Worldjumping Glossary

Types of Worlds

Empties

These worlds, while valid universes, have no Earth at all in them. They are useful for minor space colonies of insular cults and radical separatist groups, deep space experimentation stations, very secure prisons, and garbage disposal.

Zeroes

For one reason or another these Earths exist, but are incapable of supporting life. They may be too small, too large, not dense enough, too dense, they may have heavy elements in their atmosphere, they may be too close or too far away from the sun, or the sun itself is too big or too small, etc., etc.) Mining companies stake out claims on many Zeroes, and heat sinks on some of the lava worlds provide even cheaper energy than Homeline fusion plants (now if they could just figure out a cheap way to get it home...)

Vacants

Vacant Earths contain life, but no human life or recognizably sentient life. Some have never progressed past plants, some are in earlier or later or different stages of evolution. Vacants are checked out as carefully as is feasible (sometimes, not as carefully as people would like) and colonization is allowed. However, as colonists quickly learn, Vacants can contain some nasty surprises in the form of unknown wildlife, disease, different physical laws, or sentient creatures which aren't immediately identified as such. The two most well-known Vacants are Coventry and Refuge. Refuge is the only independent colony with a seat on the UN of Homeline and Dupe-1. Refuge's seat on the Oswald UN has yet to be ratified.

Dupes

Dupes are duplicates of Homeline, or, whatever line you happen to call home. There are more known Duplicates of Homeline than there are Duplicates of any other parallel, primarily because Homeline and Dupe-1 discovered parachronic travel "first". The only Duplicate in which parachronic travel has been discovered is Dupe-1. A "Dupe" is often, therefore, not really a complete duplicate, sometimes having general population differences - you can't guarantee that there's a version of any specific person in a Duplicate world, for example. It's an informal term, not a scientific one.

Echoes

Echoes are duplicates or near-duplicates of Homeline that are offset in time somewhat - in other words, they appear to be identical to Homeline but are at an earlier year. The "latest" known Echo is at 2014. It is of course impossible to differentiate very early Echoes from Vacants and Zeroes. There are more known Echoes of Homeline than any other timeline, although again, this is because Homeline has been looking the "longest". There is of course no difference between an Echo and an early Parallel.

Parallels

Technically, this term can be used to refer to any valid setting on the parachronic dial, but in practice, it generally refers to full-fledged alternate Earths in which humans exist, and human history proceeded along a different course for one reason or another.

Centra

A timeline that has been "bound in" to Centrum. It is not known how many timelines have suffered this fate or how permanent becoming a Centra is. As timelines in the same Quantum interact, they drift closer and closer together, and it takes less and less energy to travel between them. According to Centrum prisoners, some timelines have even had permanent gates opened between them after decades of complete domination.

A Few Other Terms

Plenum

The "space" in which the various parallel worlds "lie".

Quantum

An "energy level" in which various parallel worlds "lie", a division of the plenum. Travelling between parallels in the same Quantum is vastly less difficult and energy-consuming than travelling between parallels in different Quantums. Current technology does not allow for travel between Quantums whose numbers differ by more than 2. (You can go from 5 to 3 and 4 to 6 but not 6 to 9.) Homeline lies on Quantum 5. Centrum lies on Quantum 8.

Projector

The main method of travel between the worlds, a projector can transport (or snatch up) a large amount of mass between two worlds. Very large, very energy-consuming, and very expensive. Projectors can only operate between worlds who are on the same or adjacent Quanta. (You can project from 5 to 5, 6 or 4 but not 7.)

Conveyor

Less popular with the Big Four due to the danger of outtime problems, a conveyor is a vehicle capable of travelling between worlds independently (although it is typically pre-programmed). The advantage of a conveyor is that with multiple jumps it can reach worlds more than 2 quanta away, and can go 2 quanta away in a single jump. Centrum uses conveyors routinely, having arrogantly believed they were the only ones in the multiverse to have any conception of interworld travel.