Doppelganger - John Schettler Page 0,138

without proper resolution.

FREE RADICAL – A dangerous, erratic variable in the course of temporal events – usually only existing within a Deep Nexus.

GOLEM - A special search program written by Kelly Ramer and distributed to hundreds of thousands of computer users via the Internet. Golems are able to search and report on information on the net, and can perceive data on every Meridian during a time of Deep Nexus through the phenomenon known as “Resonance.” Golems are arranged in to modules, and one notable module responsible for fetching crucial variations was designated “Golem 7.”

GORDIAN KNOT – A series of time loops that cannot be untangled, even by using the annihilating power associated with Paradox. Such a knot can occur when objects or persons are protected from the effects of Paradox by one means or another. The presence or existence of a Doppelganger is a warning that a Gordian Knot is starting to form from a Time Loop influenced by Paradox.

GRAND FINALITY – The inevitable end or result of a Radical Transformation to the time continuum. Such an occurrence can permanently rupture the meridians of time, creating infinite Time Loops that can never resolve. In effect, time becomes hopelessly tangled into a Gordian Knot, and this can lead to the annihilation of the future, as events cannot progress beyond the point of the knotted or looped time. Grand Finalities differ from natural finalities in that they are the result of willful action, and not acts of nature.

GREAT VOID – An interminable shadow or Penumbra cast by a Grand Imperative. It can also refer to the void in time created by a Grand Finality.

HAZE – Obscurity in the understanding of a temporal situation.

HEISENBERG WAVE – The transforming effect of an intervention in time, which propagates forward along the continuum to radically alter all subsequent events. All major variations in time, including Paradox, result in the creation of a Heisenberg Wave, like a stone thrown into a still pool. See also: Time Tsunami.

IMPERATIVE – An event in Time which must happen – Usually a natural event, but not always, as in the case of a First Cause. A Grand Imperative is a natural event of special significance. Some Grand Imperatives can become a Finality.

INEVITABILITY – A progression of events that is inexorable and unalterable.

INITIATOR – A person directly responsible for a new Time Meridian (Like Mohammed, or Christ). A Prime Mover of great significance.

LEVER – A secondary contributor to movement in a series of events.

MERIDIAN – An established line of temporal events on the continuum. A possible line of causality. See also: Prime Meridian

NEXUS POINT – A point of connection, intersection or branching of one or more possible Meridians in the Time continuum.

NODE – A specific point on a Time Meridian.

OUTCOME – A desired result achieved by a temporal Transformation – Usually referring to the positive.

P-WAVE – A “predictive” or “precursor” Heisenberg Wave that acts as a harbinger of changes to come, but does not introduce major changes to any meridian. P-Waves resonate across all possible meridians, and can therefore be detected as possible variations in the Resonance around a series of events. Minor effects may accompany P-Waves, which are often perceived as a sense of emotional dread.

PARADOX – Time’s way of correcting errors in the Time continuum. Paradox arises when an insoluble conflict occurs in the continuum, and time attempts to avoid or correct that problem. It is therefore a real force, and quite dangerous. It kills or erases people and objects from the Time Meridian when unaccountable complications arise from their actions. A Paradox is NOT simply a thorny problem; it is a real effect and the force of annihilation—a kind of “Anti-Time.” See also: Heisenberg Wave, and Time Loop.

PARADOX HOUR – The moment when an object or person in the past reaches the moment of their first arrival at a point on the continuum, their birth, or moment of first cause. The annihilating force of Paradox attempts to resolve potential conflicts by removing them from the continuum or any contact with Paradox Hour.

PARADOX TIME – The time prior to, and during, a Paradox event. Odd effects of Paradox Time can begin occurring, hours, days, weeks or even months before the actual Paradox event, as a result of the subtle generation of P-Waves in the Heisenberg field.

PENUMBRA – The shadow of influence on future events cast by an Imperative, often impenetrable or a great obstacle, to time travelers.

