[Krononauts] updates to worldbook 1 (time travel)

[Carl Brown]

I have posted the whole time travel section so the new stuff has
context. The new detail was taken from notes on discussions and matches
the action to date

The physics of time travel
Refer to GURPS Time Travel for the rules this section refers to.
Linearity: Yes; Recency Effect: Yes; easier to travel to the distant
past than the recent past; plus nausea effect. 2000s. Slowly deadly if
you travel to your own time line. Observer Effect: Observer effect
applies; with sickness plus agreement on resolving paradoxes. Check
Significance Rating from Timemaster Can The Past Be Changed: Plastic
with medium resistance Can You Meet Yourself: Temporal Snarl applies Can
Present Communicate With the Past: Limited forward communication. After
first time travel people and gear is 'insulated' from changes to the
timeline and retain their memories when the world changes around them.
You can leave people and objects behind in the past and drag them back
to the future.
What does protected mean?: protected from changes to the past all
inclusive from the perspective of the PC's personal present. It is also
protected from changes in the (personal) future that effect its personal
present. The personal presents of other time travellers (usually NPC's)
might create potential universes in some circumstances particularly when
players end up playing 'doubles'. 
What objects are protected?: everything that has time travelled and time
machines including the computer 'brains' that are intrinsic to time
machines. 
Also the observer effect applies to the rest of reality, that is so as
long as you are observing the world as you understand it from your
memories, or some other time traveller is observing it from their
memories, then it imposes a reality. Then when time travellers stop
observing something the changed past time line catches up with it.
When does protection apply?: When any object time travels it has
effectively stepped outside of the timeline therefore is protected. The
same effect occur to a time machine the first time it is used.
Tachyon Radiation Poisoning
Tachyon radiation poisoning occurs when a time-traveller visits the same
timeline that already they exist in. It only affects visitors; the first
person there is unaffected. Onset of the radition is delayed by the
speed of light. The effects follow the rules for normal radiation (GURPS
Space, 3rd edition ,104-105). Characters take 10 rads per day,
cumulative. Usually few will survive a couple of weeks. The physical
effects are the character slowly "fading away", literally losing parts
of themselves at the atomic level.
Changing History
When someone or something becomes a time traveller its timeline is
insulated from that of its home time, hence once a time traveller your
memories don't change if history changes. This means that if history
changes you may find yourself in a strange world. TT88-89 has some
example changes to history.
The corporation relies on many historical events and innovations within
Europe for its existence. Therefore, Europe is somewhat protected from
major interference. The rest of the world may not be so lucky.
Since the PCs have a time machine they may wish to undo their own
mistakes by travelling back to redo part of an adventure. The following
issues limit the use of 'redos': 
o It takes time, electricity to charge the machine, and expensive
maintenance for each time trip so Archangel may forbid any redo it deems
not worth the expense (i.e. its up to the referee if he wants to let you
go back at all). 
o Should you be allowed to return the Observer effect,
time-sickness-double nausea, and bad ju-ju (should you threaten the
observer effect) are all on the cards for vicious refs to use (as agreed
in the very first session). As a last resort the universe will
disintegrate any person or object that is about breach the observer
effect the instant before it does so.
o Tachyon Poisoning could be on the cards (see above)
o Note that the Observer effect applies to any future you. Therefore you
cannot ever unexpectedly find a note from yourself. Nor can you use this
kind of ploy to help yourself in the past. Any note you find from
yourself MUST be a forgery. 
o No spontaneous brain imploding is ever necessary.



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