Month: February 2018

[The Balance of Souls]

This is part of a world descript for a science fiction setting. If you got here by accident, hit the back button on your browser.

For the time being, I would like to keep some of the specifics in mystery. To see the theory behind why Pyrrh exist, see the link off the main world descript pertaining to time travel and its effects. Here are the useful descriptors:

• Light-up blue dots
• Electricity has no effect against them as a weapon
• Shaking, rumbling ground
• Tend to live / travel in groups
• Mechanical appendages, such as arms and hands
• Smell like gasoline

Note: Pyrrh did not start open warfare. Instead, they starting covertly dividing off and limiting humans ‘for their own good’. It was only when humans became aggressive and started fighting Pyrrh control that the Pyrrh had to change tactics. The pivotal point leading to human conflict is often thought to be the Pyrrh seizing machine planet. At this point, the human government was essentially existent in name only. Even by then, the Pyrrh had begun to develop their own culture and their own unique society in their own right. Once time point three has been reached, several humans have started wondering if the Pyrrh want to keep them alive (considering, for example, the ready availability of clean drinking water even in the outer zone, the functioning inner zones, and what technology still functions to serve humans). The exception is, of course, if humans are caught in particular areas of the outer zones. However, the Pyrrh have developed certain warning cues (see above) to try to scare  and ward away humans.

Please do not confuse this with concept behind the terminator movies. The Pyrrh are their own race of beings, regardless of where they evolved from or what techniques they use to limit humanity. The theory is that they are an alien race that mysteriously manifested in human space. Once time travel became more widespread, too many humans jumped back in time. This created a natural imbalance that the world tried to correct by certain computerized technologies developing awarenesses. When the Pyrrh arrived, they gained control of this new technological awareness / intelligence and used it against humanity. Beyond that, even the humans don’t know much about the Pyrrh by time point three.

[The Balance of Souls]

This is part of a world descript for a science fiction setting. If you got here by accident, hit the back button on your browser.

Although Sol as a name for our sun is debatable in its use in English now, humans needed a name to differentiate our star when venturing into space. Therefore, they defaulted to the name ‘Sol’. In between time points two and three, they built dozens of space stations and encountered over one hundred alien races. These alien races were at various stages of technological development, but none were openly threatening. For the most part, they either preferred to maintain their own established peace or be left alone. Since humans ventured out into either unclaimed territory or territory that was already maintained under a formal peace, they essentially fell into the alien system. It’s very basic: don’t interfere with other developed species (these are species capable of space travel on their own), only land on planets with developed species if their leaders formally welcome outsiders, if you built it you maintain it, all space stations must welcome and respect alien travelers (if they do not fall under the special interest clause), do not arrest or detain any member of another developed species, and no armed conflict with other developed species (otherwise the entire combined military of the peaceful species will descend on you to forcibly end said conflict).

Our own solar system and Alpha Centauri (A, B, and Proxima Centauri) are the main highlights of the Sol territory. The station officially named Centauri Space Station was nicknamed Wayward Point since Proxima Centauri had some unpredictable effects. Before the Pyrrh took over, it was a common stop for explorers traveling to and from Sol’s system. There is also a minor colony on the moon, Mars, and Europa, but mostly for scientific reasons. Since resources are no longer limited by allocations of currency, resources can be more freely allocated based mostly on need. More limited resources (such as certain rare gemstones and elements) are either divided based on merit for scientific purposes (as literally approved by a group voted on by people who choose to work in sciences) or placed in museums for public view. Space Travel has advanced enough that someone can get from Earth to Wayward Point in roughly three days by time point three (three to four weeks for time point two).

There can be some fun misunderstandings. For example, cats are not a developed species (since they are incapable of space travel on their own), therefore any species can interfere with cats. However, most aliens find them either adorable masters or superfluous fluff, so the cats mostly stay with just the humans.

When Pyrrh took control of the planet, they also assumed control of the Sol territories and the machine planet (for details on the machine planet, see the ventures into space link off the main setting descript). For more information on the Pyrrh, follow that link off the main world descript post. Since Pyrrh are developed species (from an unknown origin, aliens are not capable of interfering if they want to maintain peace). The actual arrival of the Pyrrh temporarily destabilized the region.  Although Pyrrh are a developed species that interfered with another developed species, the initial attempts to remove the armed conflict were met with high casualties. Eventually, the collective military force chose to leave the Sol territory in a new peace, one where the Pyrrh are allowed to be the dominant species. Many humans have escaped into unclaimed territory or welcoming alien territory (such as Anacondri’i territory).

Oftentimes, other species still call themselves “human” since that’s just a term in the language. For example, French says “humain(e)” and German says “mensch”. Either of these translated into English would be “human”. As can be expected, this causes quite the confusion. Languages themselves are not universal, but many species maintain translators (with varying effectiveness and level of technology). Other species that want to differentiate themselves more clearly (especially if they’re not closely resembling homo sapiens) may adopt and enforce their native term. Different species may also be represented by the language they speak and/or the dominant language where they come from (similarly to how we may call someone French). This does make it easier for humans from Sol territory to blend in in other territories.

The territories further away from Sol mostly follow the same premises, but some of them can get much more complicated. See the [Interconnected Multiverse] for details.

[The Balance of Souls]

This is part of a world descript for a science fiction setting. If you got here by accident, hit the back button on your browser.

