You are Dr. Paul Van Zandt. A tenured physics professor, you've been comfortably employed in...
Multiverse Theory: An Infinite Worlds Quest (GURPS/Multicross)
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March 1995 (Action Vote) - Experimental Confirmation
- Location
- Canada
You are Dr. Paul Van Zandt. A tenured physics professor, you've been comfortably employed in teaching and research at Dartmouth College for over a decade now. Between a notable inheritance, a reasonable salary, sound investment decisions, and your generally modest lifestyle, you've managed to amass a small fortune. You've got a net worth in excess of two million dollars; easily enough for you to retire in reasonable comfort... not that you're in a hurry to do so! You celebrated your 40th birthday just last year... and though it wouldn't be accurate to say that you celebrated it alone, it occurred to you later that there wasn't anyone there who knew you on anything but a professional level. You have no living relatives, no close friends outside of academia, and you've never had any luck in romance. If it wasn't for your work, you don't quite know what you'd do with yourself. That's fine, though; for now, the work is enough.
Indeed, your work fixates your attention even more these days, and for excellent reason; you've made a discovery that you know full well will put your name in the history books. Last month, you managed to experimentally verify the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. More importantly, you didn't do so merely under laboratory conditions at the subatomic level; instead, you built a machine that let you visit another world in person. With what you have decided to call your 'parachronic projector', you sent yourself bodily across the temporal barriers that define separate realities, and found yourself in a world that appeared identical to your own... except for the fact that it was summer of 1972 instead of winter of 1995. Some careful testing has proven to your satisfaction that you have not managed to build a time machine; if nothing else, you are reasonably confident that you were never born in that alternate world, though you've had no success so far at finding any other discrepancies between the two histories. Wary of the possibility of finding yourself stranded in an alternate timeline, and well aware of the limitations of your prototype, you got back in your machine, went back to your own world, and did some serious thinking about your next steps (with a 'borrowed' history textbook to keep you company).
Ultimately, you've decided that you need to be especially careful in how you release this information. If you were to simply announce your findings now, the Department of Defence would likely seize your research outright (with some justification; you do get a notable portion of your grant money from them). You don't think of yourself as unpatriotic... but at the same time, you don't quite feel comfortable trusting your government with a technology that would allow them to invade and conquer other worlds for their resources. No, you'll need some serious leverage before you let this genie out of the bottle. Fortunately, there are a couple of non-obvious steps between your previously published papers and the theories and equipment needed to travel to another world, so you have some breathing room... provided you take some care who you choose to share your information with. It is not quite certain yet just what might be waiting in the infinity of alternate worlds, but the potential is limitless! Your actions in the coming months and years will shape the fate of far more worlds than your own.
It is March, 1995; the start of the College's Spring Term (which will end in June, at the end of next turn). You have three actions available in the coming months; one Academia action, one Science action, and one Free action.
[ ][Academia] Arrange an accident. (Subterfuge, ???)
Your lab is an excellent facility, but it's on Dartmouth's research campus, and is funded by the DoD, and that makes it too public a location for the sort of secrecy you'd prefer.
Given some time and care, you should be able to arrange a believable accident that will destroy your lab, ruin your equipment, and prevent anyone from discovering your secrets or duplicating your findings. This will, of course, prevent you from exploring other worlds until you rebuild your equipment, and is quite likely to trigger an investigation of some sort by College officials.
[ ][Academia] Engage in peer review. (Research, Easy)
Science marches on, and even though you're making exciting discoveries now, there are other scientists doing interesting work in your field. You could take some time to read the latest papers and even review some currently-unpublished work. There will always be more to read than you have time for, but spending some time catching up with the cutting edge may suggest new research possibilities... or give you an idea if any of your rivals are close to duplicating your own findings.
[ ][Academia] Make your excuses. (Bureaucracy, Easy)
Your obligations to the College could be ignored outright, and a convincing excuse will prevent this from causing too much trouble for you with the College administration. Of course, such an excuse will look rather flimsy if you are seen on campus. (This does not consume an action; if it is the top-ranking Academia vote, you will not perform an Academia action, and will effectively gain another Free action to use on a non-Academia action.)
[ ][Academia] Meet with alumni. (Socialize, ???)
Ivy League alumni aren't all rich and powerful... but there are plenty who are, and many of those are interested in making donations. If you spend some time at the right clubs and fundraisers, there's plenty of opportunity for you to schmooze with wealthy and well-connected individuals, some of whom may be interested in supporting your own research... especially if you're willing to reveal some details about just how well that research is going!
[ ][Academia] Request a sabbatical. (Bureaucracy, Easy - Hard)
Given the way your research is going, now might be an excellent time for you to dedicate extra time to it. Choosing this action will give you a year's paid break from your academic obligations, freeing you from the need to teach classes or take Academia actions for that time (effectively trading your automatic Academia action for two Free actions, for the next six turns). You may request this for any one-year period, but a request to begin a sabbatical in the middle of an academic term will be unlikely to be granted, while requests which start further in the future are more likely to be granted. As you are currently scheduled to teach Spring Term classes through to June, the soonest you can expect to be free is July, but it should be easy enough to get your sabbatical request approved for that time if you submit it now.
[ ][Academia] Seek grant money. (Bureaucracy, Very Hard)
You are independently wealthy, and could theoretically fund your own research... but you haven't made it this far by spending money you don't have to. Your grants have managed to fund your research so far... but you're nearly out of grant money now, and you don't have anything that you're willing to show for it. You could apply for additional funds, but the grant committee is likely to frown on your lack of results. This would be an easier prospect if you published something first. On the other hand, perhaps it would be more sensible to avoid the government's eye for now; this is money that comes with strings attached.
[ ][Academia] Socialize with colleagues. (Socialize, ???)
There are plenty of respectable scientists on campus, and though they're mostly as busy with their own work as you are with yours, you might make an effort to be more sociable. If you want expert advice from a scientist outside your own field, this might open valuable doors.
[ ][Academia] Teach classes. (Multiple Skills, ???)
Your obligations to the College require you to teach some classes... but there's a difference between merely meeting your obligations, and going above and beyond. Going the extra mile here will take some extra time, but it can help you make lasting connections among your students, and could be a good way to find yourself a competent assistant.
[ ][Academia] Write a research paper. (Research, Average)
"Publish or perish" can be disregarded to a degree... once you have tenure. Even so, there are appearances to keep up, and grant committees to appease. If you don't release something interesting every now and then, you'll find your reputation declining. You could use this action to blow the world away with a revelation of your real findings... or merely expound upon 'purely theoretical' quantum mechanics, in a direction unlikely to lead back to your methodology.
FinanceYou are independently wealthy, and could be using that money to more effectively support your goals. You don't find the field all that interesting, though, and can only take actions in this category with a Free Action. Many of these actions require professional assistance, and you'll need to consult your broker to free up funds if you want to make any major purchases.
[ ][Finance] Arrange your finances. (Bureaucracy, Easy)
You have a fair amount of wealth tucked away, but most of it is in stocks and other financial instruments, and you can't access it all on a whim. If you plan to do anything really expensive, you'll need to sit down with your broker and convert some of your funds into a more liquid form.
[ ][Finance] Acquire property. (Finance, ???) (Locked; requires 'Arrange your finances.' to secure funding.)
It would be helpful to acquire a permanent lab space, somewhere that the College officials won't be able to look over your shoulder. Though you could set up a lab at home, there's only so much space you have available there, and such a lab may not be suitable to hosting a full-time research staff. If you want to do serious research with a full team of assistants, instead of part-time research from improvised facilities, you'll eventually need a dedicated building. Unfortunately, suitable buildings aren't likely to come cheap.
[ ][Finance] Build a new lab. (Merchant, Average) (Locked; requires 'Arrange your finances.' to secure funding.)
You own some property in the northern part of the state, a cozy little mansion which you inherited from your father, and could never quite bring yourself to sell. It's not convenient to Dartmouth, so you don't regularly live there, but it would be a reasonable place to set up a more permanent lab. It'll take some doing, and you won't be able to get facilities that are quite as good as your current lab, but you should be able to get a bare minimum set up fairly quickly, which would let you get started on duplicating your travel equipment at home. Such improvised facilities are far from ideal over the long term, but setting up a home lab would be a fairly quick way of getting reasonable privacy.
