Trinity Universe: Infinity Hour

[Titan]

So, here's the outline for the story. I came across it, and I'm not doing anything with it, and maybe you guys will enjoy knowing what was to come. Ah, Regrets.

Infinity Hour

Prologue - Get the PCs together under August Hermann, a proto-Teragen who was 102 when the Galatea exploded. He's been asked, as a favor, to assemble a group of Novas to explore the rift at La Palazzia Orzaiz.

Chapter One: Down the Rabbit Hole

The PCs arrive at LPO just as the whole place goes ka-blooie. The Mercenaries who were sent that morning have returned to destroy the rift (they think the machinery measuring the rift is actually creating it, not getting it's a natural(?) phenomena.) Signs that they have been gone longer than two hours - full beards, dirty and torn uniforms. Group of servants (Head of Security?) trapped in basement security complex. Appearance of Feng from 2120 - underground Nova who has seen it all, and is acquainted with Michael. Deal with Police coming to investigate explosion. Go through the rift.

Chapter Two: Voices at the Door

Emerge in a hollow near the top of Mount Olympus. No ambush, no nothing. Snow. Instructions to launch A.L.I.C.E. Not online for several hours or days. [Edit for clarity: A.L.I.C.E. was a near indestructible mini satellite that was created to catalogue human history and geopolitical changes, with an uplink to the PCs. Sort of an all-knowing Wikipedia that would be there throughout (most of) the eras that the PCs travel to, with reliable information]. There is a small city visible at the base of the mountain, stone age. Suddenly, two men appear amidst the PCs. (Young guy: "Call me... Prometheus, and this is Epi-" Old guy: "Just Michael, is fine" GLARE) Walt and Jesse. [Again, edit for clarity: The model for these two were Walter White and Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad, just to help me remember characterization] Agents of the Tianshi vos Mercer (Angels of Destiny)- Far future (3450?) 'time cops', future cannot be seriously altered, universe self-corrects, but these guys keep it on the only track that matters, the one where humans conquer the galaxy (following the precepts laid down millenia ago by Max Mercer). They are tracking a renegade Doyen they call 'Genocide'. Prometheus wants to give them an injection for 'Temporal Immunity', but Michael comments, "I wouldn't do that", so P lets it drop.

Reveal all the problems, matter of fact: They're here for Genocide. This is long enough ago that it can't really matter that the mercenaries are here. The rift opens every six weeks from this side, but that doesn't matter, because M&P are here to shut down the rift (all the rifts throughout space and time, but right now this one), to prevent Genocide from tainting any more of history. Also, they are right now standing on the turf of the seven most powerful men and women in the world (six, now that Apolun-Ra is dead). The original Novas, gathered and developed over a thousand years by the first Pharoah, are on their way home from killing their master. Oh, and here they are now.

Chapter Three: Men Like Gods

Wotanzeiss and his companions are wounded and weary. The new leader of the 'gods' has lost half of his face, including an eye, and only his superhuman stamina is keeping him together. They are quantum depleted, and in hardly in any shape to fight, which puts them right at the level of the PCs. Negotiation? Fight? If resolved, they have a hidden complex inside the mount. *Hierazaki does a mental link that instant-translates, if allied* If Not, the rest of this will be harder.

Story of Apolun-Ra and the companions, who have the world as their playground, until Apolun becomes more and more insane and powerful. His paranoid delusions regarding the Ietliantians, for instance...

Who? Yeah, the Ietliantians have been around for the last five years or so (convert from six weeks to two hours, since the rift opened, give or take), raising an island from the ocean floor (Seidon confirms, most of their activity is underwater) to trade with the natives. So, proto Hellenic Greece has biotechnology and mercenaries with guns. But, the gods say, the Ietliantians are essentially harmless. A.L.I.C.E. comes online - Fix on position, oh, and large mobile force presumably for war is heading your way...

If not allied, the 'gods' withdraw into their complex, leaving the PCs to their own devices. The city? Ruled by the Mercs, but with weird biotech powering things that just shouldn't exist, even with future guys running the show. No translations. Maybe a guerrilla (or open) campaign to overthrow/capture the mercs... Days later, the Ietliantian invade, in a massive force.

