Stretching the Yellow Ribbon, John Oakmaster Leaves Home Options

[M. J. Young]

This starts play for Dr. John Oakmaster, whose character papers are outlined mostly on the seventh page of Attention New Arrivals!

Indeed, you are examining some new hardware that's been added to the college server, something that says Scriff Inside! that's supposed to speed the connection significantly, but no one seems able to tell you how it works. While you're working on it, you stumble into the device, and feel it crack against you. Then you feel a nasty shock, and black out.

You are now waking up. You feel what must be lawn beneath you, and smell exhaust and asphalt, and wonder whether someone has moved you outside to get some air. The sun is shining on your closed eyelids, though, and you don't sense anyone around or hear anyone talking to you, although you do hear cars moving not too far distant. You are on your back.

There's a sense that you left something somewhere, "over there", and another sense that you were supposed to meet someone, in a direction not too different.

--M. J. Young

[Oak]

:Ooooh. What happened? Where am I?:

:Ah, that new hardware. It must have zapped me. Ugh. Hardware is nothing but trouble...:

:Dearest LORD, thank you that I lived to tell the tale...:

I slowly sit up, opening my eyes, expecting to see the lovely familiar oak tree just outside of my office window, and the other familiar plants near my office's front lawn...

[M. J. Young]

I slowly sit up, opening my eyes, expecting to see the lovely familiar oak tree just outside of my office window, and the other familiar plants near my office's front lawn...

...but instead see the parking lot of some shopping center, lit by what might be morning son, in the midst of some mid-sized city, with people rushing in and out of some upscale coffee shop on whose lawn you appear to have landed. The things you had with you in the computer room are here.

Oh, you probably have two "left something over there" vectors, because some of your stuff would have been in your office. I expect those things would be close enough that a very small amount of movement would change the vector (triangulation, you know), while the other, which is on nearly the same line as the person you were supposed to meet, is fairly constant.

You are unharmed, although at the moment you sat up you felt a bit of a sharp sting where you hit the device a moment ago, which passes immediately leaving no aftershock.

--M. J. Young

[Oak]

I blink in surprise, taking in the scene before me uncomprehendingly.

:What... happened? Where... am I? And it was afternoon -- *when* am I???:

:Dearest LORD, please give me strength, and wisdom...:

I glance around, first looking in the directions of the vectors I sense, and my eye falls upon my laptop, and my Tupperware beverage container, and my laptop carrying case, and my jacket. Strangely, they don't seem to be randomly discarded, but their relative positions seem to be... just where they were in my office...

I automatically go to gather them up, first examining my laptop to see how much time has passed according to the computer's clock, then shutting down and packing it into my carrying case.

Then I take a sip of water as I take in the rest of the scene.

:Dearest LORD, thank you that you are Sovereign, and in control of all things. Please guide me now, I pray...:

As I take in the scene, I start trying to apply my mind to analyze my current situation as best I can.

: OK, I don't know where or when I am. So first I had better try to find out...:

I look around to see if there are any newspapers or newspaper machines nearby, and if so, I examine the name, date, and visible articles to get a clue what is happening.

Then I enter the coffee shop with a thoughtful expression.

"Excuse me, but I'm lost. Do you know where I might be able to get a map?"

OOC: Questions:
(Q1) How much time does my laptop think has passed since I was zapped?
(Q2) What info do I get from any nearby newspapers, if any?
(Q3) How do the coffee shop folks respond?

[M. J. Young]

Your computer shows barely a few minutes elapsed since you remember being in the computer lab.

The coffeeshop has a half dozen different newspapers, including USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, and a couple of Ohio papers suggesting that this is probably Columbus, Ohio. They also all agree that today is Wednesday, May 15, 2002. The news seems a bit strange, but then I take it you were not in Ohio in 2002, and it's not all that strange.

Someone in the coffeeshop refers you to a pizza place a couple blocks away. They deliver and have a map of Columbus and vicinity in the back.

It is worth noting that the one "I left something over there" vector led you to the things which were in your office (being mindful that when you were examing the new server you presumably were not in your office). The other "I left something over there" has a lot less shift to it as you move, but is in a direction similar to the "I'm supposed to meet someone" vector.

The people in the coffeeshop are nice enough.

--M. J. Young

[Oak]

Your computer shows barely a few minutes elapsed since you remember being in the computer lab.

The coffeeshop has a half dozen different newspapers, including USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, and a couple of Ohio papers suggesting that this is probably Columbus, Ohio. They also all agree that today is Wednesday, May 15, 2002. The news seems a bit strange, but then I take it you were not in Ohio in 2002, and it's not all that strange.

:May 15... 2002???:

:Please help me, dearest LORD...:

I stand there, stunned, looking at the newspapers uncomprehendingly.

:Not some type of amnesia -- I've gone *back* in time. And my computer clock says I was shocked just a few minutes ago. More like a sci-fi story.:

:Think this through. Possibilities? Some type of subjective reality, like a dream? Likeliest. Some type of virtual reality? Or actual time travel? Both less likely. Kind of a neat thought, though.:

:Well, for all practical purposes, it doesn't matter. The LORD has placed me here, by his Sovereign hand. So I must serve him as best as I am able.:

:But my family? Suppose that this is somehow real? Suppose that I have disappeared, and they don't know where I am? Or suppose that my body is in a hospital bed right now, and they are right next to me, praying that I will awaken?:

: OK. So I must find a way back to them... somehow.:

:And these vectors I'm feeling. One led me to some of my belongings -- why would they have come with me? So the others might lead me... back to my wife and children? Maybe. Best option that I've got.:

: OK. So I need to follow those vectors, wherever they lead, as soon as I am able. The other vectors didn't shift much, though, when I moved around to get my laptop and stuff. They must be a lot further away.:

:Dearest LORD, please guide me, and give me the strength and wisdom that I lack.:

I continue gazing at the newspaper, trying to make my brain engage, and notice that the news seems a bit... strange.