[ ][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
It's possible that your journeys may take you to places a lot stranger than the recent past. There are a number of things that you might buy to make your outings a little less dangerous; camping supplies, clothes for a variety of weather conditions, spare parts for the conveyor, and so on. You could buy a lot of things this way, but it won't necessarily be clear ahead of time just what you'll need, and there's only so much stuff you can fit in the conveyor with you. Still... you aren't poor, and a bit of shopping might prevent all sorts of misfortune.
[ ][Finance] Hire someone. (Socialize, Easy)
You generally work alone, but you're reaching a point where it'd be convenient to have someone else supporting your efforts full-time. Although your academic connections may let you attract competent help through the College, money tends to shine a little brighter than reputation. You don't have anyone specific in mind, at the moment... but you've certainly got enough money to shake loose some sort of reasonably competent assistance. Networking with specific talented individuals may make them available for hire.
[ ][Finance] Sell your old home. (Finance, ???)
You own some property in the northern part of the state, a cozy little mansion which you inherited from your father, and could never quite bring yourself to sell... until now; you could use the money elsewhere, and you don't feel the place will be useful to your current plans. Getting a good price for it means you may not see your funds immediately, but once you've gotten the ball rolling (and your family property moved out of the place), you won't need to have anything more to do with the place.
[ ][Finance] Take a break. (???)
You've never been terribly good at maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and with the recent success of your research, you've hardly taken a moment to yourself. You still feel eager to continue your frantic pace of research... but it might be healthy to schedule some time off, to let your creative batteries recharge. (If you do not choose this option, then you're devoting almost every waking hour to work or to science; a hectic schedule which will catch up to you, sooner or later.)
ScienceAs a dedicated scientist, you will take a Science action every turn unless physically prevented from doing so. With Free actions, you can take more than one! All of the Science you're interested in right now involves parachronic physics, but it's possible that some other projects might come to your attention eventually.
[ ][Science] Develop better Parachronic technology. (Multiple Skills, ???)
Right now, you're working with prototype equipment of limited capacity, questionable reliability, and minimal redundancy. You wouldn't go so far as to say that it's a miracle you made it back in one piece... but considering everything that could go wrong, Russian roulette probably offers better odds than parachronic travel. You wouldn't necessarily die if something went wrong, but you could easily be stranded. A bit of practical work on refining your technology would go a long ways to making trips to other worlds less hazardous. Technological development can be difficult, and results are hardly guaranteed... but you'll make more progress in a given time period with more data in a better theoretical framework.
[ ][Science] Gather data. (Physics, Average)
Your theories originally developed as a way to explain various unusual behaviours you observed in certain quantum interactions. Gathering additional experimental data using different equipment configurations may give you useful information you can use to refine your theories or develop new technologies. That said... you have been doing this for some time, and have picked much of the low-hanging fruit. Short of gaining access to much more sophisticated systems, you don't anticipate getting much more in the way of novel results from experiments done in this world.
[ ][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
Your theories have checked out so far, to the point that you were actually able to travel to another world. Even so, your theories are still very much a work in progress. The short version is that parachronic physics seems to rely on a very large number of values, and it's currently unclear which of those values are constants, as opposed to merely being locally constant; which change naturally, as opposed to changing in response to deliberate action; which indicate conditions that permit safe transit, as opposed to indicating deadly hazards. Some of these questions will be easier to answer as you visit more worlds and gather more data, but additional work with your models and equations may allow you to eliminate some possibilities.
[ ][Science] Search for new worlds. (Physics, Very Hard)
In order to travel to a new world, you first need its coordinates... which amounts to finding a data set that solves a rather monstrous equation for 17 properties in 26 dimensions, and one which results in the final "T-Gamma" variable having a value of 5. T-Gamma values which are not a whole number result in many undefined coordinated, and are probably not valid. T-Gamma values that are integers other than 5 are theoretically valid, but you don't know if it's possible to reach any worlds associated with them, yet. This process requires a lot of math, as you test assorted possible values against your equations. Additionally, even with theoretically valid coordinates, you still need to test them; not all places which could have a worldline actually do. This process is currently difficult, tedious, and time-consuming, but until you're willing to trust someone else with your theories, you'll have to do it all on your own, more-or-less by hand. Advancements in theory or technology may help make this task easier and more productive.
[ ][Science] Travel to a known world. (Physics, Hard)
The only world you currently know of is the other version of your own world. If you can think of anything worth doing in an alternate 1972, there's nothing stopping you from doing so... providing you're willing to accept the risks. Having some assistants, both for backup in the other world, and to monitor the projector back home, would make this a much safer prospect. Any trip to another world is another opportunity to collect data, though your conveyor's systems alone aren't the best tools for the job.
[ ][Science] Travel to a new world. (Physics, Very Hard) (Locked; requires 'Search for new worlds.' to find valid coordinates.)
When you travel to a new world, you might find anything. The many-worlds interpretation suggests that nearby universes should be extremely similar to your own, but given the temporal difference between your own universe and the first one you visited, you're inclined to suspect that you'll encounter worlds far more different than your own. Be prepared... but don't let the risk stop you from exploring! Travelling to new worlds allows you to collect parachronic data from additional viewpoints, which is sure to be of great help in refining your theories and technology.
TrainingYou aren't an expert at everything; yours is a narrow speciality, and you don't have much experience beyond academia and theory... not that you haven't dabbled here and there. You certainly can't become an expert in some other field overnight, but with a bit of effort, you can improve your competence in a few other key areas.
[ ][Training] Exercise. (Athletics, Easy)
You're not in terrible shape, considering your age, but you don't get out as often as you should. Since a largely sedentary lifestyle is a poor fit for an explorer, you might want to change that. Taking some time to work out regularly won't result in any miracles, but a few months of regular exercise will make you healthier, and get you in better shape to face the unknown.
[ ][Training] Practice electronics. (Electronics, Average)
You're a fair hand with a soldering iron, and have had a lot of practice recently, as you needed to build most of your parachronic equipment yourself. Still, you'd be the first to admit that you're an amateur in the field, and you use stock components wherever possible. A few months of dedicated effort won't instantly make you an expert, but it'll certainly give you a stronger foundation from which to refine your existing prototypes.
[ ][Training] Study computers. (Research, Easy)
Computer technology has been making great strides recently, and is becoming an increasing practical tool for many projects. You aren't quite 'computer illiterate', but your knowledge of the field is seriously lacking, and prevents you from doing more than using simple programs. Taking some time to learn some basic techniques may make some of your work a little easier, and could open up possibilities for automating the more time-consuming parts of your work.
[ ][Training] Study finance. (Research, Easy)
The field is of little interest to you, though you've managed to save and keep a small fortune by being conservative in your habits. Even so, you may be making some major changes in your spending habits, and could well be using that money to further your aims. Taking some time to gain some basic financial literacy won't qualify you to personally handle your funds, but it might help you protect yourself against fraud, and make you better qualified to assess the competence of those seeking to handle your funds.
[ ][Training] Study a language. (Linguistics, Average)
You already speak three languages; English, German, and Latin... though admittedly, your fluency leaves something to be desired outside your native English. Learning a new language is a major project, and it won't be something you can complete in just a couple of months, but if you put in the effort, you could develop some basic knowledge of a new language, or brush up on one of your other known languages.
[ ][Training] Study mechanics. (Research, Easy)
This is a field you've generally considered beneath you... but considering the practical limitations of your current conveyor, you might gain some benefit from learning a few things about motor vehicles. Two months of study will probably still leave you an amateur, but even amateur work might let you design a mobile conveyor, instead of your current immobile box.
Indeed, your work fixates your attention even more these days, and for excellent reason; you've made a discovery that you know full well will put your name in the history books. Last month, you managed to experimentally verify the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. More importantly, you didn't do so merely under laboratory conditions at the subatomic level; instead, you built a machine that let you visit another world in person. With what you have decided to call your 'parachronic projector', you sent yourself bodily across the temporal barriers that define separate realities, and found yourself in a world that appeared identical to your own... except for the fact that it was summer of 1972 instead of winter of 1995. Some careful testing has proven to your satisfaction that you have not managed to build a time machine; if nothing else, you are reasonably confident that you were never born in that alternate world, though you've had no success so far at finding any other discrepancies between the two histories. Wary of the possibility of finding yourself stranded in an alternate timeline, and well aware of the limitations of your prototype, you got back in your machine, went back to your own world, and did some serious thinking about your next steps (with a 'borrowed' history textbook to keep you company).
