I bend down and examine it for a few minutes.  The road is fascinating.  Its that kind of clever industrail thing that can have unexpected repercussions.  One things leads to another, and that to another.  That TV series Connections was righton target.

After passing through the bubble, I smell my fingers and think.  "Cool? Rapid heat loss?"

I shake my head.
"I wouldn't mind some peace for now.  And yes, the Tower sounds lke a good idea."  It does, since I want a view from a high place of the area, and anything named 'the Tower' is likely to have such, or so I hope.

I exchange names with the guy, and then make my way to the Tower.

The road is a polymer substance. It's got such a high traction coefficient that it almost feels sticky. But not quite. You cannot slide your hand across it while applying any pressure. Even a light touch takes effort to move your hand. But it looks rather smooth.



Your fingers smell like death. Something died on the other side of the bubble. A lot of somethings, by the smell.



"The Tower is the main center of activity. There's one every hundred miles or so. You can get an apartment, look for a job, it's the place to go for everything."



"Fred. Fred Flintstone."

You pass by a lot more shops. Shops selling everything from high quality stone spears (which people are buying) to psionic enhancement devices. (Which people are also buying) And everything in between (Which people are still buying)

Going to the Tower, the base is huge. Easily covers 10 square blocks. It's made of glass, concrete and steel. Lined with windows. You cannot see the top through the clouds.

I make a point to avoid the bubbles after that.  I may need to check them out later, but none of th epossibilities sound good, besides, it occurs to me that there are others more skilled here than I.  I'm not a hero here, I'm just another guy.  Its relaxing.

I take Fred's advice and head to the Tower to find where I can get a job and an apartment.  On the way, I gawk at the spears and the psi devices, curious as to what I could learn.  I make notes in my head of things of special interest, but eventually, I arrive at the Tower.

A quick prayer, and I enter.

Going in, you see the reception area. People standing behind desks with computers. In the middle of the room, there's a bank of computer terminals. People, even cavemen, are sitting at them. The computers seem to be voice activated.

There are versers of every race, creed, color and clothing style milling about. Jews and SS Nazi officers talking like old friends. KKK and Black Panthers making dinner reservations together. There doesn't seem to be any racism or anything of the sort. You're all united as versers.

A receptionist says to you "Greetings and felicitations. How may I assist you?"

I look at the cavemen, and wonder if they see something different than I do, but putting that aside, I smile at the receptionist.  Its nice to see people getting along.

"Yes, I just arrived. I heard this was the place to go for an apartment and a job."

Receptionist "First I have some standard information I need from you. I notice you've got numerous magical weapons. What is your level of proficiency with them? If you are proficient with your magic and psionics, use them freely. However, if you are going to try something new or dangerous, we ask that you go into one of the silver sub-universes. If you have an uncontrolled release of power, it will be contained there. Every one of those bubbles is a doorway to a universe where a verser had an uncontrolled release of power which destroyed all sentient life on a planet. Do Not be the one who causes a botch which destroys this world. You will anger about three billion immortal versers, and nobody wants that."

That's your cue to ask about the bubbles.

"Do you have any material? Books? Audio/video recordings? Holonovels? Anything of the sort? We have an extensive database and are always looking for new material. We will pay you for permission to copy your material into our database."

"What sort of employment are you seeking? Are you a craftsman? A lot of versers set up their own shops to sell their wares."

"I'm going to start a private messenger service. Small packages. Letters. That sort.  Where would I advertise such?"

The idea just jumps into my head rather than admit I don't have a lot of skills at much, and I'm not really interested in back breaking labor.  I can drive my moped about, and deliver stuff 'as long as its in sight of the Tower', I'll say.

The receptionist looks up something in her computer and says "As a matter of fact, there's an opening in the Tower mail room. You would be delivering packages and letters exclusively inside the Tower. As an employee of the Tower, you would of course have your room and meals provided as part of your payment compensation. But the pay is only 5 ounces of precious metal a week. Are you interested?"

She goes on to say that gold, silver and platinum are the three most widely accepted currencies, but that things here are worth what you and the other person can agree that they're worth. Some people deal strictly in gold, others will accept copper, stainless steel, even lead and iron are precious metals to some versers. So what precious metal would you like to be paid in?

"Gold, please." And I take the job in the mail room.

Nor comets, nor rogue nukes, nor time portals, or escaped bioweapons will stay us from the sure completion of our duty....

The receptionist calls out "Carly Rae!!!"

