From Stein.Kulseth@TF.telenor.noTue Mar 21 19:25:48 1995 Date: Tue, 21 Mar 1995 13:09:41 +0100 From: Stein.Kulseth@TF.telenor.no To: frc@nvg.unit.no Subject: Round 32 ends So that's it for round 32, Doug wins, Ronald becomes the new Wizard. Ronald was very close to winning, but Doug was lucky at the crucial moment and that is part of the game. Anyhow, I have a feeling that Ronald is happier playing than judging, and he has been doing so well this round that I'll guess he is happy with the round anyhow. I think this round was thoroughly enjoyable, with a lot of good work. Looking forward to the next round Doug... END OF ROUND 32 STATUS Who What How much ------------------------------------ Doug 3/0 2.5 - Winner and Judge of round 33 Ronald 4/4 6 - The Wizard in round 33 Vanyel 1/0 1 Mike 2/3 2.5 Stephen 2/1 0.5 anyone 0/0 0 Jeremy 0/2 -2 22 rules submitted - 12 valid/10 invalid 10.5 Stylepoints awarded for a mean of about +0.5 per rule One rule vote: VOTE 32:A - that 32:17 be changed from invalid to valid for: Ronald against: The Wizard Judge, Stephen Petition fell by 2 to 1 SUMMARY: FR 32:1 * Jeremy * March 1st 18:00 * INVALID * -1.5 SP >>>> Luckily for us, in the 25th century the playing of Fantasy Rules games had been (has been? will be?) banned. Caught up in the mad electronic rush to prosecute an underground FR committee on March 1st 2495, was the brilliant but eccentric chronoscientist Dr Timothy Edwards. Tipped off to the impending raid on his home by a prototype device of his own construction which was capable of listening precisely five minutes into the future, Dr. Tim E. (as he referred to himself in his voluminous diaries) raced to his basement laboratory. Knowing that the penalty for social aberrations like Fanasy Rules was neuro-re-engineering, the doctor felt he had no choice but to step into his masterpiece, his personal time machine! Unfortunately, this first journey into time would come some two years before he had intended. He had not yet constructed the myriad fail-safes that he had envisioned, no tests on the effects of time-travel on living beings had been completed, the rules governing temporal paradox were merely concepts of his mathematical intuition, unproven theorems in his notebooks. Nevertheless, he feared contradicting what he had heard on his listening device - the splintering of his front door by laser fire, the metallic warnings of the automated police shock troops and, finally, the high pitched whine that only he knew was the sound of his time machine powering up. Upstairs, he now heard again the bursting of his door as he reached for the switches that would take him who knows when... Why is this unfortunate tale a windfall for us? Because this morning, in the park where I habitually walk my dog, I met Dr. Timothy Edwards. He appeared to be over one-hundred years old but walked without a stoop and spoke with a clear voice. He knew my name, knew all about us and our game, as well as several personal facts that convinced me that he was a genuine time traveller. He gave me a CD and said it was his personal diary and travel logs. He was entrusting it to us at this time in history because we, as fellow Fantasy Rules Committee members could be trusted and because now, in the latter part of the 20th century, we have the technology to encode, store and preserve his records (by the 2010's, he tells me electronic security will have been so compromised by government moles that he dared not attempt to incorporate his files then...). Being a devious old hacker he has, of course, already devised a most mischevious and appropriate way of encoding his records into our archives. We will, in every rule of this round, recount the adventures of Dr. Tim E. No one reading the text of this round will ever suspect it to be a true history of actual events except for us. To this end, Dr. Tim E. has already delivered, mixed in with your other personal mail this afternoon, his diaries in a digital format appropriate to your personal computers. The doctor's greatest disappointment in his exile from his time has been the loss of his nightly FRC postings. He humbly requested of me that I include the following rule restrictions (to give us an idea of how the game was played when HE was a young man). I have granted his request and include the following restrictions in his honor: 1) As "time is of the essence" in this round, a careful accounting of the time intervals discussed in each rule must be part of each rule (i.e. In this rule; "the 25th century" {from Jan. 1st 2401 until Dec. 31st 2500}, the day in 2495 in which Dr. Tim E. left his time {March 1st, 2495}, and "the 2010's" {from Jan. 1st 2010 to Dec. 31st 2019}). 2) All restrictions must be limited by a statement clarifying *when* they are applicable. 