It has been a very long time!

It has been a very long time since I have updated this digital journal.  Much has happened so I'll be brief as not to bore you.

The last time I wrote I left off with what is called a cliff-hanger.  I was stuck on a bridge platform between two paddle wheels of an air ship, naked and weaponless.  At this time I'm no longer a crew member of said ship but how that happened, and how I escaped the dilemma is rather interesting.

I actually got the nerve to hope aboard one of the ships wheel paddles as it sped by me.  Holding on for my life I knew I only had one chance to jump onto the main deck or I'd be thrown down to the earth below me. With  crossed fingers and a wish I leaped to the deck slightly too late, causing me to roll ass over tea kettle and still very naked between my then Captain and my false self.  A bit of quick knee punching and throat grabbing, and yes I'm sorry to say hair pulling, and I had the Consortium's me lying prone on the deck!  A slew of swears falling from my list was all it took for the captain to be sure I was the real me and he eliminated  the false with a few shots from a lighting pistol.

I helped myself quickly to my clothes that False Anne had stolen from me and thanked my captain heartily.  False Anne became fuel for the boiler room and all was well.

I was, however, still pretty angry about the April Fools incident and finally parted ways with that particular ship.  I am now a member of the American Airship of Awesomeness Aurora but before I landed there so very much happened.  I'm too tired from our bout with cowboys and outlaws to type any more but in my next entries I will tell you some of what happened to lead me to this fine new ship.

And don't worry, I still plan on taking over the universe.

Your Future Empress
Miss Anne Thrope

Bridges, Battles, and Boxing

     I woke up to find myself jailed in the Bridge.  This is not a misspelling of brig nor do I mean to say "on the bridge".  I was in the closed bridge that connects the back two paddle wheels of our airship.  It's a small space, hot and wet from the steaming air pushing those spoked wheels that power the ship while sky flying.  Looking up between passes of a paddles I could spy another duplicate of myself dressed in my clothes cozying to our captain.  I had no idea why he didn't recognize that it wasn't the real me, Anne of Prime, simply for the fact that she was being so damn sweet and solicitous. As she was in my clothes, I was nude and grateful for the steam engine's heat.
     "Oh no, I thought it was the funniest joke ever" I heard Fake-Anne saying with a slight giggle; as another view became available through the spokes I saw she had her hand on his lower back.  Resisting the urge to preform an overly dramatic wretch I quietly observed the situation above.  "But dear Pharaoh, I thought I'd never get back to this ship in time!"  The captain looked at her slightly oddly but didn't give away that he realized at that very moment it wasn't me.
     I had told him previously that on Prime the ruler is a Pharaoh in order to maintain unquestioned, religion based rule. By his reaction I knew it wasn't his idea to have this obvious Consortium bounty hunter on board but like any good scoundrel he didn't give himself away.  He knew I was in trouble but that my trouble could easily become his too which, I assume, is why he didn't sound an immediate alarm; escape would be my own responsibility as would be downing the Consortium scum.  I sat my naked butt down to give some thought to a plan, which came to me pretty quickly.

To Be Continued...

To Ground! (and nearly not back)

The date, I would later find out, was April 1, 2oo1.  As usual I was first to ground before the airship I was serving as crew on would land; I was ordered to learn the date and which "universe," according to my captain, or "timeline" as one would correctly call it, we were landing in.

The drop was flawless and I hit the ground running, dressed in black for the night, but also somewhat provocatively, as in many timelines one or the other can keep you out of a good deal of trouble.  It was a small town I found myself in, a city but barely.  It was a college town and I found myself landing in the middle of an abandoned sporting field.  There were no news stands, no johns on the look, and no one nearby to strike up a conversation with so I had no idea when I was, only that I was back "home" in 18 per my Differentiator that I still keep despite the risk of carrying Consortium tech and obviously without anyone's knowledge.

