Infinite Worlds Question

[Not another shrubbery]

Meh... I don't get it. It sounds like something hal would say, if he was concerned about the IW setting.

;) luv ya, hal!

[Kale]

Originally Posted by Gudiomen

You just described the main things that bother me about Infinite Worlds. Specially the technofobic Centrum. It needed saying.

Uh, in their 'Last War' the Centrans nearly wiped themselves out with nukes and bioweapons. I can see that as a decent rationalization for being a little technophobic.

[tmedwards]

Originally Posted by DryaUnda

Also, why couldn't Infinity let modern close parallels -- just ever so slightly different enough to be more stable than echoes -- in on the action?

Simple. Because there's no way to tell how that information would be received, nor what the end result would be. While it turned out alright on Homeline when the existence of the Infinite Worlds was released -- multiple times actually, at least three: to the Security Council itself, to the governments of the Security Council member nations, and, in a likely more sanitized form, to the world at large -- there's no guarantee that dispensing the same knowledge on another Earth, no matter how close or stable the parallel is, would achieve the same results. The existence of the Infinite Worlds is one of those make or break secrets, and while everything could go as swimmingly as it did on Homeline, everything could, just as reasonably, go horribly, horribly wrong, at either stage, on another Earth. If either Centrum or Reich-5 were much more of an immediate threat to Homeline then I could see them deciding to take the risk, however, as it stands now, there's no compelling reason for them to do so.

[Kale]

Originally Posted by tmedwards

...If either Centrum or Reich-5 were much more of an immediate threat to Homeline then I could see them deciding to take the risk, however, as it stands now, there's no compelling reason for them to do so.

Yeah, remember that Centrum can't directly reach Homeline, or vice-versa. It's more of a 'Cold War'.

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by Pick

Using a sniper rifle seems kind of lame. There is no need for sending more than just two or three people to hit a target in anyhting lower than TL 6. Just set up a thousand feet a way, take a shot, and walah. End of adventure.

I think the Secret implies that you don't do this kind of thing.

Am I wrong.

The analytical argument is a good one. Umm... we just don't have weapons that can blow out a brain cavity without a) being seen coming by bystanders and b) without remaining somewhere in sight.

Plus what if they investigate the killing and find a bullet or casing or something?

Well I hvae a few questions.

1. Why do they want this guy dead?
2. Even low tech populaces can present problems for infinity, they are just too small.
3. There have been cases wehre they open a world up for tourism, and then find out that there are dangers there that they did not know about (see wyvern)

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by DryaUnda

Before I proceed, I should add the disclaimer that I actually like the Infinite Worlds setting -- and not just because pointing out possible errors in an Origins winner could imperil my future career. (There may be no cabal in Wikipedia, but I'm not so sure about the RPG business.) It's just that this setting's so good, that any logical errors are all the more problematic to me.Secrecy in the echoes makes sense, since changes have a physical effect.This one makes more sense, but is still a bit more baffling. Lets go over the big three reasons.Yeah, what I said (though not as clearly as I should've).

I don't know where Infinity gets off on "they don't have our sense of responsibility!" when it was a black-ops team from Homeline that lost Da Sekret to the Nazis. Also, why couldn't Infinity let modern close parallels -- just ever so slightly different enough to be more stable than echoes -- in on the action? Would Homeline Beta (the one without Dan Quayle) really do any worse of a job? Extra worlds would mean a lot less Cold War paranoia and a lot more I-Cops to recruit.

I have never though that infinity was an altruistic organization, at least beyond a certain level. Remember that the big secret that was discolsed to the UN security council was "Infinite Worlds,Infinite Wealth". Opening it up to others will reduce the ecconomic effect on homeline. THe morality of this can be debated, but that is a core rational behind the secret

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by Kale

Uh, in their 'Last War' the Centrans nearly wiped themselves out with nukes and bioweapons. I can see that as a decent rationalization for being a little technophobic.

ANd they are not technophobic, but highly concervative. It is not technology that they are affraid of but change

[Gudiomen]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

ANd they are not technophobic, but highly concervative. It is not technology that they are affraid of but change

Yeah, you're right. And that's the bit that actually bugs me. Pragmatic, meritocratic, corporativist people like efficiency, efficiency means change and adaptation. Companies that are sucessfull are the ones that change with the times, branch out, make bold moves, rethink, and specially come up with new ideas. The corporativistic nature of Centrum should propel them fully towards change.

I guess some technophobia can be explained by fear of errors of the past, most of the world is still paranoid with nuclear power, even though it's cheaper, cleaner and vastly more efficient than most alternatives. France, for instance has one of the best (if not THE best eletrical system in the world), at least the last time I checked (a few years ago).

However, if a catastrophic war lead them to near extinction, they'd probably question more than just technology, they'd probably rething their whole culture (well, not rethink, but get reshaped out of necessity). It seems odd that the whole structure of a pragmatic culture remains while only the taste for change and development halts, I don't think something like that would last very long. It seems more likely and plausible that they'd turn their direction towards safer and less war-related technologies, at least for a bit, but not shun technology as a whole. That sort of paranoid approach seems more apropriate to a child than to a highly succesfull and developed culture.

[Fabricati]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

I have never though that infinity was an altruistic organization, at least beyond a certain level. Remember that the big secret that was discolsed to the UN security council was "Infinite Worlds,Infinite Wealth". Opening it up to others will reduce the ecconomic effect on homeline. THe morality of this can be debated, but that is a core rational behind the secret

Wrong. We don't know what Van Zandt told the Security Council.

what we do know is that Infinity has taken advantage of the Infinite Worlds to create infinite wealth as a means to get around UN restrictions on their operations.

[Ed the Coastie]

Originally Posted by Pick

Using a sniper rifle seems kind of lame. There is no need for sending more than just two or three people to hit a target in anyhting lower than TL 6. Just set up a thousand feet a way, take a shot, and walah. End of adventure.

It's generally not that easy. Hundreds of war/adventure movies and television shows and countless thousands of "No kidding, there I was..." stories to the contrary, there is more to a successful sniper mission than sending in a couple of guys with a scoped rifle and having them make like Ma Bell by reaching out and touching someone long distance.

If I were planning such an operation, I would want a squad at least a half-dozen strong: shooter, spotter, two guys to provide security for the shooter, and two more to provide security for the base camp a klick or so away. Allow plenty of time for pre-strike recon, and make sure that your exfiltration route is secure and that appropriate transportation has been acquired.