And a shy, timid brunette girl with glasses approaches. She's wearing a baby blue cardigan sweater and a white, floor length skirt.

Receptionist "Carly Rae will show you to your quarters and to the mail room."

Carly Rae says "Um, come with me?"

And she leads you to an elevator looking thing. Stepping inside, she says "Apartments."

The world tastes purple, you cease to exist for a moment, and the doors open. You're standing in a hallway lined with numbered doors. Each door has a 10 digit number on it.

Carly Rae leads you down a hallway and to a door that says "Vacant". She enters a code into the keypad, and the door opens. The room is small. 12 feet by 24 feet. There's a bed, a flat screen TV, a small kitchen, bathroom. All very high tech.

Carly Rae says "Um, let's see. There's an um, food replicator in the um, kitchen, you can call up the Database on the TV, if you want to call a room, enter the room number on the um phone. You also need to make up your own door code. The code I entered is universal for any vacant room. Any questions?"

OOC) If you want to see what Carly Rae looks like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWNaR-rxAic

Two Posts



OOC) According to a site I looked at, the actual quote is:

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

But, with some tweaking, I think I'd like yours better.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:45, Tue 12 May 2015.

"No, thank you.  I'll examine this in detail later.  And when I inevitably stumble, I'll just go and bug IT....you do say that here?"

After that, I let her take me to the mailroom, and get acquainted with my new job.  With no reason not too, I pitch in until the end of the next shift, and then i make my way back to my apartment.

Once there I begin to sample the database....see if Louis L'Amour wrote the sequel to The Walking Drum in another universe...

Carly is kind of ambivalent. "Whatever you say."



Carly takes you to the teleporter. She says out loud "Mail room." The world tastes purple, you cease to exist, and the doors open. You're looking at a immense storeroom of letters, packages and guys in Mister Zippy uniforms. Somebody says "You the new guy?" Then somebody else says "Hey, that's Councilman Tadeusz." Then he takes another look at you and says "Nah, he's just a divergent."

You're given a Mister Zippy uniform and an hour's introduction to the job. Then you're handed a package and told "Take this to the Council Chamber. It's for Council Chairman Magehammer."

Since you never stated that you were changing clothes or dropping weapons, you were still in the ninja outfit and carrying the toolbelt with weapons when you got here. They have no problem with you carrying those weapons or whatever else you want whilst you're working, so long as it does not interfere with your job. Try telling a verser he can't carry his weapons, ya know?

Also, inside the Tower, you are completely surrounded by verser scriff vectors. It's kind of disorienting. But you're sure you'll get used to it.



Work day's got more to go.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:13, Wed 13 May 2015.

I enter the elevator and say "Council Chambers'.  Once I arrive, I look around for a sign, failing that, for important looking people rushing some place, failing that, I ask a receptionist tyhpe.

When the doors open, you're looking at a heavy wooden door that says "Council Chambers". Going in, you see a long table with about 20 versers sitting at it. Magehammer is at the head. Tadeusz is sitting to his right. Except it's not you. It's you about 20 years younger. This Tadeusz is mid 20s, where you are mid 40s. To the left of Magehammer is a young girl of perhaps 14. She's wearing a blue dress with white trim and has blonde hair. Somehow you just know her name is Alice. The rest is a mishmash of men and women of several different races.

When you enter, Tadeusz, his mouth drops open. "Eric?"

Magehammer says "Yeah, I've met this kid before." Then addressing you "Is that for me?"

Given that you know the Council chairman and are the divergent of his secondary, you are invited to sit in on the meeting. They will take care of everything with your job so you don't get into trouble.

Or you can go back to work. Your choice.

Magehammer wants to tell you something though. "You know that abandoned world where we first met? One of the bubbles here is a gateway to that world. Small Multiverse huh? I believe you were trying to fix up an airplane. Well, now you can go back there and finish what you started."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:19, Sat 16 May 2015.

"I'll sit in." i say. "Thanks.' I do sit in, but keep my mouth shut which might baffle my twenty year old other.

'Right now, this world is pretty neat, but i may want to try that later."

After the meeting, I go back to work after making a quick explnation to the boss.

Magehammer looks you over and says "I see you got the katana and blacksmithing hammer I made for you. Black iron Chaos broadsword, reality benders, Order staff. Where in The Multiverse did you get your hands on all of my best weapons?"

He really wants an answer.

Tadeusz keeps staring at you. Finally he says "I've met divergent versions of myself, but never a verser divergent. That's too trippy."