3) If a restriction is not applicable over a time interval encompassing the time at which a rule is *posted* then that rule does not need to obey that restriction *unless* the posted rule discusses a time at which the restriction is applicable. Time limitation: All restrictions found in this rule are limited to the period from March 1st, 1995 to December 31st, 1995. >>>> Validity: The rule is not careful in accounting the time intervals discussed. It misses "this morning", "the latter part of the 20th century" and "the period from March 1st, 1995 to December 31st, 1995" Style: Plus for restrictions 2 and 3, minuses for length (far too long), the above carelessness, and for striking me as a Northcroft in reverse. #### FR 32:2 * Stephen * March 1st 19:45 * VALID * -0.5 SP >>>>> Bob has just built a time machine. He will use it first on 1st March 1995. Each rule will state the next time he goes to (after the one in the previous valid fantasy rule), and a restriction on which times he can go to. For example, he can never travel more than 500 years at once, or the time machine will explode. Each rule will also say what he sees when he gets to the next time. For example on his first journey he travels back in time to 1945 just in time to witness the celebrations at the end of World War II. >>>>> Validity: No problem Style: I sort of like easy starts, but a bit more of a challenge to other players would have been welcome. #### FR 32:3 * Ronald * March 2nd 10:08 * VALID * 1.5 SP >>>>> >From 1945 Bob travels to 1889. In Austria he visits the imperial palaces. In the town of Braunau he prevents a doctor from reaching the house of a certain Austrian customs official in time to deliver a baby. The baby dies. This first attempt to change history is only partly successful. World War II still takes place but starts ten years later. Another, unexpected, consequence of Bob's interference is that the time machine is no longer able to reach odd-numbered years. Further Rules will describe other attempts of Bob to change the natural course of history and it's consequences. >>>>> Validity: OK. Style: OK. And as I'm about to credit Stephen's next rule with some needed goodwill for his 32:2 rule timing, I'll award you .5 extra for your quite appropriate to the theme double rule numbering slip. #### FR 32:4 * Stephen * March 2nd 12:11 * INVALID * 0 SP >>>>> Next, Bob travels to 1st April 2002. When there, he subscribes to the FRC, just in time to see the Wizard Judge post her "End of Round 132" message: the game had ended that day, and the player Stone had become the new Wizard Judge. It seems that the FRC had chosen "Time travel" as the theme for round 132. In fact, it seems that they had been reading the archives of earlier rounds as the first rule was as follows: FR 132:1 * Simon * March 1st 2002, 19:45 * VALID * -0.5SP ------ It is 1st March 1995, and Bob has just built a time machine. He will use it first on 1st March 1995. Each rule will state the next time he goes to (after the one in the previous valid fantasy rule), and a restriction on which times he can go to. For example, he can never travel more than 50 years at once, or the time machine will explode. Each rule will also say what he sees when he gets to the next time. For example on his first journey he travels back in time to 1945 just in time to witness the celebrations at the end of World War II. ------ Bob attempts to influence the course of future games by proposing a change to the R.O.s (which had remained unaltered in the time since he first travelled in his time machine) to the effect that the Judge was allowed to propose rules which would be judged by all the other players in a vote. Although it got a simple majority of the votes, some committee members feared that it would be unwieldy and it did not receive the required two thirds majority. Bob sees that were twelve fantasy rules proposed in round 132, of which 10 were valid and 2 invalid. (The Wizard Judge was an excellent logician and there was no question about the accuracy of her judgements). Each of the next 11 valid fantasy rules will give another (and only one other) of these rules, who proposed it and when, whether it was valid or invalid, and how many style points it earned. Bob hates Shakespeare, and decides never to go to any time when Shakespeare was alive. >>>>> Validity: I may be a harsh judge, but I decide to invalidate it for not having World War II end in 1955. Because: Allowing everything on the grounds that history might have been changed back, or that Bob changes space-time frames constantly does not seem like a good idea. Keeping him in the same frame, with only his own changes in effect, does. Then we might keep some track of how (his) history looks like. (Of course, some fuzziness will exist, fi was the UN founded in 1948? probably not, etc.). Style: The FRC within the FRs idea is getting a bit stale now, not? Also with just one valid rule outside your own, it would have been stylish to respond to it by acknowledging the history change. Also a trifle long. You're saved by Bob's hate of Shakespeare though (did I ever see an FRC member fishing for Style Points :-), and you're right - delivering your previous rule talking about 1945 at 19:45 was stylish, even if unintentional. #### FR 32:5 * Jeremy * March 2nd 20:03 * INVALID * -0.5 SP >>>>> Bob, of course, did not at first know the consequences of his exploit with the bavarian doctor in 1889. He was very curious and wished to observe the effects of his "good deed." At first he set his controls for 1945, to revisit the site of the celebrations but the time machine would not take him there. Next he tried to return to his home the instant after he left. Again the machine would not function. Bob was confounded, he believed himself stranded in 1889. In despiration he tried to go to 1996. Bob sighed with relief as he appeared in his own back yard. Bob's relief was short-lived. He got out of the machine and walked to his back door only to find that his key would no longer open his lock. He looked around with dawning horror to find that there were other differences as well, the addition his father had put