[Infinite Worlds] What If: Timelines can't be shifted by mortals.

[Tyneras]

This idea just occurred to me on the train, and I was wondering how it would change the Infinite Worlds setting.

What if Centrum couldn't shift timelines? What if it was either natural or caused by horrible supernatural events (Lovecraftian Gods doing Terrible Things, Cabal rituals requiring the blood sacrifice of a god to power, and so on). Timelines still shift from time to time, but not because an outtimer nuked London or convinced a writer to not make that one book.

If Centrum could no more shift Homeline away than the United States could hurl the Soviet Union to Venus, would there even be a secret war? Would it be an open war? Would there even be a war? Aside from the war, I imagine most activities would continue mostly unchanged.

[vicky_molokh]

So timelines don't change Quanta, so what? The societies in them still follow the laws of cause and effect, and thus can develop differently depending on events.

[Tyneras]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

So timelines don't change Quanta, so what? The societies in them still follow the laws of cause and effect, and thus can develop differently depending on events.

I am well aware of that. But a major plot point in the Infinite Worlds setting is that Centrum is shifting worlds out of their native quantum levels in order to send Homeline far, far away where it won't bother them, and the Patrol wants to stop this (although they don't know what the goal is).

If you don't have to worry about accidentally causing an echo to shift quanta, leaving you stranded, and you can't force it through artificial means, this changes Centrum's motivations significant, since they are stuck with Homeline being around forever.

[Flyndaran]

It would remove the usefulness of timelines closer to Home, because Centrum could never make full use of it.

[lachimba]

Originally Posted by Tyneras

What if Centrum couldn't shift timelines? .

You would get rid of what is an ok campaign meta plot?

[Tyneras]

Originally Posted by lachimba

You would get rid of what is an ok campaign meta plot?

It's always been the least appealing and weakest part of the setting, to me. It's one thing if mortals can harness the titanic energies required to shake a universe's foundations and make it move, it's another for the universe to care which political party I voted for.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Tyneras

It's always been the least appealing and weakest part of the setting, to me. It's one thing if mortals can harness the titanic energies required to shake a universe's foundations and make it move, it's another for the universe to care which political party I voted for.

I'm not so sure it does. Infinity's (and Centrum's) parachronic transport methods do, but then they're also strongly influenced by the mentalities of their users - as witness all the timelines diverging at points of homeline history modern Westerners find "interesting", and all the myth parallels. I'd strongly suspect "quantum" numbers are actually imaginary, the timelines in a quantum are not related to each other in any way on any objectively measured scale. This probably means that Infinity's parachronic technology is not actually mechanistically rational, and probably has some sentient component, but that's hardly impossible, or at odds with anything else in the setting. I've thought before Van Zandt has a pact with Yog Sothoth would explain a lot about the setting....

[Tyneras]

Originally Posted by malloyd

I'm not so sure it does. Infinity's (and Centrum's) parachronic transport methods do, but then they're also strongly influenced by the mentalities of their users - as witness all the timelines diverging at points of homeline history modern Westerners find "interesting", and all the myth parallels. I'd strongly suspect "quantum" numbers are actually imaginary, the timelines in a quantum are not related to each other in any way on any objectively measured scale. This probably means that Infinity's parachronic technology is not actually mechanistically rational, and probably has some sentient component, but that's hardly impossible, or at odds with anything else in the setting. I've thought before Van Zandt has a pact with Yog Sothoth would explain a lot about the setting....

Well, my original post was spawned by the idea that universes move because Lovecraftian things live in the oz between the universes, and they create and shuffle them around to better suit them. But the idea that they all float around in some sort of hyper-dimensional "soup" and the parachronic tech is more like Lovecraftian elder-thing magic/technology resonates with me. I've been listening to the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast lately (thank you, Mr. Hite), and it's got my creativity bent in that direction, and I havent really done anything but a few oneshots in the IW setting, so no cannon to worry about.

I will need to think on this.

[Flyndaran]

The fact that so many have humans should show how biased the "numbers" are.
It's as if finding out that nearly every parallel had the Palos Verde Blue Butterfly and no one asking WTF. (I searched for world's rarest butterfly.)

[cultureulterior]

RAW parachronic technology makes no sense whatsoever, therefore I've personally decided to replace it with magic, with homeline being prodigies at gate magic. (For realism, I've also dropped all timelines with elements of homeline fiction.)