Then I finally turn away, to start asking around for a map...

Someone in the coffeeshop refers you to a pizza place a couple blocks away. They deliver and have a map of Columbus and vicinity in the back.

It is worth noting that the one "I left something over there" vector led you to the things which were in your office (being mindful that when you were examing the new server you presumably were not in your office). The other "I left something over there" has a lot less shift to it as you move, but is in a direction similar to the "I'm supposed to meet someone" vector.

The people in the coffeeshop are nice enough.

--M. J. Young

"Thank you very much for your help."

"Do you think that they would also have a bus schedule? Or where would be the best place where I can find options for public transport? I don't know this area at all, but I'm pretty sure that if I keep going *that* way, I'll find something familiar eventually..."

OOC: Questions:
(*) In what way is the news "strange"? What are the stories that seem strange?
(*) What options do I have to get from here to there, ye people of the coffee shop?

[M. J. Young]

Someone says there's a bus station downtown, but they aren't really sure where it is. "Should be on the map, though." They point to a pay phone and say you can call a cab; the two cab companies have their numbers next to the phone.

As to the stories, there are a couple of aspects that seem strange.

One is that every once in a while it seems as if a story is trying to hard to explain something, as if everyone thought the truth was something else but the paper was trying to make them understand that the common belief was wrong. That is, it appears to be attempting to sell a version of some stories that is trying to explain away parts of it.

The other is that it seems very supportive of a view of government and industry as making everyone's lives better. In this connection, there are some stories about a rising youth counterculture that is misguided in its ideas about placing unfounded environmental concerns over the booming economy and rapidly advancing technology of the country.

It seems that the best options for travel are either call a cab or walk.

--M. J. Young

[Oak]

I thank the helpful coffee shop folks, and depart, the wheels and cogs in my brain grinding.

:Too much to think about... but not now. Focus. Follow those vectors.:

:Please guide me, dearest LORD...:

I slowly walk outside, thoughtfully regarding the other nearby shops, looking as I walk to see if there is anywhere that looks more promising for a decent street map than the back of a pizza box. I also look for discarded pizza boxes (those in obvious view, not searching by actual dumpster diving).

Suddenly, I stop with a shock of realization, and start taking inventory of my available resources.

:Uh oh. 2002. The credit card won't work. And the ATM card?:

:In fact, even the cash could be a problem -- now how many of these bills can pass for valid in 2002? And how much is a bus or a cab?:

:Dearest LORD, help me, I pray...:

Thoughtfully, I resume my search for the map. If there is no map to be found, I walk until I get to the pizza shop, and try to obtain a map from them.

As I walk, at each intersection, I get out a pen and some scrap paper, and write down the names of the cross streets. After this, I close my eyes, focusing, locating the vectors I sense as accurately as possible. Opening my eyes again, I write down the vectors as accurately as possible, and the current time.

When I finally have a map, I plot the vector information onto it to get an approximate location of the vector's origin.

My current destination: the "someone I'm supposed to meet" vector's origin.

If my current destination estimate seems to be within walking distance, I start walking.

If not, I try to find a bus or cab, asking for an estimate of how much the fare to my destination would be, and comparing to see if I can afford it.

And as I journey, I continue updating my estimated destination location...

OOC: Questions:
(*) How much of my money is actually dated 2002 or earlier?
(*) How much of the remainder is dated later, but still with the same design (versus the different new-fangled versions)?
(*) Where do I find a map?
(*) How much does it cost?
(*) How far away is my estimated destination ("someone I'm supposed to meet")?
(*) How far away is my estimate of the other vector's origin ("something I've left over there")?
(*) Am I currently traveling by foot, by bus, or by cab?

[M. J. Young]

There is some confusion. The pizza place does not give away or sell maps, nor are there maps on the boxes. There is a map in the store, pasted or tacked to the wall, which the coffeeshop people believe they would let you examine.

If you want to buy a map, you'll have to look in stores to see if you can find one, although I imagine there are some around.

The vector to the "left something over there" changes very little.

The vector to the "someone I'm supposed to meet" is a bit more problematic. The first time you saw a clock anywhere, it was about seven thirty in the morning and there was a single strong vector. It is now after nine, and it seems as if the vector has split--like you're supposed to meet several people, only they're going different directions. Still, the strongest source is still in the same direction. You note even here, though, that it is a bit unfocused horizontally, as if you can't quite tell at what altitude you have to meet this person. It's not that much of a difference, really, and assuming it's a question of a floor in a skyscraper (of which none are particularly tall around here) it can't be more than a few miles.

You have one twenty dollar bill that is dated 2002 or earlier, plus three singles. You also have a five and a ten and four singles that are dated later but look like money currently in circulation. That means $23 of completely legitimate money plus another $19 that will pass if no one examines it too closely. (See the Behind the Screens thread for the differences.)

You can use the map in the pizza place, but you'll have to tell me if you're going into other stores to try to buy one.

