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                          Frequently Asked Questions
                        (last revised August 2, 1994)

                            PART 6:  THE MULTIVERSE



CONTENTS OF THIS PART

1).  What is the Multiverse?
2).  What is an Altiverse?
3).  How do the Altiversal numbering conventions work?
4).  What are the basic Altiverses the list uses?
5).  In past FAQs, the Superguy Altiverse was listed as Altiverse 000 -- why
     has it changed/I see references to the Superguy Altiverse as being
     Altiverse 000SG/001/001SG/001SUPERGUY.  Which is it?
6).  In the old Sfstory Logs (coming soon to an FTP site near you) I see
     references to Realspace as being Altiverse 000, as well as lots of numeric
     Altiverses.  What gives there?  Also, I see references to the Sfstory
     Altiverse as 000SF and 001SF -- what is it?
7).  `Altiverse 223DON'TTRYITAUTHORSONLY' implies a DON'TTRYITAUTHORSONLY
     Milliverse.  Is there one?
8).  Does the LNH Looniverse have an Altiverse in Superguy terms?
9).  What other Superguy Altiverses are known?
10). How do I create a new Superguy Altiverse?
11). What is an alternate dimension, and how is it different from an Altiverse?
12). How do characters travel from one Altiverse to another?
13). How does Superguy time work?



1)   What is the Multiverse?

     The Multiverse is the collection of all the alternate universes (or
altiverses) in Superguy.  It is essentially an infinite number or infinite
universes, making up an infinite number of infinities.

2)   What is an Altiverse?

     An Altiverse refers to an alternate universe.  Every subtopic on the list
has its own altiverse where base stories are set.  This way, although we can
have (for example) Sfstory and Superguy crossovers, the history of Sfstory and
Superguy are completely different.
     In different Altiverse, different rules apply.  Different physical laws
might hold sway, different histories might have happened, and so on and so
forth.  Absolutely no two altiverses are identical.  However, Altiverses in the
same Milliverse (see below) tend to have certain common ties.

3)   How do the Altiversal numbering conventions work?

     Each Altiverse is numbered through a series of three numbers and an
indeterminate number of letters.  The Altiverses start with the basic
Altiverse, Altiverse 000.  If you make a single Quantum shift forward, into the
next Altiverse in the sequence, you enter Altiverse 001.  Another Quantum shift
forward brings you to Altiverse 002, and so on and so forth.
     This system suffices for the first thousand Altiverses, or Altiverses 000-
999.  This grouping is called a Milliverse -- or the thousand altiverses
identified with a given suffix.  Those first thousand altiverses, having no
suffix, are called the Basic Milliverse.
     One Quantum shift forward from Altiverse 999 moves you into the next
Milliverse, which is designated by adding a single letter A to the previous
Milliverse.  Thus, you shift from Altiverse 999 in the basic Milliverse to
Altiverse 000A in the A Milliverse.  When you reach Altiverse 999A and take
another Quantum shift, you enter 000B.  This continues until you run out of
letters in the alphabet (Altiverse 999Z).
     At this point, the next Altiverse is Altiverse 000AA -- a double A.  This
takes you through to Altiverse 999AA.  From there you enter Altiverse 000BA.
     The pattern should be apparent, at this point.  Altiverse 999BA leads to
Altiverse 000CA, Altiverse 999CA to Altiverse 000DA, and so on.  When you reach
Altiverse 999ZA, you move to Altiverse 000AB.  When you reach Altiverse 999ZZ,
you next reach Altiverse 000AAA.
     This Multiversal convention is infinite.  Eventually, you discover that
you are spelling words with the Milliverse suffixes.  These words tend to
identify what sort of Altiverses they are.  For example, Altiverse 994CHOCOLATE
is an Altiverse made out of Fudge Ripple Ice Cream.  Altiverse 995CHOCOLATE is
an Altiverse made out of Jello brand instant chocolate pudding, and so forth.
Remember, when you reach altiverse 999CHOCOLATE, the next Altiversal skip is
000DHOCOLATE, not 000CHOCHOLATF (which is an *extremely* long way away).
     At the very top of the Altiversal chain is the Author's Altiverse.  This
Altiverse is numbered Altiverse 223DON'TTRYITAUTHORSONLY.  The careful observer
will note the existence of an apostrophe in the suffix.  In Cosmological terms,
this apostrophe forms an utterly unbridgeable gap.  As a result, no resident of
the Multiverse can reach the Author's Altiverse.
     The space `between' Altiverses is called Netherspace.  It is as infinite
as any altiverse itself, and has many features.  Most of Netherspace is a
formless gray void.  However, there is a beach inhabited almost exclusively by
nymphomaniacs somewhere in Netherspace (which this chronicler did not invent,
so he doesn't want to hear about it).  There is also a Casino and the Home for
Forgotten Sfstory Characters.  Characters from the Sfstory Altiverse who find
themselves in Netherspace can escape Netherspace through a Green Door marked
Exit.  However, no one ever notices that door unless someone points it out to
them.  Why this happens to be is uncertain.