Alice, the 14 year old girl says "I would be more than happy to accompany you on that journey. It's part of my job. I am a guide and greeter."

OOC) You seemed a bit disappointed that you didn't get to finish your airplane. So now you can do that, and you will be going with Alice instead of Magehammer.



When you tell your boss that you were invited to sit on on a Council meeting, he says "Say no more son. The Council is made up of 20 of the oldest and most powerful versers here. You don't question their decisions. Not if you want to stay healthy."

So you're not in trouble with your boss.

I give him a short synopsis on Arcade.

I nod in agreement with my dop.  I give him a sympathetic smile.

"Perhaps later. Thank you, Alice."

Magehammer nods. "So that's where Samantha met you before. She kept insisting that she met you before we met you on that world. So it was that guy she met. You actually brought those weapons out of a video game? That's amazing. Well, stop by my shoppe if you ever want to learn to use them."

You're back to being trained by them.



Tadeusz says "Who knows? We could be the same person. I might be you a thousand worlds from now and just don't remember it."



Alice says "Let me know when you'd like to peruse it. It would be my honor."

Magehammer says "That world was destroyed by the Carters. How I'd love to get my hands on those freaks. I'd pay handsomely to anyone who took out the Carters."

(Hint, you took out the Carters.)

But then Magehammer says "Down to business. Is everything running smoothly in your various sectors?"

Everyone nods in agreement.

Magehammer says "Any problems that currently need to be addressed?"

Nobody has any problems that need to be addressed.

Magehammer "Meeting adjourned."

And everyone gets up to leave.

I blink, rather startled at my dop.  He just smiles back in amusement as I process the thought.

My personal universe just got a little bit bigger with that wild, but logical idea. Good.

OOC: Carters????

I leave and go back to work.

OOC) The bad guys in Paintball World. The six twin brothers. Magehammer hates them. You would get in real tight with him if you told him how you took them out.



And then you spend the rest of the day delivering packages all over the building.

Once I get done, I check to see if I can get an advance on my payment.   If so, I go buy some gyros with tzatiki sauce, if I can, and oh, Coke, and somw plates, spoons, and glasses.

Does the room come with a stove, microwave, or laser deepheater?  Fridge?  Sin?k

I buy a fair sized trash can as well, skillet, soap for food, clothes, and body, and hair....I use the trash can to stow my stuff.

Still, its been a long day, and I'm not really up to massive shopping, so I get some sugar snacks, and another drink, and head back.

Once I get into my room its...

"Thank you, Lord.'And i collapse happily on the bed.  An hour nap later, and i reheat the gyros a bit, and try to find some of the shows I've seen on TV, and then see if their are alternates that are not too weird.

Star WArs, the Clone War....goood.   Star Wars, the Opera.....bad.

You ask your boss for the advance. Your boss asks why. When you tell him, he kind of chuckles and says "Take a closer look around your room. You don't need an advance for that."

So no advance, but you're not gonna need it for that.



The room is like a hotel room. You've got dishes, pots, pans, skillets, trash cans, soap, shampoo, you can even have optional maid service. All free to you as an employee of the Tower.

In the room, there's a stove, oven, microwave, fridge, dishwasher, food replicator, waste disposal, sink, and a few more.

You go to the food replicator and ask for Gyros with Tzatiki sauce and Coke. And there's a tray with just that in the replicator. The tastes are not quite what you were expecting. It tastes slightly synthetic. Like the food is made out of flavored nylon. But it's still quite tasty and filling. You could easily eat very well off of it.

If you want non synthetic food, you're going to have to go to the restaurants. And for that you will need money. But you've got everything you need to make a decent life in the room. You don't need to spend any money for that.



This is where you need money. To view the Database, you have to pay for access. First hour a week is free. No, it does not rollover. You cannot save your hours up from week to week if you don't watch anything. After the first free weekly hour, it costs one ounce of precious metal for unlimited viewing in a 12 hour period. Put your coin in, and it will be useable for 12 hours. Once 12 hours are up you lose access, whether or not you watched anything. But you could have a 12 hour marathon during that period.

The coins that you took from Arcade are 1/3rd ounce. You have 20 of them. One of those will buy you four hours viewing time. There's a slot on the wall to put them in.

