Is it just me or have people noticed the glut of Self-Insert to
pass through
the ML lately?
Hmmm...I seem to have started a fad.
Anyway, another insane spark of an idea came to my mind after reading
this.
Doesn't anyone notice these mysterious disappearances of authors ?
Hmmm....beings all across the multiverse must be either really pissed
off or really worried since usually these authors really kick villain
ass.
My idea was that a certain individual forms a crack unit to track
down
and retrieve such dimensional jumpers.
That would make very interesting story points since the self inserts
that
are already firmly entrenched in their adoptive worlds would have to
reexamine
their situation. To go home or not to go home ? It would make it much
more interesting if the unit sends you home whether you like it or
not.
Just an idea folks. Well, finals are up and I have to _really_ catch
up after that
camping trip. See you in a week or two with the Synopsis List Review
for
two or three weeks !
I liked this idea soooo much that...
ACT I: EQUINOX
The Central Listening Post, Nevada
3:23 PM, March 14, 2000
------------------------
Charlie Peterson was led down a long hallway filled with mechanical
devices of unknown purpose. He pulled at the corner of his uniform as
he walked past a group of white coated individuals huddled around a
monitor. They were so involved in their work none of them ever noticed
as he walked past.
The entire establishment seemed incredible to Charlie. He HAD been
the one who proposed the creation of the CLP, but he never imagined the
extent that his proposal had been taken to. Nearly a thousand people
worked down here, beneath the sands of Nevada, monitoring and tracing
all multiverse activity, especially the crossing of the Multiverse
Barrier or what the tech's called, the Threshold.
The officer in front of him, a uniformed man but lacking any rank
signage, slowed as they came to the end of the hallway. A metallic
door had been erected at the end and had an engraving that said, "CLP
CENTRAL OFFICE." The officer stood beside it motioned for Charlie to
open the door. The officer behind him moved in front and stood at the
other side of the door.
Charlie looked between the two officers strangely then reached out and
pulled open the door. It was nearly a foot thick but it moved easily
and was fully open without the need to strain oneself. Charlie walked
through the doorway into the Central Office.
It was a vast room with many terminals manned by all sorts of people
with suits on. Directly in front of him was a short staircase that
lead to a dais upon which there was a large desk that two people were
standing around. Charlie moved up the staircase and walked up to the
two people.
"Ahh, Doctor Peterson," one of the people, a middle aged man with
already graying hair, said. He stuck out his hand in greeting and
Charlie firmly shook his hand. "I'm Richard Vernis."
"Don't call me Doctor," Charlie said with a smile. "I got my Ph.D..
so long ago it's worthless these days. Just call me Chuck."
"Hello Chuck," a woman in her late twenties said from beside him. He
released the man's hand and turned to the woman. She also held out her
hand in gesture, which he took and shook promptly. "I'm Dr. Tara
Michaels."
"Chuck Peterson," Charlie said returned. "It's a pleasure to meet
you."
"If you're done," a sharp voice said from behind the desk. Charlie
looked up to see a man swiveling in the chair to face him. "We have
work to do."
"Of course," Richard said from beside Charlie.
"What is it that is the problem?" Charlie asked. "Looking for more
scientists or equipment?"
"Is that the impression you had, Mr. Peterson?" the man from behind
the desk said.
"Yes, Bill, it was," Charlie said. "Why? What's really the problem?"
Bill nodded to Tara who picked up a small device off the desk and
turned, facing all the terminals below. She pointed the device at the
wall beyond the terminal and pressed a button.
The wall turned black, then a series of schematics came up when
Charlie realized it was a giant monitor. What it displayed was the
specifics on a small device, a series of reports, and a graph that
showed something on the rise.
"In the last five years," Tara said looking at the wall. "There has
been a rise in multiverse crossing, basically a series of authors have
been getting too zealous and accidentally opening gateways across the
threshold."
She pressed another button and the graph got bigger. "Normally we
would ignore this things and let the people work their own way out, but
we've noticed that the more people cross the threshold, the easier it
becomes for others. This rise in dimensional unstability shows that we
could be facing an apocalypse unless we figure out how to lower it."
The graph faded back as a bunch of reports came up. "For every author
that enters the multiverse, there is a rise of 16.78% in dimensional
unstability. We have a short list of examples gathered in the US."
She turned to face Bill who looked at Charlie.
"As you can see," Bill said leaning on his desk. "We have a severe
problem and it needs be rectified."
"I don't understand where I come in," Charlie asked. "The CLP is
fully capable of handling the development of technology to lower the
unstability in the multiverse. You don't have to go through me to get
permission for this, it's within your jurisdiction."
Bill sighed and turned to Tara. "Doctor Michaels here is a
Psychologist, one of the best we could get ahold of." He turned to
Richard. "Mr. Vernis is one of the CLP's best engineer and
mathematician." He looked forward at Charlie. "And you are, or if you
insist, were the best physicist ever to leave Harvard."