on in the 80's was missing, the paint was the wrong color, his mother's vegetable garden was now full of roses. Bob hurriedly ran around to the front of the house and checked the name on the mailbox. Bob's last name was Gold, but the mailbox read Vogel. A trip to the library confirmed several facts, WWII began in 1949. Germany, under the leadership of Rudolf Hess, never dissipated its energies pursuing the "final solution" but rather convinced the entire population to support the goal of a "Greater Germany." With the aid of scientists like Albert Einstein, Germany developed the atomic bomb in 1953 and used it to destroy the British city of Dover. Europe quickly fell and Hess became Kaiser of the Third Reich. At Town Hall Bob discovered that his mother never married his father, but rather a man named Vogel who was slightly too old to be drafted when the war finally began. Bob suddenly remembered Mr. Vogel; in his memory he was a wheelchair bound veteran of the war who used to tell stories about fighting Hitler and the day he lost his legs. Bob had yet to discover for himself the problem with odd-numbered years, but he now faced a far more difficult situation. It is clear to us if not to him that Bob cannot travel to a time where he might meet himself. The possible effects of his visit to 1889 were numerous, but by visiting 1996 he assured that one of them was that he could not be there when he arrived! >>>>> Validity: Bob does not attempt to change history in this rule. (Visiting 1996 has consequences, but not from an attempt to change from Bob.) Style: Again, a bit long without enough content to justify it. #### FR 32:6 * Mike * March 2nd 20:27 * INVALID * 0 SP >>>>> Bob's failed attempt to avert World War II is not known to him at this point, however, because the dynamics of his time machine prevent him from finding out about the changes he makes until he actually goes forward far enough in time to find out what changes took place. As a consequence, Bob is delighted when he travels forward in time to the United States in 1946, and discovers (by briefly perusing the encyclopedia) that WWII has not taken place. Satisfied that WWII has been effectively averted, Bob alters his time machine so that it cannot go backward in time, except when he "leaves" from an odd-numbered year. Also let it be known that Bob isn't a very good investigator, and because of this Bob will inadvertently make a mistake every time he attempts to find the effects of his time travel, which he MUST do every time he attempts to change history. >>>>> Validity: Again, Bob does not attempt to change history. Style: Middle of the road #### FR 32:7 * Stephen * March 3rd 13:58 * VALID * 1 SP >>>>> Believing that he now has the power to change history according to his own design, Bob wonders where to go next. Maybe he could arrange for his older sister not to be born too. She'd always bullied him, after all, and he'd always had to wear her girly clothes that she'd outgrown. So he sets his time machine for 1978, the year of her birth, and attempts to enter the hospital where their mother is about to give birth. However, the hospital staff become suspicious at a 14 year old in unstylish clothes wandering around, and throw him out. While in 1978, Bob also finds out that he failed to stop World War II, managing merely to postpone it and make it last longer. He decides that the 19th and 20th centuries are far too complicated, and only to visit other centuries in future. Future fantasy rules will give previously unknown biographical information about Bob. >>>>> Validity: No problem Style: 14 year old, I like that. Also, good to have a valid rule again. #### FR 32:8 * Ronald * March 3rd 14:55 * INVALID * -1 SP >>>>> Bob jumps back to the limit of the possible and arrives in 1492, to see one of his heroes in real life: Columbus had been a hero for him ever since he received this book about the discoverer from an uncle. He likes the book very much for all its maps and pictures. In fact, Bob has the book with him, wherever he goes! At dark Bob slips on one of the three boats that will leave the next day. He sneaks into Columbus' cabin. But scared by the ship's cat he leaves head over heels. In his hurry he forgets his book. Pretty certain that history will change as soon as Columbus finds the book, Bob decides to make a few jumps in the 16th century. >>>>> Validity: Hey, Ronald, wasn't that you that said: "Further Rules will describe other attempts of Bob to change the natural course of history and it's consequences." No attempt here, just a mistake, and no consequences. Style: -1 for failing to follow *his own rule*, even *after* I clearly stated my interpretation of it. #### FR 32:9 * Mike * March 3rd 23:45 * INVALID * 1 SP >>>>> Bob is a little distraught by being kicked out of the hospital, but he thinks his sister may be less mean to him if he were famous. With this in mind, Bob travels back to 1776, just in time to witness the signing of the Declaration of Independance. Bob's idea is to get his signature on the Declaration of Independance, but with all these old people with wigs around, he's not sure how to get to the document. By a stroke of luck, after signing the Declaration, everyone decides to get roaring drunk down at the pub, and they leave the document untended. Bob manages to sign the Declaration with (albeit childish) larger handwriting than even John Hancock, hoping that instead of people using the phrase "sign your