I still have you walking; with the strangeness of the vector to the person you're supposed to meet, it would be difficult to tell a cab driver which way to go.

--M. J. Young

[Oak]

After figuring out that the coffee shop folks were talking about a map in the back of the pizza store rather than on the back of the pizza boxes, I blink in confusion for a moment, then ask if they will let me see the map, and do so with thanks.

As I look the map over, I pay particular attention to the direction of the stronger multi-altitude vector, trying to identify what tall buildings lie along that vector (if the map is of sufficiently fine scale to indicate major buildings).

I am tempted to look for a map to buy, but after finding so little usable cash in my wallet, I decide to save what I have.

And since I am following moving vectors in an unfamiliar city to a location which at least seems to be within walking distance anyway, perhaps I'll be able to get by without a map after all.

Thus it is that I set out on foot toward the stronger multi-altitude vector.

Taking in the sights...

Observing what I can to give me clues about this place the LORD has placed me in...

Trying not to think too hard about the implications of the fact that the vector I hope is bringing me to find my wife and children has now split...

And praying... a lot.

[M. J. Young]

In about half an hour, a man you've never seen before, to the best of your recollection, probably in his thirties, bearded with long brown hair, wearing jeans and a flannel shirt open over a pocket T-shirt and otherwise not so ordinary thanks to a variety of strange decorations--a metal belt that looks to be made of linked steel bars, an odd glass dangle from his waist that is difficult to describe--is walking straight toward you and looking right at you. There is confidence about him, and a certain amount of poise that almost suggests medieval courtesy, and intelligence in his face.

More strangely, one of the split vectors is pointing directly to him, tracking with him as he approaches.

"Well met," he says. "Welcome to Columbus, Ohio. It's not exactly home, but it looks a lot like it--assuming you're from Earth?" He does not wait for an answer immediately, but continues. "I'm called the Architect because I built Umak Tek, but friends call me Mark. I've been here a few weeks and can at least offer you a place to stay. Can I buy you breakfast? You can pick the spot, or come back to my hotel, which has excellent food and I get it billed to my room."

Now he waits for your response.

--M. J. Young

[Oak]

I blink as my mind races in several directions at once...

:That vector is pointing at... him... not my family!:

:I don't think I've met him before, although he might know me.:

:'Assuming you're from Earth'???:

:But the other vector pointed at my possessions. So why him?:

:'...and can at least offer you a place to stay. Can I buy you breakfast?...':

:But in 2002? Not so many Caucasians knew me back then...:

:The other vectors... who or what are they pointing at?:

:No, he must not know me already -- he introduced himself, right?:

:'...or come back to my hotel'... Hotel? Vectors with different altitudes?:

:Dear LORD, my God... where *are* they? Have mercy, I pray...:

My normal friendliness... My concern over my wife and children... My curiosity over this person who seems familiar... My disappointment over the fact that the vector isn't pointing at my family... My wariness of an unknown stranger... My lostness and lack of resources here...

All these things, and more, flicker upon my face as I briefly ponder the man before me.

But with my overloaded brain in gridlock, instinct kicks in.

:Well, this guy somehow *feels* OK. And he does seem familiar, at least as far as this weird vector is concerned. And he seems to have some clue what is happening. And he is kind enough to offer me food and shelter, both of which are rather lacking right just now. Dearest LORD, guide me, I pray...::

I reflexively reach out my hand to shake the hand of this strange looking, strange talking, familiar stranger.

"Well met, Mark. I'm John. I don't think I know you, but you certainly seem... familiar... somehow, in a strange sort of way. And you certainly seemed to know how to find me, so I deduce that you may feel something similar. And you seem to have some clue what is going on here. And you are kind enough to offer me food and shelter."

"I appreciate your kind offer. Breakfast at your hotel sounds like a plan."

And as we start walking, I turn to him, and ask him as neutrally as possible (given his 'assuming you're from Earth' comment):

"So where are you from? And what brought you here? And how did you find me... and I you?"

[M. J. Young]

A bit of a frown crosses his face, erased by what might have been a shrug.

"This obviously is your first time. I ought to have expected it, I suppose, since there are half a dozen here already, and besides me only one is not on his first time. Well, I'd rather talk about it sitting at a comfortable table in the hotel dining room, but I don't expect making you wait while we walk the last couple of miles is going to improve your distress, so," he takes a big breath and releases it in something like a sigh. "John, the answers to most of your questions are found in something called scriff. You must have been exposed to it. It's a gold-colored shiny metallic-looking liquid; on the earth I knew, it was being used in electronic equipment because of its remarkable electrical properties. For reasons that require some understanding of particle physics and dimensional mechanics, electricity moves through scriff at a velocity in excess of the speed of light. It actually does not do that; scriff makes the distance negligible, because it is not really a material nor an energy, but something sub-particle that is both the framework of mass and the framework of space. What appears to us from our perspective to be an ocean of scriff, if such a volume ever accumulated in one place, is to itself a singularity. Thus an electron that touches it at any point instantly exists across the entire surface and can leave from any point without, in our sense, moving to it. This is obviously very useful for high-speed electronics. Unfortunately, the stuff is dangerous, because it's not really part of the universe, at least in its pure form. It leaks in, usually, in technological worlds, as the result of experiments in subatomics such as particle accelerators and nuclear fusion. The problem is it's always trying to leak out again.