Ultimately, you've decided that you need to be especially careful in how you release this information. If you were to simply announce your findings now, the Department of Defence would likely seize your research outright (with some justification; you do get a notable portion of your grant money from them). You don't think of yourself as unpatriotic... but at the same time, you don't quite feel comfortable trusting your government with a technology that would allow them to invade and conquer other worlds for their resources. No, you'll need some serious leverage before you let this genie out of the bottle. Fortunately, there are a couple of non-obvious steps between your previously published papers and the theories and equipment needed to travel to another world, so you have some breathing room... provided you take some care who you choose to share your information with. It is not quite certain yet just what might be waiting in the infinity of alternate worlds, but the potential is limitless! Your actions in the coming months and years will shape the fate of far more worlds than your own.
It is March, 1995; the start of the College's Spring Term (which will end in June, at the end of next turn). You have three actions available in the coming months; one Academia action, one Science action, and one Free action.
Academia
You have tenure, and will be able to retain your position at Dartmouth as long as you care to. This comes with obligations, though; you must choose an [Academia] action each turn. Doing so will incidentally cover your teaching and paperwork obligations. It would take considerable neglect or serious misconduct to lose you your position, but it could theoretically happen.[ ][Academia] Arrange an accident. (Subterfuge, ???)
Your lab is an excellent facility, but it's on Dartmouth's research campus, and is funded by the DoD, and that makes it too public a location for the sort of secrecy you'd prefer.
Given some time and care, you should be able to arrange a believable accident that will destroy your lab, ruin your equipment, and prevent anyone from discovering your secrets or duplicating your findings. This will, of course, prevent you from exploring other worlds until you rebuild your equipment, and is quite likely to trigger an investigation of some sort by College officials.
[ ][Academia] Engage in peer review. (Research, Easy)
Science marches on, and even though you're making exciting discoveries now, there are other scientists doing interesting work in your field. You could take some time to read the latest papers and even review some currently-unpublished work. There will always be more to read than you have time for, but spending some time catching up with the cutting edge may suggest new research possibilities... or give you an idea if any of your rivals are close to duplicating your own findings.
[ ][Academia] Make your excuses. (Bureaucracy, Easy)
Your obligations to the College could be ignored outright, and a convincing excuse will prevent this from causing too much trouble for you with the College administration. Of course, such an excuse will look rather flimsy if you are seen on campus. (This does not consume an action; if it is the top-ranking Academia vote, you will not perform an Academia action, and will effectively gain another Free action to use on a non-Academia action.)
[ ][Academia] Meet with alumni. (Socialize, ???)
Ivy League alumni aren't all rich and powerful... but there are plenty who are, and many of those are interested in making donations. If you spend some time at the right clubs and fundraisers, there's plenty of opportunity for you to schmooze with wealthy and well-connected individuals, some of whom may be interested in supporting your own research... especially if you're willing to reveal some details about just how well that research is going!
[ ][Academia] Request a sabbatical. (Bureaucracy, Easy - Hard)
Given the way your research is going, now might be an excellent time for you to dedicate extra time to it. Choosing this action will give you a year's paid break from your academic obligations, freeing you from the need to teach classes or take Academia actions for that time (effectively trading your automatic Academia action for two Free actions, for the next six turns). You may request this for any one-year period, but a request to begin a sabbatical in the middle of an academic term will be unlikely to be granted, while requests which start further in the future are more likely to be granted. As you are currently scheduled to teach Spring Term classes through to June, the soonest you can expect to be free is July, but it should be easy enough to get your sabbatical request approved for that time if you submit it now.
[ ][Academia] Seek grant money. (Bureaucracy, Very Hard)
You are independently wealthy, and could theoretically fund your own research... but you haven't made it this far by spending money you don't have to. Your grants have managed to fund your research so far... but you're nearly out of grant money now, and you don't have anything that you're willing to show for it. You could apply for additional funds, but the grant committee is likely to frown on your lack of results. This would be an easier prospect if you published something first. On the other hand, perhaps it would be more sensible to avoid the government's eye for now; this is money that comes with strings attached.
[ ][Academia] Socialize with colleagues. (Socialize, ???)
There are plenty of respectable scientists on campus, and though they're mostly as busy with their own work as you are with yours, you might make an effort to be more sociable. If you want expert advice from a scientist outside your own field, this might open valuable doors.
[ ][Academia] Teach classes. (Multiple Skills, ???)
Your obligations to the College require you to teach some classes... but there's a difference between merely meeting your obligations, and going above and beyond. Going the extra mile here will take some extra time, but it can help you make lasting connections among your students, and could be a good way to find yourself a competent assistant.
[ ][Academia] Write a research paper. (Research, Average)
"Publish or perish" can be disregarded to a degree... once you have tenure. Even so, there are appearances to keep up, and grant committees to appease. If you don't release something interesting every now and then, you'll find your reputation declining. You could use this action to blow the world away with a revelation of your real findings... or merely expound upon 'purely theoretical' quantum mechanics, in a direction unlikely to lead back to your methodology.
Finance
[ ][Finance] Arrange your finances. (Bureaucracy, Easy)
You have a fair amount of wealth tucked away, but most of it is in stocks and other financial instruments, and you can't access it all on a whim. If you plan to do anything really expensive, you'll need to sit down with your broker and convert some of your funds into a more liquid form.
It would be helpful to acquire a permanent lab space, somewhere that the College officials won't be able to look over your shoulder. Though you could set up a lab at home, there's only so much space you have available there, and such a lab may not be suitable to hosting a full-time research staff. If you want to do serious research with a full team of assistants, instead of part-time research from improvised facilities, you'll eventually need a dedicated building. Unfortunately, suitable buildings aren't likely to come cheap.
You own some property in the northern part of the state, a cozy little mansion which you inherited from your father, and could never quite bring yourself to sell. It's not convenient to Dartmouth, so you don't regularly live there, but it would be a reasonable place to set up a more permanent lab. It'll take some doing, and you won't be able to get facilities that are quite as good as your current lab, but you should be able to get a bare minimum set up fairly quickly, which would let you get started on duplicating your travel equipment at home. Such improvised facilities are far from ideal over the long term, but setting up a home lab would be a fairly quick way of getting reasonable privacy.
[ ][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
It's possible that your journeys may take you to places a lot stranger than the recent past. There are a number of things that you might buy to make your outings a little less dangerous; camping supplies, clothes for a variety of weather conditions, spare parts for the conveyor, and so on. You could buy a lot of things this way, but it won't necessarily be clear ahead of time just what you'll need, and there's only so much stuff you can fit in the conveyor with you. Still... you aren't poor, and a bit of shopping might prevent all sorts of misfortune.
[ ][Finance] Hire someone. (Socialize, Easy)
You generally work alone, but you're reaching a point where it'd be convenient to have someone else supporting your efforts full-time. Although your academic connections may let you attract competent help through the College, money tends to shine a little brighter than reputation. You don't have anyone specific in mind, at the moment... but you've certainly got enough money to shake loose some sort of reasonably competent assistance. Networking with specific talented individuals may make them available for hire.
[ ][Finance] Sell your old home. (Finance, ???)
You own some property in the northern part of the state, a cozy little mansion which you inherited from your father, and could never quite bring yourself to sell... until now; you could use the money elsewhere, and you don't feel the place will be useful to your current plans. Getting a good price for it means you may not see your funds immediately, but once you've gotten the ball rolling (and your family property moved out of the place), you won't need to have anything more to do with the place.
[ ][Finance] Take a break. (???)
You've never been terribly good at maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and with the recent success of your research, you've hardly taken a moment to yourself. You still feel eager to continue your frantic pace of research... but it might be healthy to schedule some time off, to let your creative batteries recharge. (If you do not choose this option, then you're devoting almost every waking hour to work or to science; a hectic schedule which will catch up to you, sooner or later.)
Science
[ ][Science] Develop better Parachronic technology. (Multiple Skills, ???)