There were noises coming from several directions.  In one direction I heard what I had come to recognize as traffic.  In another and yet a third the sounds of tavern or party buzzed into the night.  I followed the sound of revelry and found myself at a tavern.  Hiding in the shadows I disposed of my hat and petticoat behind a bush, leaving myself looking a little old fashioned but in an approachable and attractive way; it was a look I had perfected after many hours in the mirror and many landings in this particular decade.

I walked into the tavern comfortably.  I had been there several times before in several years but not enough to be recognized even with my unique attire.  I leaned against the end of the bar and eyed the crowd.  "Can I get you something?"  the bartender asked me.  "No, thank you sir, I'm waiting for someone."

He looked at me a little oddly and walked off.  Five minutes later he was back.  "Are you ready to close your tab?" he asked in all seriousness.  "Excuse me?" I questioned in all confusion.  "You.  Uh, well you've run up a tab of 50 bucks! "  Indignant I replied "I have NOT!"  But as I spoke I saw... oh good God I saw a me that I did not expect to run into, and not one that I'd allowed to live after an experiment.  "FUCK!  What day is it?"

"You are not getting out of this by calling April Fools," he advised as he picked up the speaking piece of the telephone and pressed a single key, which I assumed was to the police.  So I did what any self respecting lady who travels time and timelines... I shot my other me with a standard pistol and ran like hell.

By the time I was a block away there were sirens and fast moving cars converging on me.  I really thought I'd had it and was running, jumping, hiding my way through the night.  When I finally made it back to the sporting field, the ship was hovering.  My Captain and another friend who is often ground party were leaning over the edge throwing me a rope ladder.  "Yah, thanks guys... April Fools to you too!," as I climbed the rope.  I hugged my friend, glared at my Captain and went to my science lab.

And what do you think I found in my lab?  Four more Miss Anne Thropes all of whom thought they were the real one.  One problem with time travel is that during one thirty minute nap my friends grabbed me's from five other timelines and were prepared to throw them at me all night!  I don't even know where they got the idea to bring me to an April 1.  To be honest, if I'd been involved in the same prank on someone else I would have found it hilarious.  As it was Bang, Zap, Snap, Boom  the other four Annes were removed and I went to sleep pondering if I should stay a crew member of such a "fun loving" air ship.

Working Toward my Rule of 18-0

I find myself continuing to enjoy the relative safety of an Aether Storm Ship, earning my way as an active crew member of varied responsibilities (as usual, more to follow on this) while still able to find the time to continue my experiments on 19 and offshoots of 18; not to be silly but a a time traveler can always find the time for any interest, can she not?  Of course there have been some recent attempts on my life by various Consortium Travelers that I have crossed paths with but these stories, too, will wait until I have ordered my thoughts in order to scribe them.  For now I focus on steps toward my intended rule of 18-0.

I have been quite active in making changes to my chosen timeline which have significantly improved the lives of those there but thus far all have been made in secrecy.  As you will recall my first attempt to announce the changes I have made and that I am your rightful Empress of 18-0 (as allowed by the Emperor of all universes, many thanks to you Sir!) ended in a  rather embarrassing stay in a mental health hospital and then the necessary destruction of the timeline following that announcement.

I have, however, left the changes I had enacted in place so the Kennedy brothers are still dead.

The swine flu still replaced what the people of 19-20 thru 19-61 called their Zombie Apocalypse. Their use of the word "zombie" was not precise but the outcome before my corrections was the same as you might imagine. I was able to devise an inoculation that when applied to the pigs that were the breeding ground for the zombie type disease prevented it from spreading, however due to minute genetic differences it caused a virulent flue in 18-0.

N. Tesla's inventions and notes remain withheld, sadly, from a world that would only have destroyed itself in many varied ways if they had access to them.  For example, imagine a world where I allowed the knowledge enabling the teleportation of small non living objects with great accuracy to be known:  terrorism, warfare, and murder became far more difficult to protect oneself from and far to easy to carry out.  Thus, I will continue to hold and hide his notes and release them slowly and with great control once my total rule of 18-0 is undisputed.  I do this merely to protect my people from themselves and each other.