"It's attracted to human bodies because of the electrical systems that comprise our nervous tissue. It infects the network. Given time without disruption, it will leak out again into the space between the universes. However, a significant electrical jolt will fix the scriff to the molecular structure and cause it to retain shape, in some sense of that word. The surge that frequently occurs at death is enough of an electrical jolt to do that. Thus, people who become scriff infected and then die before the scriff can escape become permanently scriff infected.

"I'm sorry; I'm beating around the bush because even after all this time it's difficult to figure out how to tell people this. John, somehow you got scriff into your body, and then, probably almost immediately, you died. Because the scriff is there, it won't let your body lose its shape--you can't 'stay dead'--but because of the shock it is driven from the universe, and takes you with it. You can't exist in the space between the universes for long, so you are thrown into another universe, where your body reforms itself, alive, and usually well. That's how you got here.

"Since scriff is also attracted to itself, particularly when it is in some sense attuned to the same frequency, I can sense the scriff in you and you can sense the scriff in me. The scriff in your possessions is also attuned to you, but not close enough to me for me to sense it. You can probably also sense the other versers--people who, like you, have scriff in their bodies and travel from universe to universe--here in this place. You will never physically age, and death will take you to another world. Some, like this, will be like earth, sometimes more and sometimes less so. Some will be so alien they seem like a dreamscape.

"I've told you what has happened to you, but not why. I try not to impose my theology on people who don't ask for it, and I think sometimes it's better to come up with your own philosophy of the verse--your own intellectual reconciliation of what has happened to you and why--than to be handed one by someone else. I know half a dozen versers who have been at this longer than I, and no two of us would give the same answer to why this is happening, or even on some level what is happening.

"Am I going too fast for you? It's easy sometimes to forget that this is very shocking for someone the first time, and not everyone believes it until they've been through a couple of worlds.

"Oh, and I am also from Earth, an earth not much different from this, where I was a Bible professor, musician, radio broadcaster, law school graduate, and father of five, but that was so long ago I can't always remember the details."

--M. J. Young

[Oak]

:Dearest LORD, give me wisdom and strength, I pray.:

I mentally grapple with what I am hearing, and attempt to keep a grip on my emotions.

"OK. Let me see if I have followed this correctly."

"You believe that what I am experiencing is objective reality at some level, rather than some subjective reality, whether an externally imposed virtual reality, or an internal dream or delusion."

"You believe that the nature of this objective reality is along the lines of multiple universes, rather than something like time travel, so there shouldn't be a need to 'repair' the differences in the 'timeline' to restore the world we know, since this isn't even the same universe."

"You also observe, however, that though you have had a long interval of time to gather the information that leads you to these conclusions, that others with comparable experience may have been led to alternate conclusions. Which would certainly make sense enough, actually, considering that the testability of such theories is decidedly limited."

I ponder this for several steps.

"Well, I take as my axiom the Bible. I suppose that one could argue that an infinite God wouldn't necessarily limit Himself to a single universe... though that isn't quite the standard reading of 'And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold...'. But the claim that I have died, and yet that this 'scriff' will keep moving me into a different universe instead of into Heaven, permanently, is something that seems less likely than some type of delusion. In fact, it would seem less incredible to assume that exposure to scriff induces some type of coma, perhaps even with some virtual reality, telepathically created and shared by those in such an unconscious state. Especially since I also seem to sense possessions of mine that I have no reason to believe should have any scriff in them..."

I ponder this for several more steps.

"Well, I suppose that for all practical purposes, it doesn't matter, at least as far as how I should respond, for the LORD has placed me in such a situation with these subjective impressions of it, and He is Sovereign. 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.' So I must follow wherever He leads me."

"However, He also led me to pledge myself to my wife, and blessed me with two very dear children. And I don't feel particularly dead at the moment, so my responsibilities to them still remain. I also have a number of other commitments. I too have a vocational ministry as a professor, serving on the faculty at a conservative Christian college, though my field is Computer Science rather than Bible. I also serve in my church choir, etc."

"So then, I do need to serve the LORD wherever He leads me. But I also do need to somehow find my way home again, as quickly as possible."

I ponder this for yet several more steps.

"Well, I obviously need as much knowledge as possible, and the LORD has brought you to me. But I do not know when circumstances may change, and we may lose contact somehow. We could even end up in different universes, if your impressions are correct. So I need to 'download' as much information as possible from you, as soon as possible, if you are willing."

"First of all, you stated that you have also left a family behind, so I assume that you made efforts to return to them, but have not met with success. Is there any way to control what universe you travel to? And is there any other way to travel from place to place without dying?"

"And on a more mundane note, what knowledge, skills, experience, etc., have you acquired to help you survive and thrive in your travels? For I observe that if finding the way home was easy, you would have done it already. Therefore, I'll need to get by somehow while I research how to find a way back, which, given your long experience and lack of success thus far, could take awhile..."

[M. J. Young]

"Ah, yes. My theology took a bit of adjustment when it first happened. Appointed to man to die once and all that, rather difficult. In fact, I know a fellow who decided he had died and was not in heaven or hell, so the truth must be that he was one of Odin's chosen warriors preparing for Ragnorak. Rather fearsome guy, really. I also know a girl who believes she's in a coma and none of this exists--but you can't live like that for any length of time, and even if you actually think it's true you'll find you have to act as if something else is true, or you'll get pretty hungry and extremely tired. I've never dreamed that I was tired, I think, but I've been tired many times since this started.

