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Time, in all worlds, in all dimensions, flows like a river.
This is an inexact metaphor, of course. Trying to describe the flow of time in ways a layman can understand is exceptionally difficult. But a river is, perhaps, the most apt -- as it flows in one direction constantly, so it also exists in its entirety. One point on the river is equal to another; though most people experience a sense of progress as they float down these canals, the fact remains that the time they are in one point of the river continues to exist at the same time as that point further down. And so it goes, until that river ends, either by drying up or by emerging at the great ocean of time, where all timelines merge into a single singularity -- a multiverse, if you will.
Like rivers, too, time does not flow in a single direction. One river will branch into two, continuing with people none the wise. One river will slowly curve, further and further, until the flow of time cuts it off, forever creating a separate lake out of the flow of time, a permanent encasing of one set of events even as a new timeline emerges. Eddies may occur, scrambling the elements of time into a form similar yet still vastly different. And in some rare cases, rivers may merge altogether, causing curious mixtures of all shapes and forms.
No single being who comes from within the flow of time can permanently alter its course. Even those who time travel can at best create a new branch, unaware that the branch they attempted to halt continues on long after they no longer pay attention. Instead, the greatest dangers come from outside -- powerful, unknowable entities with their own vested interests. Some of them are like fishermen, removing elements without regard for their effects on the flow. Others are like contagions who, as they infiltrate, slowly crush the life out of the rivers they enter. And, very rarely, some simply dam the river, dooming that timestream to stagnation.
So then. Are we powerless to affect such forces? Or are we, as an organization who has forced itself outside of time itself, the only ones who can keep time's waters clean and safe?
Hmm... I wonder. Perhaps you can help us find the answer to this.
((A general idea of the setting I had in mind for the semi-regular "chat style" RP sessions. The live stuff would be more dedicated towards more direct action; a journal community could be used if people wanted more CR/slice of life elements.))
This is an inexact metaphor, of course. Trying to describe the flow of time in ways a layman can understand is exceptionally difficult. But a river is, perhaps, the most apt -- as it flows in one direction constantly, so it also exists in its entirety. One point on the river is equal to another; though most people experience a sense of progress as they float down these canals, the fact remains that the time they are in one point of the river continues to exist at the same time as that point further down. And so it goes, until that river ends, either by drying up or by emerging at the great ocean of time, where all timelines merge into a single singularity -- a multiverse, if you will.
Like rivers, too, time does not flow in a single direction. One river will branch into two, continuing with people none the wise. One river will slowly curve, further and further, until the flow of time cuts it off, forever creating a separate lake out of the flow of time, a permanent encasing of one set of events even as a new timeline emerges. Eddies may occur, scrambling the elements of time into a form similar yet still vastly different. And in some rare cases, rivers may merge altogether, causing curious mixtures of all shapes and forms.
No single being who comes from within the flow of time can permanently alter its course. Even those who time travel can at best create a new branch, unaware that the branch they attempted to halt continues on long after they no longer pay attention. Instead, the greatest dangers come from outside -- powerful, unknowable entities with their own vested interests. Some of them are like fishermen, removing elements without regard for their effects on the flow. Others are like contagions who, as they infiltrate, slowly crush the life out of the rivers they enter. And, very rarely, some simply dam the river, dooming that timestream to stagnation.
So then. Are we powerless to affect such forces? Or are we, as an organization who has forced itself outside of time itself, the only ones who can keep time's waters clean and safe?
Hmm... I wonder. Perhaps you can help us find the answer to this.
((A general idea of the setting I had in mind for the semi-regular "chat style" RP sessions. The live stuff would be more dedicated towards more direct action; a journal community could be used if people wanted more CR/slice of life elements.))