4)   What are the basic Altiverses the list uses?

     There are several Altiverses that are associated with the various
Subtopics that enjoy regular usage.  This includes the Superguy Altiverse, the
Sfstory Altiverse, Hell Incorporated, the Round Robin altiverse and the
Metaworld Project.
     In order:

     000SUPERGUY         The basic Superguy Altiverse, where the Superguy
                         Subtopic takes place.

     000SFSTORY          The Sfstory Altiverse.  Home of the basic stories of
                         the Sfstory Subtopic.

     000MW               The Metaworld Project.  Non-Metaworld Project stories
                         in the Metaworld Subtopic should be specifically
                         assigned to other Altiverses in the MW Milliverse.

     000RR               The Round Robin Altiverse.  The current stories Round
                         Robin, Rialto and Raconteur take place here.  Other
                         Round robins started should be specifically assigned
                         to other Altiverses in the RR Milliverse

     000REALLIFE         You're sitting in it.  This is the Real World, roughly
                         analogous to Earth Prime over at DC Comics, save that
                         000REALLIFE was not blown up in 1986.  To date, there
                         has only been one invasion of 000REALLIFE from another
                         Altiverse, when Gorgax took over the 000REALLIFE
                         counterpart of Bill Paul and used that form to somehow
                         manipulate the Author Bill Paul.

     666NASTYNASTYNASTY  Hell, Incorporated.  This is the actual Altiversal
                         location of Hell (TM), in all it's infinite form.
                         Hell (TM) has various gateways on other Altiverses,
                         which take various forms (an armada of starships on
                         Sfstory, a chain of restaurants on Superguy, and so
                         forth), but the basis for all of Hell (TM) is their
                         own Altiverse.

     223DON'TTRYITAUTHORSONLY  The Bungalow of the Authors.  This Altiverse
                         sits at the top of the Multiverse, a retreat where the
                         Authors can relax and perpetuate childish pranks and
                         infantile grudges with each other.  Any similarity to
                         ancient Greek Myth is purely coincidental, save where
                         the Musae get involved.

5)   In past FAQs, the Superguy Altiverse was listed as Altiverse 000 -- why
has it changed/I see references to the Superguy Altiverse as being Altiverse
000SG/001/001SG/001SUPERGUY.  Which is it?

     You are seeing retconning in action, folks.  As the base altiverse, the
Superguy Altiverse was originally Altiverse 000, following the creation of the
mailing list.  However, people continued to refer to it as Altiverse 000SG,
Altiverse 001SG, Altiverse 000SUPERGUY and Altiverse 001SUPERGUY.  So it has
officially been retconned to 000SUPERGUY, and if you read any other reference
to the Superguy Altiverse as being anything *but* 000SUPERGUY, pretend it says
000SUPERGUY and relax.

6)   In the old Sfstory Logs (coming soon to an FTP site near you) I see
references to Realspace as being Altiverse 000, as well as lots of numeric
Altiverses.  What gives there?  Also, I see references to the Sfstory Altiverse
as 000SF and 001SF -- what is it?