Right now, you're working with prototype equipment of limited capacity, questionable reliability, and minimal redundancy. You wouldn't go so far as to say that it's a miracle you made it back in one piece... but considering everything that could go wrong, Russian roulette probably offers better odds than parachronic travel. You wouldn't necessarily die if something went wrong, but you could easily be stranded. A bit of practical work on refining your technology would go a long ways to making trips to other worlds less hazardous. Technological development can be difficult, and results are hardly guaranteed... but you'll make more progress in a given time period with more data in a better theoretical framework.
[ ][Science] Gather data. (Physics, Average)
Your theories originally developed as a way to explain various unusual behaviours you observed in certain quantum interactions. Gathering additional experimental data using different equipment configurations may give you useful information you can use to refine your theories or develop new technologies. That said... you have been doing this for some time, and have picked much of the low-hanging fruit. Short of gaining access to much more sophisticated systems, you don't anticipate getting much more in the way of novel results from experiments done in this world.
[ ][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
Your theories have checked out so far, to the point that you were actually able to travel to another world. Even so, your theories are still very much a work in progress. The short version is that parachronic physics seems to rely on a very large number of values, and it's currently unclear which of those values are constants, as opposed to merely being locally constant; which change naturally, as opposed to changing in response to deliberate action; which indicate conditions that permit safe transit, as opposed to indicating deadly hazards. Some of these questions will be easier to answer as you visit more worlds and gather more data, but additional work with your models and equations may allow you to eliminate some possibilities.
[ ][Science] Search for new worlds. (Physics, Very Hard)
In order to travel to a new world, you first need its coordinates... which amounts to finding a data set that solves a rather monstrous equation for 17 properties in 26 dimensions, and one which results in the final "T-Gamma" variable having a value of 5. T-Gamma values which are not a whole number result in many undefined coordinated, and are probably not valid. T-Gamma values that are integers other than 5 are theoretically valid, but you don't know if it's possible to reach any worlds associated with them, yet. This process requires a lot of math, as you test assorted possible values against your equations. Additionally, even with theoretically valid coordinates, you still need to test them; not all places which could have a worldline actually do. This process is currently difficult, tedious, and time-consuming, but until you're willing to trust someone else with your theories, you'll have to do it all on your own, more-or-less by hand. Advancements in theory or technology may help make this task easier and more productive.
[ ][Science] Travel to a known world. (Physics, Hard)
The only world you currently know of is the other version of your own world. If you can think of anything worth doing in an alternate 1972, there's nothing stopping you from doing so... providing you're willing to accept the risks. Having some assistants, both for backup in the other world, and to monitor the projector back home, would make this a much safer prospect. Any trip to another world is another opportunity to collect data, though your conveyor's systems alone aren't the best tools for the job.
When you travel to a new world, you might find anything. The many-worlds interpretation suggests that nearby universes should be extremely similar to your own, but given the temporal difference between your own universe and the first one you visited, you're inclined to suspect that you'll encounter worlds far more different than your own. Be prepared... but don't let the risk stop you from exploring! Travelling to new worlds allows you to collect parachronic data from additional viewpoints, which is sure to be of great help in refining your theories and technology.
Training
[ ][Training] Exercise. (Athletics, Easy)
You're not in terrible shape, considering your age, but you don't get out as often as you should. Since a largely sedentary lifestyle is a poor fit for an explorer, you might want to change that. Taking some time to work out regularly won't result in any miracles, but a few months of regular exercise will make you healthier, and get you in better shape to face the unknown.
[ ][Training] Practice electronics. (Electronics, Average)
You're a fair hand with a soldering iron, and have had a lot of practice recently, as you needed to build most of your parachronic equipment yourself. Still, you'd be the first to admit that you're an amateur in the field, and you use stock components wherever possible. A few months of dedicated effort won't instantly make you an expert, but it'll certainly give you a stronger foundation from which to refine your existing prototypes.
[ ][Training] Study computers. (Research, Easy)
Computer technology has been making great strides recently, and is becoming an increasing practical tool for many projects. You aren't quite 'computer illiterate', but your knowledge of the field is seriously lacking, and prevents you from doing more than using simple programs. Taking some time to learn some basic techniques may make some of your work a little easier, and could open up possibilities for automating the more time-consuming parts of your work.
[ ][Training] Study finance. (Research, Easy)
The field is of little interest to you, though you've managed to save and keep a small fortune by being conservative in your habits. Even so, you may be making some major changes in your spending habits, and could well be using that money to further your aims. Taking some time to gain some basic financial literacy won't qualify you to personally handle your funds, but it might help you protect yourself against fraud, and make you better qualified to assess the competence of those seeking to handle your funds.
[ ][Training] Study a language. (Linguistics, Average)
You already speak three languages; English, German, and Latin... though admittedly, your fluency leaves something to be desired outside your native English. Learning a new language is a major project, and it won't be something you can complete in just a couple of months, but if you put in the effort, you could develop some basic knowledge of a new language, or brush up on one of your other known languages.
[ ][Training] Study mechanics. (Research, Easy)
This is a field you've generally considered beneath you... but considering the practical limitations of your current conveyor, you might gain some benefit from learning a few things about motor vehicles. Two months of study will probably still leave you an amateur, but even amateur work might let you design a mobile conveyor, instead of your current immobile box.
I was inspired to run this quest by @VNodosaurus and @Packrat, who are each running an excellent quest of their own. This isn't the first quest I've run, but I haven't been in the writing habit recently. Since I wanted to change that, but wasn't feeling up to a NaNoWriMo attempt this year, I instead decided to post the quest draft I had sitting around, as opposed to spending another few months half-heartedly fiddling with the mechanics. I'm still not completely satisfied with what I have, but the perfect is the enemy of the good, and I feel that I've got something good enough to post, so here it is!
This is a quest which starts off using the core conceit of the Infinite Worlds setting for GURPS, the availability of 'parachronic' technology which allows travel between alternate worlds. Parachronic travel requires a projector (an immobile device that must exist on one side of any transit) and a conveyor (a theoretically portable device whose energized framework protects the occupants from whatever it is that lies between worlds). You will play as the canonical inventor of that technology, having just barely begun the practical side of your investigations. Anything else that exists as part of the Infinite Worlds canon may or may not make an appearance in this quest. It is possible that you may manage to find worlds which resemble settings found in popular fiction; there is no guarantee that anything that exists in the fictional canon of those settings will also exist in this quest.
This quest has two voting phases, the action vote and the subvote. The action vote decides the broad outline on what Paul will be up to, and the subvote will cover specifics. Together, these will span a two-month period of in-quest time. As many of your available actions are restricted to a specific category of actions, the highest-voted option within each required category will win, and any free actions will take the highest-voted remaining options. Not all actions have subvotes, although many do; the specifics of such a vote will vary based on the action. Once you gain the services of additional people, the subvote step will include a decision regarding labour allocation. This quest uses approval voting; you may vote for as many or as few options as you like, so feel free to vote for all the options you'd like to see happen. Some special actions, like travelling to a new world for the first time, will result in a mini-arc, which may include additional subvotes as you react to changing circumstances and new information... but generally speaking, Paul will act and react on his own initiative, unless specific instructions in the subvote cover the situation. Although I'm borrowing the format from From the Foundation, this is not otherwise a CKII quest.
The is quest follows the GURPS convention of rolls of 3d6 as a random mechanic... but to make the math easier, high rolls are better than low rolls. Rolls will be opposed by another roll when there is intelligent opposition, and will be rolled against a target number otherwise. Target numbers range in difficulty from Very Easy (6), Easy (8), Average (10), Hard (12), Very Hard (14), and Nigh-Impossible (16). Rolls are subject to modifiers based on the statistics of the character involved. A natural roll of 18 or 3 constitute critical success and failure, while 17 and 4 are nigh-critical results, which will still have notable effects. Non-critical results which exceed or miss a DC by five or more will have more dramatic results than ordinary success or failure. Bonuses apply to a roll if the character in question has a useful and relevant skill, while the lack of an appropriate skill results in a -2 penalty.
Personality-wise, Paul Van Zandt is something of an idealist; within three years of his discovery, he canonically decided to entrust his technology to the UN, after which he quickly retired into plot device territory. In this quest, you certainly won't be required to follow in his footsteps, but Paul is the kind of person who could come to make that decision. This quest does not have the "this is not an empire quest" tag, and you may act as you see fit... but Paul is a lot more inclined towards discovery and peaceful trade than aggressive conquest. Circumstances and the overall tone of voting may change his mind, however.
