61st Transformation [text]

[exeggutorhead]

So we're all from different worlds, right? Whole planets full of millions of people.

So what are the odds that people who know each other show up all the time? They've got to be astronomical, but we can almost EXPECT it to happen.

I'm from one of those worlds that isn't one with Europe and America and all that. And almost everyone who's ever shown up and heard of my country? Either I've known them or someone else here has. And every single one of them has been from the same time period of a few years. Nobody I only knew from, say, a hundred years ago ever shows up.

[Random Joe Notinvolved from Amestris should by all rights appear so why doesn't that happen? This is something he thinks about on and off, but after his conversation with Jimmy the other day, it's itching at his mind again.]

Has anyone else noticed something like this?

Comments

[Text]

[francia]

[France is at a work, but, dang, it's a slow day.]

I have had people come from much further back than a hundred years. Romano and Spain, for example. But I do seem to be very much in the minority for that.

It's also interesting that people don't seem to come from the future of their worlds. At least, I don't recall an example of anyone who is more than a handful of years ahead of their world cohort.

This discussion is always best over a bottle of good wine. Want me to bring one home in a couple of hours?

[Text]

[exeggutorhead]

Hm, yeah there is that for you. But Greed and I, or any of the homunculi from that other Amestris, could have come from any time over the centuries. But it's always been those few years. It's WEIRD.

People come from a long way in the past in your world, like Miguel and Tulio did. But not from mine. I wonder if there's anything to that or if it's just a frustrating coincidence.

...I'll have to ask people about the future thing, too.

[This is all RIDICULOUS.]

yes wine is starting to sound really good

[Text]

[francia]

I'll bring snacks, too. I'll message you when I leave work.

[When his shift ends, France packs up a bottle of one of the red wines he finds dependably passable and bags a tray of almonds and cashews. On his way out, he texts:]

Have the things. Are you home?

[video]

[paladinlost]

It's mostly the same for me, except that everyone from my world or from the previous world I visited came from seventeen years ago. I'll be the first to say it was a memorable year, but that's still no explanation.

[video]

[exeggutorhead]

[After what France mentioned about people from the future, this is very relevant!]

So you're from a world without Europe in it, too?

[Yes this is how he's going to classify Earth.]

Someone else mentioned that people don't seem to come from too far in the future from everyone else they know...did you show up here from that time, or have one of those comas?

[video]

[paladinlost]

I am. I'd never heard of it before I arrived here.

[And yet his world is also called Earth. Because.]

I've never fallen asleep like that. When I first arrived, past friends from that other world were already present. Then others arrived, and friends from home after that... All from the same year, and all long gone.

[crouching_sin]

[... Huh. That's interesting.]

Maybe whatever draws us here is interested in more recent history.

... Also, you're over a hundred years old?

[exeggutorhead]

Only recent history from a few worlds?

I've known people from that Europe place who were from 1518, and people from it who were from 2010.

Are you from somewhere that has Europe?

[Oh and there's that question, but Envy's given up on caring about that being a secret.]

Yeah, almost 400. No idea what the exact year is.

[crouching_sin]

I'm from Japan in 2009, so that's close. And yes, Europe definitely exists.

[... Oh. Well then.]

You must be bored. I imagine you've seen quite a lot.

[text]

[explosivecombat]

This is something I've questioned repeatedly myself; the closest answer I've found so far is that most here seem to have either been involved in a major event - affecting either the world in general or just a sufficient number of people, whatever "sufficient" may happen to be in their world's case (the criteria seems to be different based on the state of their world in general) - or, if they weren't involved, they at least witnessed it or stood to be affected by it in some way.

Basically, an impact was made and this world noticed.

[text]

[exeggutorhead]

See, that makes at least some sense.

It'd go along with what happened with that giraffe thing bringing us to fight those morons and their apocalypse a few months ago. I asked it why it chose who it did, and it said it chose who was needed, like it knew something. If that thing has anything to do with us being brought here, why not pick the kind of people who wind up involved in changing the world?