Lilchtee are a popular candy known for their eclectic, mesmerizing bursts of flavor. They come in an off-beige plastic, the type you have to twist off to open. The candy itself has a distinct, off-orange peach color. N in Into the Unknown refers to them with a hybrid word between ‘explode’ and ‘candy’. Here is a section from Into the Unknown where N describes eating a lilchtee candy:

“I twisted the off-beige plastic, unwrapping mine to find their distinct almost clear, off-orange peach color. A smile still rested on my face. Quickly, I popped the candy into my mouth, slipping it underneath my tongue on the left. I leaned back, sliding into a more comfortable position laying on my left side. My hands were tucked under my pillow, my knees bent. Consciously, I made sure my one palm was flat against the cement – whether it helped or not, I liked to feel that I was more prepared to sense the Pyrrh. Before closing my eyes, I glanced around – Aiden had his hands under his head and his eyes on the ceiling. Amira was on her side like I was, an eager child-like grin still dancing upon her lips. My tongue began to grow numb, so I closed my eyes. I was ready to let it take me.

The numbness seeped into my jaw, aiming awkwardly towards below my teeth. Slowly, I lost total sensation in my tongue, feeling my entire body grow lighter. The world itself began to feel more distant, almost light and distorted. A cold drifted down into the roots of my teeth, like freezing light yogurt slipping down a pin tip.

Flavor exploded, starting at an extra sour green apple. My teeth felt like they were blasting off, like little rocket ships aiming to escape my mouth. Firecrackers went off against the roof like oddly sweet jalapenos and chili. It was an onslaught of flavors, a randomized assault on my senses so vivid I probably tensed up in my physical form (Aiden always does). To the outside world, we must appear to be in pain. But, on our insides, we were all ecstatic.”

Other escapes do exist in time point three, including various modern day escapes (although the attainability of all but marijuana is questionable at best). To clarify: Marijuana was legalized before this time point, and is actively grown is several inner zones. However, it’s consumption is limited, usually by the grower or the voucher system. Other escapes unique to this time point include:

• Viva! A type of virtual reality playground accessible in certain shelters via the voucher card system.
• An unusual bread-like dish. Eating it is rumored to grant you super hearing, eyesight, and strength. However, this rumor has yet to be confirmed and many fakes are known to exist in the inner zones. The taste of actual Sotrobe is usually described, at best, as wooden.
• An off-type of lilchtee. So called for the temporary effects on memory.
• [I may add more to this list later on.]

[The Balance of Souls]

This is part of a world descript for a science fiction setting. If you got here by accident, hit the back button on your browser.

Time travel is a mindf*ck. That’s an actual author’s note I had in some of my editings. But here goes.

For descriptions of how a time machine actually looks, see the link off the main world descript for technologies seen in time point three. This page is for the established theory for the setting. Here is a paragraph from Into the Unknown:

“He only had to repair the controls. The containment chamber was entirely intact, the base singularity intact. There was enough energy in the stores to regulate matter consumption by the singularity for decades before it radiates out. The device can still curve space time (the theory is that space time has a positive curvature, time travel requires a negative curvature). When active, the device would launch forward, carrying the chosen one (Ha! I could practically feel Aiden’s thought at that – I did not have to look to see his smug grin.) a set distance to allow for traveling across a set time. Wild-hair was exceptionally proud of his work (and his rudimentary understanding of time travel mechanics).”

A singularity in this case is a tiny black hole. But, do not panic at that – black holes actually decay. Therefore, to use them in this setting as a power source, I established that they have some way of containing it and feeding it at the same rate it decays, therefore allowing them to use a stable black hole as a power source. Curving space time is a common basic sci-fi time travel theory. Now that we’ve covered the mechanics, here’s the superstition (and the setting’s namesake), also in a quote from Into the Unknown:

“ “I’m not thinking about the chosen one. I’m thinking about our souls.” She explained. That superstition made even Aiden hesitate, but I saw no value in it. Supposedly, like Wild-hair feared, time travel can mess with your soul. There have been reports of people returning with pieces of themselves missing, or another voice in their head. Some even talked about prophetic dreams and surreal realities. Also, supposedly, having extra souls in a particular time causes our world to try to rebalance the number of souls (through an increase in attempted suicides, for example). However, if someone is not meant to die yet our world will not let them pass away, so really it’s like telling us people might get hurt, but no one will die. Like Aiden had ranted earlier, it was just another way for the powers that be to keep control, mostly to keep people from leaving. ”

N does doubt the superstition at first. They have grown up in a world that teaches them that the Pyrrh are a result of the fault of humans: too many people jumped away in time, therefore creating an imbalance in the number of souls in a particular time. The Pyrrh are (supposedly – see their link off the main world descript for more info) an alien race of unknown origin who came because of the technology that suddenly came into awareness as a result of that imbalance. The Pyrrh demanded that they could control the world better than humans.

Essentially, all times in Earth’s history are meant to naturally have a set number of souls, but no one really knows for sure how much time travel can affect that. If you jump to the past in pursuit of a criminal, you can find the area they are hiding out in by comparing the time’s attempted suicide record against what you brought as historical data from your own time. Anywhere with a spike in attempted suicides has an extra soul and the world is trying to rebalance. However, since the souls already in the time are not meant to pass yet, their suicide will fail. The biggest concern about time travel is how the jump with affect the jumper themself: bizarre dreams, missing pieces of themself, new voices in their head. (Minor disclaimer: I recognize that suicide is a real and depressing issue. Please be respectful of this if you intend to explore and potentially use my setting.)

It should be noted and clarified that it’s not literally your soul. As Emalyn explains in Will to Speak:

“It’s not literally your soul. It’s you. It’s the hats you wear, the masks you take off, the way you present yourself. It’s your . . .”

She stops off there since no one really has a good way to describe it. They just know that there’s a lot of superstition for a reason.

(Minor disclaimer – this is not to say that someone who’s mentally ill with, for example, schizophrenia is automatically a time traveler in this setting. Schizophrenia has been consentually cured by time point two. However, a traveler to time point one from time point three might suddenly start thinking about that. If you love that head cannon, go for it. Respectfully and with humanity.)