Chapter Four: From the Depths

Ideally, a coalition (heh) of the 'gods, the PCs and the Mercs + locals will fight the massive battle (invasion of Aethenis) against the invaders. Prometheus and Michael re-emerge in a moment of privacy (no gods or mercs around), with Prometheus in a panic "This is exactly the kind of major outside influence that CAN change the timestream!" Whirls on Michael "Why didn't you SAY something?" Shrug. "This is your intervention, I'm just here to advise", letting the PCs know that the younger one is in charge. They have to DO something. Why don't M&P do something? They have been inoculated with 'Temporal Immunity', which means that they literally CANNOT effect change. The PCs have not, ergo and ipso facto...

The real bad guy here, is of course, Genocide. His hatred of the human race for the near destruction of his kind has led him to drastic measures, not the least of which is coming back to Human pre-history to wipe them out. Boy, was he surprised to find quantum channellers among the savages... (not a him or a her. Call it 'it', a force, a being of energy) He diverted a pre-Coalition colonization ship, through emotional manipulation of the crew, to find Earth, and begin the incorporation of Homo Sapiens into the Coalition. Their 'Island' is actually their ship, and they are terraforming the sea into underwater cities for their use. It is critical that the PCs understand the stakes: all of human history. See how it goes, but the 'gods' and mercs should fight, even if they aren't specifically allied with the PCs.

Destruction of the ship, etc. etc, and Ietliantis tumbles into the sea. Tons of action, but no drawn out war. Decisive battle, and if the NPC gods have to do the heavy lifting on this one, so be it.

Chapter Five: Things Change

Victory is sweet, and P&M assure the PCs that any damage done to the continuity will be only temporary, as the Universe will self-correct to get back on the true time-track. A later team will clean up the little stuff to help the Universe along, but that's not our project, and will likely take several lifetimes. No, we were here for Genocide, but it got away (P&M have devices to detect and destroy the Doyen, but the distraction was effective, and he's gone) So, they open the rift... except there isn't one. No fracture of the time-space continuum. Like it never existed. Genocide must have done something. P&M aren't affected because 'temporal immunity', PCs aren't affected because they are not in the causal stream that was affected, but Nova future is gone.

Space jaunt! Fast forward, with M&P to the far future 3450, to the planet Mercer (Destiny), where the Tianshi vos Mercer collectively struggle to figure out what in the hells has happened. Lots of info here, and a glimpse of what is so great about humanity's future. Universal Pantograph, teleportation (device, not psion), no hunger, war, strife. Near-immortality through various technologies both mechanical and biological. And, humanity USED to have a strong strain of Quantum and Psi running through them, but humanity was long ago consumed by overpopulation and the insanities that come with it, dead from a disinterest in space and stagnant discovery. How is Mercer unaffected? Whole planet is shielded from temporal effect (sell this, as it could be supper ass-pull if not handled correctly)

What's the deal with Genocide? Well, quantum hurts Doyen, yada yada, and try as they might, they cannot overcome the taint. The Doyen have collectively decided to abdicate this galaxy and start over elsewhere. Genocide is the one holdout, who decides in a stunning act of rebellion, to eradicate humans before they can even begin the hurt. Following the fractures created by Jennifer Landers in the time-space continuum, he develops a Noetic counterpart to the rifts. He cant use it alone, he still has to follow her 'tunnels' to emerge at the same time and place as the original rifts, and can't use the rifts as they are essentially a manifestation of Taint. Still, he's now a threat.

Meanwhile, Tianshi historicists have spent a few hundred years tracking down the source of the change (of course, they looped it back to now, so you'd hardly notice). Late July, 1922, London (New York?) Earth. Still Prometheus' mission, and after a strong objection from one of the Tianshi, P&M decide to take the PCs with them to work it out.