Currently, you only control Paul's actions; this limits your capabilities to some degree. Paul is a very competent scientist, and is in good shape for his age... but he's not a fighter, and could easily be killed by opposition on the level of a mugger with a knife. Not being stupid, this means that Paul will avoid conflict if at all possible, even if this results in serious consequences (ie: being imprisoned on another world).
As a QM, I am generally friendly to write-ins, especially as regards the subvote phase, and I may add good suggestions to the voting options for the action phase if they seem like good ideas. Write-ins that are bad ideas but win anyway will happen anyway. This quest has the "actions have consequences" tag for a reason. For that matter, it is possible that not all the options I present to you will be good ideas. Additional preparation may be required for some actions to provide good results, and the voting prompt may or may not warn you about that. Vote wisely.
This is a quest which starts off using the core conceit of the Infinite Worlds setting for GURPS, the availability of 'parachronic' technology which allows travel between alternate worlds. Parachronic travel requires a projector (an immobile device that must exist on one side of any transit) and a conveyor (a theoretically portable device whose energized framework protects the occupants from whatever it is that lies between worlds). You will play as the canonical inventor of that technology, having just barely begun the practical side of your investigations. Anything else that exists as part of the Infinite Worlds canon may or may not make an appearance in this quest. It is possible that you may manage to find worlds which resemble settings found in popular fiction; there is no guarantee that anything that exists in the fictional canon of those settings will also exist in this quest.
This quest has two voting phases, the action vote and the subvote. The action vote decides the broad outline on what Paul will be up to, and the subvote will cover specifics. Together, these will span a two-month period of in-quest time. As many of your available actions are restricted to a specific category of actions, the highest-voted option within each required category will win, and any free actions will take the highest-voted remaining options. Not all actions have subvotes, although many do; the specifics of such a vote will vary based on the action. Once you gain the services of additional people, the subvote step will include a decision regarding labour allocation. This quest uses approval voting; you may vote for as many or as few options as you like, so feel free to vote for all the options you'd like to see happen. Some special actions, like travelling to a new world for the first time, will result in a mini-arc, which may include additional subvotes as you react to changing circumstances and new information... but generally speaking, Paul will act and react on his own initiative, unless specific instructions in the subvote cover the situation. Although I'm borrowing the format from From the Foundation, this is not otherwise a CKII quest.
The is quest follows the GURPS convention of rolls of 3d6 as a random mechanic... but to make the math easier, high rolls are better than low rolls. Rolls will be opposed by another roll when there is intelligent opposition, and will be rolled against a target number otherwise. Target numbers range in difficulty from Very Easy (6), Easy (8), Average (10), Hard (12), Very Hard (14), and Nigh-Impossible (16). Rolls are subject to modifiers based on the statistics of the character involved. A natural roll of 18 or 3 constitute critical success and failure, while 17 and 4 are nigh-critical results, which will still have notable effects. Non-critical results which exceed or miss a DC by five or more will have more dramatic results than ordinary success or failure. Bonuses apply to a roll if the character in question has a useful and relevant skill, while the lack of an appropriate skill results in a -2 penalty.
Personality-wise, Paul Van Zandt is something of an idealist; within three years of his discovery, he canonically decided to entrust his technology to the UN, after which he quickly retired into plot device territory. In this quest, you certainly won't be required to follow in his footsteps, but Paul is the kind of person who could come to make that decision. This quest does not have the "this is not an empire quest" tag, and you may act as you see fit... but Paul is a lot more inclined towards discovery and peaceful trade than aggressive conquest. Circumstances and the overall tone of voting may change his mind, however.
Currently, you only control Paul's actions; this limits your capabilities to some degree. Paul is a very competent scientist, and is in good shape for his age... but he's not a fighter, and could easily be killed by opposition on the level of a mugger with a knife. Not being stupid, this means that Paul will avoid conflict if at all possible, even if this results in serious consequences (ie: being imprisoned on another world).
As a QM, I am generally friendly to write-ins, especially as regards the subvote phase, and I may add good suggestions to the voting options for the action phase if they seem like good ideas. Write-ins that are bad ideas but win anyway will happen anyway. This quest has the "actions have consequences" tag for a reason. For that matter, it is possible that not all the options I present to you will be good ideas. Additional preparation may be required for some actions to provide good results, and the voting prompt may or may not warn you about that. Vote wisely.
Character Sheets
- Location
- Canada
Character Sheets:
Paul Van Zandt
Born: 1954
Occupation: Professor of Physics
Bureaucracy: +1 (Skill with paperwork. Improves your ability to initiate and respond to formal administrative processes.)
Electronics: +0 (Skill with electronic equipment. Improves your ability to design and build electronic devices.)
Linguistics: -1 (Skill with languages. Improves your ability to learn new languages.)
Physics: +2 (Scientific knowledge of matter and energy. Improves your ability to do scientific work that falls within this discipline.)
Research: +1 (Skill with locating useful data. Improves your ability to find useful information from libraries, research journals, databases, or other collections of written material.)
Socialize: +1 (The basic social skill. Improves your ability to make positive social connections with other people.)
Subterfuge: -1 (The basic sneaky skill. Improves your ability to perform or defend against covert actions.)
German: Conversational (You can carry on a basic conversation with your German colleagues, and generally understand their written works without need for reference materials.)
Latin: Broken (You haven't had much cause to use Latin since your Catholic schooling. Your pronunciation is awful, and you'll definitely need reference materials to puzzle your way through a text.)
Born: 1954
Occupation: Professor of Physics
Skills
Athletics: -1 (The basic physical skill. Improves your ability to physically move your own body, especially in adverse situations.)Bureaucracy: +1 (Skill with paperwork. Improves your ability to initiate and respond to formal administrative processes.)
Electronics: +0 (Skill with electronic equipment. Improves your ability to design and build electronic devices.)
Linguistics: -1 (Skill with languages. Improves your ability to learn new languages.)
Physics: +2 (Scientific knowledge of matter and energy. Improves your ability to do scientific work that falls within this discipline.)
Research: +1 (Skill with locating useful data. Improves your ability to find useful information from libraries, research journals, databases, or other collections of written material.)
Socialize: +1 (The basic social skill. Improves your ability to make positive social connections with other people.)
Subterfuge: -1 (The basic sneaky skill. Improves your ability to perform or defend against covert actions.)
Languages
English: Native (Your first language, and naturally the one you're best with.)German: Conversational (You can carry on a basic conversation with your German colleagues, and generally understand their written works without need for reference materials.)
Latin: Broken (You haven't had much cause to use Latin since your Catholic schooling. Your pronunciation is awful, and you'll definitely need reference materials to puzzle your way through a text.)
Traits
Parachronic Pioneer: You are the best parachronic physicist in the world. Of course, you're also the only 'parachronic' physicist in the world; your closest competitors are still exploring the ramifications of quantum mechanics. Even so, you don't expect to be surpassed in your area of expertise any time soon. All actions related to parachronic science or travel gain an additional +2 bonus.
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- Location
- Canada
Reserved
- Location
- Canada
Reserved; feel free to post now.
Rossum
Not a Cyberman
- Location
- Earth
[x][Academia] Write a research paper. (Research, Average)
[x][Science] Gather data. (Physics, Average)
[x][Finance] Take a break. (???)
"It appears I have empirically proven the many worlds interpretation of physics correct and personally traveled to a world untouched by anyone from my timeline. Nice.
I think I'll take it easy a bit and publish a research paper."
Actually, not sure if we should be gathering data first and refining our theory second, or the other way around.
[x][Science] Gather data. (Physics, Average)
[x][Finance] Take a break. (???)
"It appears I have empirically proven the many worlds interpretation of physics correct and personally traveled to a world untouched by anyone from my timeline. Nice.
I think I'll take it easy a bit and publish a research paper."
Actually, not sure if we should be gathering data first and refining our theory second, or the other way around.
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- Location
- Canada
Most parachronic science is self-reinforcing; better data helps you make better theory or better tech, but it's hard to gather good data without travelling to other worlds. Better theory helps you make better tech or travel to other worlds, but you'll need a lot more data to do so. Better tech makes it easier and safer to travel to other worlds, making it easier to get better data, but the process of getting better tech relies on data and theory. Which route you take is a strategic decision.