     This is a more legitimate retcon.  When the Sfstory Subtopic was
integrated with the Superguy Mailing List, it had its universal and altiversal
constants altered.  Further, the same confusion of Altiverse suffix attacked
Sfstory as Superguy, so there are lots of references in the logs.
     When you see an Altiversal number in the logs without a suffix, pretend it
is that number in the SFSTORY Milliverse (000SFSTORY, 719SFSTORY, or what have
you).  That should keep everything clear.
     Finally, `Realspace' is a scientific term used on 000SFSTORY to refer to
000SFSTORY.  It is the Real Universe (or as real as it gets, anyhow).

7)   `Altiverse 223DON'TTRYITAUTHORSONLY' implies a DON'TTRYITAUTHORSONLY
Milliverse.  Is there one?

     Actually, yes.  There actually does seem to be a thousand Altiversal
counterparts to the Author's Altiverse, with each one apparently having a
variant of the Authors.  Each counterpart seems to have a Multiverse connected
to it as well.  It is worth nothing that those alternate multiverses have no
connections to our Multiverse at all.

8)   Does the LNH Looniverse have an Altiverse in Superguy terms?

     Not that we know of.  The LNH Looniverse, as indicated in Part 2, is a
separate shared universe project from Superguy.  Of late, there has been some
crossposting between Superguy and the Legion of Net.Heroes, sort of on the
level of a cultural exchange.  LNH posts are not `official' LNH posts until
they're sent out over the various channels the LNH and their related
organizations frequent.
     If there is an LNH Altiverse in the regular Multiverse, it is not know,
and the LNH Authors inhabit a section of the Author's Altiverse far from the
Superguy Authors.

9)   What other Superguy Altiverses are known?

     There are several Altiverses in the SUPERGUY Milliverse that have been
discovered in the past.  Each Altiverse has essentially the same cast of
characters involved in the same struggles, but each Altiverse has some specific
Assumption that is different.  This Basic Altiversal Assumption pervades the
characters, history, and society of the altiverse, causing the Altiverse to be
familiar, but profoundly different, from Altiverse 000SUPERGUY.

Some known alternate Superguy Altiverses are:

     000SUPERGUY:   The basic Superguy Altiverse.  The one you read about
                    whenever you happen to be reading the Superguy Subtopic.

     333SUPERGUY:   Golden Age Superguy.  On this world, the heroes of the
                    present from our world were active in World War II.  As of
                    the present, those Golden Age superguys are in their
                    seventies, and their children are the primary heroes of
                    their world.

     621SUPERGUY:   Teen Superguy.  This world is made up of Teenage versions
                    of our heroes.

     954SUPERGUY:   Evil Superguy.  On this world, the heroes of Superguy are
                    twisted into evil versions, and the villains of the list
                    are heroes.  In January of 1993 in Altiverse 954SUPERGUY,
                    the entire planetary biosphere was destroyed by that
                    Altiverse's version of Dangerousman.  The only known
                    survivors (who now live on 000SUPERGUY) are the Awe-
                    Inspiring Force -- evil versions of the Awesome Force.

     ___SUPERGUY:   Fantasy Superguy.  This is a pastoral, feudal land, where
                    all of the scientific and pseudoscientific heroes of our
                    world have magical bases instead, and the magical heroes
                    and villains of our world have scientific bases.

     ___SUPERGUY:   Gender Reversed Superguy.  Exactly the same history as our
                    Superguy, except that men are women and women are men.

     ___SUPERGUY:   The Superguy Wrestling Federation:  Our heroes are all
                    Professional Wrestlers.  Don't ask.

10)  How do I create a new Superguy Altiverse?

