Splinterverse Info

Please remember we do not publish excessive profanity or sexually explicit scenes.

BACKGROUND

In the year ca. 2470, a team of Immortals on Earth cracked the problem of time travel. But only for very short hops: first seconds, then minutes, then days. After a series of dramatic setbacks and accidents while they wrestled with power source problems, they finally had enough power to open a stable portal to 1000 BCE.

But as they monitored through the portal, they discovered something unbelievable: the night sky did not have stars.

To compensate for potential paradoxes, the time travel process split off a new world, a copy of the earth at that moment in time. And while the energy they used was enough to create a world, and a sun, and even some of the solar system, it wasn’t enough for any more.

This new world now existed in a pocket universe, all by itself.

As they continued to experiment, they learned they could reopen a portal to an existing world without the huge power requirements. But every time there was an attempt at a new time, it took immense, nearly impossible amounts of power. Over the next fifty years, they were only able to create another dozen worlds, all at different times in history.

The worlds themselves are virtually unaware of the Immortals, time travel, and their own status as a pocket universe. They are mostly aware that something drastic happened to make the stars disappear, which impacts their worlds and culture, as do any experiments the Immortals may have used their universe to perform. But humans in every universe somehow manage to adapt.

Most Splinterverse stories are near-future or revisionist-history stories, but the interference of the Immortals can also make for some drastically varied and interesting worlds, themes, challenges, and subgenres.

You are welcome to tie into the bigger Splinterverse in some way (including easter eggs, cameos of splinter-hopping background characters, etc.) if you have read the established books, but it isn’t at all required. Let us know if you would like to do this and need some ideas, or if you need more information.


SOME UNIVERSE RULES

  • The splinter-worlds exist in a parallel dimension, mostly unaware of each other.
  • There are no stars on the splinter-worlds other than Earth Prime, though some of the planets in our solar system might still exist and be visible.
  • It is extremely unlikely that these Earth worlds will have the same history. After one generation, the entire population could be completely different. 
  • Even if any of the splinters somehow become aware of each other, travel between splinter-worlds is very difficult. It requires finding or creating a portal between dimensions. This should be almost completely unknown on most worlds except by a small minority—those in power, some rogues, or some underground groups.
  • Because of the power requirements, there are a limited number of splinter-worlds. Right now the number is 15.
  • The time periods of when splinter-worlds were created AND when the stories are set (which could be decades or even centuries later depending on how early the splinter formed) are also wide open, ranging from prehistoric to late 2300s.


POSSIBILTIES & IDEAS

  • There could be worlds splintered in the far past where humans didn't develop as the dominant species.
  • Technology from one world could have been left in the past on another world, which could be a tech boost for those worlds, or have other unusual consequences.
  • The splintering could have other consequences on the splinter-worlds: different gravity, a couple of splinter-worlds that are connected and you can travel easily between them, etc.
  • Magic systems could exist if they were an outcropping or consequence of the Splintering, or some technology (being created on that world, or from a more advanced world).
  • A world might have unusual animal life or biomes as a result of a splinter being created far enough in the past to affect evolution.
  • Maybe there are some supernatural phenomena as a result of the splinters.
  • There may be a world that knows all about the Splinterverse, where anyone there can get a visa to travel to the other worlds if they fill out the right paperwork and pass the right background checks.


GENERAL WRITING GUIDELINES

  • You do not need to have read any of the current in-universe books to contribute. So far, all the books in the Splinterverse are stand-alone, with generally no knowledge of one another.
  • Keep anthology stories under 10,000 words and at a PG13 level or below.

 

ESTABLISHED WORLDS

Here are the current worlds, many of which are still wide open. Stories already set in a world will be listed in brackets.

Earth Prime [Mere Moral]

This is our world in the future. World populated mostly by Immortals who created the time travel technology and the splinters. In general, it’s at least 400 years ahead of the other worlds because of when they started going back in time, and how far back into the past they went.

S01 - Brukanaz

This splinter was created in the year 2470 on Earth Prime. Local time within the splinter was approximately 2040.

First world splintered. Created by accident, and for a while the immortals didn’t know it existed.