[X][Academia] Teach classes. (Multiple Skills, ???)
[X][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
[X][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
[X][Training] Exercise. (Athletics, Easy)
Lets get ready first. And now that we have real data we need theories that support it and predict whats next
[X][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
[X][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
[X][Training] Exercise. (Athletics, Easy)
Lets get ready first. And now that we have real data we need theories that support it and predict whats next
ThatGuyWithIdeas
Treize died for our sins
- Location
- Romania
[X][Academia] Teach classes. (Multiple Skills, ???)
[X][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
[X][Training] Study computers. (Research, Easy)
[X][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
[X][Training] Study computers. (Research, Easy)
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[X][Academia] Teach classes. (Multiple Skills, ???)
[X][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
[X][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
[X][Training] Study computers. (Research, Easy)
[X][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
[X][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
[X][Training] Study computers. (Research, Easy)
Terran Imperium
[French]
- Location
- Southern France
[X][Academia] Teach classes. (Multiple Skills, ???)
[X][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
[X][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
[X][Training] Exercise. (Athletics, Easy)
[X][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
[X][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
[X][Training] Exercise. (Athletics, Easy)
paradoxdragon
Immersed in Dreams
- Location
- Someplace or another
[x][Academia] Write a research paper. (Research, Average)
[x][Science] Gather data. (Physics, Average)
[x][Finance] Take a break. (???)
errrrr, i think we only have 3 actions ??
[x][Science] Gather data. (Physics, Average)
[x][Finance] Take a break. (???)
errrrr, i think we only have 3 actions ??
- Location
- Canada
This quest uses approval voting for actions. Feel free to vote for as many options you like, but only the top three will win. This gives you the flexibility to vote for anything you want to have happen, even if it doesn't seem likely to win.
- Location
- Tarn-Vedra
[X][Academia] Teach classes. (Multiple Skills, ???)
[X][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
[X][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
[X][Training] Exercise. (Athletics, Easy)
[X][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
[X][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
[X][Training] Exercise. (Athletics, Easy)
- Location
- Canada
For reference, I'm going to try for a ~24-hour update cycle, so voting will close at midnight EST.
- Location
- Canada
Not at present; what you know of parachronic physics allows travel between timelines, but not any other manipulations. It's not necessarily impossible that you might be able to figure out other ways to manipulate time, though I will note in advance that travel to different times within the same timeline is right out; you can visit alternate 'pasts', but not your own past. Advanced study of parachronic physics could eventually let you do things like manipulate the local rate at which time passes, potentially to a point that approximates 'stopping time' but it'd be a long-term research project. As a hint, studying worlds in which time naturally passes at different rates would offer data useful to that particular pursuit.
- Location
- Canada
Voting is closed, winner is:
[ ][Academia] Teach classes. (Multiple Skills, ???)
[ ][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
[ ][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
I'm working on the subvote, which should be up soon-ish.
[ ][Academia] Teach classes. (Multiple Skills, ???)
[ ][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
[ ][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
I'm working on the subvote, which should be up soon-ish.
March 1995 (Subvote) - Theory and Practice
- Location
- Canada
[!][Academia] Teach classes. (Multiple Skills, ???)
You've decided to take your teaching obligations seriously this term, and are considering how best to go about it. Dartmouth's programs are primarily focused on the undergraduate level, so there's only so much you can expect your students to follow... but at the same time, these are among the best and brightest minds the world has to offer, so if you plan your lessons out right, they might surprise you!
The easiest way to offer more of your time to your students would simply be to extend your office hours. This does mean that you'll spend a lot more of your time explaining simple concepts to perpetually-confused undergrads, but there are a fair number who can benefit from that extra one-on-one clarifications, and they'll be sure to appreciate the extra effort. Not everyone will take advantage of this, of course, and it's entirely possible that on many days you will find yourself with little to do... but there are plenty of other tasks that you could get up to, given a bit of free time.
The most straightforward plan would be to offer more assignments and quizzes. The best way to get better at a skill is to practice it, so by giving your students more homework than you usually would, you give your students more practice at solving the sorts of problems they'll have to solve in whatever specific field their careers take them. Choosing this option will require that you write up a bunch of relevant problems, along with appropriate solution guides for grading. You won't have to do all the work yourself, of course. Most of the grading can be done by your TAs, but you'll still need to be available to answer their questions about how to score certain answers... and perhaps their questions about more advanced subjects. The few grad students who choose to remain at Dartmouth generally find work as teacher's assistants, and they tend to have better questions than the undergrads, which makes for more interesting discussions.
A harder but potentially more rewarding strategy would be to revise your curriculum, developing cleverer and more engaging strategies for presenting the same material. There are certainly worse lecturers at the College; professors with teaching styles even drier than yours and a tendency to speak in a torpor-inducing monotone. You know you aren't that bad... but by rewriting your lessons from a public-speaking perspective, and practising them in front of a mirror beforehand, you'll be able to catch your students' attention more effectively, and perhaps even permanently improve your own teaching ability.
Of course, there are other ways that you could improve your lesson plan... but with only a week before the start of classes, you don't have time for any especially complicated preparations, so any truly ambitious plans may not be something you can implement this term.
[ ][Teaching] Office hours.
-[ ] As a side-task, write-in any action involving the Bureaucracy or Research skill. It will be harder than normal, but you'll be able to do it in your spare time, possibly saving yourself an action.
[ ][Teaching] Extra assignments.
[ ][Teaching] Revised lectures.
[ ][Teaching] Write-in a different lesson plan.
-[ ] You can write-in suggestions for a particular spin on one of the presented ideas, too.
[!][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
In terms of shopping, you have few limitations. You're a rich man, and you can buy whatever you like... within reason. That said, Hanover is a fairly small town, with a correspondingly small local selection. Making any truly significant purchases will require a road trip; at least as far as Boston, or possibly even New York. The distance isn't a problem, though; you've decided to make the time (and the budget) for such an expedition, so the only question is just what it is you're looking to acquire.
Among the many things that you could acquire, parts for your parachronic equipment stand out. For $5,000 you can acquire a decent stockpile of spare parts, which should allow you to make any necessary repairs, in the event that the prototype fails. For $20,000 you can acquire enough parts to rebuild your projector and conveyor entirely, though you'll need access to a proper lab in order to assemble them.
You have $25,000 to spend on this particular trip, not considering incidental expenses such as food, gas, or accommodations. That's all you're able to spend on short notice; you'll need to consult your broker before making any more serious purchases. If necessary, you can pay an extra fee to have any items that won't fit in your car delivered to your home in Hanover... or to your old family mansion, for that matter. What all do you want?
[ ][Shopping] Write-in a budget plan.
-[ ] Yes, this is a completely open-ended vote. Buy whatever you want!
-[ ] No, not all possible purchases will be useful. Caveat emptor.
-[ ] Plans that include sources for 1995 pricing of your wishlist will be worth bonus points.
[!][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
Your initial theories have been confirmed by your bold (and admittedly rather dangerous) experiment... but your observations have revealed some factors that you didn't initially account for, which cause rather significant problems for your theory. Since your machine works, you're clearly mostly right, but there are problems with your theory that could well get you killed, if you don't correct for them.
The first problem has to do with time. Conventional many-worlds theory suggests that all possible worlds are constantly dividing into other worlds at every moment, and at the same rate, and you had initially assumed that that would be true. Since your findings are clearly inconsistent with that model, your theory will need to explain the difference. This problem isn't necessarily insoluble; you can think of a number of different explanations for why different timelines might have different apparent times. Different timelines may have different origin points or different temporal speeds... though differences like that would make it hard to explain all the other similarities. Alternatively, timelines may be created from other timelines... but instead of forking along decision points in the manner that conventional many-worlds theory suggests, they may spread out as 'echoes' of other timelines, starting out the same as the original timeline, but being mutable after the divergence point. Indeed, there are probably dozens of other possibilities you haven't though of. The problem here will be ruling out the impossibilities to determine the truth, and it's unclear if you have enough data to do that yet, since you have only seen two timelines so far.