Other changes I made were drastic enough that I cannot begin to explore them to you because they relate to people, technology, and events that have never existed in the timeline you considered to be "real life".  I only ask that you trust me when I say these changes were for the very best.  I am sometimes asked why I don't correct some of history's most horrific errors; I certainly wish I could but very important events to follow sometimes hinge on terrible occurrences of the past.

Having made these changes but being unable to convince the people of 18-0 that I am their rightful and best ruler and keeping in mind that being granted my timeline of choice by both the Queen and Emperor themselves means nothing to those who do not even realize that they live within their realm, I am forced to conclude that the Consortium's rule by manufactured religion and puppet political rule by that religion may be the simplest model for me to establish my intended dynasty.  I must, therefor contemplate all that I know and suspect of the Consortium's history and methods of establishing their shadow rule and then weed out the bits that would prevent me from eventually allowing me to rule in the clear light of day.

My Disrupter seems about to overheat.  When it cools I will write more about the Religio-Political rule of Prime and perhaps some of my intentions for mimicking the best of their accomplishment.

Empress of 18-0, yet unknown to my people
Anne Thrope

Consortium's Decision, Running from Their Law, And the Unnamed Empress

About a week ago I received a transmission from the Consortium while I happened to be visiting family in Primline.  In short, my year's probation to prove myself had been revoked. due to "Undeniable,  irrefutable evidence of your actions." It went on to say "You are taking an active role in the shaping of Universe 18 by creating off-shooting universes there and also in 19.  You are in direct violation of our first rule for Travelers which is not to interfere with the universes they visit.  The data you have collected has been made unusable and destroyed.  You're tendency to destroy what would generally be left as orphaned universes to explore amounts to mass murder on a scale we have rarely seen..  You're Allowance of Travel has been revoked you are to stay on Prime and go immediately to the Consortium offices hidden beneath the His Holy Emperor's palace. Your arrival is expected in no longer then one hour.

"Due to the excellence of your previous work and the poor education you received as an apprentice you will not be put to death.  You will be imprisoned for a period of no more or less then fifteen years and then released,  however you are never to travel from Earth Prime or Primeline again.  Any violation of this order will not only put you on our Kill On Sight list, it will put you on the very top of that list.  We await your arrival and have an appropriately comfortable cell ready for you."

So, what can a woman do under such circumstances?  I quickly said goodbye to my family, packed as much of my equipment and personal effects as I could fit into my space-folding laboratory and immediately jumped to Universe 2. From there it was easy to arrange for a "faked death" with a simple jump forward and back to kill my other self.  This should throw the Consortium's Officers of Travel and Morality for about three days; once they report my death they'll surely be informed that I kill pre-travel selves frequently.

So, I universe jump, hop, run and avoid the Officers of Travel and Morality like the instant death they would surely give me.  They are generally easy to spot, being unfamiliar with any set of Universes beyond the first 5, they stand out like lunatics.  I have even met several other Jumpers (that's what the Consortium calls us) and we have Traveled together for a time as long as it was safe to stay together.  At this point in time I have found myself a lovely posting on the Aetherial Airship Storm Rider; the crew is lovely and they move around enough that I stay ahead of the Officers with little effort; my skills are well used and I'm quite happy.  Additionally the Captain seems more then happy to stay away from 1-5, which is where I'm at most risk and any non approved Traveler (like his whole ship) get's the K.O.S.  Some Jumpers have been known to visit this lovely ship, letting the Captain decide the course which is a relief to the constant stress of being on the run.

But I have not given up on beloved 18-1.  

Amusing story, I had everything set up so most of the members of the United Nations would be willing to accept me as the Earth's Empress.  I bragged about this in a tavern of all places and found myself in a mental institution for 10 days!  Thank goodness this happened in 2010 and not 1880 or it would have been a FAR less pleasant stay.  In order to get out I had to convince them I was just trying to impress a good looking man, and yes, now I know that that indicates poor social skills etc, etc.