John Hancock," the phrase will instead be "sign your Robert Goldstein von Hamerlochenbeckerbacker." Unfortunately, since no one knew who the hell that was, "Robert Goldstein von Hamerlochenbeckerbacker" (sometimes even just "Bob") became a way to describe someone at a party which no one knew, and Bob's parents decide in the future to instead name him Gary. Incidentally, the Goldstein von Hamerlochenbeckerbackers changed the family name shortly after arriving in the United States in 1895 to "Vogel," in order to avoid being made fun of at parties, so that his name now is Gary Vogel, but he doesn't know that yet. Gary (Bob) likes travelling to different countries, so he decides that from now on he will only change history in a country he hasn't time-travelled to before. >>>>> Validity: As mentioned, it violates 32:2 (no restriction on times) Style: I liked it. #### FR 32:10 * Mike * March 5th 01:51 * VALID * 0 SP >>>>> Bob is a little distraught by being kicked out of the hospital, but he thinks his sister may be less mean to him if he were famous. With this in mind, Bob travels back to 1776, just in time to witness the signing of the Declaration of Independance. Bob's idea is to get his signature on the Declaration of Independance, but with all these old people with wigs around, he's not sure how to get to the document. By a stroke of luck, after signing the Declaration, everyone decides to get roaring drunk down at the pub, and they leave the document untended. Bob manages to sign the Declaration with (albeit childish) larger handwriting than even John Hancock, hoping that instead of people using the phrase "sign your John Hancock," the phrase will instead be "sign your Robert Goldstein von Hamerlochenbeckerbacker." Unfortunately, since no one knew who the hell that was, "Robert Goldstein von Hamerlochenbeckerbacker" (sometimes even just "Bob") became a way to describe someone at a party which no one knew, and Bob's parents decide in the future to instead name him Gary. Incidentally, the Goldstein von Hamerlochenbeckerbackers changed the family name shortly after arriving in the United States in 1895 to "Vogel," in order to avoid being made fun of at parties, so that his name now is Gary Vogel, but he doesn't know that yet. Gary (Bob) likes travelling to different countries, so he decides that from now on he will only change history in a country he hasn't time-travelled to before. He also decides to modify the time machine so that it will no longer go backwards in time, except when his journey is an odd number of years. >>>>> Validity: Now OK Style: Normally reposts are a trifle unstylish, but I liked how the time restriction interacts with 32:3, so the SPs evened out at 0. #### FR 32:11 * Doug * March 5th 20:18 * VALID * 1 SP >>>>> Bob suddenly becomes interested in finding out what effects his attempts to alter history have had, so he travels to Paris in 2086 and visits the Sorbonne ("Interesting. It looks just the same as it did in my present," Bob thinks to himself.). When Bob finds out what happened to his family history, he becomes enraged and immediately creates a virus to "fix" the records of his name (thus attempting to "alter history"). Unfortunately, his impressive computer skills are no match for 2086 computer security ---- nothing happens except Bob's arrest by the local Gestapo. After a few hours of interrogation, Bob is convinced that he is in the worst situation he's ever been in ---- even the attack of the "man-eating" bacteria he had at age 10 pales in comparison with the current torture. When Bob is finally released, he adjusts his machine so that it will not travel to 2086 again. >>>>> Validity: OK Style: OK #### FR 32:12 * Ronald * March 6th 15:01 * INVALID * 1.5 SP >>>>> Before starting his time trips, Bob/Gary has read all Science Fiction literature on time travel that he could find. This frequently led to conflicts with his hated schoolteacher, Miss Schadenfreude. But all that is now a thing of the, er, past. Thus educated Bob knows that it is unlikely that he is the only time-traveler. Bob's next jump brings him to the year 2524 (for esthetical reasons he would have prefered 2525, but his machine wouldn't let him). In Amsterdam (due to the rising sea, now on an island) he locates the Gary Vogel Institute of Time Travel (named after the inventor of time travel, although Bob/Gary at first doesn't realize the importance of that). Talking to the scientists at the Institute, Bob learns that nobody has a clue how a 14 year old has succeeded in building a time machine in 1995. Therefore the scientists of the Institute have the plan to send their own time machine to 1995 to help Bob/Gary with the project. On the spur of the moment, Bob steals this second time machine, leaving his own behind. The history of time travel will never be the same, because after this theft the Institute abandons its plan to help Bob/Gary in 1995. However, this leaves us with a paradox: if the Institute didn't help Bob, then how did he succeed in solving the 26-dimensional mathematics of time travel? The next Rule shall answer that question. >>>>> Validity: 32:2 says clearly: "Each rule will state [...] a restriction on which times he can go to." This rule doesn't, and Ronald chopped another day off his eligibility period (he however still has almost 19 hours left). Style: A pity it was invalid, for I liked it very much (even though it *did* exceed one vi page in my standard 24-line xterm