"As far as it being time travel, I can see how you might think that, given how earth-like this world is. My first world? Vast plains of bright orange grass, circular glass city rising up in the middle, giant robot spiders patroling its streets, psionically active glass devices in storage bins, mobile sentient bushes of black corral firing beams of light at prey, and living Nerf balls containing a powerful neurotransmitter with some very remarkable and dangerous properties. They didn't have to tell me I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Here most of the differences--well they're not exactly subtle, but they're easy to overlook. Industrial pollution is much worse, and they seem to have missed the counterculture of the sixties and the Green movement of the eighties. Between pollution and radioactive wastes they've had several mutant monsters appear--three of us saw the giant preying mantis the first day we were here--but the government always covers these up with some improbable story usually involving Hollywood filmmakers. We're careful about what we drink, and our hotel filters all its water.

"On the theology issue, it might help if you think about it like resussitation. Are you dead when you stop breathing? When your heart stops? When your brain ceases to function? Maybe death is when your spirit separates from your body--but I've known of people in codes who could see things happening in the room that could not be seen from the bed on which they were lying, so apparently spirits can leave bodies and come back again. So maybe you can die by all those definitions and not be dead, and scriff travel is just one more way of keeping you alive, or bringing you back, whichever way you'd put it.

"I don't know that I think Jesus was talking about people in a parallel universe, but then I don't think he was talking about the American Indians either. If I remember correctly, wasn't that a reference to the Samaritans? Always been a bit stronger on the Epistles, myself. Still, the way I see it, how could an infinite Creator express Himself fully in a single finite Creation? I don't understand it all, but then I never expected that I would fully understand God even when I knew a lot less than I know now.

"Other theories? Peter Adams thinks it's all an accident without any meaning, that scriff carries us randomly from universe to universe. He's an atheist, of course. I say that he's got the how down, but misses the why--that God has chosen certain people to do His work in many worlds. Dan O'Malley thinks we've fallen into the realm of human fantasy, and are living through all the stories people have ever told, even if we've never heard them. Bob Thomas thinks that the army has put us in some sort of drug-and-virtual reality experiment to evaluate our responses. He says you can tell the real people from the illusions by that feeling you get when you encounter another real person--the scriff feeling. There's no reasoning with him. Point out to him that he's experienced about six thousand years of this "experiment", and he says that the time distortion is an effect of the drugs. And Whisp thinks the verse is a great place to pick up women, although I think he may have backed off from that by now.

"You forget. There is scriff in everything. We think it's the stuff of which quarks are made. Stuff that is yours somehow becomes attuned to you--it really is yours. That's why stuff that wasn't around the scriff came with you. Of course, it's a hard theory to test; thus far we haven't found a way of testing whether the scriff in someone who is not a verser is attuned to the scriff that is in them, but that's because as much work as Pete and I have done on scriff, we've never really been able to figure out how that tuning aspect works.

"I'm not going to tell you not to try to get home. As far as we know, the one world to which no one has ever returned is the one in which he started. All of us who have been around for a while have been in worlds that were very like home, but eventually we found a flaw. Yes, eventually you can begin to have some control of movement through the scriff, but the time you spend there is terribly brief and the number of universes--well, Adams says they're infinite, I say they're not, they're just vast beyond comprehension.

"I'll teach you whatever you want to learn. I have psionics lessons this afternoon, martial arts lessons tomorrow, and have been alternating. Magic doesn't work well in this world--not even what gamers used to call holy magic, prayer and such. That's a bias issue. My students haven't been terribly interested in advanced science and technology, which is just as well, as I don't have much here to use to teach them. Anyway, I've been at this for five millennia, so I know quite a bit, and if I know it, I'll teach it.

"Yeah, sorry. I usually don't mention the time thing. It's a deal-breaker sometimes--people don't believe it, so they conclude I'm crazy. I don't know any good way to prove I'm not crazy, other than show you some of what I've learned, but maybe you just have to come to grips with it on your own.

"As for traveling between universes without dying, sure. I've got a spell that gates me to the edge of heaven and lets me leave for another universe. Some worlds have discovered interdimensional transporters, but these seem to work only between related universes in my experience. Whisp once operated a scriff travel device, something like a TARDIS only it used scriff to travel between universes. Teleporting by mind power to another universe is risky, but it's been done; in fact, I've done it by accident a couple times when I was trying to walk the twilight--er, travel through hyperspace, but I use magic for that, not psionics. I imagine you could push your body beyond where Whisp has gone and become completely noncorporeal, and then just fall from one universe to another at will, but despite the obvious advantages of Whisp's completely fluid form I've always managed to keep myself as human as possible, so that's not something I can do. There's still the problem of the search for home, as there are so many universes out there.

"Let's put it this way, if anyone ever got home, he never told anyone. Now, it's entirely possible that he got home and stayed there--but there's every reason to think he would not have aged another minute, ever, so eventually he would either have to fake his death, find some plausible explanation for why he doesn't age and die, or die. In the last case, we'd meet him again sometime, and he would tell us about it. It's never happened, as far as I know. Not that it couldn't, but that it somehow just doesn't. You've got a better chance of being invited to enter the deep supernatural and never return to mortal realms. I've had a couple of friends stay in heaven for one reason or another, but I never saw them again.

"And the knowledge I've accumulated is far from mundane. What do you want to learn?"

--M. J. Young

[Oak]

My mind grapples with this familiar stranger's observations. Much to think about -- too much to take in now.

But the mental fog starts clearing as my mind begins latching onto some of the implications of his words regarding his skill set.

