Hey all,

Thanks for letting me into the Guild! A lot of appreciation for that smile I would like to set down a couple of footnotes for what I'm going to be writing here. Flynn Paradox is a story that I have been working on for a while, that I originally planned as an RP on another website, but found that it was a lot easier to get my ideas out in a format that I had more control over (the other website is very against any one player having too much control; there is far more emphasis on getting players to work together, which isn't quite what I want for this idea). It is very tough to explain, and I don't have the whole thing sorted out, so I will break up pieces of information with these ---------------- and write what each piece of information specifically is as a header below each of those dividers (for example, one could be a general plot summary and one could be an example excerpt, and one could be a general arc of the direction of the plot etc). Hope that makes sense smile any comments and critique is appreciated, for any part of my writing whatsoever.

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Initial Idea
At the very top of a multi-dimensional/ multi-universe ladder is the antagonist (no name yet- Peter?). He is a near immortal with incredible "powers" (this story would be science fiction with (hahahaha, this will seem funny when you read on) some scientific basis to many of the strange inter-dimensional things that happen... ish) and his powers are such that he can go to any dimension, manipulate other dimensions, and can even create his own. These are not through just "powers" (like I said, I would want a rough kind of sci-fi feel to it), but scientific tools that are present in his day and age. He is in most respects human and holds the traits of a human, but has lost his touch with humanity and has been swallowed up by the thought of creating a perfect world. He isolates himself (in the world he lives in) and sets out to use the tools of creating new universes and his vast scientific knowledge to try and create the utopia he dreams of.

Our protagonists begin on the earth as we know it, and all are gather as a team of surveyors looking for rare metals in the savannah somewhere in Africa. The team of protagonists have been hired by an African rebel leader Kwame, one of the worst criminals in the world, who has the charisma and coldheartedness to mastermind within multiple countries in Africa: drug rings, prostitution, arms dealing, terrorism and anarchy and many other terrible things. Our protagonists in their lives before would be things like ex-spies, FBI agents, professional assassins, drug manufacturers, ultra corrupt businessman etc (but also with a few good natured fellows too, some scientists) and who all were gathered together under the official title of "surveyors", hired by Kwame to seek out a clue Kwame had been told of rare metals and diamonds nearby.

When our team of surveyors scans the site, some strange (inter-dimensional) happenings occur, which being as being random and isolate, but start becoming more frequent and more insane (somebody vanishing while being from the surveyors team when they all were watching him, things travelling left and right as opposed to up and down in a nice easy gravitational way etc) and all the surveyors understand that something strange is going on. Parallel to these things happening, there is an increase in violence and brutality and monstrousness as Kwame arrives and shows his absolute ruthlessness and the surveyors realise how absolutely crazy the man really is. The reason for these things happening is because the antagonist is realising that the humanity in this universe is already becoming something desctructive and he can no longer obtain anything useful in his quest for a utopia, so he starts turning the world upside down. The destruction happens slowly (the antagonists final test to see if anything good has come from our known universe), and still Kwame's oppressive regime continues to run the African underbelly, even becoming more intense, and it is because of this that our surveyors are not killed but vanish, just like the first surveyor.

Now this is where things become convoluted/ more distorted/ less clear/ confusing/ fun. The first surveyor who disappeared has reappeared, exactly as himself, lying butt naked in a desert at nighttime. Initially, he/ she thinks some ******** crazy drug has been in him and hes been raped or something far worse, and thrown out by some very very messed up people of Kwame's. But he stands up, has no bruises or injuries, and every part of him feels fine, even his a** feels completely unraped (although he is a little bit cold with no clothes on). At first he/she thinks that he's in Africa, and heads towards what appears to be a powerline. When he arrives he finds that it is not a powerline but a giantwhite porcelain tower in a series of very futuristic looking constructs on a shiny metallic road, and his quest for knowledge begins.

At this point, this one character realises that he is not in the same world as before. The new world would be an ultra advanced one, but another world that is travelled to might be as if we all lived in massive underwater glass cities and looked really amphibian, or another might be a really robot infested mess, or anything! His quest is to find all of the other surveyors who have also escaped the destruction of earth and bring them to realise that this is not their world. The other surveyors/ protagonists don't know that they are in this new world, but soon figure it out when the surveyor/ protagonist who arrived first informs them. They set out to find out how to get back to their world, and the same process of travelling to new worlds, each as unique as the one before it, as the one they were in collapses would happen a few (or maybe even several!) times until they finally made it to the dimension where the antagonist reveals himself in a minor way and they must find him in his world in order to prevent their worlds from being torn apart again. Intense final confrontations and lots of good writing inbetween.

So... yeah. This story could probably become quite complex, but does not necessarily have to and I think it would be great fun messing with a group of characters who are relatively concrete but keep being placed in other worlds and have to deal with new societies/ people/ cultures/ places/ technology etc. Their ultimate goal would be to defeat the baddy and live peacefully in their original world (obviously they would have all been changed from being badasses and would have a much more constructive view of their world after, want world peace and no hunger or poverty etc).