The second problem has to do with space. When traveling to the other world, you didn't seem to move at all; you were in the same room of the same building, just in an earlier time. The more you think about it, though, the stranger that possibility seems, since time was different in that world. That means that the other Earth itself must have been in a different position, between the rotation of the planet about the sun, the motion of the solar system within the galaxy, and the movement of the galaxy itself within the universe. Given all that, the fact that you didn't seem to move is an absurdity; there's no particular reason why your machine shouldn't have spat you into deep space instead of not moving you at all. Physics doesn't normally permit the sort of privileged frame of reference which would allow your position to remain the same with reference to the Earth, which makes this problem an especially thorny one. That said, since your current understanding of physics suggests that your initial test should have killed you, it'd be nice to figure out why it didn't before you try again.
The third problem regards the nature of the equation that determines dimensional coordinates. You've already determined that it would be significantly more difficult to reach worlds whose T-Gamma value is not equal to 5... but it's unclear just how much more difficult that would be, or what means you might be able to use to get around that problem. This problem isn't nearly as intractable as the former two, on a theoretical level, since the equations do suggest that all valid coordinate sets should correspond with actual timelines, even the ones that aren't on the same level as your own. On the other hand, you suspect that solving this theoretical problem will merely lead you to a greater practical problem. Travelling even to a 'nearby' world is difficult and dangerous enough already; a theoretical solution that lets you reach more 'distant' worlds would imply greater difficulty and danger. Making practical use of a solution to this problem is likely beyond your means at the moment. Even so, you will need to replace your prototype eventually; figuring out the theory for long-range travel before you build a newer model may help future-proof the design.
Finally, you might try to ignore the gaping holes in your theory and focus on the more boring prospect of making your math more elegant. Your equations are doubtless larger and uglier than they need to be, and that makes the process of finding new world coordinates a difficult and tedious process. With a good deal of effort, you may be able to simplify certain parts of the equations, making future work with them quicker and easier. Unfortunately, there are still many parts of the equation that are complicated in an attempt to include possibilities that you aren't certain of, and it's certainly possible that there are subtle errors in your equation that might lead to coordinates that are actually invalid. You might be able to catch those errors in the process... but it's harder to deal with those problems on a purely mathematical level without making potentially dangerous assumptions, especially given what your observations suggest about your existing assumptions! Essentially, the more work you do on the rest of the theory, the easier it will be to simplify the math.
It may or may not be possible to solve one of these problems in two months, but even a failure here may rule out impossibilities (making future attempts slightly easier), or suggest possible experiments (suggesting ways in which you can gather data to make future attempts significantly easier).
[ ][Theory] Consider the problem of time.
[ ][Theory] Consider the problem of space.
[ ][Theory] Consider the problem of T-Gamma values.
[ ][Theory] Consider simplifying your equations.
[ ][Theory] Consider something else? (Write-in)
-[ ] Feel free to offer write-in suggestions for resolving any of these problems, or specific parts of the problem that you'd like to focus on.
-[ ] Specific suggestions won't necessarily improve your odds, but they certainly can influence how a success or failure turns out.
You've decided to take your teaching obligations seriously this term, and are considering how best to go about it. Dartmouth's programs are primarily focused on the undergraduate level, so there's only so much you can expect your students to follow... but at the same time, these are among the best and brightest minds the world has to offer, so if you plan your lessons out right, they might surprise you!
The easiest way to offer more of your time to your students would simply be to extend your office hours. This does mean that you'll spend a lot more of your time explaining simple concepts to perpetually-confused undergrads, but there are a fair number who can benefit from that extra one-on-one clarifications, and they'll be sure to appreciate the extra effort. Not everyone will take advantage of this, of course, and it's entirely possible that on many days you will find yourself with little to do... but there are plenty of other tasks that you could get up to, given a bit of free time.
The most straightforward plan would be to offer more assignments and quizzes. The best way to get better at a skill is to practice it, so by giving your students more homework than you usually would, you give your students more practice at solving the sorts of problems they'll have to solve in whatever specific field their careers take them. Choosing this option will require that you write up a bunch of relevant problems, along with appropriate solution guides for grading. You won't have to do all the work yourself, of course. Most of the grading can be done by your TAs, but you'll still need to be available to answer their questions about how to score certain answers... and perhaps their questions about more advanced subjects. The few grad students who choose to remain at Dartmouth generally find work as teacher's assistants, and they tend to have better questions than the undergrads, which makes for more interesting discussions.
A harder but potentially more rewarding strategy would be to revise your curriculum, developing cleverer and more engaging strategies for presenting the same material. There are certainly worse lecturers at the College; professors with teaching styles even drier than yours and a tendency to speak in a torpor-inducing monotone. You know you aren't that bad... but by rewriting your lessons from a public-speaking perspective, and practising them in front of a mirror beforehand, you'll be able to catch your students' attention more effectively, and perhaps even permanently improve your own teaching ability.
Of course, there are other ways that you could improve your lesson plan... but with only a week before the start of classes, you don't have time for any especially complicated preparations, so any truly ambitious plans may not be something you can implement this term.
[ ][Teaching] Office hours.
-[ ] As a side-task, write-in any action involving the Bureaucracy or Research skill. It will be harder than normal, but you'll be able to do it in your spare time, possibly saving yourself an action.
[ ][Teaching] Extra assignments.
[ ][Teaching] Revised lectures.
[ ][Teaching] Write-in a different lesson plan.
-[ ] You can write-in suggestions for a particular spin on one of the presented ideas, too.
[!][Finance] Buy extra supplies. (Merchant, Very Easy)
In terms of shopping, you have few limitations. You're a rich man, and you can buy whatever you like... within reason. That said, Hanover is a fairly small town, with a correspondingly small local selection. Making any truly significant purchases will require a road trip; at least as far as Boston, or possibly even New York. The distance isn't a problem, though; you've decided to make the time (and the budget) for such an expedition, so the only question is just what it is you're looking to acquire.
Among the many things that you could acquire, parts for your parachronic equipment stand out. For $5,000 you can acquire a decent stockpile of spare parts, which should allow you to make any necessary repairs, in the event that the prototype fails. For $20,000 you can acquire enough parts to rebuild your projector and conveyor entirely, though you'll need access to a proper lab in order to assemble them.
You have $25,000 to spend on this particular trip, not considering incidental expenses such as food, gas, or accommodations. That's all you're able to spend on short notice; you'll need to consult your broker before making any more serious purchases. If necessary, you can pay an extra fee to have any items that won't fit in your car delivered to your home in Hanover... or to your old family mansion, for that matter. What all do you want?
[ ][Shopping] Write-in a budget plan.
-[ ] Yes, this is a completely open-ended vote. Buy whatever you want!
-[ ] No, not all possible purchases will be useful. Caveat emptor.
-[ ] Plans that include sources for 1995 pricing of your wishlist will be worth bonus points.
[!][Science] Refine your theories. (Physics, ???)
Your initial theories have been confirmed by your bold (and admittedly rather dangerous) experiment... but your observations have revealed some factors that you didn't initially account for, which cause rather significant problems for your theory. Since your machine works, you're clearly mostly right, but there are problems with your theory that could well get you killed, if you don't correct for them.
The first problem has to do with time. Conventional many-worlds theory suggests that all possible worlds are constantly dividing into other worlds at every moment, and at the same rate, and you had initially assumed that that would be true. Since your findings are clearly inconsistent with that model, your theory will need to explain the difference. This problem isn't necessarily insoluble; you can think of a number of different explanations for why different timelines might have different apparent times. Different timelines may have different origin points or different temporal speeds... though differences like that would make it hard to explain all the other similarities. Alternatively, timelines may be created from other timelines... but instead of forking along decision points in the manner that conventional many-worlds theory suggests, they may spread out as 'echoes' of other timelines, starting out the same as the original timeline, but being mutable after the divergence point. Indeed, there are probably dozens of other possibilities you haven't though of. The problem here will be ruling out the impossibilities to determine the truth, and it's unclear if you have enough data to do that yet, since you have only seen two timelines so far.