:'...I'll teach you whatever you want to learn. I have psionics lessons this afternoon, martial arts lessons tomorrow, and have been alternating. Magic doesn't work well in this world--not even what gamers used to call holy magic, prayer and such. That's a bias issue. My students haven't been terribly interested in advanced science and technology, which is just as well, as I don't have much here to use to teach them. Anyway, I've been at this for five millennia, so I know quite a bit, and if I know it, I'll teach it...':

:'...And the knowledge I've accumulated is far from mundane. What do you want to learn?...':

:Advanced science and technology? Martial Arts? *Magic*??? *Psionics*??? *Five millennia*???:

:Well, he could be lying, or delusional... but he doesn't *feel* that way, somehow. Of course, I've just met him. But these weird vectors did lead me to him, and him to me. And I did get zapped, and did end up in an unfamiliar place where the newspapers claim it is 2002.:

:Suppose he is speaking truth?:

:'...I don't know any good way to prove I'm not crazy, other than show you some of what I've learned...':

:He has been kind enough to offer breakfast, in a public place, so it should be safe enough. And that should be time enough to make clear if any of his claims can be verified...:

I chew on all of this for the space of several steps.

"My humble apologies -- by 'mundane', I simply meant tentmaking skills to earn my keep while researching how to get home."

"But if I have understood you correctly, you claim to have a skill set ranging from advanced science and technology to martial arts, and magic, and psionics? And kindly offer to share this knowledge with me? Indeed, I agree that 'mundane' hardly seems appropriate."

"Wow. OK, let us suppose that all of these claims are accurate. Where to begin? I've enjoyed roleplaying games for quite a few years, but I never thought I'd be choosing extraordinary powers and skills in real life."

I pause in furious thought for several more steps.

"Well, on the one hand, I'm not at all into what might be called 'arcane' magic, for it seems to me that any such power from any supernatural source other than the LORD would fall under Biblical prohibition."

"But powers granted from the LORD, either directly via supernatural act, or indirectly via some inner ability such as psionics, or indirectly via knowledge of advanced technology or martial arts, seem permissible to me."

"So then, 'what do I want to learn?' The mind reels. Hmmmm. I had better think this through..."

"Well, when roleplaying, I have tended to gravitate toward either the stereotypical fantasy 'cleric' or the psi-fi 'mentalist' -- somewhere between a Holy Healer and a Christian Jedi, with a few other odds and ends thrown in, often tied together under some broadly 'empathic' theme. Healing & telepathy & universal translator & even shapeshifting for 'creature empathy'; clairsentience & precognition & postcognition & even teleportation (or portal creation) & insubstantiality for 'spacetime empathy'; telekinesis & psychometry for 'object empathy'. Although there is certainly something to be said for the classical cleric's 'create food and water'..."

"But you mentioned that some powers don't work here -- 'a bias issue'? So if I understand you correctly, different powers have different degrees of functionality in different universes? That means that I would need a skill set that would be sufficient to reliably draw upon in a variety of differently 'biased' universes. So I imagine that knowledge of advanced technology and martial arts would also be quite useful."

"Well, perhaps I should break this down from a real life standpoint. My goals are to serve the LORD, and to find a way home. So when arriving in an unknown universe, what would I need? Survival -- the means to be healed from injury or disease, to obtain food, water, and shelter, and to endure local environmental conditions. Information -- the means to obtain knowledge. Communication -- the means to exchange information with others, regardless of language, and to establish benevolent and constructive interactions. Transportation -- the means to get both self and belongings from one place to another. Defense -- the means to avoid, escape, pacify, subdue, and/or be shielded from danger. These hold true whether I am seeking to spread the Gospel to an alien universe, and/or to find the key that will get me home."

"Hmmm... come to think of it, the skills already mentioned seem reasonably well suited for most of these tasks."

I ponder a bit further.

"Given the knowledge that you have spoken of and so kindly offered, it is obvious to me that this may be a rare opportunity with a precious resource. And who knows how long I will have access to you?"

"I assume that to develop these skills would require both knowledge and practice. The latter would certainly take time; there is probably no helping that. However, it seems to me that I would need to obtain as much of the former as possible."

"To put things in computer terms, as I see it, I would need to 'download' as much relevant data from you as possible, as soon as possible, and I would need to be able to 'store' it accurately. Then I would need to 'process' it as and when time permits."

"To download it, I suppose that telepathy would be essential. And to store it, I suppose that some means of photographic memory would be essential. Once I obtained those two capabilities, I could download and store the relevant knowledge you have regarding the others, and then start practicing it, getting as far as I can as quickly as I can under your instruction."

"Does that seem like a reasonable approach to you?"

OOC: I don't know how far we need to walk before we arrive back at your hotel, so feel free to specify when in the conversation we arrive...

[M. J. Young]

It's definitely a very nice hotel, and the restaurant sits on a balcony over the lobby, where the Architect takes a table, orders steak rare and eggs sunnyside on wheat toast, buttered grits, orange-pineapple juice, and coffee light and sweet with a bit of ice, and "whatever he wants", indicating you. The waiter is polite and deferential in a way that suggests he is already familiar with this customer and that this is within the usual for him.