window). No surprise though that Ronald takes us into paradox country, except that he didn't do so sooner. #### FR 32:13 * Ronald * March 6th 16:46 * VALID * 0.5 SP >>>>> Arrived in Amsterdam in the year 2500 the first thing Bob/Gary sees is another time machine. That apparatus is just like his, but it has in large characters writtten on it `TIME POLICE'. His hated sister Gloria sits at the controls, although it seems to be a slightly older version than the one he left back in the 20th century. A red haze comes over Bob. He pushes his sister out of her machine, jumps in it and pushes randomly some buttons. He notices vaguely a note tagged on, stating: "Attention, this machine not cleared for the years of the reign of Louis XIV." Bob is certain that his theft will change something. And indeed, when Gloria comes finally back from her mission, her boss decides to go back in time to warn an earlier version of himself, *not* to send Gloria to the 25th century. The next Rule shall give some more details about the Time Police. >>>>> Validity: OK Style: OK. OK-styled rules have usually gotten 1 SP this round. I think I'll lower this to 0.5 to leave some more headroom for the really good rules that will start popping in anytime now. #### FR 32:14 * Mike * March 6th 22:35 * VALID * 2 SP >>>>> Bob/Gary next appears in Iceland, two days later. When his time machine appears, it appears above the middle of a lake, and immediately falls in the water. Bob/Gary gets out, and goes to the small cottage on the shore of the lake. The people there are friendly, and help him to remove his machine from the lake. After examination, the machine appears slightly damaged, and won't go anywhere/when. Bob/Gary spends the next year living at the cottage, attempting to repair the machine. On May 3,2501, just as Bob/Gary is getting ready to test his repairs, the Time Police appear in a flash, and rush into the cottage. Bob/Gary stuns the first one with mace, and grabs his plasma rifle, using it to fend off the other police. Making a break for it, Bob/Gary races to the newly repaired machine and randomly hits the controls, vanishing in a purple flash. When he glances at the controls to see where he's going, Bob/Gary is stunned to see that the machine is going to 1602 Japan. Knowing the machine will explode upon arrival, Bob/Gary grabs what he can and runs from the machine as soon as it appears in Japan. He plows into a strange looking man and knocks him down, just as the machine explodes in a green fireball. The man, who Bob/Gary immediately recognizes as Tokugawa, the Shogun to be in 1603, jumps up and says: Gaijin! hu "Barbarian! za ken ja nee yo! what do you think you are doing?! ima sinu! now you die!" Thanks to the universal translator he built for his 4th grade science project, Bob/Gary understands perfectly, and decides to turn Tokugawa into a pile of dust with his plasma rifle. By his action, he not only changes the power structure of Japan, but also introduces the plasma rifle to them years ahead of the competition, resulting in a much more effecient microwave oven. Bob/Gary is a little distraught at having his time machine explode, but he notices that he managed to salvage some things before it went. Laying around him a several large boxes of jelly doughnuts, and a Time Police Handbook. Bob/Gary picks up the Handbook and starts reading. Of primary interest to him is that Time Police are all highly addicted to jelly doughnuts, due to a mysterious compound used in making the jelly. Too late, Bob/Gary realizes that he is already munching on a jelly doughnut, and it tastes _very_ good. Bob/Gary must from now on consume a jelly doughnut every time he travels, or he will go into withdrawl and die. Realizing his problems started when he went into the future, Bob/Gary decides he will no longer go to any time after 1995, since that was when he invented his time machine. Bob/Gary knows the Time Police will come for him, because he has so many of their jelly doughnuts. Oh, yes. They'll be back. >>>>> Validity: OK Style: Highly enjoyable. Also it has two elements that I've been waiting for, the 500-year-plus exploding time machine, and the one-year-wait to go backwards in time. Both of these might actually be unnecessary now that B/G has a new time machine, but they're stylish all the same. A definite 2.5 - 0.5 = 2 pointer. #### FR 32:15 * Ronald * March 7th 13:26 * VALID * 1.5 SP >>>>> It takes Bob only two years to build a time machine from scratch, the Time Police Handbook being an enormous help. The Handbook is a revelation to him: apparently the Time Police is founded for the sole purpose of capturing him, Bob/Gary. It gives an enormous detail on his life and times. For instance all his likes (for pizza, Julia Roberts and electronical gadgets) and dislikes (for spaghetti, his sister and his schoolteacher) are described. The book also contains a list of all the years he has visited/will visit. Bob immediately decides never to go closer than ten years to any of the years that are on the list. He also decides to fight the Time Police (and future Rules shall describe his attempts to do so). While eating a jelly doughnut, he travels to 1762, the year the Baring's Brothers Bank was founded. In foggy London he succeeds in convincing the brothers (who in this timeline have Japanese ancestors!) to include in the statutes of the bank, that they will never hire a certain Nick Leeson. More than 200 years later, the latter does not get