Forword: You may skip the Prologue and go straight to the Author's notes. It merely sets a context
Prologue : What is at Stake
It's a depressing fact of sentience , that ability represented by the forbidden fruit that most species , in most timelines fail to pass the series of barriers to a Kandashev class I civilization . The pitfalls are immense , from nuclear annihilation , doomsday viruses , race wars , wars of religion , wars of militant atheism and ideology , Magic-technology wars , climate change to the simple failure to move beyond fossil fuels . In several timelines , early in the 21st century , futurist predicted that humanity only had a 50 percent chance of surviving to the end of the century. The reality is far more depressing . In over 89.8% of HSS C0 timelines , Terra is reduced to a molten glassed radioactive slagheap . 9.7% of the time , humanity collapses with a whimper , and 0.18% of the time , Earth devolves into an oppressive Magocracy , often meriting it a Global Omega . Add to the risk of Superviruses , Supernovae explosions , Dark Matter collisions , Genetic Modding screwups , Dystopia formations, Apocalypse by Asteroid and , most commonly , the failure to address resource depletion and a rather depressing picture is formed . Of course , that explains Fermi's paradox . There's no one listening out there because sentience is rather rare anyway , and sentient races who may have been capable of listening to the stars tend to annihilate themselves before reaching the relative safety of type I . And , incredibly , for the no more than 0.00342% of timelines possessing civilizations that reach type I status , a good proportion STILL manages to destroy itself , or develop into an unredeemable dystopia, meriting the code Omega Omega . Even after all that , our history before the formation of the Multi-Universal Overmind ( MUOM) and the Union of Timelines suggest that even civilizations that attain the capability of crossing between timelines may very well have annihilated itself. However , our Cross-time Launchers are unable to penetrate that far back in time to ascertain so . And our encounters with more primitive cultures antagonistic to us , and still achieving Timeline travel opens the possibility that our great civilization , the Core timelines may still one day be annihilated with the encounter of a hostile timeline Civilization more advanced than ours. Just as Pizzaro conquered the Incans with no more than 150 men , and just as one Agent is sufficient to bring timelines millenniums before us into our fold , so it might be that one day , a hostile Entity far more advance than us may also encounter us... and subsume or erase us from this continuum. It is not as farfretched – clearly , the Fae , if they chose so could do our civilization. If there's one thing that three millenium's of Timeline travel has taught us , it is that anything could potentially happen . Like the emergence of the founding races of the Core Timelines , for instance. Like the enigmatic Fae who precedes and transcends us. ....
Young Nodes of reality , concern yourself not with such matters however . But know what is at stake here – nothing less than trillions of souls in your hands, who were , is and yet may be .
12 AC ( After Contact )
Terra , Timeline Cluster 9789 - 289272- Route 4.082^23 Variant 9.12^398 -Timeline 9374102 Variant 4.08^21
A/N The first number represents the number of years before the Capital Timeline , and the Second the point of Divergence . Essentially , this timeline's destination is 4.082^23 X 9.12^398 X 4.08^21 X 9374102 . As for what the various terms mean , read and find out=)
This is essentially yet another Time Travel Story , with a slightly different twist . Remember the Quantum Leap , or 30 Minutes that Changed Everything ? This explores what happens when a civilization millenniums more advanced than these two intervenes in other timelines on an INDUSTRIAL scale . Much of what happens in this story would be very similar to how your typical intervention plays out , except for the details . )
Terminology:
Core: Origin or Centre . The real essence of something, or it's starting point .
Reality Manipulation : The Art of manipulating the fabric of reality by non-physical means . Magic is but one manifestation of Reality manipulation. Felix Felicities is a very crude form of true Reality manipulations. Nodes practice a form of unconscious Reality manipulation , though they can consciously learn how to use their presence in reality to manipulate it.
Node : Someone whose decisions and actions will impact a time-line significantly . Nodes , when viewed through Real-Sight and Soul-sight distorts the Fabric of Reality , much as Gravity distorts Space-time. More powerful Nodes often have an effect resembling weak Felix Felicities . Nodes can be taught how to consciously manipulate reality , space and time in a way separate from magic, in a form of Reality-manipulation .
Timeline : A specific continuity of space-time . There are an infinite number of timelines , though some are more "real " than others. Every decision creates a new timeline .
Point of Divergence: The point at which a timeline splits into several new timelines.
Mind-sight: A nickname for passive Legilimacy , the detection of Occlumantic barriers , detection of surface thoughts and the exercise of passive Empathy and the like.
Empath : A person able to sense the emotions of others, and , for the trained , surface thoughts and motivations of others . Empaths circumvent Occlumantic barriers . This ability is also related to clairvoyance . This is the Core of Legilimacy .
Clairvoyance : Awareness of the most likely possibilities and consequences of actions , and also the presence of Nodes and Potential Nodes within a timeline . Capable of RealSight. Some nodes can be trained to be clairvoyant, though their ability can never exceed a Natural Born Clairvoyant.
Mage-sight/ Auravision: The detection of magical signatures , emissions and auras . This includes the detection of wards , identification of spells , curses and even , approximately , magical strength .
Soul-sight: The ability to see not just the Soul Core, but it's impact on reality itself. Real Sight as applied to sentient objects. Mage-Sight is a subset of Soul-sight.
Realsight: The ability to see the fabric of reality itself. Soul-sight is a subset of real Sight
Sight : Detection of the electromagnetic spectrum .
Magical Core : The magical Capacity of someone . All sentients have magical Cores , but for Magical Cores to be utilized , certain Genetic codes are necessary . Magical Core strength is highly correlated with intellect and cognitive ability , while the condition of a body is essential in determining how effectively a magical Core can be used . Ultimately , it also determines the maximum magical capacity of a magical core.
Soul Core : The very essence of the Soul . What the Nucleus is to a cell , the Soul Core is to the entity. Each Soul has a unique signature , which can be "Locked on"
Soul Lock : Allows the active tracking of a soul . The most common use is in allowing magical spells to "home in" on a soul.
AI : Artifical Intelligences or minds . Magical Paintings are an extremely primitive form of AI .
MemAI : AI's designed to store memories . A descendant of AI's originally developed out of Priori Incatetum echoes. Also capable of mimicking and storing personalities , in the same manner as Magical mirrors or portraits.
Free AI : Free standing AI's , not under the direct command and linked to a Soul.
Binded AI : An AI that is linked to the mind and soul , in the same way the Brain is connected to the Soul . An AI is essentially an artificial mind under the control of a Soul
AI Cloud : A network of AI's linked to a soul .
Note On Language : Of course , a highly advanced humanity is likely to speak a language as remote from us as Modern English was from Old Anglo-Saxon . The terms are rough translations of concepts of Core Standard , the lingua Franca within the Union . Time travellers utilize certain AI matrixes to communicate in the current language of the timeline they are in .