Tara turned back to the wall and pressed another button on the device
in her hand. The schematics for a vehicle of sorts and several hand
held firearms came up. "In the last few months, we've been trying to
find ways of stabilizing the multiverse. We've been so far
unsuccessful."
"So the plan is," Tara took up as the schematics on the wall turned
into moving pictures of the actual devices. "To send a party of three
into the multiverse with the intent of retrieving those who have
crossed before. This," she pointed at the vehicle, "is a TransCart, a
three passenger multiverse transport. It is designed to reduce the
amount of damage done by crossing multiverses and considerably relieves
the stress of transporting actual person through a multiverse
wormhole."
"These," the vehicle faded and the firearms got larger. "Are
modifiable devices that can stun any organism, no matter what the
multiverse, as well as transport individuals back out of the
multiverse."
"Dr. Michaels, and Mr. Vernis willingly signed on," Bill said. "We
wish you to be the third member."
Charlie froze for a second, not knowing what to say next. Finally he
managed to place his hand on his chest and say, "Why me? Couldn't you
have gotten someone else with a bit more, say, modern experience?"
"We have a timetable to keep," Bill said in a dismissive manner.
"You're the best we can get in our time, as well as, in my opinion, the
best we could ever get."
Charlie sighed and looked back up at the schematics that were rotating
on the wall. "If we don't act now," Bill said from behind him.
"Everything will collapse, and we risk the merging of every multiverse
with this world. Total chaos for a planet that is so uneducated they
people are still wondering if life is in the stars."
"I understand the situation," Charlie said turning around to face
Bill. "But--" he trailed off before slamming his fist into the desk
and pacing about. "Dammit, Bill, I'm forty-eight, I'm not sure I can
handle this type of work anymore."
"Nonsense," Bill said sternly. "You've kept yourself in top physical
form, have since you left school. You probably still run four miles
every morning before breakfast."
"Five," Charlie muttered, then paused. "What exactly IS our
timetable? How much longer until the damage is irreversible."
"It'll be reversible until the unstability causes a rupture between
multiverse," Bill said. "Which I estimate is one year from now."
"A YEAR?" Charlie stressed. "How many people have crossed the
multiverse?"
"It's difficult to say," Tara interrupted. "But estimates put it at
least a hundred world wide."
"My god," Charlie said suddenly. "It's that bad, huh?"
"Worse," Bill added for effect. "Will you help us try to reverse it?"
Charlie thought for a few moments, looking between Bill, Tara,
Richard, and the data on the wall before making his decision.
"Alright, I'll do it."
-------------------
11:49 PM, March 14, 2000
-------------------
"Okay, this is the final briefing," Bill said over the radio that was
in Charlie's ear. "You've been equipped with all the tools necessary
to adapt to the multiverse you enter. The onboard computer will pick
up on any signal that is not indigenous to the multiverse and direct
you to the person. The computer will also reconfigure your firearms as
needed."
"What if the computer doesn't work?" Charlie asked over the radio.
"The onboard computer is heavily shielded and hardwired so it can't be
changed," the Bill started. "However, in the event it is damaged,
manual detection and alteration devices are also stored in the
TransCart. Be careful who you send through the threshold with your
firearms, if you send the wrong person you'll destabilize the
multiverse even more."
"Also," Bill continued. "If you come across any authors, be warned
that the multiverse you're in might be malleable to his or her will.
If you encounter anyone who doesn't want to go, the entire multiverse
could start becoming hostile to you. Everyone understand?"
"Yes," the three voices rung out.
"Good," Bill returned. "The Equinox is coming up, when the multiverse
is easiest to cross. One minute and counting."
"T minus 60" a voice said over the radio that Charlie couldn't
identify.
"This seems like a lift off," Richard said, his voice amplified by the
radio. "We don't have to slingshot around the sun do we?"
"T minus 40"
"That's silly," Charlie yelled over the sound of the TransCart warming
up forgetting his voice would be amplified over the radio. "That only
happens on television."
"T minus 20"
"Ready everyone?" Tara said.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Charlie said back.
"T minus 10...9...8..."
"Good Luck!" Bill voice said over the radio. "You'll need it."
"7...6...5...4..."
"What was that?!" Charlie screamed.
"3...2...1...initialize!"
The TransCart activated and started to shake before it was covered in
a blue shimmering light and vanished.
------------------
E N D, A C T I
------------------
Fun, eh? Well, it was an interesting idea and I figured I'd give it a
shot, but now that it's over, I don't want it. So, anyone who wants to
continue this fic, please do so. Take Charlie, Tara, and Richard to
your multiverse and retrieve yourself, if you can. Or not, if you
don't want to go, just send them places. :)
Adam Chris Leigh
Omicron@sprynet.com
--== May the wind be at your back... ==--