POINT OF DIVERGENCE – The point of initial vitiation in any previously established time meridian.

POINT OF ORIGIN – The temporal locus where a person or object becomes a Prime Mover.

PRIME MERIDIAN – The initial or first meridian of time, and the one that all other potential meridians must return to after a variation. Heisenberg Waves created by variations serve to rejoin potential altered meridians back into one new prime, which could then be a Altered State.

PRIME MOVER – A primary causative lever or agent for an event – usually a person but sometimes an object.

PUSH POINT – A moment of insignificance that gives rise to a key event on a Time Meridian. Often associated with a Prime Mover.

QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT – A relationship between two quantum particles where the state or condition of one causes the other related particle to also alter its state, location, spin or other condition—instantaneously. Quantum Entanglement can lead to Backward Causality and other strange time effects, as the two entangled particles need not be in the same spacetime.

QUANTUM KARMA – The influence of causality on a Time Meridian. Each moment on the Meridian affects the next with a kind of momentum, and certain Prime Movers accumulate an aura of Quantum Karma around them that also has profound effects on the configuration of future moments in Time.

RADICAL TRANSFORMATION – A catastrophic alteration of the Temporal Condition that can lead to a Grand Finality.

RESONANCE - Information available in the intersection of a Nexus Point, where many alternate Meridians “resonate” data concerning the possible outcome of events. This data can be picked up by the Meridian Team Golem software, registering as potential variations in the history in conflict with data stored in the Touchstone Database.

TEMPORAL CONDITION – The matrix, pattern or state of affairs in a given time period.

TIME LOOP – A replay of events that occurs as a result of a Paradox event. Movement to any point on the continuum prior to one’s first appearance in the past is dangerous, as the arrow of time slowly brings that person or object forward on the continuum to approach the point of its first entry. The prohibition against Co-Location creates a Paradox, and associated Paradox Time when the object or person arriving from the past encounters the moment of their first arrival, or moment of First Cause. Time loops can result in a Gordian Knot if not properly resolved, which can lead to Grand Finality.

TIME TSUNAMI – A series of Heisenberg Waves generated by a Grand Paradox and initiating changes and transformations so profound that they create a Finality.

TOUCHSTONE DATABASE – The history of all known recorded events as established in a protected RAM bank by the Meridian Project Team at the outset of their project. This data is thought to define events native to the Prime Meridian, prior to the first opening of the continuum on the team’s initial time mission. This data is often used as a reference to indicate a variation in time has occurred when the Golem search modules fetch resonance information that conflicts with that in the database.

TRANSFORMATION – Any change in a Time Meridian that alters a future Temporal Condition.

TRANSFORMER – A person who causes a Transformation.

VANISHING POINT - The exact moment in Time when an object is removed and transported elsewhere in the continuum.

VARIATION – A subtle change in a Time Meridian that does not significantly alter Temporal Conditions.

WEIGHT OF OPINION - The culmination and likely outcome of future events as a result of a potential transformation, as perceived and reported by the Golem search cloud.

WILLFUL EVENT - Events resulting from decisions or actions taken by human beings

ZOMBIE - The walking dead. A person, fated to die, but whose life has been spared due to a willful intervention in a Time Meridian. Paradox will allow the elimination of a Zombie by restoring the moment of his natural death to the continuum.

Discover other titles by John Schettler:

Award Winning Science Fiction:

Meridian - Meridian Series - Volume I

Nexus Point - Meridian Series - Volume II

Touchstone - Meridian Series - Volume III

Anvil of Fate - Meridian Series - Volume IV

Golem 7 - Meridian Series - Volume V

The Meridian series merges with the Kirov series beginning with Book 16, Paradox Hour

Classic Science Fiction:

Wild Zone - Dharman Series - Volume I

Mother Heart - Dharman Series - Volume II

Historical Fiction:

Taklamakan - Silk Road Series - Volume I

Khan Tengri - Silk Road Series - Volume II

Dream Reaper – Mythic Horror Mystery