Still, though. I've been doing things that have an impact on Amestris for a long time, and so have others like me. Other worlds get people from all kinds of times brought in. But not us.

[text]

[explosivecombat]

That's an entirely fair point - if the sole thing that warrants people being chosen is the capacity to change the world, I can think of at least two people who absolutely should be here but never have been, to my knowledge.

Perhaps it requires a specific sort of event to trigger it?

Text

[a_sin_for_him]

An interesting point. I've never much thought about it, all things considered. But it does seem rather beyond the realm of coincidence that we've all been brought here from within a few years of one another, and all have connections to one another.

Text

[exeggutorhead]

Doesn't it?

The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. How do you do this all the time?

[HE'S JUST GETTING FRUSTRATED.]

[armoredsoul]

[...goddamnit, why did you have to pick an interesting topic, Envy. Maybe if he keeps to text they won't bite each other's head off.]

It might be that to be able to be 'found' we have to meet some specific set of circumstances, whether through our lives or personality. The choice can't be random, but I can't figure out why the worlds similar to our parallel one are more represented.

[exeggutorhead]

[Oh, it's you....actually, this is good because come to think of it, he has a question for Alphonse specifically. He can at least be civil for through text for two seconds.]

Seems like almost everyone around here is from that one, or something like it. Amestris has been an outlier the whole time I've been here, even if there are sometimes a lot of us.

There's only been one person who I couldn't find out if anyone knew him. Do you know some snotty teenager named Russell?

video;

[majorcrotchgrab]

I never noticed since hardly anyone from my world has been here. I did meet two people that was from almost 50 years in the future though. I only found out by accident that we were from the same place.

But one person I knew prior who arrived here was from 6 years in the past. It was... odd.

video;

[exeggutorhead]

Hmm, weird. So what are the countries in your world called, then?

[Right now, he's assuming that Raikov is from one of those non-Earth outliers.]

Fifty years in the future is the biggest difference anyone's told me so far.

[text]

[enjoymyatelier]

I've always assumed that it had something to do with being connected to some sort of event... usually something astronomical, but as long as it's something that can connect a reasonably large group of people through varying levels of association, it seems to count. I have encountered people from the distant past here, but they're special cases that were involved in an event that also involved me.

Though, there are always people who were apparently just living out their daily lives before arriving here, which makes it... odd.

They tend to be more fascinating than most, though, so perhaps that's it?

[text]

[exeggutorhead]

People being connected by some big event has been the most likely answer so far. It's still got holes, but it's got less of them.

I know I've never met anyone here whose life has been completely BORING. That's got to have something to do with it.

[text]

[walkersystem]

youre a hundred years old?

_{[This is what she's going to take away from it, yeah.]}

[text]

[exeggutorhead]

[IT'S OKAY, MOLLY. You weren't the only one to notice that his age sure is a thing.]

Almost four hundred, actually.

text

[goestoextremes]

Yeah, the odds of that happening are astronomical and I wouldn't exactly expect it to happen. Or them to stay around if they show up, though my best friend is still here and she's been here before me.

[Still. It's not like she's taking it for granted, that Asami will stay here... That wouldn't be a good way of thinking in a place like this.]

We don't have Europe, America or Japan and those others in my world either. No one's ever heard of it either unless they're from there or heard about it from someone here. But Katara's been here from -- way before I was even born, or before my parents were born even. So that's different than your few years. I know some of her friends have been here, and I think a friend or two from my time back home might have been here for a little while too, but now it's only Asami and me. Not that I mind. At least I don't think someone like my first incarnation from 10 000 years ago has ever been here, but who knows, he might show up one day.

[Text]

[foolishwren]

I've thought about this a few times

Pretty much come to the conclusion that however we all wind up here, it's not random

I couldn't tell you what the selection process is, but it's definitely not random

[Text]

[exeggutorhead]

If it was random, there wouldn't be much point in wondering

but there's no way it could be.