Plot x 2!
As the incongruities have become a problem, now, over two years after the experiment began, the realities have become completely real. Hurray for breaking free of a false world! They should be proud of themselves for protesting the unreality of their lives, because now all of their actions will have real consequences.
Because all realities are real, they no longer overlap. They are fully functional universes. You can't see someone in the middle of Hyde Park while they see you in the middle of Nottingham Forest. While this seems like it would reduce random encounters in a home reality, in actuality, the Machine now occasionally moves people from one reality to another back again. These can last for seconds or, theoretically, forever. Mergers work like they did before, literally bringing universes together.
Unfortunately, as the NPCs are also real and are now fully integrated into the Machine's network of universes, they can notice bizarre Plane-related events. That includes mergers. Though mergers function the same as before, NPCs might find a reason to protest if a building suddenly pops up out of nowhere. On the other hand, subtler mergers - the sudden functionality of magic, incongruous technology, that sort of thing - are harder to notice, and may help NPCs make less of a fuss about unexpected buildings coming out of nowhere. More longstanding changes are more likely to be ignored than newer ones, and one oughtn't underestimate the power of SEP. Ultimately, how willing NPCs are in accepting the changes is up to you.
While some characters may see this as a perfectly good reason to avoid getting close to anyone on the Plane, they will find that the Machine has other plans. At player discretion, characters who decide to avoid or reverse mergers may experience sleeplessness, increased nightmares, or even phantoms of pain until they reverse their decision. They may also hear a voice telling them that these connections are needed.
Now, that is about as far as the Machine can go as far as real-making goes. But wait, there's more! Compact in one post for your reading pleasure:
Deathmatches:
Now that the Machine has finally settled in, it wants blood. Your characters' blood. A few NPCs from one of the worlds will announce it to the characters later, but the long and the short of it is this:
Characters will be paired off for death matches in the Coliseum. The combatants for each round will be announced ahead of time, so characters will have a bit of time to prepare, and players will have time to discuss if they like. Characters may bring whatever they want to the Coliseum, but they must fight alone. The fights are to the death; if one person does not die before the time limit is up, both will be killed. All other characters are free to watch the event. There will even be free food! Forcefields will prevent spectators from interfering. Each character only has to fight once; it is not a tournament. It will be like this, now with added death.
This is a voluntary plot, for obvious reasons, and each match will end in a death, one way or another. If you want to volunteer your character for a deathmatch, comment to this post with their name. The post is screened for extra mystery about who goes into combat with whom. It's like The Lottery meets The Most Dangerous Game, Roman-style, in Space!
Because all realities are real, they no longer overlap. They are fully functional universes. You can't see someone in the middle of Hyde Park while they see you in the middle of Nottingham Forest. While this seems like it would reduce random encounters in a home reality, in actuality, the Machine now occasionally moves people from one reality to another back again. These can last for seconds or, theoretically, forever. Mergers work like they did before, literally bringing universes together.
Unfortunately, as the NPCs are also real and are now fully integrated into the Machine's network of universes, they can notice bizarre Plane-related events. That includes mergers. Though mergers function the same as before, NPCs might find a reason to protest if a building suddenly pops up out of nowhere. On the other hand, subtler mergers - the sudden functionality of magic, incongruous technology, that sort of thing - are harder to notice, and may help NPCs make less of a fuss about unexpected buildings coming out of nowhere. More longstanding changes are more likely to be ignored than newer ones, and one oughtn't underestimate the power of SEP. Ultimately, how willing NPCs are in accepting the changes is up to you.
While some characters may see this as a perfectly good reason to avoid getting close to anyone on the Plane, they will find that the Machine has other plans. At player discretion, characters who decide to avoid or reverse mergers may experience sleeplessness, increased nightmares, or even phantoms of pain until they reverse their decision. They may also hear a voice telling them that these connections are needed.
Now, that is about as far as the Machine can go as far as real-making goes. But wait, there's more! Compact in one post for your reading pleasure:
Deathmatches:
Now that the Machine has finally settled in, it wants blood. Your characters' blood. A few NPCs from one of the worlds will announce it to the characters later, but the long and the short of it is this:
Characters will be paired off for death matches in the Coliseum. The combatants for each round will be announced ahead of time, so characters will have a bit of time to prepare, and players will have time to discuss if they like. Characters may bring whatever they want to the Coliseum, but they must fight alone. The fights are to the death; if one person does not die before the time limit is up, both will be killed. All other characters are free to watch the event. There will even be free food! Forcefields will prevent spectators from interfering. Each character only has to fight once; it is not a tournament. It will be like this, now with added death.
This is a voluntary plot, for obvious reasons, and each match will end in a death, one way or another. If you want to volunteer your character for a deathmatch, comment to this post with their name. The post is screened for extra mystery about who goes into combat with whom. It's like The Lottery meets The Most Dangerous Game, Roman-style, in Space!