Following the Stross thread, I can only think of the havoc that would arise if the Clan of Gruinmarkt found a knotwork pattern that went someplace like El-Hazard or the world of Escaflowne (I'd give the proper name, but Wikipedia is dark). At the very best, you'd have Miriam Beckstein, investigative reporter, causing all sorts of trouble. At worst, you'd have a collection of cutthroat capitalists that make Machiavelli look like a piker when it comes to plots and plans disrupting the local economy and politics.
(This is from Stross' Merchant Princes series, for those unfamiliar. A clan of merchants from a parallel earth discover that they have a genetic trait that allows them to jump dimensions when focused on a knotwork pattern. They use it to profit extensively, both on Gruinmarkt and on Earth, until a lost member, Miriam Beckstein, discovers them and throws a monkey wrench or two into it.)
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com
"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."
(This is from Stross' Merchant Princes series, for those unfamiliar. A clan of merchants from a parallel earth discover that they have a genetic trait that allows them to jump dimensions when focused on a knotwork pattern. They use it to profit extensively, both on Gruinmarkt and on Earth, until a lost member, Miriam Beckstein, discovers them and throws a monkey wrench or two into it.)
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com
"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."