It is not even a full world, splintered with only enough energy to generate a partial planet, with no sun or solar system. Of course, the world was thrown into chaos. It is unknown whether anyone survived.

S02 - Agartha

Splinter created in the year 2475 on Earth Prime. Local time  approximately 1100 BCE.

This was the second attempt at time travel. At this point they realized they needed a lot more power than they thought, as compared to the first failed attempt. Once they had enough energy to generate a whole solar system, this splinter was successful and they went back in time to 1100 BCE. At some point they realized this was now a new world.

They set up their bases in secret caverns underground and started watching ancient history unfold.

S03 - ?

Splinter created in the year 2480 on Earth Prime. Local time undefined. 

Undefined world

S04 - Lumen [Splinter’s Edge]

Splinter created in the year 2484 on Earth Prime. Local time approximately 1951.

In response to the loss of the stars, a global initiative in the 1950s launched satellites designed to release bioluminescent spheres into orbit, attempting to recreate the lost night sky. The spheres quickly failed, leaving behind a uniform glow that cast the entire sky—day and night—in an eerie green hue.

Technological progress accelerated rapidly. By 2013, short-hop time travel (a few days into the past) was possible. Now on the brink of discovering the Splinterverse, the world is governed by a Technocracy, featuring self-driving cars, advanced green technology, and a hidden class of self-aware artificial intelligence.

S05 - ?

Splinter created in the year 2490 on Earth Prime. Local time undefined.

Undefined world

S06 - ?

Splinter created in the year 2495 on Earth Prime. Local time undefined.

Undefined world

S07 - Thunderstruck [The Dissection and Reassembly of Cohen Hoard]

Splinter created in the year 2498 on Earth Prime. Local time approximately 2011.

A world created with the express purpose to do weather tests. Shortly after the splintering (local time ~2012), technology was placed in the atmosphere that ended up resulting in nightly torrential rain.

This has the impact of slowing down technology advances, and it’s not until around 2030 local time that they have the technology for self-driving cars.

However, there are some in this world by this time that have discovered the Splinterverse, and do some travel and communication between worlds. It’s unknown if they discovered this on their own, or if they found tech or portals left behind by others.

S08 - Spectre Alpha

Splinter created in the year 2500 on Earth Prime. Local time approximately 1836.

Splintered in the local year sometime before 1867. Not long after the splinter, the time-travel tech was brought over, and utilized in Spectre Alpha, which caused a new splinter based on Alpha, Spectre Beta. They went back in time to just before the original splinter, to see if they could, and what the impact would be. 

Because Beta was splintered from Alpha, the two are tightly entangled. People in Spectre Beta are visible in Spectre Alpha as fuzzy incorporeal outlines. The dates are very close, so all the buildings exist in both, which means the “ghosts” walk up stairs, down streets, along paths, etc. 

S09 - Spectre Beta ["Oracle, Inc."]

Splinter created in the year 2503 on Earth Prime. Local time approximately 1836. 

Splintered from Spectre Alpha, some time in the local year before 1867. Some people in Spectre Beta can see those in Spectre Alpha, but rather than seeing them as ghosts, they believe they are seeing the future.

S10 - ?

Splinter created in the year 2506 on Earth Prime. Local time undefined.

Undefined world

S11 - ?

Splinter created in the year 2509 on Earth Prime. Local time undefined.

Undefined world

S12 - Niflheim

Splinter created in the year 2511 on Earth Prime. Local time approximately 2034.

Shortly after splintering, this world took action to do something about global warming that caused a new ice-age. Most of the inhabitants of the world died due to exposure or starvation. Most or all utilities are offline, including gas, power, internet, telephone. The survivors mostly congregate in small communities, underground or inside stable buildings, where they grow their own food, and trade with other communities or people for other supplies.

S13 - ?

Splinter created in the year 2513 on Earth Prime. Local time undefined.

Undefined world

S14 - ?

Splinter created in the year 2514 on Earth Prime. Local time undefined.

Undefined world

S15 - Quietus ["Into the Void"]

Splinter created in the year 2516 on Earth Prime. Local time approximately 2040.

A world created with no solar system, specifically to test the results of a world without a sun.