Chapter Six: The Butler Did It

Michael and the PCs must infiltrate the demonstration of Calvin Hammersmith. Simple. (Michael: "You, of course, will stay here, and advise us from the outside" Prometheus: "Wait, I HAVE to be there!" Michael looks at him hard, Prometheus drops his gaze "Oh... yes, of course. I understand." ) Plot points of note: Jackson Harley has been entirely subsumed by Genocide, who has taken his body over. The PCs may believe that he is there to sabotage the experiment, but nothing could be further from the truth. He wants to make it fail, but no explosion. How the PCs get in is largely up to them, but they shouldn't have too much difficulty. Mind fuck moment when Max Mercer shows up with Prometheus! PCs might be like "What?", especially when Michael brushes it off like no big deal. The players will get it.

Now, a sort of comedy of errors as Jackson Harley attempts to make adjustments to the device. Perhaps the PCs try to undo what he did, maybe they realize it will make the device go more smoothly. Either way, the showcase is of the Hammersmith incident. If PCs don't "fix" the device to explode, then Michael will.

In the ensuing ka-boom, give the PCs a chunk of NP to spend, in a 'radiation accident' type play. Buffed up, they'll be extra pissed by...

Chapter Seven: Back to Reality

Prometheus and Michael thank the PCs for their service, and Prometheus especially pats himself on the back for a job well done, as Genocide was evidently destroyed in the blast. Michael has his reservations, but admits that it does seem likely. He mentions casually that they have buried a temporal monitoring device at the location of each rift, so they can tell if these guys ever go through one again. He cautions against it. With individual goodbyes, they send the PCs one by one back to their own time...

Each PC awakens to find themselves baseline. They are in the middle of dealing with the aftermath of whatever caused their eruptions in the first place. Only catch is, they have a complete memory of everything that has happened since erupting, including their time adventures. Also... things have changed.

The world has been divided by Germany and Japan following their victory in WWII. Superpowered beings exist, but they are much weaker than Novas, and are relentlessly hunted down to serve the state. The PCs have to find a way to reunite and figure out what to do. A.L.I.C.E. will be invaluable for information, and possibly contact.

To make matters worse, the PCs are each experiencing a mental disturbance where the memories of this reality have begun to displace their true memories, causing disorientation and dizziness, as well as intense nausea. If they take too long to figure things out, they will forget they ever lived any other life.

The solution here will be M&P, obviously, though there should be several encounters that show how bad of a world this is, and give the PCs a chance to stretch their non-nova abilities. If it occcurs to them to seek out the temporal monitor at La Palazzia Orzaiz, they discover the Count is active in the underground network for Die Inspiriert, and perfectly willing to help.

Hopefully, the PCs will get their shit together before they lose their shit, and M&P will make contact to get them the hell out of dodge.

Chapter Eight: The Nefarious Scheme of Dr. Hauptmann

Prometheus confesses that he was wrong, and that Genocide is still up to no good. (no shit?) The Historicists have made a horrifying discovery. In the Hammersmith Incident, the Doyen was able to absorb the Telluric energy, because it was Psi energy infused with quantum instead of raw quantum. They fear that he is now no longer vulnerable to Tainted quantum, and they KNOW that he is trying to strike at the first mass release of quantum. Galatea? No, silly. Kolberg, Germany 1945. (note: once they leave this time stream, their powers come back)

The enigmatic Dr Hauptmann has been diligently recreating the Telluric engine, but powered purely by quantum, and experimenting with the resultant energy. For the last few years, he has created the Zombie Panzer division, the Nazi Wulfpack, and his latest creations, the Ubermensch. Hitler and the Nazi high command assume, incorrectly, that Hauptmann is their pet scientist. In reality, Dr. Hauptmann is Max Mercer's closest friend, Michael Donighal. Sent to Germany in the late thirties to gain a better understanding of this 'Nazi phenomenon", Donighal has infiltrated the Nazis as Dr. Drache Hauptmann. Here, he finds, he can experiment without limits. Though the Nazis are brutish thugs, they do seem to respect science, and Hauptmann too believes that a "master race" must dominate mankind's destiny, though he has not mentioned to anyone exactly which race he means. Through their sponsorship, he has nearly unlimited funds to pursue the recreation of Hammersmith's masterpiece, and a nearly unlimited supply of 'volunteers' for his experimentation.

