Alternative realitys so what is your's ?

Elisha - you might find this book -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Strange_Manuscript_Found_in_a_Copper_Cylinder
to be helpful. I had forgotten about it, now I am desperately trying to find the copy I had read years and years and years (Really, it was in a prior millenium!) ago. I think it was (gulp) a first edition... I hope I can find it, I really do.

It was a truly groundbreaking story; de Mille has vanished under the popularity of Verne, Wells, and Haggard, but he was one of the Greats.

OldProfessorBear wrote:BTW, that could be a useful word: alternity, alternities ... did you coin that?


[edit] Oh, I see it was the name of an RPG some years ago.

How about alternality?

I rather like that one. It seems to have a couple of meanings already, in some obscure philosophical theory, and in some abstruse branch of mathematics, and possibly elsewhere, if some of the google results are not the results of typos (and some clearly are). It also seems to have the desired meaning of "alternate reality" in one or two places. Altogether a most uncommon word, though. It is evidently not in any dictionary - yet.

Silas Morgan wrote:WOW... That is impressive.

Would it surprise you to find out I literally came up with that on the fly? I'd never conceived of it prior to writing that post.

My alternate reality kicks off in the mid 1860's in terms of technology and social alteration, and by the late 1880's, the world is crawling with spies from various agencies, be they tea companies or organisations of an even more sinister nature. This is aided by the extensive (and reliable) transport vessel: the Airship (note to self: stop calling it a Zeppelin if you're in the 1880's). Many of the aristocracy own their own ships, but they are nothing compared to those owned by the military or the trading companies. This means the sky is crowded, particularly over cities like London.

The areas totally controlled by these agencies are Europe, the North of Africa, the North of India, and the Far East. North America is a mixed continent of style (in the East) and danger (in the West), and as a result, some regions are uncontrolled. South America, the rest of Africa, Asia, and Australasia are either uncharted in their entirety, or under dispute. Impromptu air-battles have been known to take place over these places. Russia, China, and Germany clash over Asia; France, Britain, and the Netherlands fight over Africa; the US and the Spanish over South America, etc.

Socially, women have the same rights as men, though etiquette has remained at a similar standard to that of this reality, though there are exceptions, especially in the world of fashion. More lively women are known to wear trousers, and women over sixteen are still permitted to wear skirts at their knees. The latter habit ought to fade away by the time Miss is middle-aged (just a suggestion). There are many women in high positions in the military and government.

The hub of Society used to be London, but now it is Berlin. London is not unfashionable per se, but it is not considered overly impolite to decline an invitation to a party there. Other major cities include Paris, which is a popular holiday spot for airship crews, and Tokyo for its advances in technology.

In terms of technology, radar is being developed, and other such devices for military purposes. The telegraph system runs successfully across the Atlantic, and the steam powered automobile is vastly popular among the middle class who cannot afford an airship.

That's a basic overview.

I like the idea of "Industrial Spys"... The world I'm working on will be mostly set in the California Republic, and I will probably use it for a role-playing game, or a comic book. Right now, I'm just figuring out the history, society, and technology available. I haven't gotten around to really thinking about womans role in the setting. I might have two "sorts" of women... those that are protected by men... the ones that fancy themselves "Ladies" and the other being the Independent women who take care of themselves (unfortunately, this might include some of the "working" women...)

My Alternative Reality is very similar to the real reality...

...except that everything is a quarter of an inch to the left...

...and everything in the world was invented by the Victorians...

...they arrived, fully-formed as a society on earth around 150 years ago, and proceeded to fill the empty world with a sufficent history...

...they built the Pyramids, stonehenge, etc., installed the remains of the Roman Empire and 'Ancient' Greece, Herbert George Wells and his Chronic Argonauts seeded the past with 'fossils' and 'ancient artifacts', Darwin acted as a consultant on the biology of the fictional past; we they taught the indigenous peoples to speak in strange 'foriegn' tongues (How else can an Englishman make himself understood anywhere in the world just by speaking loudly and slowly?); there is, somewhere, a manuscript describing this world in quite some detail, but I seem to have misplaced it...

