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====== Story: ESP CG 11-4-9 ======

EXPEDITION SHIPS PROJECT\\
CREW GUIDANCE 11-4-9

-- PARALLEL SELVES & ASYNCHRONICITY --

In the event that you encounter an alternate version of yourself or someone you know:

  * Don’t panic!
  * Treat them like you would any other stranger.
  * Your alternate self’s genetic material is similar enough that you should avoid conceiving a child with them.

Remember, hopping is not time travel! You are not meeting a past or future version of yourself - they may have a very different history to what you remember! Don’t expect anyone you meet to have the same personality and memories as the version of them you are familiar with.

Since hopping is not time travel, most advice you may have heard about avoiding interference is irrelevant. Even if the parallel universe you have entered seems to correspond to an earlier point in our history, it’s the present for them! That said, unchecked interference is still discouraged for ethical reasons. Consult your Shipmind before making any major changes to the course of history.

If you encounter yourself or a historical figure at a time when multiverse theory was not widely practiced, it may be wise to avoid mentioning that part of your journey. If they enquire about any similarities, play it off as a coincidence. People are more likely to accept you as an alien explorer disguised as their own species, than as a parallel version of themselves.

Exo-universal asynchronicity is caused by parallel universes having different starting points to our own. Some universes appeared earlier or later. Since hopping draws a “straight line” across a 2D representation of the multiverse, you may arrive earlier or later in a universe’s history depending on how closely synchronized it is with the universes adjacent to it. Universes tend to be less similar the further out of sync they are.

It’s not currently clear whether there is a multiversal “zero” around which all universal starting points are based. Your research, as part of the Expedition Ships Project, will help us find out.

  * Differences in apparent time are the result of exo-universal asynchronicity, not time travel.
  * Your actions will not result in a causality loop.
  * This is not an excuse to cause mayhem in your destination universe.
  * Arriving in orbit of a mid-20th-century Earth experiencing World War II is not an opportunity to conduct an orbital strike on Berlin, unless your mission-specific guidance says it is, or your Shipmind analysis indicates it is absolutely necessary.

If the parallel individual you encounter is assigned to their equivalent of an Expedition Ship, it’s important to remember to initiate the Synchronicity Networking Protocol and exchange mapping data.

It is advised to refrain from keeping important objects from universes you visit, unless they are designated as an Integrated Synchronicity Networked World, in which case trade is treated the same as with any other non-Governance political entity.

You should not integrate any items from parallel universes into your Expedition Ship, even if a parallel self offers them. Parallel technology may be calibrated differently or have unusual physical properties, and may interfere with the recording of Project data. If you submit data corrupted in this manner, you may be disciplined, and all parallel items and personnel will be removed from your ship.

  * Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to utilize Expedition Ships Project technology in a past-asynchronous universe to achieve universal domination or remake the world in your image. This course of action is grounds for immediate dismissal from the Project and repossession of your ship.


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