a job with Baring's. Consequently he does not have the occasion to swindle the bank out of the 1000 million dollars that were subsequently used to finance the Time Police. Nevertheless, on leaving his financial meeting, he is captured by the Time Police. >>>>> Validity: OK Style: Another good rule from Ronald. #### FR 32:16 * Vanyel * March 8th 10:23 * VALID * 1 SP >>>>> Bob/Gary utilizes his small size to wriggle out of the grasp of the two Time Police Officers, jabbing one in the stomach, and racking the other quite painfully, then running off into the London mist. He hides in a dark alley for a few hours, then mingles with the London crowds. As he is wandering about a man nearly tramples Bob/Gary, because neither is really paying much attention to where they were going. Bob/Gary, annoyed as much as anything else at his small stature, yells at the taller fellow "Hey! Don't tread on me!" The tall fellow gains a thoughtful look and wanders off into the crowd without so much as an "excuse me", murmuring "Hmm, catchy..." After Bob/Gary has wandered around long enough to have shaken the Time Police, he returns to where he has hidden his vehicle, to find it completely intact. He sits down and chuckles to himself, thinking how confused the Time Police must be not to have found the vehicle using the built-in homing device--did they really think him stupid enough to include it in his rebuilt time machine? Hah! Now that he had (temporarily, at least) shaken the pursuit, he had to figure out where and when to go. As he is thinking about that problem, he receives a burst of inspiration in which he realizes an inherent flaw in the drive mechanism used in the machine, which will cause time calculation errors when involving leap days; for this reason he decides never to visit any leap years, just to be safe. Further thought about being safe made him realize that if the Time Patrol was after him, nothing would stop them from harming him as a child in the 20th century! He decides that a name change should throw them off, so he makes a quick detour to 1790 Prussia; he pays a visit to a far-distant relative. He lands a few blocks away and sees their fairly shabby house; through an ingenious though entirely irreverent use of components from his plasma gun, residue from the jelly doughnut he eats for the purpose, and the wiring of his braces, he appears to this relative as if an angel, saying "Hark! Fear not! Abandon Hope, All Ye! I have come to tell you that thou shalt never have any male descendant named Robert or any variation thereof! If thou or any of thy descendants name your children Robert thou shalt suffer the direst of consequences!" Satisfied with the terror he invoked and the history he thought he changed, he then left for another time. Of course, due to the Hamerlochenbecker- backer incident it didn't much matter, as he wouldn't have been named Robert anyway. After leaving, he decides to visit the year 1642 to witness the birth of his personal hero, Isaac Newton. He appears a mile over England, seeing lovely rolling meadows stretching out in all directions, and begins to lower himself down to the ground. All of a sudden, he hears the machine's gentle whirring gyrate wildly. Genius that he is, he immediately knows the problem--the precedence field has been violated. The real problem is, how is he going to find the parts for a precedence field generator here in 1642?! Uh-oh. >>>>> Validity: A couple of points needed thinking over, but I feel it is OK. BTW, you may be outside of Loius XIV's reign by a year anyway, depending on how you look at it Style: A good rule. A little long, but with a quite a couple of nice points to make up for it, so I think a point is well deserved. (fi the birth of Isaac Newton is a very nice time to include in this round). Wish I knew who the tall man was, though. #### FR 32:17 * Ronald * March 9th 19:53:09 * INVALID * 0.5 SP >>>>> Bob was stuck in time. He tried to build a precedence generator in 17th century England, but several indispensable parts were missing. Each next Rule shall specify an item that was obtainable in the Japan of 1602 (where Bob did build a machine), but not in 17th century England. And then one day, when Bob had almost abandoned hope, he meets an older and taller version of himself, handing him a new, complete precedence generator, before disappearing again in a time machine. Bob is a bit annoyed by the abruptness of his visitor, so in contrast with his own extravert character. Nevertheless, it's time travel time again! Munching his very last jelly doughnut, Bob timejumps to Rome and 1582, the year that Pope Gregorius changed the calendar. "I don't like leap years" is Bob's motto. He succeeds in convincing the Pope that there are actually 730 days in each year, without exception. And indeed, 1583 becomes the first of such Gregorian double years. "That'll put the Time Police of my track", jubilates Bob,"the year that I left has now become part of 1789!" Bob decides that going backwards pleases him and decides that the next trip will be in that direction too. He celebrates by eating a pizza between the somewhat less ruined ruins of Rome, without noticing the Time Policemen in the shadows. >>>>> Validity: Very hard to judge, but I think it must be invalid. Vanyel didn't let Bob eat his donut for the 1790 Prussia- 1642 England trip, and I allowed this as the trip wasn't really (or only very just) over when the rule ended. Bob would need one at the