The nice thing about choosing timelines is, well, you get the opportunity to choose your actions with a lot more information than a normal person would. The not so nice thing about choosing timelines at [checkpoints] is, well - beside the mental anguish of never really knowing whether you made the right decision, all the while inwardly battling with yourself over the concept of what a right decision would actually look like, pondering the meaning of the word right in and of itself - you have to choose. Basically, you're stuck here until you choose, as long as you have this [skill]. Unless you someday decide to rid yourself of it, that will always be the case now for you when you reach a [checkpoint].
Kahli looked at the big jellyfish in awe. Wow, she thought, That's a pretty heavy burden. Is there any real reason why I have to? Can I, um, can I put it on auto if I want to?
Yea, so, putting it on auto disables your [skill]. This is a large part of [Seismic Sense] as it applies to your specific system configuration and oversized left foot implementation, said the jellyfish simply.
Oh, okay, said Kahli. That kind of sucks.
Yea, well, life kind of sucks, too. I don't envy you living things sometimes. So fucking glad I'm not alive.
Kahli scowled.
Hey, you'll mess up the plaster on your face if you scowl like that! It's a bad habit!
You're not my dad, you're just a big jellyfish! thought Kahli at the big jellyfish.
Yea whatever, go ahead and choose a timeline already Kahli, said the jellyfish in mind-speak.
Kahli stared into the abyss of nothingness that contained herself and the big jellyfish. Um, how do I do that?
You use your foot.
Kahli didn't understand. Then, she looked down at her big left foot, and all was immediately clear. There were three circles under her foot, three glowing orbs within each Kahli could see ghosting visions of future events. Very near future events.
Oh, now I see it, thought Kahli.
She looked at each scenario. They were all very brief.
[Now viewing scenario 1]
Kahli watched as all of the lights on the spinning dial lit up and Hauff smiled with a flick of the tassel on his tacky headdress.
"This is beautiful. Truly beautiful, I'm so glad we're all here to see the glory of the Gate!" he cackled.
The mayor and Omar, too, began to cackle, though they both looked admittedly fairly uncomfortable with the whole thing. Suddenly the entire dial started to glow a deep, dark red.
"Is it supposed to do that shit?" asked Omar.
"Uh, um, well, I mean-"
"OH FUCK!!"
Before Hauff could mumble out any sort of coherent response there was a huge boom and everything went black.
[You died]
[End scenario]
Wait, what?! thought Kahli. I just saw a timeline where I died?
Yup, funny how this [skill] works sometimes, said the jellyfish.
Why would I choose that? Why even show me that one, if there are supposedly endless different timelines? Why am I stuck with three?
Well, first of all, there's only so much system memory we have to work with here, thought-spoke the big jellyfish. Plus, your skill is admittedly low level at the moment. You need to level it up more to get better effects. These are just the three closest timelines to your current line of experience.
Stolen story; please report.
Kahli thought that was fair enough. She just hoped there was at least one timeline available where she didn't end up dying.
[Now viewing scenario 2]
The dial spun faster and faster. Everyone was transfixed. They stared at it with awe and greed and excitement, it looked like they'd just opened the key to some huge, awful power.
The dial stopped moving and faded away to reveal a strange, two-dimensional space in an otherwise three-dimensional reality.
"What the hell is this thing?" asked Kahli.
"It's the Gate," replied Hauff matter-of-factly. "And it's going to open the key to more inexplicable power than you could possibly imagine. For those of us with systems, heh, imagine it this way - What if you could open up a hole in the structure of reality itself? What if you could open a door, just a little door, through a technical loophole in the universal configuration settings?”
"A door to where?" asked Omar.
"Omar you dunce, I've already told you all this! I was talking to your apprentice."
"Oh. Uh. Sorry. I didn't say anything, my stomach just gurgled because I'm kind of peckish and it sounded like I asked a question."