...or perhaps it was too close to the truth, and was spirited awy by agents of the Diogenes Club?

My alternate reality?
All the myths are true...

Our ancient nightmares, the ghostly legends,
And fiendish tales, all the myths are true.
Scientists have unearthed enormous skeletons
They think we've disproved that all the myths are true.

"Year after year, science finds explanations, scientific reasons behind all the legends. They think this proves history was not as myth has
shown it, but in fact it proves that all the myths were true."

The ruined remains of an ancient city
Deep underwater, all the myths are true
Scientists have unearthed enormous skeletons
They think we've disproved that all the myths are true.

"...a giant crater is all that remains of what was once the largest city..."
"...currently all the graves stand empty. Government officials estimate damage to the neighborhood at well over $200,000..."
"...the death toll is rising, scientists are scrambling to find some way to stop the massive..."
"...dozens witnessed the attack, no one saw the attacker..."
"...a fishing schooner off the shore of Iceland, wrapping its tentacles around the hull and pulling it under..."
"...found this man to be well over 200 years old. In his cellar was found dozens of jars of frozen blood, human blood..."
"...whereabouts are currently unknown. Police warn citizens to stay away from the forest..."

Deep in the forest, half-crazed witch doctors
with their herbal magics. All of it is true.
They've found traces of neurotoxins in
the zombie's bloodstream. All the myths are true.

Ancient nightmares, archaic legends,
Enigmatic dreams. All of it is true.

Yup...that's what I want...

I am currently working on a RPG in which a "steampunk" Texas is a major player in the Americas.

Wow, I'm not nearly as detailed as some of you and the sheer amount of inspiration and ideas are all but overwhelming. Since I have been purposely obscure about some of the details of the world, outside of airships being the dominant mode of transport, I try to get into the Aether realms which I find facinating. A place that is neither Earth or Space, just a dimensional place where the ground hasn't been found, where there is the ecosystem that was mentioned earlier (air species, airwhales etc.), a place where there is night and day and clouds that hide much of the "universe."

This is where I placed my poem "Dragonfly." Its the Flying Dutchman of this 'verse.

Great thread. I guess that all of us live in similar "universes" and there really is no need for a "unifying" theory because it would seem just too confining!

Well, I've been working on a couple of worlds with steam.

One is the same as this, but alleges that some things happened that weren't recorded. Like airship pirates whose victims were never believed (if they survived), mad scientists who's work was never published or discovered, and strange powers that prefer to remain undiscovered.
I hope to use this for a sort of semi-historical action story, starting in 1860. Kind of a Conan the Barbarian type of story.

The other is more of a fantasy setting, with four or five sentient species, magic and deamons, and more of a medieval technology style. But the thing is, the two main human nations are on the verge of an industrial revolution. One, the Republic of Novgia, has discovered firearms and has started figuring out principles of flight. The other, the Federated Empire, has harnessed steam for transportation. And of course these two powers are coming close to conflict.
It's been fun drawing ideas for steam powered vehicles in medieval styles, like paddle wheeled galleys and three wheeled steam chariots. And figuring out devices and culture for the aquatic mammal people has been an fun problem.

My alternate reality. Thankyou, to who started this thread.

My alternate reality starts with the American Civil War. The Confederates are seeking safe harbor in Halifax, although the powers that be disagree with their policy. One of the many incarnations of the Black Joke is the Halifax LDF's flagship. Steam power is limited to the military elite, and the only air power exists as hot-air balloons with bo
mbs dropped manually.

Potential plots are protect the Confederate ships, betray the Confederates, completely ignore them and SMARSH THE FROGGIES UP NORF... or just go independant and wreak havoc upon absolutely everyone.

Haligonae Uber Alles.