     To create a new Altiverse in the SUPERGUY Milliverse, one must decide what
the Basic Altiversal Assumption is and apply it.
     A Basic Altiversal Assumption should be a true difference between
Altiverses -- something that could reasonably change every character on the
list.  The Altiversal system is not conducive to What If style stories in the
SUPERGUY Milliverse (those sort of stories -- `What if Radian had not killed
China,' or the like, should probably be set in Altiverses completely away from
the SUPERGUY Milliverse -- 001WHATIFSUPERGUY or the like).  Instead, these are
worlds where everything is essentially different.
     But the world should be familiar.  The same primary characters should
still be around.  For example, Andy Awesome is the most prestigious Superhero
aside from Superguy himself in Altiverse 000SUPERGUY.  Correspondingly, Andy
Awe-Inspiring was the most reviled villain in 954SUPERGUY, Andrea Awesome is
the greatest Heroine of ___SUPERGUY, Andrew Astounding is the greatest legend
of 333SUPERGUY, and so on and so forth.
     Within this guideline is a strange multiversal constant.  The character of
Ramrod should stay as close to his 000SUPERGUY archetype as possible.  Evil
Ramrod was pretty much the same as Good Ramrod, for example.  Female Ramrod,
Fantasy Ramrod, Teen Ramrod, Golden Age Ramrod -- they all are more or less
Ramrod as we know him.  Why is this?  It's hard to say.  Perhaps Ramrod is a
linchpin of the cosmos.  Perhaps it's just one of those things.
     Once you have your constant, and you've mapped out a basic alternate
society and history around it, choose an unassigned Altiverse in the SUPERGUY
Milliverse and hop to it.
     Please note, there is little to no reason to create different Altiverses
in the SUPERGUY Milliverse that have the same Basic Altiversal Assumptions as
some that have already been created.  If you feel the need, for example, to
create your own Golden Age Superguy, without using 333SUPERGUY's assumptions,
go right ahead, but call it 100GOLDENAGE or something.  This cuts down on
confusion in the Milliverse.

11)  What is an alternate dimension, and how is it different from an Altiverse?

     The four known real world dimensions are length, height, depth and
temporal -- these are the measures of Space and Time that we can perceive with
our senses.  They are directions and states of being.  A three dimensional
object exists in height, length and depth.  Add the duration of its existence
and you reach the fourth dimension of time.  One can travel through these four
dimensions -- moving from one set of space/time coordinates to another (only
forward at a constant rate, for time).
     All of the above is self evident.  What is not self evident are the other
directions, measures and coordinates in Space/Time -- the ones we cannot
perceive.  These alternate dimensions are as much a part of a given Altiverse
as height, length, depth and time are.  They exist everywhere, but a being who
can only perceive the four basic dimensions cannot see or interact with them.
     But in the Superguy Altiverse and some others, those alternate dimensions
can house power sources, objects, creatures, and applications of the laws of
physics we can barely understand.  And in the Superguy and other Altiverses,
some beings can perceive and access those other dimensions via technological or
parapsychological means... and some beings from those dimensions can access
normal space.  These Alternate Dimensions can and often do manifest in the
normally perceived universes (called Realspace herein).
     This is different from an alternate universe, because these dimensions are
part of the universe in question.  Every Altiverse has these dimensions, and
they are not the same dimensions.
     Some of the more commonly accessed dimensions are:

     The Silly Dimension:  The silly side of the Universe.  This is a dimension
of the boffo, the confusing, and the just plain stupid.  Realspace
Manifestations center around the Three Stooges, Warner Brothers Cartoons, and
Congressional Politics.
     The Television Dimension:  The realm where the television shows which make
up our Cable Access world are given form and reality.  It is not known if the
act of writing, casting, producing, directing, editing and broadcasting
television programs reflects that so-called reality into the Television
Dimension, or if the Television Dimension manifests itself in RealSpace through
the television producing process.
     The Unorthodox Dimension:  A barely understood place.  The Unorthodox
Dimension is the seat of the Unorthodox Method -- the way of doing things that
violates the normal route.  Realspace Manifestations of the Unorthodox
Dimension are Bumblebees in flight, so-called Idiot Savants, and pretty much
any of the inventions on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
     The Kitsch Dimension:  Not much is known of this place, besides the fact
that Green Slimy Aliens live there and they once tried to invade Earth.
     Hyperspace:  An alternate dimension which invokes mathematics far too
complex to replicate on a vt100 terminal.  Suffice it to say, this is a
dimension where Physical Laws differ.  The normal use for Hyperspace is to make
a so-called Faster than Light craft appear to accelerate faster than light,
though in fact it is merely taking a shortcut.  There are actually many
different Hyperspace dimensions, and different applications of this technology
will reap different results.  The Hyperspace Dimension most often used in the
Round Robin Altiverse is WraithSpace.  RealSpace Manifestations of Hyperspace
are unexplained particles which seem to be generated or dissipate without
explanation.
     WarpSpace:  Essentially another Hyperspace, but accessed a different way.
WarpSpace is an alternate dimension which is accessed when a matter/antimatter
reaction is channeled and controlled so that Space/Time is warped into a
bubble, which the faster-than-light craft then manipulates into projecting the
stationary point the craft is sitting in through WarpSpace to a different
Realspace point.  If this sounds like this is stolen from Star Trek, you're
right.  WarpSpace manifestations in Realspace include the Event Horizons of
Black Holes.
     The OtherRealm/the Fey Dimension:  A Magical, chaotic world where the
various mythical beings and faeriekind of legend live and draw their power off
of.  It is not a Realm that most inhabitants of RealSpace can enter with
impunity.  OtherRealm manifestations in Realspace include rainbows, perfect
spring mornings, mist-covered fields of green on mountainsides, and of course
the singing of Kate Bush.
     R'lyth/The Realm of the Elder Gods:  The other worldly dimension described
by H.P. Lovecraft.  Cthulu sleeps here, Father Dagon comes from here, and the
horror of this Realm slowly pervades us.  Manifestations in Realspace are to
horrible to describe here, other than saying they include Tom and Rosanne
Arnold and Barney's control over children.