start of this rule. Style: Again good from Ronald, with a lot to think about. Also "Bob meets himself" I've been waiting for as well. Minus for strange restriction. #### FR 32:18 * Mike * March 10th 08:58 * INVALID * -1 SP >>>>> Unfortunately, the Time Policemen waiting in the shadows had drugged his pizza, and after eating Bob/Gary quickly falls unconscious. When he awakes, Bob discovers that he has been taken to the year 1026 by the Time Police. They have taken Bob to their secret base in Canada, which is oddly disguised as a somewhat awkward tree house. He looks out the heavily reinforced window to see a few birds. Thankfully, the Time Police fed Bob a jelly doughnut intraveneously, since it was obvious he would die soon otherwise. He knows his big mistake was giving himself the precedence field generator, and somehow after that the fabric of time was changed so that he can never again help himself by time travelling. The leader of the Time Police enters Bob's cell; and he is hardly surprised that it turns out to be his other sister, Gretchen. "So, you thought you could escape us so easily? I have waited years to see your hideous face again! Now you will suffer the most incredible pain you have ever experienced, all because of what you did to me!" she expectorates. Gretchen is, of course, referring to the time Bob told her (now ex) boyfriend that she was a bed wetter. "Gretchen, it was only a little joke. Do you really blow things out of proportion? After all, it was you who cut all my hair off when I was two! Anyway, how did you find me? I vowed never to travel within ten years of any date listed in this book!" Bob screams, waving the Handbook frantically. Bob is obviously stalling for _time_. "That book was a red herring, why do you think your precedence field generator broke?" she teases. Bob is furious."WHAT??? You mean I dismantled my universal translator for THAT? I HATE YOU!!!" Bob curls into a fetal position and begins crying uncontrollably. Gretchen falters. She hates it when her brother cries, it always makes her feel sorry for him. "I...I'm sorry, Gary. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Please, don't cry." Gretchen walks over and sits next to Bob, comforting him. "Would you like a pillow?" "No, I...I just wanted to..." Bob says, sitting up, "to freeze you, sucker!" Bob has taken his ultra-freeeeze gun (his 3rd grade science project disguised as a ballpoint pen) and pointed it at Gretchen, freezing her forever in a timeless state, her very last word being "But...". Bob wonders what she was going to say, but he doesn't worry about it, he's FREE! He runs outside only to discover there are no time machines to jump into. Not only that, he discovers he can't fly as he plummets 5 stories to the ground, landing with a bone-crushing thud. With nearly all the bones in his body broken, Bob, surprisingly still conscious, realizes his mistake as the tree house base vanishes. By permanently freezing his sister (and thus destroying the Time Police) Bob has destroyed his only means of getting away from this time. He no longer has the necessary parts to build the precedence field generator, and he cannot give himself one either. Not only that, but his whole body is in extreme pain. Bob's last thought before passing out is that the Time Police were the only people who had the compound needed to make the jelly doughnuts, and now that compound no longer exists. All parts used to make a time machine were specifically mentioned as part of Bob's inventory in previous rules. All future rules must also mention a formerly unkown invention Bob built for his grade school science project. Bob may no longer travel to years that are cannot be expressed as positive integer power of two, plus two years(e.g. 2 to the 10th plus 2 = 1026). >>>> Validity: Misses on a couple of points as 32:17 was invalidated. Style: I know you're signing off this round. It is still way too long. #### FR 32:19 * Doug * March 11th 14:23 * VALID * 1.5 SP >>>> Once Bob lands, he is immediately handcuffed by two ladies wearing Time Police uniforms. "But how did you find me?!" Bob screams, "I've been avoiding the times your blasted manual claims I'll visit!" The taller lady responds, "Well, you criminal scum, we occasionally patrol other temporal coordinates, just in case. Do you need to do anything before we leave?" Bob: "Uh, a jelly doughnut." Bob is given a jelly doughnut, which he eats quickly. The ladies blindfold Bob, destroy Bob's time machine, then take Bob in their time machine to 2063 London (Bob sees nothing there.). After the momentary stopover in 2063, (just long enough for Bob et. al. to eat their jelly doughnuts) Bob is taken to Time Police HQ in Moscow of 2557. The blindfold is removed and Bob is placed in a jail cell. Incredibly, the cell has a computer terminal. Bob attempts to use his computer skills to alter Time Police records. Unfortunately, the computer has been programmed to "humor" Bob, so no real records are accessed or changed. Bob concludes that this is the best time he's ever had in prison. (Yeah, he has been in prison 10 times before --- he's such a precocious young man!) [Oh, by the way, Bob's machine, having been utterly destroyed, is no longer capable of travelling to any time.] >>>> Validity: Seems OK. Style: Douglike, the rule is not restriction-heavy. But, I like the nice way round 32:14, Bob will not go, but he's taken. Also the "Bob sees nothing there" followed by "The blindfold