"Oh, okay," said Hauff. "Well, as I was saying... Imagine there was a partition that the hole you just bored could access and it held a piece of the data that forms a part of the universal system record. So imagine you opened a little door that let you step inside where some of the universal system data is. You just open that file and then of course you get blocked by... let's call them the sentries. And the sentries tell you, they say to you in their weird sentry language from another dimension that you don't belong there and that you need to go back to your own dimension. They explain to you that you could permanently corrupt your own conscious experience. They mention that there is even a risk you could end up destroying yourself. The sentries say you cannot be trusted and you must go away. The sentries aren't real, by the way, they're just a metaphor for how this strange, universal-systemic dimension functions. But say you get told 'no' by the sentries, so you go away. That's normally what happens when someone tries to dig into the data. However, if you're very, veeery smart, you can circumvent all those safeguards. You can slip past the sentries by telling them that you'll go away, and convincing them that you have, but really you don't go away. Instead, you just stay there and wait for the sentries to leave and go about their business, convinced wholly that you've gone back to your own dimension. Of course, this is all a terrible deception. You know what you've truly done, you've spoofed them, you've put on a puppet of yourself and pretended indeed that you have left, but you are still right there, and you are just waiting to see. Finally, they leave. They go away, and now you can play. That's what this dial does. The dial gets us past the sentries and keeps them distracted with a lie so that we can enter their files unhindered. So now we go in there and we've got unfiltered access to a very special partition of our very own reality. Keep in mind, I've divined this Gate wheel to be incredibly specific."
"Okay..." said Kahli, a little confused. "But what exactly do you do with it? Like, what's the point, what's the goal?"
"The goal of course is to get past the sentries and gain access to the partition. Then, we'll enter the partition and the real fun begin-"
[End scenario]
Are you serious? Kahli thought with frustration. Like, it just cut off! I didn't even get to see what would happen or even the end of Hauff's sentence.
The jellyfish’s voice boomed in Kahli’s head with frustration. I need to stress that while this [skill] is very powerful, it is still at a substantially low level. You are presently unable to see very far into the future. You can see far enough to do something about it but you are limited substantially in seeing how far each scenario goes. For all you know, Kahli, the entire cavern caves in the second after Hauff stops talking. There's no way to see past where you are right now without leveling up your [Seismic Sense]. I'm sorry but, as they say, 'thems the breaks.'
Kahli never thought she'd hear a big jellyfish tell her 'thems the breaks' while speaking with her telepathically. However, Kahli also never expected to see a big jellyfish at all, so she figured it was just as well.
[Now viewing scenario 3]
The wheel kept on turning, faster and faster.
"Wow, it's going really fucking fast," said Omar.
Suddenly, a horrible buzzing noise rung through the cavern.
"Gods, what is that?" asked Omar.
"No idea," said Hauff. "The Gate seems to be powering up correctly. I wouldn't worry about it."
"It's a bee! It's a bee!" cried the mayor.
"I'll protect you, mayor!" said Omar with determination.
"Protect the mayor?" Hauff raised an eyebrow over his wooden face.
"I'm deathly allergic to bees!" cried the mayor. "And yes, I do find it very embarrassing, thanks for asking!"
"Die, foul bee, destroyer of mayors!" cried Omar as he summoned his blade of flame. "I will smite thee!"
Omar jumped and dashed around the cavern, missing the bee again and again, but coming dreadfully close to the Gate in the process.
"Watch where you swing that thing!" cried Hauff. But it was too late.
"Death to all bees!" shrieked Omar as he swung at the chunky little buzzer. However, unfortunately enough, he tripped and completely missed hitting the bee. Instead Omar stumbled as if the floor were made of banana peels and slammed his flaming blade into the Gate.
"NOOOO!!" cried Hauff as a huge crack shot through the wheel. In a burst of blue light all the symbols and their power shot out in a blur and then faded to dark nothingness. The Gate was effectively destroyed.
[End scenario]
Wow. That was... wow, thought Kahli. What do I do now?
There's only one thing you can do, Kahli, responded the big jellyfish. You have to choose a timeline.