     There are several others, of course.

12)  How do characters travel from one Altiverse to another?

     There are several methods.  Most methods used on 000SUPERGUY involve
Pesudoscience or magic, which is used to breach the Transaltiversal barriers
and directly pass through from one Altiverse to another.  Any Altiverse can be
reached by that method, although the farther the quantum shift (from one
Altiverse number to the next), the more traumatic the journey, and even a
simple single quantum shift (000SUPERGUY to 001SUPERGUY, for example) by such a
direct method will cause the travellers to vomit, no matter how hard they try
to buffer the journey.
     A far gentler method of Altiversal travel involves entering the
Netherspace between Altiverses and then going to the target Altiverse from
there.  The only practical way of doing this is to use a Spam powered device
(see "Spam" in Part 5: In Jokes), which can enter and leave Netherspace easily.
Spam powered devices (typically the Automatic Beet Peeler and Sub Atomic Re-
Integrator, or ABPSARI) can make this trip very easily, with no apparent side
effects.  However, the misuse of a Spam Powered device -- even a small one --
could conceivably decimate the Multiverse, so it remains a catch twenty-two).
     Finally, using considerable power, two Altiverses which have a certain
affinity can form temporary gateways either naturally or artificially.  This is
accomplished by merging certain corresponding points so that they effectively
are part of both Altiverses at once.  This method is largely impractical.

13)  How does Superguy time work?

     Time in Superguy is something of a fluid thing.  The past is set into a
continuity -- the terms of our shared universe do not allow for permanent
retconning when it would significantly alter characters an Author does not have
control of.  Therefore, the rule of thumb is -- once an event, occurring in the
past or present -- is posted to Superguy, that event is set in stone.  It did
occur.
     Future events, on the other hands, are subject to various probabilities.
Sometimes they will occur when the `real' event gets posted and sometimes they
won't.  For example, the 1995 Storyline Dominic White ("the Artiste") and Bill
Paul ("the Man with Two First Names") posted in 1990-91 is unlikely to come to
pass in the real Superguy History -- but will instead remain a possible future
which didn't end up happening.  The 2035 Storyline written by Eric Alfred Burns
("Lord Sabre") is another possible future storyline that might or might not
come to pass.
     Some Authors might post future events in their storylines which do end up
coming to pass.  This is not a violation of the `no locked in future' rule, but
an extension of it.  Sometimes, the possible futures happen.
     If a character travels through time and alters the past, the present and
future is altered as well.  The nature of Superguy, however, implies that time
will be restored to its original configuration by the end of a plotline.  For
example, when Bill Paul posted a Defense Squad post where the wheel was never
invented, all of history was altered.  But by the end of the storyline, the
wheel was returned to its rightful place in history, and history itself
returned to normal.