This one should be dark, but fun. Zombie Nazis and talking guard dogs are pretty good stuff, and the Ubermensch should put up quite the fight. The twist is that Mercer and his Society are just about to arrive on the scene to put a stop to Donighal, having just discovered that the murder of whatshername just prior to the war was at his hands, having just found him out for something something. Problem: Max and gang assume incorrectly that the PCs are one of Primoris' creations. Three way battle: Ready? Fight!

Ok. This can end a couple of different ways. At the least, the engine is powered up, and Genocide actually starts absorbing the pure quantum energy it's putting out. No bueno. The society will destroy the engine in a 'little' explosion, after all that's what they do without any temporal interferance. However, a big quantum battle with Primoris (who is at the least a match for a few weeks old nova) could cause the engine to go big. A BIG explosion could be interesting. In addition to powering up Genocide, it could start the Nova age sixty years early (what Primoris/Hauptmann wants). Either way, Genocide gets a nice big drink of quantum. In whatever explosion ensues, Prometheus gets blasted in the face. His body cradled by Michael, he explains what he learned in a mental link with Genocide.

Chapter Nine: The Beginning of the End

Drunk on Quantum, and now a being of both energies, Genocide has decided to go for broke, and become.. not A god, but THE god. He is going back to the beginning, back before the big bang, to mold the universe to his liking without interference. It is up to the PCs to stop him. Michael drops Prometheus at Tianshi vos Mercer HQ, and they transition to before the beginning of time.

Dunno how to do this, but epic battle. Genocide is a supremely powerful, Nova Doyen. Almost literally a god. The entire not-inconsiderable might of the Tianshi plus the PCs (and can we find a way for the 'gods' from chapter three to show up? I think we can!) are barely holding out against his Noetic and Quantum onslaughts. In the backdrop: Nothing. Literally nothing, no stars no light no nothing. Not even sound. Makes fighting difficult, but it should be pretty cool.

The PCs will think of something, some way to destroy this creature (the two energies naturally do not mix, like oil and water), and when they do, the resultant explosion of energy is massive. So massive, that it rips a hole in the fabric of space and time, spewing the energies and matter of another universe into our empty one. (yeah, we just saw the big bang, bitches) M and the PCs, and the Tianshi get out before they get creamed.

Chapter Ten: Alpha and Omega

Get out they do, and Michael picks up Prometheus, who has these crazy purple glowing eyes, but covers them with these goggle things. ("I look like a freak" Michael: "Ah, but you get better you know.") They take the PCs to the edge of the galaxy (no big) to show them the Doyen Exodus. A miracle of light and energy, the race of Doyen are moving through a red curtain of lightning, in space, far from any star, and it's moving and gorgeous. They are abdicating this galaxy, leaving it to the sure victors, Humanity. The PCs, and Michael and Prometheus, are in a sort of observational ship, one whole side of which is transparent, and the display is quite beautiful.

A man appears. One minute he's not there, then he is. An older man, about Michael's apparent age. Think Teddy Roosevelt. Michael smiles at him. "Max. I didn't think you'd come" Max smiles broadly back "Except that you knew I would." Another man appears, and this one the PCs recognize from chapter six: The young Max Mercer. He is bewildered and confused. "What... what is this?" Prometheus grips his arm. "This is how it ends. We get to see how it all ends." Older Max chuckles. "I barely remember this conversation, let's see, it's been what? Forty years?" Michael smiles enigmatically. "For you. It's been... somewhat longer for me."

Looks long at the PCs. Nods. "I know just what to do with you."

Flicks his fingers, and the PCs find themselves on top of Mount Olympus. Michael and Prometheus (undamaged, with normal eyes) are aiming devices at the rift. They explain that they opened this one manually, in preparation for sealing the rift for good. But, of course, they agree to send the PCs through before sealing it.

The PCs arrive back at La Palazzia Orzaiz, one hour after they left.

Fin.

[Jillian Johnson]

Would've been awesome to actually play through it. See my sad face.