually resources like that are not commanded by only one person, so why would his organization, whatever it is, allow him the resources to give England the computer a century plus early?

I agree that Babbage and Holland would be rare cases. You'd be more likely to get nuts with guns trying to kill major historical figures. But both of my jumper altered worlds assume that I'm trying to create something with gaming potential. Babbage-7 is a 19th century Europe about to get hit with something imcomprehensible to them. Holland-5 is just swasher goodness with clockpunk and steampunk add ins.

[Flyndaran]

Dreaming Martians:

Suspended animation survivors of a dying Mars project their super science boosted minds to contact and influence humanity. They reach out for help, voluntary or otherwise. Controlling through dreams and possession they develop secret organizations to focus humanity on reaching Mars.

The twist is that they contact 1000s of Earths in multiple time lines but don't know which one is "near enough" to help.
They can't even be sure that seeming radically different physical laws aren't merely local Earth/human divergences.
Not until a sizeable human expedition finally sets foot on Mars do they know such humans are truly on their Mars or not.

If they discover the secret of any world jumpers, they would bring their entire species' focus onto making them help.

(Sorry if this idea has already been created somewhere.)

[Drifter]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

In each case I assumed some one who wanted to change history closer to what they desired. The Babbage timeline is easier. It's closer to what could have happened. The Holland timeline isn't so far off. The Dutch did nearly achieve an industrial revolution based on wind power.

Most Jumper altered timeline would involve romantics trying to rewrite history The WAY it Should have been!!! That means lots of nutburgers going to major battles and the like and trying to change things for their version of the better.




I agree that Babbage and Holland would be rare cases. You'd be more likely to get nuts with guns trying to kill major historical figures. But both of my jumper altered worlds assume that I'm trying to create something with gaming potential. Babbage-7 is a 19th century Europe about to get hit with something imcomprehensible to them. Holland-5 is just swasher goodness with clockpunk and steampunk add ins.

Gaming potential in both is great. Babbage is your proto-typical steampunk, while Holland is pretty innovative. Swashbuckling clockpunk is something I'd adventure in.

I'm just questioning "why" does our Jumper want to change history in those specific ways. Shooting Hitler, or saving Lincoln or Kennedy are easy enough to understand, at least from an American viewpoint :) But Holland? The Jumper couldn't find a Holland dominant timeline he likes so he builds his own?

Do you see your Jumper as a highly motivated Dutchman that really would like to see a specific Holland timeline? I think that introducing a few innovations at exactly the right points in history is doable, but would be expensive to research and implement, especially for just one guy. And there is no guarantee he gets what he wants. Easy enough for those innovations to be stolen/sold to the English/French/Turks and THEY get the power. Unlikely, but possible.

I can see the Jumper as conducting an experiment in altering timelines. Either for himself or a sponsoring group of some sort. Either out of scientific curiosity, which makes it an ethical problem of experimenting on humans, or out of entertainment, which makes it a reality show with a very limited audience.

[combatmedic]

Dreaming Martians rocks.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Trying another Jumper twisted world.

Holland-5

The Holland designation covers worlds where the history of the Netherlands or the Dutch people is radically altered. Holland-5 seems to be a world where a Jumper decided to change things. This world achieved a wind powered industrial revolution!

The British are racing to catch up and is beginng to use coal and steam engines. The French seem to be blindsided. The present year is 1700. Louis XIV has abdicated his throne and the Anglo-Dutch alliance has requiered the Spainish to take a new monarch that is neither a Bourbon or a Habsburg.

Both Centruun and Homeline want to know what is happening on this Q6 world.

The local TL has been a mixture of 5, 4+1, and 4+2! for some years now. Every state in Europe is trying to catch up to the Dutch technological lead. Meanwhile, the Dutch and the Brits are advancing with surprising speed throughout Asia. Japan has dropped their isolation policy and is useing diplomatic missions to the UK and the Netherlands in an attempt to study and/or steal technology for themselves.

Basically: early 18th century steampunkish cloak and dagger.

Wind power, eh?

Do the Dutch use the windmills to generate electricity?

[combatmedic]

Juche


2014 A.D.



POD 2011

Kim Il Sung’s heart stops beating. It starts again 24 hours later, as his body spontaneously repairs itself. He wakes up as a god-man. His powers are real.



Current/recent events:
• Kim Il Sung has defeated the Americans, reunited Korea, and occupied Japan.
• Chinese officials dance on diplomatic rice paper, trying not to anger the Korean god-king.
• The other NATO countries have abandoned the United States and sued for peace after Kim demonstrated the power to disable nuclear weapons by divine fiat.
• Juche imitating cults, often quite different from the real thing, spring up all over the United States.
• Plastic surgery to look Korean becomes the latest thing in Hollywood.
• Russian scientists and theologians work to unlock the secret of The Leader’s apotheosis…

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Drifter

Gaming potential in both is great. Babbage is your proto-typical steampunk, while Holland is pretty innovative. Swashbuckling clockpunk is something I'd adventure in.

Thank-you

I'm just questioning "why" does our Jumper want to change history in those specific ways. Shooting Hitler, or saving Lincoln or Kennedy are easy enough to understand, at least from an American viewpoint :) But Holland? The Jumper couldn't find a Holland dominant timeline he likes so he builds his own?

I thought of the Holland-5 Jumper as a lost jumper that thinks he's time travelling. His focus is to build a decent world because he believes he's destroyed a good future. You see, he accidently jumped to Riech-5 and he thinks he caused that. Holland-5 is his attempt to undo his sins.

I can see the Jumper as conducting an experiment in altering timelines. Either for himself or a sponsoring group of some sort. Either out of scientific curiosity, which makes it an ethical problem of experimenting on humans, or out of entertainment, which makes it a reality show with a very limited audience.

Some of the interfering Jumpers are clearly conducting experiments, others are building utopia. Building their Utopia if no one else's.