But on the positive side, as far as what there is to watch, name it. There's Star Wars the opera. And there's Star Wars the Clone Wars. And there's Star Wars the Paint Wars. And there's Star Wars the cheap cardboard thing some guy made in his garage. And there's Star Wars the three dimensional hologram. And there's Star Wars the Rainbow Wars. That'sth the one where Darth Vader talksth with a listhp. (I wish you could hear me say that!!!) And that's just the Star Wars programs. Name it, you can probably find it. Movies, music, TV shows, holographic productions, even shows that strictly appeal to your sense of smell and touch. You want to sit back and smell and feel things that aren't really there? You can do that too. There's a Star Wars that runs that way too.

OOC) I know you don't like Magehammer. Unfortunately most of the worlds I've written were kind of written around him. You're probably going to run into him on more worlds than would be possible for a verser. However, that was the last time you will be forced to interact with him in this world. Aside from seeing him in passing, that is. I just wanted to have that scene where he sees your weapons and tells you about the Carters. The Carters were the bad guys in Paintball World. Magehammer HATES them. If you ever need a favor from him or anything, all you have to do is recount to him the story of how you took them out in Paintball World. He will be your smiling servant at that point. That's why I wanted to force your encounter with him that time. But that was the last time you will be forced to interact with him in this world.

"Hmmm...." I look a the skillet and the gyro, and "Virgin Olive Oil, four ounce bottle, please."

If that works, I'll fry the gyro just a bit.  I've found that el cheapo stuff can be improvedin taste with a little frying.

I consider the money and the TV.  Its been a long time since TV.  I'll give myself four hours tonight to watch ...

'SW: Clone Wars' followed by a 'Welcome to Verser World' Orientation program which might be free, and a twenty minute Bible study led by a genetically engineered ape.  Its odd the similarities, and the divergences in how the ape presents the truth of the Gospel.

After that. a simple set of calisthenics like back on Bubble World, note to self, check o gymllater.  Take it easy.  Shower, tooth brush, stumble into bed, wake up in the middle o fthe night wondering how I gothere (I don't location panic in hotel rooms), remember, smush up the pillow, go back to sleep.

The taste is improved remarkably with a little frying. It almost completely removes the nylon taste. You are a bit horrified to hear the replicator say in a voice reminiscent of HAL 9000 "It is not necessary to say please, sir." It somehow sounds vaguely ominous and threatening.



Clone Wars is more or less what you expect. The good guys still shoot blue and green and the bad guys still shoot red.

Welcome to Verser World is led by a genetically engineered ape. He says "Hello fellow versers. Whether this is your first world or your millionth world, there's something for everyone here in Verser World. You'll find that racism, sexism, religious persecution and the like are all but nonexistent here. Certainly a few have arrived who demonstrated these traits, but they either learned to lose them or were versed out quickly. That woman you're sexually harassing? She might very well be a ninth level witch with multiple torture spells. You will not sexually harass her twice. Our society is anarchist. No rulers. A good rule of thumb for your behavior is simple. If you would not want someone else to do it to you, then don't do it to someone else. The Council is not a ruling body, in spite of what you may have been led to believe. They mediate disputes and ensure things are running smoothly. However, if a councilman tells you to do something, it would more than likely be in your best interests to do it. They know what they're doing and have kept this place running smoothly for a very long time."

"The silver bubbles that you see are gateways to a universe where a verser experienced an uncontrolled release of power, whether psionic, magical or technological, which destroyed all sentient life on a planet. If you have ever done this, there is a gateway to that universe here. If you are proficient with your magic and psionics, use them freely. Botches tend to be rather mild in the main. However, if you are planning to attempt something new or dangerous to you, we ask that you go into one of the other uninhabited universes. If you have an uncontrolled release of power, it will be contained there. You will find a verser here who has performed the act or something similar that you wish to attempt. It would be wise to seek them out and ask for their guidance. Do Not be the one who destroys all sentient life in Verser World. You will end up angering over three billion versers, and nobody wants that."

"Only items or creatures infected with scriff may cross the barriers. So if you conjure an otherworldly demon or some such, it will be unable to cross the barrier and will be contained in that universe. Non scriff infected items may be brought across if they are in a scriff infected container. Some versers cross into the other worlds to bring items for trade. There are even a few who have made homes in the uninhabited universes."

OOC) This is what's been giving me trouble, why I've not replied in a few days. There might even be more to this, give me some time to think on it.

The Bible study is also led by the same genetically engineered ape. He makes a lot of metaphors about throwing poop and picking fleas in the place of other biblical metaphors.



When you start your calisthenics, you hear the HAL 9000 voice again. "There is a calisthenics class on level 439 sir. Would you like to be signed up?" HAL the helpful computer again.