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  In short, my year's probation to prove myself had been revoked.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  You're Allowance of Travel has been revoked you are to stay on Prime and go immediately to the Consortium offices hidden beneath the His Holy Emperor's palace.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.

Greeting to 18 and thanks to my friend

Hello to you in Universe 18!  I have introduced myself fully in other sections of this internet journal so within the next few days I will be jumping right in with my experiences in my times future which is both your time's past and future.  I would like to thank a special friend, who has asked me not to name her beyond her first name of Jocelyn, for giving me this writing and computing device (though I'm not sure how to preform any computations on it, I'll have to find that out) and allowing me access to what she called her "internet access" through her "wi-fi".  Strange and interesting terms for the more unusual technology of your year 2010, but your universe differs greatly from others I have visited and created so there are many interesting and exciting things for me to discover and record!  I believe you call the phenomenon of the branches in time the Multiverse.  Because I am operating this communication through a minute crack in time created by my Vibration Disrupter, 24 hours for me is 24 hours for you so don't expect five years worth of memories and advise to appear in the next five minutes!  I'll try to explain more about the creation and destruction of alternate universes as I go along, since your time and place seem very interested in what you consider to be the paradoxes involved (don't worry, my grandfather is just fine!).

I will close for now as my Disrupter is becoming alarmingly warm from extended usage.  Perhaps more tomorrow or later in the week.

Humbly offering my knowledge to perfect your world, I am
Miss A. Thrope