The_Guild	It happens like he says, Adenhyal's ship lifting off and docking several minutes later in orbit with the Guild Frigate. You are given a small room and time to clean up, given fresh clothes, food, and anything else you need.
Lopez	I change...Don't really need to eat much (about one square meal a day to basically feed the brain and give tne nano-bots raw organic materials to work with) Ok...I remember to affix my Mashall's Badge to the clothes.
The_Guild	Done. Mr. Clairune meets you in the forward lounge after you've eaten. He sits in one of several soft chairs facing a large viewport beyond which the shimmeringly radiant bands of spacebend (a phenomenon of high velocity space travel) is visible.
Lopez Stareing out porthole
Lopez	So what's it like out there...in other dimensions?
The_Guild	"In some dimensions you wouldn't know you've left home. Others are so different that sanity is shredded the instant you step through the portal. But if a resident of one of those dimensions were to enter, say, this dimension, their minds would likewise be crushed." "I suppose the simple answer is... other dimensions are 'different.'"
Lopez	Ahhh...so how do you deal with Crossing into Dimensions that as you say would shred your sanity?
The_Guild	"Simple. In most cases, you avoid it." Mr. Clairune smiles slightly, nibbling on a cracker topped with a fluff of cheese.
Lopez	I see..you Id be sent to places wher I wouldn't turn into a gibbering heap of Scrap metal?
The_Guild	"We like to preserve our assets as best we can, yes."
Lopez	I see...just out of Curiosity...I'm guessing that this Universe isn't yet fully initatated as yo put it...how far off from being Initiated is it?
The_Guild	"Fully initiated into the secret brotherhood of dimension hoppers? No. Though phase drives are a step closer, there are still several major stumbling blocks to overcome before Ascendance."
Lopez	I see...well its good to know I guess
The_Guild	"Indeed. Many dimensions regularly stray toward the edge of dimensional travel, but few ever actually attain it in all aspects. It's a difficult concept to grasp, but the more advanced a civilization becomes, the more difficult it becomes for them to travel between dimensions."
Lopez	Interesting...So where do we go from here?
The_Guild	From here we go to the Guild Office in "From here we go to the Guild Office in the Regency. It is the original Guild Office here in your dimension, and the only place we are permitted to TransLoc to and from."
Lopez Nods
Lopez	but after what then?
The_Guild	"Then you will go to Shar Torin, the home dimension of The Guild, for orientation and training. From there, you will travel beyond to new dimensions, to explore and evaluate their potential, and defend them from threats like the Void, which they have no ability to defend themselves from."
Lopez	Wow...sorry just trying to take it all in I guess. *Lopez Shrugs* guess I'll see it when I get there
The_Guild	"You certainly will. Oh, by the way," Mr. Clairune reaches for a small case tucked under his chair, a polished box of limey brown Gaogek wood, carved with a detailed triangular symbol. "A gift for you."
Lopez picks up Box "what's this?"
The_Guild	[Gaogek is a type of ironwood was once found on a planet in the Carueh system, which was nuked into nothingness long ago. Now the few trees and the products made of the wood are extremely valuable.]
Lopez	This...this belongs in a museum!
The_Guild	"A sort of victory trophy. Adenhyal's knife." The box is lined with dark green silky velvet, and nestled in it is the ornately bejeweled monomolecular dagger that the Void Priest had once wielded."
Lopez	*sardonic Grin* how fitting
The_Guild	"I thought so too."
Lopez	Now if it only turned into a pistol *Lopez Laughs*
The_Guild	Mr. Clairune smiles slightly, sipping the wine accompanying the crackers. "Maybe for your birthday, if you're good."
Lopez	i can't Even Remember my Birhtday...I haven't celebrated for a long time
The_Guild	"That means you can just make it up whenever you'd like."
Lopez	True enough
The_Guild	Mr. Clairune motions to the shimmering spacebend surrounding the ship. "The colors are the mind's way of conceiving that this ship is moving unbelieveably fast. The mind can't perceive the concept, so it compensates by perceiving the simpler concept of color as a representative force."
Lopez nods his understanding
The_Guild	"This phenomenon repeats itself when you enter a new dimension. On one hand, your mind cannot accept the fact that you are in a different reality, that what it perceives does not conform to what it expects. But at the same time, the dimension that did not conceive you cannot perceive you."
Lopez	So i'm invisible in another Dimension? and its invisible to me?
The_Guild	"This is not to say that the dimension and it's inhabitants will ignore you, no. What this means is that your actions will change the predestination of the dimension, and the dimension will alter your predestiny, because the interaction between you and it had never been conceived."
Lopez	Which means?
The_Guild	"Which means that the life or death of any dimension you enter may rest in your hands."
Lopez	you've Lost me there
The_Guild	"If a man is destined to become a great leader in his dimension, then there is nothing in his dimension that will prevent him from achieving that goal. But if you show up and, say, bump into him while walking down the street one day, that simple interaction with you may very well change the course of his life."
Lopez	So the old thought experiment about time travel go back in time Step on a bug and alter the course of history for an entire planet
The_Guild	"Precisely." "In this case though, no paradox occurs, because your origins are outside the Realm being altered."
Lopez	*nod* but I can later the fate of an entire Dimension
The_Guild	"Precisely. And on a more personal level, your own fate becomes indeterminate."
Lopez	Until I leave said Dimension?
The_Guild	Mr. Clairune shakes his head. "From the moment you met me, your fate has been indeterminate. It will remain so until the end of your life."
Lopez	Wonderful
The_Guild	He chuckles quietly, dusting his hands of cracker crumbs. "Believe me, fate is highly overrated. Even if I could tell you what your fate was to be, it would only be a step along the path toward your true fate."
Lopez	*shug* ohh well didn't really know my fate either...so not much has changed then..or a whole bunch has changed but I don't know about it...*Shrug* Either way
The_Guild	"It is a vital warning, however. The more you interfere in a dimension, the more likely things will go wrong. A dimension will usually have countermeasures to balance out interference, but too much meddling is rarely good. Your missions will involve a lot of observation, sometimes a few subtle nudges, but rarely any direct, extended contact with natives." Again he chuckles, nodding. "Having a fate is a great comfort to some, a great worry to others... but if you don't know either way, there's no sense in fretting about it."
Lopez	ahhh so If I'm sent to a preindustrial Realm..best not to let them *pokes Skin* see whats just under skin deep then
The_Guild	"That would be a wise decision, yes. Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories."
Lopez	No worries then
The_Guild	Mr. Clairune rises and bows slightly to you. "If you have any more questions before we reach the Guild Office, have me paged and I will answer them for you. Have a good night, Mr. Gordon." The rest of the trip is relatively uneventful, and you reach the Regency Guild Office a few days later.
Lopez	Sure thing...this is getting to be cool