Post by Seven on Aug 20, 2011 2:49:29 GMT -5
The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.
Scholars call it the butterfly effect - the idea that changing a single detail of the past can result in extrapolating differences in the present and future. It can divert the flow of fate out of the way of one disastrous end and towards a new destiny. Think of time like a river that flows ever downstream, and destinies diverge at every choice one makes.
Imagine a river that splits in 2, like an upside-down Y. The river flows from the top to the bottom; from a single stream into 2 branches. It only flows in one direction. It can never flow backward. Information is the same way. It moves from the past to the future, but never flows backward.
That's why people at the river's source, in the past, will never know about those downstream, in the future. But the people downstream will never know about one another either. Information only flows along the path of the river.
The story has been written once before. Through the first branch in the river, the heroes immediately returned to fight on behalf of Allorum. The struggles of Andy Jammer, Yeligar Maelstrom, Ayalan Invargas and their companions were legendary and they fought with unparalleled valor. However, branch A of the river led only to war, followed by quietness as the land slowly began to fade.
Was there a way the world could still live on?
The answer lies beyond the second branch of the river.
The story returns to the point of divergence and plays out differently. The heroes will never know of the struggles they faced in their alternate timelines; unaware of their parallel selves, they press on and make the best of their new circumstances.
Amidst the changes, many old heroes miss their calls while new heroes find their footing in the stairwell of history. Some old villains lose their mantles to fresh opportunists. The story of good versus evil continues in a different way.
On this new path, many things are different - and the changes all started, in part, due to the events off the coast of North America, on board of the deck of the S.S. Divergence.
___
The time is 12 o'clock midnight. In the void between one day and the next, the night sky and the softly rolling sea stretch out into infinity. A solitary vessel bobs amidst the the waves and fog - the [S.S. Divergence]. Though it is an impressive ship, the [Divergence] seems small in its current setting, dwarfed by the overwhelming blackness of the midnight ocean.
Sailing along a steady course, the Divergence seems almost like a ghost ship - it travels through the waters with an uneasy quietness. Aside from the soft lapping of the waves and the chugging of the ship's movements, there are no other sounds coming from the vessel. The deck is completely silent and deserted - up until a large [Mountain] of a man dressed in orange overalls slams through the cabin door open and charges outside.
Mountain: Hey! Hey! Is there anyone else on this goddamn ship?!
After barging the door open, the mountain man breathes loudly, sucking in the salty sea air. He stares out for a moment into the blackness of the night sky, as if stunned by its sprawling largeness. The sight stops him dead in his tracks.
Mountain: What… what the hell is going on…
The mountain man stands motionless in the middle of the ship's deck. He appears to be deep in thought, and he touches his hat as he searches his mind for answers. And yet… his memory is as black and as empty as the night sky before him. He searches for some recollection… but all he finds are more questions.
Mountain: What the happened to me… …. …who am I…?
As the words leave his lips, the mountain man's eyes widen. He begins to realize that something is terribly, terribly wrong.
Mountain: WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER ANYTHING?!
His hands form fists and he shouts at the heavens. His cries echo out into the sky and are absorbed by the indifferent darkness of the night. Abandoned by his own memories, the man suddenly starts to feel terribly alone.
But he is not alone.
Scholars call it the butterfly effect - the idea that changing a single detail of the past can result in extrapolating differences in the present and future. It can divert the flow of fate out of the way of one disastrous end and towards a new destiny. Think of time like a river that flows ever downstream, and destinies diverge at every choice one makes.
Imagine a river that splits in 2, like an upside-down Y. The river flows from the top to the bottom; from a single stream into 2 branches. It only flows in one direction. It can never flow backward. Information is the same way. It moves from the past to the future, but never flows backward.
That's why people at the river's source, in the past, will never know about those downstream, in the future. But the people downstream will never know about one another either. Information only flows along the path of the river.
The story has been written once before. Through the first branch in the river, the heroes immediately returned to fight on behalf of Allorum. The struggles of Andy Jammer, Yeligar Maelstrom, Ayalan Invargas and their companions were legendary and they fought with unparalleled valor. However, branch A of the river led only to war, followed by quietness as the land slowly began to fade.
Was there a way the world could still live on?
The answer lies beyond the second branch of the river.
The story returns to the point of divergence and plays out differently. The heroes will never know of the struggles they faced in their alternate timelines; unaware of their parallel selves, they press on and make the best of their new circumstances.
Amidst the changes, many old heroes miss their calls while new heroes find their footing in the stairwell of history. Some old villains lose their mantles to fresh opportunists. The story of good versus evil continues in a different way.
On this new path, many things are different - and the changes all started, in part, due to the events off the coast of North America, on board of the deck of the S.S. Divergence.
___
The time is 12 o'clock midnight. In the void between one day and the next, the night sky and the softly rolling sea stretch out into infinity. A solitary vessel bobs amidst the the waves and fog - the [S.S. Divergence]. Though it is an impressive ship, the [Divergence] seems small in its current setting, dwarfed by the overwhelming blackness of the midnight ocean.
Sailing along a steady course, the Divergence seems almost like a ghost ship - it travels through the waters with an uneasy quietness. Aside from the soft lapping of the waves and the chugging of the ship's movements, there are no other sounds coming from the vessel. The deck is completely silent and deserted - up until a large [Mountain] of a man dressed in orange overalls slams through the cabin door open and charges outside.
Mountain: Hey! Hey! Is there anyone else on this goddamn ship?!
After barging the door open, the mountain man breathes loudly, sucking in the salty sea air. He stares out for a moment into the blackness of the night sky, as if stunned by its sprawling largeness. The sight stops him dead in his tracks.
Mountain: What… what the hell is going on…
The mountain man stands motionless in the middle of the ship's deck. He appears to be deep in thought, and he touches his hat as he searches his mind for answers. And yet… his memory is as black and as empty as the night sky before him. He searches for some recollection… but all he finds are more questions.
Mountain: What the happened to me… …. …who am I…?
As the words leave his lips, the mountain man's eyes widen. He begins to realize that something is terribly, terribly wrong.
Mountain: WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER ANYTHING?!
His hands form fists and he shouts at the heavens. His cries echo out into the sky and are absorbed by the indifferent darkness of the night. Abandoned by his own memories, the man suddenly starts to feel terribly alone.
But he is not alone.
