Re: Star Trek musing

>In our last episode, Richard J. Pugh said:
>>        I've just been reading the Trek posts, and while doing so I was
>>reminded of something from the old "Manual of the Planes" book.  Those of
>>you who have that book, brush off the dust and turn to Appendix I, the bit
>>about Prime Material Planes.
>>
>>        I don't want to go into detail here, but described in this passage
>>is a way of measuring differences in magic, physical characteristics of a
>>prime plane, and so forth.  A typical AD&D universe is given a rating of
>>"zero," in that every other type of world is measured agains this fixed
>>point.
>[Snip]
>>        This system was designed to work with parallel prime material
>>planes, but I don't see why I couldn't also be applied to crystal spheres.
>
>        Speaking of alternate primes, I have a potentially new outlook
>on things.
>
>        What if the "multiple prime" model of the universe still applied?
>Or, a better way of saying it is "What if it *never* applied?"  Since
>spelljamming isn't known to everybody, some people assumed that they
>went to "alternate primes" when travelling the planes, when in reality
>they only ended up in different crystal sphere.  The Phlogiston is the
>"true" Prime Material plane, with crystal spheres being little "pockets"
>of reality (or some such magibabble).
>
>        Does that sound reasonable, or am I hallucinating agian...? (:
>
>-Static

That's been my way of explaining away inconsistencies between spheres
regarding magic availability and natural laws:)

"We look on the same stars,  the sky is common,  the same world surrounds
us.  What difference does it make by what pains each seeks the truth?  We
can not attain to so great a secret by one road..."
Symmachus,  "Memorial on the Occasion of the Removal of the Altar of
Victory from the Senate House" (392 AD)

westermeyer.3@???.edu
Paul William Westermeyer