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Breakdown of story
Part 1: Status Quo (the initial situation of normality).
Plot Point 1: An event that dramatically changes the Protagonist's Status Quo. The Protagonist's search for the Object of conflict starts here.
Part 2: Development (the middle part of the story. The Protagonist has many adventures, meets friends, confronts the Antagonist, etc., all tied to his search for the Object of conflict)
Plot Point 2: An event that puts an end to the Protagonist's search. He finally gets his Object of conflict, usually after a climactic showdown with the Antagonist -depending on the story)
Part 3: New Status Quo (normality returns, except for a big, important change related to the Protagonist. In other words, the Protagonist has matured, and is now a different person than he was at the beginning of the story.)

Whereas my story would somewhat follow the lines:

Part 1: The antagonist would be alluded to, and his goal of creating a utopia-like universe also mentioned. Our protagonists (the surveyors) are unaffiliated with each other, coming from many different, usually morally adverse, backgrounds and are all human (at least appear human). Set in our current world, the majority of this part would take place in Africa somewhere, where the rebel leader Kwame asks the surveyors to search for diamonds
Plot Point 1: Kwame comes to check up on the surveyors and the inter-dimensional occurances begin because of the ruthlessness and inhumanity of Kwame's actions. The antagonist (Flynn) believes that this is one step too far and that this "experiment" (earth) has nothing beneficial to give to the antagonist if there are people that exist like Kwame. When the first surveyor vanishes, his memory and body is kept in it's full form and teleported to another dimension and the surface of another planet. He wants to return to his original planet and also find out what was going on when the first planet collapsed (find out who is behind it, although he doesn't find out for a while). His first goal is to find the other surveyors, who have taken over the lives of others (not always in human form! or always speaking in earthly dialects either! or related to humans very much at all!) and are unaware of their pasts in the previous universe(s), and to unify them again in order to return to earth and to find out who is behind the inter-dimensional happenings
Part 2: The development. Well, the same occurance of one universe being destroyed after the beings within it show some extreme inhumanity (usually a series of sub-antagonists/ the people who ultimately CAUSE the destruction of their universe by performing extremely heinous deeds (like a Kwame, but a new unique one in each new and unique universe) are the target of the surveyors) and our surveyors being teleported to the next universe happens a number of times. After each successive destruction of the universe and teleportation of the surveyors to a new one, the number of surveyors who remember their past and goal to defeat the antagonist (who would have revealed himself in some way) increases until finally they are teleported to a place where they can meet the antagonist in his own universe.
Plot Point 2: Intense moral and physical showdown with the antagonist. He is defeated and the remaining worlds left intact, and the ones that were destroyed taken to their "back up" state, just like your OS remembering it's last safe state!
Part 3: Surveyors are changed very much so from their roots at the beginning of the story. Possibly they resolve to stop anything like this ever happening and to eradicate any inhumanity. Or whatever really, haven't decided

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First few lines of writing (draft)
"This cold is nothing like I have ever experienced before, you know that? In Slovakia, I spend countless days in the whole year with snow and ice and sleet and hail and cold and never a fine day about, but here... It's like the devil plays with your head the whole day. ******** fantastic for thirty minutes, and then your skin melts off, you know? A shame, really," Bohumil turns, his partner looks up at him from his undersized, uncomfortable plastic seat and sees Bohumil's face still staring. Hidden behind a high collar lined with faux zebra fur he puffs out, "This irritates me to no end." Despite no reply from his partner, Bohumil continues to ramble.

Not listening, Xander slowly pokes a blackened twig into the dark grains of sand, swallowing the stick until the soft microscopic grains meets his finger. He releases the stick, observing how part of it is revealed as a whiff of dust picks up the sand. He stands and walks a few paces forward of his accomplice, sharing the enjoyment the view provides, while Bohumil continues to babble. A directionless babble, but enthusiastic nonetheless.

'You'll be done in two months, that's only two months Xander. That's only a three hundred and ninety fourth of your life so far, or zero point two five percent- nothing to worry about at all! You'll make it through, just like you always--'
"Hey pal," a hand lands half on Xanders shoulder and his neck, gripping in a comforting way, "lets head back to HQ. We've done our dash for the day, and I want to go get some sleep." Almost subconsciously, Xander turns around and smiles, saying nothing. He picks up the chair and moves to a rusted grey World War II jeep that is by some miracle still operable. Xander sits in the front seat, while the more assertive Bohumil jumps in the drivers seat. Turning the key in the ignition, the jeep revs loudly, and spins out sand underneath it. Bohumil turns towards the open desert, plodding along nicely towards a tiny green speck in the distance that represented their campsite. Time to sleep, eat, and get ready for another day of aimless surveying.

Slums outside of Ouadane, Mauritania, West Africa: Just before sunset

Flimsy corrugated iron walls face inwards towards a narrow dusty road. The road itself twists and turns until it reaches the edge of the open desert where it stretches to a seemingly infinite distance in a perfect straight line. A twisting and turning road is enough to turn one to madness out there.

A particularly strong bump in the road throws the militant kingpin of Africa's underbelly towards the roof of an armed troop transport. The wound swells immediately. From the backseat, the leader surges forward so his face is right next to the driver's head and his breath is rolling slowly down the length of his neck.

"Stort. Nou gaan weg! (Idiot... now leave!)[/]i" he brings up a tiny conical pin and jabs it through the mans jugular, blood spurting . Then, reaching through, he holds one hand on the driving wheel and with the other, shoves the man out onto the road. His legs crunch as they pass underneath the wheels of the giant transport carrier, the leader steadying the car. It rolled slowly to a stop, and all seven of the other passengers stared