It will take several more attempts I fear, before I get things properly set to be acknowledged as Empress.  However, as it stands I pull enough strings of political and artistic leaders that I am running many parts of Earth in 18-1.  So today I reintroduce myself to you as Miss Anne Thrope, Unnamed Empress of Earth 18.

The Consortium Of Futurestorians

I have been asked by other Travelers I have met in various timelines exactly what The Consortium is as well as why I am in bad standing on the verge of suspension.  As this record is only viewable to Travelers I feel there is no issue with sharing this information, despite the fact that the Consortium is a highly secretive group in the Primeline.  By way of explanation I will share excerpts from some documents.

From the "Statement of Purpose" of the Consortium or Futurestorians, author unknown (to myself at least)

"In order to lead our society to a peaceful and plentiful future, we the members of the Consortium of Futurestorians will visit and record the happenings of similar timelines to our own.  Inventions, social developments, arts, science, or any other progress that are deemed to cause positive change will then be introduced into the Primeline.   By engaging in this process we will continue to improve our society and bring about a Utopia from the near utopia we already enjoy"

The Primeline of course is Universe 1-0.  It is from this universe that the Consortium operates.  Most world leaders in politics, science and art are brought into the Consortium as Non-Traveling Members, and used to spread the ideas and ideals that are recommended by The Committee.

Who is The Committee?  No one except they themselves know.  It can be anyone.  Their role is many-fold.  They dissect the reports of Traveling Members to determine which propositions will be implemented.  They approve or deny requests for supplies or support.  They offer or remove Membership. They are our unquestioned leading party and their decisions are rarely amended.  Communication with the Committee is an interestingly simple proposition.  They keep, of all things, a postal box to which all reports and requests are mailed; no one has ever been seen retrieving this mail but retrieved it must be because in due time a response is received at your own address by way of post.

From the "Mandate of Traveling Members: Orders and Rules"

"Traveling Futurestorians are in no case to participate in  the societies in which they visit, remaining hidden and having as little contact with it's citizens as possible in order to avoid changing the outcomes they are there to record.  It is ours to glean the successes and failures of the universes most similar to our own (2-1 thru 20-999).  Any change caused by our actions not only contaminates the results of our investigation but will indeed create an offshoot "Decimal"  or "Orphan" universe which would then require yet another member to review."

From "Notice of Consideration for Suspension of Miss Anne Thrope"

"Dear Miss Thrope,
While your work in the past has been exemplary without question, it has come to our surprised attention that you are accused of willfully and gleefully breaking the most basic rules of non-participation upon which our Consortium's investigations depend.  In addition to making Universe 18 nearly useless to us for examination due to your alleged colossal disruptions of their natural progress, it has been reported that you have created no less then 50 decimal universes each of which has many of their own offshoots..  We are aware that you tend to return from time travels and kill your other self before she embarks on such travel in order to erase these orphaned universes.  Miss Thrope, simply because you create these universes by your actions does not give you license to destroy billions of souls on a yearly basis!  Please prepare a defense either refuting these charges or explaining in what way your actions are worth the loss of those souls.  A review will be conducted in exactly one year from today's date.  If you are not in Primeline for your review you will be found guilty of all charges, and Suspended.  Continued Travel upon suspension would result in a K.O.S. order so it is clearly in your best interest to be present for your review.  The time and location will be mailed to you one week prior.  We suggest that you work with a Regulatory Councilor to assist in your defense; a list of several candidates follows below.

Sincerely,
The Committee"

And if you don't know what a K.O.S. order is, it means "Kill On Sight". This certainly puts a wrinkle in my plans.

"backspace"

I apologize for any errors in my previous entry.  I was unaware of the backspace.  My friend thought it was funny but I find it to be quite amazing to be able to add and then remove a thought or even typing error with a the use of a few simple buttons.  Neither my writing ball (Hansen) or typewriter (Hermes) could make such corrections so it never occurred to me to try.  My errors have since been corrected.