This is why I use a word processor to type responses. My mobile broadband konked out the moment I
told it to post, and I lost my post.
But: Foxboy has
pretty much hit it on the head. The
world dictates which actions are valid or invalid within it, not the
characters.
More to the point: characters will view a world through the
lens of their homeworld (or, multiple worlds, in Rose’s case). To the Fen, Handwavium is an incredibly
useful, if unpredictable, tool. Mildly annoying,
but more useful than anything else. To
Rose, it’s a terrifyingly-potent reality-altering substance. It’s a capricious, unpredictable,
god-in-a-can. And in Warhammer 40,000, Rogue Trader those
same Fen would be answering some very unpleasant questions to a very unpleasant
Inquisitor. Yet the Fen would be gob
smacked by Holly “Red Velvet” Brandt.
She’s a force-field-clad (if you’re lucky, that’s not all she’s wearing),
flying energy projector. But, in SSD, she’s
one of many supers. The only thing that
makes her interesting is that she’s drop-dead gorgeous and makes a living as a
super-model. Aurora 108, a Final Fantasy-esque Summoner is terrifying
almost anywhere she goes—but, in worlds where summoning doesn’t work, she’s
pretty helpless (though she’s a decent shot with a laser pistol). Fen meeting her the first time, seeing her summon
a creature from nothing, would be
unable to explain it. Handwavium wouldn’t
let her create something so outright dangerous.
But, again, it all comes down to perceptions. To the Fen, Handwavium appears to be a useful
tool. And, to them it is. To visitors, it’s a very dangerous tool. The fact that it allows people to do things
that, by all accounts, are impossible due to the rules they know from their
world will simply enforce the belief that it’s dangerous.
told it to post, and I lost my post.
But: Foxboy has
pretty much hit it on the head. The
world dictates which actions are valid or invalid within it, not the
characters.
More to the point: characters will view a world through the
lens of their homeworld (or, multiple worlds, in Rose’s case). To the Fen, Handwavium is an incredibly
useful, if unpredictable, tool. Mildly annoying,
but more useful than anything else. To
Rose, it’s a terrifyingly-potent reality-altering substance. It’s a capricious, unpredictable,
god-in-a-can. And in Warhammer 40,000, Rogue Trader those
same Fen would be answering some very unpleasant questions to a very unpleasant
Inquisitor. Yet the Fen would be gob
smacked by Holly “Red Velvet” Brandt.
She’s a force-field-clad (if you’re lucky, that’s not all she’s wearing),
flying energy projector. But, in SSD, she’s
one of many supers. The only thing that
makes her interesting is that she’s drop-dead gorgeous and makes a living as a
super-model. Aurora 108, a Final Fantasy-esque Summoner is terrifying
almost anywhere she goes—but, in worlds where summoning doesn’t work, she’s
pretty helpless (though she’s a decent shot with a laser pistol). Fen meeting her the first time, seeing her summon
a creature from nothing, would be
unable to explain it. Handwavium wouldn’t
let her create something so outright dangerous.
But, again, it all comes down to perceptions. To the Fen, Handwavium appears to be a useful
tool. And, to them it is. To visitors, it’s a very dangerous tool. The fact that it allows people to do things
that, by all accounts, are impossible due to the rules they know from their
world will simply enforce the belief that it’s dangerous.