The second problem has to do with space. When traveling to the other world, you didn't seem to move at all; you were in the same room of the same building, just in an earlier time. The more you think about it, though, the stranger that possibility seems, since time was different in that world. That means that the other Earth itself must have been in a different position, between the rotation of the planet about the sun, the motion of the solar system within the galaxy, and the movement of the galaxy itself within the universe. Given all that, the fact that you didn't seem to move is an absurdity; there's no particular reason why your machine shouldn't have spat you into deep space instead of not moving you at all. Physics doesn't normally permit the sort of privileged frame of reference which would allow your position to remain the same with reference to the Earth, which makes this problem an especially thorny one. That said, since your current understanding of physics suggests that your initial test should have killed you, it'd be nice to figure out why it didn't before you try again.
The third problem regards the nature of the equation that determines dimensional coordinates. You've already determined that it would be significantly more difficult to reach worlds whose T-Gamma value is not equal to 5... but it's unclear just how much more difficult that would be, or what means you might be able to use to get around that problem. This problem isn't nearly as intractable as the former two, on a theoretical level, since the equations do suggest that all valid coordinate sets should correspond with actual timelines, even the ones that aren't on the same level as your own. On the other hand, you suspect that solving this theoretical problem will merely lead you to a greater practical problem. Travelling even to a 'nearby' world is difficult and dangerous enough already; a theoretical solution that lets you reach more 'distant' worlds would imply greater difficulty and danger. Making practical use of a solution to this problem is likely beyond your means at the moment. Even so, you will need to replace your prototype eventually; figuring out the theory for long-range travel before you build a newer model may help future-proof the design.
Finally, you might try to ignore the gaping holes in your theory and focus on the more boring prospect of making your math more elegant. Your equations are doubtless larger and uglier than they need to be, and that makes the process of finding new world coordinates a difficult and tedious process. With a good deal of effort, you may be able to simplify certain parts of the equations, making future work with them quicker and easier. Unfortunately, there are still many parts of the equation that are complicated in an attempt to include possibilities that you aren't certain of, and it's certainly possible that there are subtle errors in your equation that might lead to coordinates that are actually invalid. You might be able to catch those errors in the process... but it's harder to deal with those problems on a purely mathematical level without making potentially dangerous assumptions, especially given what your observations suggest about your existing assumptions! Essentially, the more work you do on the rest of the theory, the easier it will be to simplify the math.
It may or may not be possible to solve one of these problems in two months, but even a failure here may rule out impossibilities (making future attempts slightly easier), or suggest possible experiments (suggesting ways in which you can gather data to make future attempts significantly easier).
[ ][Theory] Consider the problem of time.
[ ][Theory] Consider the problem of space.
[ ][Theory] Consider the problem of T-Gamma values.
[ ][Theory] Consider simplifying your equations.
[ ][Theory] Consider something else? (Write-in)
-[ ] Feel free to offer write-in suggestions for resolving any of these problems, or specific parts of the problem that you'd like to focus on.
-[ ] Specific suggestions won't necessarily improve your odds, but they certainly can influence how a success or failure turns out.
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paradoxdragon
Immersed in Dreams
- Location
- Someplace or another
[X][Teaching] Revised lectures.
I'm leaving the shopping vote to others
[X][Theory] Consider something else?
-[X]for Time,maybe the Creation and usage of the Modern Calendar has been postponed....maybe bring a highly accurate timepiece along synchronized beforehand with an identical timepiece so that differences in Temporal speed can be checked....For Space maybe whatever separates the Worlds have an influence in this.....T-Gamma,well that needs knowing what are the dangers of what is in between the Universes and how exactly to counteract them ??
I'm leaving the shopping vote to others
[X][Theory] Consider something else?
-[X]for Time,maybe the Creation and usage of the Modern Calendar has been postponed....maybe bring a highly accurate timepiece along synchronized beforehand with an identical timepiece so that differences in Temporal speed can be checked....For Space maybe whatever separates the Worlds have an influence in this.....T-Gamma,well that needs knowing what are the dangers of what is in between the Universes and how exactly to counteract them ??
[X][Teaching] Revised lectures.
[X][Shopping] Plan Basics:
-[X] The repair parts
-[X] Camoflage netting for a variety of terrain to conceal the machine when we go exploring.
-[X] A machete for clearing undergrowth and last ditch weapon
-[X] A handgun and concealed carry license. A shotgun for gribbly
-[X] A camera to record what curiosities you find.
-[X] Compass, binoculars
-[X]Food and water supplies sufficient to last the period of a repair.
-[X] First aid kit
[X][Theory] Consider the problem of space.
Time is a smaller matter than the potential for getting intersected with something deadly.
As for shopping....most of it should go to repair parts and tools.
We also want:
-Camoflage netting for a variety of terrain to conceal the machine when we go exploring.
-At least one weapon, concealable and easy to use
-Compass, binoculars
-A drone with a camera would be good for limited exploring as well
-I'd get food and water supplied sufficient to last the period of a repair.
-First aid kit
Unfortunately I have no clue how much any of that costs or how legal it is.
[X][Shopping] Plan Basics:
-[X] The repair parts
-[X] Camoflage netting for a variety of terrain to conceal the machine when we go exploring.
-[X] A machete for clearing undergrowth and last ditch weapon
-[X] A handgun and concealed carry license. A shotgun for gribbly
-[X] A camera to record what curiosities you find.
-[X] Compass, binoculars
-[X]Food and water supplies sufficient to last the period of a repair.
-[X] First aid kit
[X][Theory] Consider the problem of space.
Time is a smaller matter than the potential for getting intersected with something deadly.
As for shopping....most of it should go to repair parts and tools.
We also want:
-Camoflage netting for a variety of terrain to conceal the machine when we go exploring.
-At least one weapon, concealable and easy to use
-Compass, binoculars
-A drone with a camera would be good for limited exploring as well
-I'd get food and water supplied sufficient to last the period of a repair.
-First aid kit
Unfortunately I have no clue how much any of that costs or how legal it is.
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- Location
- .
[X][Teaching] Revised lectures.
[X][Shopping] Plan Basics:
-[X] The repair parts
-[X] Camoflage netting for a variety of terrain to conceal the machine when we go exploring.
-[X] A machete for clearing undergrowth and last ditch weapon
-[X] A handgun and concealed carry license
-[X] A camera to record what curiosities you find.
-[X] Compass, binoculars
-[X]Food and water supplies sufficient to last the period of a repair.
-[X] First aid kit
[X][Theory] Consider the problem of space.
[X][Shopping] Plan Basics:
-[X] The repair parts
-[X] Camoflage netting for a variety of terrain to conceal the machine when we go exploring.
-[X] A machete for clearing undergrowth and last ditch weapon
-[X] A handgun and concealed carry license
-[X] A camera to record what curiosities you find.
-[X] Compass, binoculars
-[X]Food and water supplies sufficient to last the period of a repair.
-[X] First aid kit
[X][Theory] Consider the problem of space.
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- Location
- Canada
Extremely doable, and reasonably cheap at a military surplus store. Less than $500 for the lot.
This is America. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban came into force last year, so there are some rifles that can't be legally sold any more, and the recently-passed Brady Act means that, for the first time in US history, you'll actually need to pass a basic background check in order to purchase a firearm. Since guns haven't been one of your hobbies to date, you don't have your papers in order to do that immediately, so you can't get a gun as part of your out-of-state shopping trip.
That said... you live in a small town in New Hampshire, which makes firearms one of the few items that are far easier to get local. There are plenty of places you can stop at nearer to home to get started on the legal process of acquiring whatever guns you want... and since the sellers in question are the sorts who are particularly disgusted about the latest unconstitutional Democratic overreach, they won't bother you too much about the details. Exact pricing will depend on just how much you want to buy, but there's nothing stopping you from acquiring a modest arsenal this turn, effectively as part of this action (and if you do decide to spend several grand on firearms, the nice people at the gun store will make sure that you know the basics on how to use your purchases for 'self-defense').
For additional reference; in New Hampshire, open carry is completely legal and requires no permit; a license for concealed carry will cost you $10 for the sheriff's rubberstamp.
Out of the question. This is 1995; the only drones that exist are experimental military models, still in the design phase. The sorts of UAV that are currently available are larger than your car, out of your budget by an order of magnitude, and will most certainly not fit in your conveyor.
- Location
- Canada
Considering the relative lack of response to the subvote, should I assume that the voters want more in the way of defined options, and less in the way of write-in prompts?
paradoxdragon
Immersed in Dreams
- Location
- Someplace or another
Too many things to do,also I'm still not sure that my subvote for the Science was correct