is removed" three lines later is at least worth a chuckle. Good work, Doug. #### FR 32:20 * Ronald * March 13th 12:27 * VALID * 1 SP >>>> In the far away future of the 95th century two scientists prepare the ultimate experiment. Their Time Stabilizer has to undo all history changes brought upon the innocent by Bob/Gary and the Time Police jumping around time. They pull the main switch of the Time Stabilizer. On their temporal screen they see - Bob being transported from his 26th Moscow cell, back to the 1st March of 1995, all the while eating a jelly doughnut. - the Time Police men and women all being brought back to their proper centuries. Wondering where that delicious donut came from, Bob wipes the last crumps of his hands and face with a handkerchief found in his pocket. The handkerchief has an interlaced T and a P as a monogram in the corner. `Is that one mine?' Bob muses,' TP means what? Time Police, maybe?' Thus joking to himself, he adjusts the last dial on his time machine. (`Time-waste machine' as nasty Gloria calls it, but she is criticizing all of his projects *always*.) His room in his Norwegian home is almost to small to hold the machine. `Today I will change history', Bob says while he takes place in the apparatus. But it is a phrase he utters everytime he tries out his latest invention. He puts the dial on 1945. (`Let's go and see the end of the World War celebration', he thinks.) He hits the start-button and.... nothing happens. `Hmm, must be the precedence generator playing up again', Bob concludes, `I suppose this machine will stay in 1995 for the moment.' In the 90th century, two scientists open a bottle of champagne. Future Rules shall include a detail about the Science of Time Stabilizing. >>>> Validity: OK Style: OK - nice touch bringing him back to the starting point. also nice that the two scientists open the champagne in the 90th century . #### FR 32:21 * Doug * March 18th 00:10 * VALID * 0 SP >>>> After a few more attempts to get his time machine working, Bob decides to swallow his pride and ask Gloria for help. Together they discover the existence of the "incidental motions" created by the 95th century's Time Stabilizer (A Time Stabilizer produces things called "incidental motions" which travel through time and disrupt all precedence field generators that aren't protected by an "recess thingamajiggie." Unfortunately, Bob never finds out about the thingamajiggie....) Once Gloria discovers the exact time-space location of the inventors of Time Stabilization, she forces Bob into her cryogenic suspension chamber (but she does allow him a jelly doughnut beforehand) and sets the chamber to revive Bob 10 years before the invention of Time Stabilization. Unfortunately, Bob wakes up early ---- June 20, 3535, in the Medieval History Museum in Lunaopolis, SouthAm Lunar Colony. He finds yet another computer terminal and attempts to hack it --- once again he has no effect on the records. By the way, much of the vocabulary of Time Travel and Time Stabilization comes from parliamentary procedure since (in the original history) Bob was an expert parliamentarian. Future rules will include other Time Travel/ Stabilization terms drawn from parliamentary procedure. >>>> Validity: I won't bother thinking too much about its weak points, as because of my being away from work it is valid by timeout anyway. You're probably lucky Doug, I don't see much of restrictions on times Bob can go to here ... Style: Apart from the above which I choose to penalize stylepointwise, it is a marvellous idea to have Bob travel in time by mere cryonics...I even out on a 0 SP score ##### FR 32:22 * Ronald * March 20th 22:12 * INVALID * 0.5 SP >>>> What Bob didn't know was that in the early years of the 35th century the earth and the moon had been taken over by the Little Green Men of Sirius IV. Imagine the surprise of Bob and of the Little Green Museum Guard, when the latter surprised the former eating a jelly donut in the Museum's Restaurant. The Guard recovered first and, having watched too many Time Police movies on tri-D tv, took its Time Amendment Gun from its holster and shot Bob. (The Time Amendment Gun works by absorbing all incidental motions in a radius of 1 meter around the target, deStabilizing Time in that volume.) The effect of the weapon was an instant random time jump, an experience fatal for those not protected by a recently eaten jelly donut. Bob merely has an headache, resembling his frequent migraines. At first Bob didn't realize *when* he'd arrived. He was lying on marble steps in a large building. The people around him, all men, were all dressed in white togas. Nobody noticed Bob. Everybody was looking at the commotion in the centre of the hall, where several men were drawing their daggers. When Bob recognized the scene, he screamed. The intended victim used the disturbance to escape. Future Rules shall give the year of the historical event described in the previous valid Fantasy Rule, and describe a new historical event from a year not visited before. >>>>> Validity: I'm sorry, Ronald but this rule is invalid, as it does not describe Bob's attempts to fight the Time Police (rule 32:15 by guess who). Also, I received it *after* Ronald's time had run out, but that was no fault of Ronald's, it took apparently nearly 10 hours to get here. Style: Good, yet another way to travel. A little off for again forgetting one of his own rules. -- The Wizard Judge of round 32, Stein Kulseth