"Do a data dump from the mind of a five thousand year old verser? Boy, that's ambitious. Dangerous, too. I don't know if you ever saw a show called Doctor Who? There was an episode, the one in which they introduced Leela, Face of Evil it was called. The Doctor got into a lot of trouble because on some previous unmentioned adventure he had attempted to save a spaceship computer that seemed to have shut down by overlaying his engrams on it, but the computer had shut down because it had achieved consciousness and was trying to figure out who or what it was, so it ended up with two personalities. Fiction? I don't think there is any fiction--at least, I've been to enough worlds where stories I thought were fiction were unfolding around me. But for real examples, my son the" you hear him say what sounds like "scientist, got hooked up to a Dar Koni teaching machine, and came away from it with a touch of a Dar Koni world view and a rather negative attitude about Kreelak. We could try to dump my knowledge into you, but you might find yourself wondering for the next thousand years how many of your decisions are what you would do and how many are from that other guy running around in your brain.

"Still, I will be using telepathy to teach the psionics, at least--a lot easier to show you how to do something by putting it in your head, and given as you've asked we can make the first lesson a mind reading variant that watches how someone else is doing their psionics. Then if you do lose me, you might still be able to learn stuff from the guys who are learning psionics with me now, as they've all got some different skills. Telepathic teaching actually does not work as well with martial arts and other bod skills. Do you remember rotary dial phones? Do you remember when you could dial a friend's number not by thinking of the number but by having your fingers go where they belonged? A lot of the memory patterns of body movements is stored in the neurons in the body rather than in the brain, so it's not so easy to convey those telepathically. At least, I've never tried to read someone's body neuron patterns. Interesting idea, though. Maybe I should consider it."

When the coffee comes and the waiter leaves, you see the cup float through the air to his hand before he takes a sip, and then float from his hand back to the saucer. It does so as if he's not really paying attention to it.

"I'll tell you this about holy magic: use your faith. Figure out what it is you believe, and focus on that. My second world is where I started doing magic. There was a priest there fighting against vampires in Chicago, and he told me that when he stood against a vampire, he would hold out his crucifix, which was a symbol of his faith, and the creature would recoil in pain from it. He said I needed to work out what were the symbols of my faith, to use these against the undead. Well, I've been an active part of a lot of denominations, but I've always been fundamentally Baptist--that is, Baptist at the root of it all. I figured that my faith was in the Bible--not the book, but the words. I'd learned enough Greek and had brought along my Greek New Testament and dictionary, and I began memorizing passages and, when the time came, quoting them against the enemies. In doing so, I was able not only to see my faith release the power of God, but to see that happen in specific ways--forcing doors open, floating to the ground from the top of a building, bringing light into dark rooms, setting buildings ablaze. Before long, the priest was also tapping into using words with his faith. I've rarely seen anything quite like the effect of the requiem on the undead: Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis, Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them.

"I understand what you mean about magic from other sources. Thing is, it gets rather confusing sometimes. I studied with Merlin for a while, and raised some of these same issues. It seems to me that there are four different things; Merlin did two of them, and I can see not having a problem with three. The problematic one, in the sense of this is something God does not want us doing, is praying to some spirit being that is not Him for aid. That's not even well stated. You're not Catholic, right? Well, sometimes I think some Catholics misunderstand the doctrine of the church, and ask Mary to do this or that for them, instead of, as the church teaches, asking her to pray on their behalf that God would do this or that for them. Now, I don't favor asking Mary to pray for me myself, but I think that asking Mary, or Isis, or Athena, or any other spirit being who was not physically present to do something for me would be the kind of thing God rejects.

"On the other hand, you have the whole djinni thing. The djinni offers to grant a wish. There really is no question here that the djinni is a spirit being exercising supernatural powers. Is letting him grant the wish for you against God? I mean, this is not so simple a question as it seems. It would certainly not be a sin for you to ask me to pass you the sugar, even if I did it by some paranormal or supernatural power. If I asked a djinni to open a door for me, he would probably use his magic to do it, because he's a magical creature. So I think it's different if you happen to be working with some supernatural being who is present with you. I don't think God would object to me asking Thor to pass me the sugar, if we happened to be breakfasting together.

"Merlin, it happens, didn't really do either of those things. The closest he got to them was talking to rivers and trees. Dryads, of course, are spirits in trees, and Nyads are the same for the rivers. There are animistic worlds, and maybe Narnia is right, even in those in which the trees are silent the spirits have simply gone to sleep. Asking a tree to lower its branches so you can reach an apple is about the same as asking me to pass the sugar; it just happens that most people can't talk to trees--but I've seen some who can, particularly elves, and that's what Merlin did.

"The most fundamental magic he used, though, was a sort of free magical energy that he could tap, sort of like sunlight in the supernatural world. I don't even know of that kind of magic existed in our world, or how you could be certain that you were tapping that and not actually dealing with some infernal spirit who was fooling you. Yet on one level, what is really remarkable is that God allows us to change the world at all. Given that, using supernatural energy without any supernatural persons behind it doesn't seem to be much different from doing it any other way. Mind, it's a lot more difficult, in most worlds, than getting answers to your prayers--and in Narnia and Alyria it doesn't work at all, there is no disconnected magic, and if you try to use magic you'll attract the attention of the spirit rulers of those worlds who will want you to commit to a side in the immortal struggle.

"Of course, I'm not suggesting you do anything with which you are not comfortable; but you wanted as much data as you could get, and I'm giving it to you. Mentalist is a good choice, although psionics are a lot less predictable than other abilities. I would hardly have expected the psi bias to be high in this world, for example, but I've not found anything I can't do. Makes me think there are probably highly intelligent psionically capable aliens out there somewhere--which is not at all surprising, since we've already gotten the impression that this world models a lot of B movie horror films at times. And yes, I can do all the things you mentioned."

