Latter, Scott wakes
to Jenny Elf leaning over him."It finally happened....World War III?" Scott asks around a knot in his throat.
"I know what you are talking about, Scott, and while it involves....those infernal nuclear devices.....it was only a limited strike between two....South American nations. It caused a chain reaction that I'd never thought.....never DREAM would happen. This is Mundania were talking about here!"
Scott shakes his head, not seeing what Humfrey's getting at. The others look totally lost. They have no idea what Humfrey and Scott are talking about. Before this day, what happened in Mundania was of little to no concern to them, if it didn't concern an invasion!
"We.....I.....well, every Xanthian was wrong about the nature of Mundania!" Humfrey blusters. "At least now....we can't call your world Mundania any more!"
Suddenly, it become horribly clear to Scott what Humfrey's getting at!
"It happened around the latter part of the 21st Century, didn't it?" Scott asks distantly. "An arms race which comes to a head when a platoon of Glitter Boys cross a border to follow.....some terrorists or something like that.....Destabalized a already touchy situation. A limited nuclear exchange....a billion to one convergance of the planets and stars.....millions died, feeding the Ley Lines! This causes more and more death as Ley Lines flare. Earthquakes.....tidal waves.....the return of Atlantis! The world popuation of Earth, nearing 10 billion, drops to 1.5 billion....and falling....in the space of a night! The coming of THE RIFTS!"
Scott played Rifts as a kid. It was a great game of potpouri. Everything....high tech.....science....psionics....all in a choatic world ravaged by magic. Magic so thick that you could see it even during the daytime in the larger rifts as a light blue glow!
"The coming of the Rifts has sealed the borders of Xanth with a vengance!" Humfrey nearly shouts. "We're in a closed pocket universe. Not only that! It shattered the Xanthian timeline into something around those Anthony books you keep going on and on about! The past and future are meeting, and I..."
"Excuse me." Scott says weakly. He faints.
Fri Nov 13 01:33:59 1998