"Bias, yes. It seems that universes are biased for or against different, for lack of a better description, power sources. The four power sources seem to be the natural forces that drive science and technology, which we usually call Tech, powers from the supernatural realm, which we call Mag," (soft G, as in Magic shortened) "the power from within the mind or soul or spirit of a person, which we call Psi, and the power of living tissue, people, animals, which we call bod. Sometimes they mimic each other. I was in a Star Wars like world where what looked like magic was really psionic, but because of high psionic static you had to have the ability to tap into a kind of mass mind energy field created by all living things to amplify your own power. Weird. It's not usually like that."

--M. J. Young

[Oak]

I work on ingesting and digesting this information at the same time I work on ingesting and digesting my rather delicious food. In addition to my usual cereal and banana and yogurt and nonfat milk, I indulge myself in a scrambled egg, hash browns, wheat toast, and orange juice.

In spite of myself, I stop chewing as I observe the cup to and from hand to saucer. And I start to wonder if it could really be true.

"Yes, I too am a Baptist... Calvinist, Creationist, Conservative -- or in other words, Biblical."

I finish the sentence with a good-natured grin.

"Although I like sci-fi, I never got around to watching Doctor Who, but I see some of your point. Still, there are many facts about many skills and many worlds that could be very useful to know, without needing to do a comprehensive data/personality dump."

"Given that the learning of psionic powers can be assisted by imparting knowledge telepathically, and given that you have both the knowledge of all those skills and the ability to communicate it telepathically, could you do so? Then even if I lose contact with you, I would already have absorbed the requisite knowledge, and would need only practice in applying that knowledge."

"For example, to start with, could you show me how to do telepathy, and photographic memory?"

I take another bite as I ponder.

"And if you have advanced technology, do you have any data or software that I could copy onto my laptop that would be useful? For if there are some universes where psionic powers are less accessible, it would be prudent to have resources drawing upon various different areas of bias."

"Of course, I'd also be happy to take off of your hands any extra advanced tech devices that you have laying around and don't need any more, but I admit that's probably rather unlikely..."

[M. J. Young]

He smiles at your "in other words, Biblical" comment.

After you ask about telepathy and photographic memory, thoughts come into your head, clearly from the outside. Telepathy is easy, really, they say, and so are mind reading, thought projection, the whole school of mind-to-mind transfers. Photographic memory might take me a bit of thought, though. For one thing, it means different things to different people. Exactly what do you mean by it? You can think the answer back, if you like. My telepathic ability opens a two-way link, so I'll hear what you try to send back to me. That's actually probably enough of an example that you can figure out how to do it yourself later. Be careful, though--it can really startle people to have thoughts come into their heads that are not their own.

"Hmmm--I keep a lot of that stuff on the psi computer--not really a good place to keep it, I suppose, but it's got a substantial storage unit and works at pretty low psi biases, and I can get at it a lot faster. My tech system is trinary, and I'd have to build a trinary to binary converter to download the stuff to your system--and even so, it's got ten yottabytes bubble memory in trinary, and that's a lot of data. The system can find it fast enough, but it will take a while to figure out what you need and download it--and you'll be buying a lot of this world's jazz drives to fit it all. Nikolaj was researching the computer hardware available; he'd be best to inform you on that. Of course, most of what I have on my computers is my journals, and that's probably not terribly useful, I would think.

"I'll dig around in my rickshaw, see what I have that I haven't used for a while."

--M. J. Young

[Oak]

As telepathic contact is made, my eyes widen, and I fumble my fork upon my plate. Then my eyes light up with excitement as I intently regard my breakfast companion.

:: Wow... Telepathy! That is *so* neat!...::

:: And just now, you did telekinesis with the cup, right? Psionics, for real!!!::

:: But you said that the 'bias' is different in different worlds, right? So does that mean that psionics either works or it doesn't? Or do some psionic powers work more reliably than others... and if so, which ones?::

:: OK, let me focus. Telepathy, wow... What was the question? Ah yes, photographic memory. Hmmmm...::

:: Well, I'll try to think this through by thinking out loud -- if you'll pardon the pun.::

:: If one can do telepathy, and if there are a whole school of mind-to-mind transfers, then it must be possible to do more than just read surface thoughts. I assume that means that it must be possible to access other parts of the mind.::

:: For example, perhaps I could tap into the language center of someone's mind, and through that be able to use their knowledge of a foreign language to converse with it. Or perhaps I could tap into some skill they possess, and through that be able to make use of it.::

:: Or... perhaps I could tap into someone's short term and long term memory, and sift through those memories to find specific information.::

:: So if this were possible, then might it not be possible to use such telepathy upon *yourself*? That is, use telepathy to sift through your own memories to find specific information?::

:: If I could read my own mind to find any desired specific information regarding anything I have ever known or experienced, even information that is 'forgotten' as far as access via ordinary thought processes is concerned, then that might qualify as 'photographic memory'.::

:: Do you think that would be possible?::

And when he makes the offer to dig around for any extra tech, my eyes widen again.

"Wow. I asked that question mostly in jest, for I am aware that whatever you have acquired will be quite difficult to acquire again, and that after carrying your luggage around for five millennia you probably aren't carting around things you think are useless. Thank you for even considering it."

I take another bite, chewing thoughtfully.

:: We have telepathic contact now because you are doing the sending and receiving for us. May I try doing it now, with your assistance and instruction?::