Commentators

Whatever happened to the Council of Ordered Realities? No one is sure, but someone's put out a catalog of alternate Earths to visit.

Since last our Superhuman World met Ordered Realities (See Related Story), we've had no fewer than three reality shifts. The one in the middle involved Nazis taking over one single merged reality. It affected all the Earths, or at least the ones we could get to. Not all our Earths came out of it. But there are some new variations.

Ordered Realities is still headquartered in Warsaw-St. Lawrence, and they're taking a census. They've found fifty-two alternate Earths. It's as if 52 is a magic number. 52 cards in a deck, 52 weeks in a year, and 52 universes.

The explorers have gone out. And they've reported back.

At one end of the range: All the superhumans and world leaders got devolved to childhood. They're on a preserve together, having playground fights. It's like Li'l Superhuman World 2008.

At the other end: Iran got devastated and reshaped by earthquakes and suspicious mutagens. Now it's got a fast-breeding race of warlike mutates, plus lots of evil magic. Evil sorcerors and surrounding nations are flocking to its leadership, and it's starting a jihad. In other words, Persia is Mordor and the rest of the world is the declining realms of Men. Western forces are under siege in Baghdad, and the jihad's going up the Volga.

In between, there are still these Earths which our world's superhumans have encountered:

• The Pax Polonica (Poland rules the world).
• The Pax Germanica (World War 1).
• The Pax Sovietica (Russians consort with demons), though the peace there is falling apart. In a break with previous policy, the Council of Ordered Realities assembles in a rebellious portion of this Earth.
• Earth-Tyrmj (a world of armed sorcerers). In the opinion of the Council, this isn't just another part of the Land of Dreams.

Some interesting variant Earths are there to visit, like "Eden-Confederacy", "Abraham of Babylon", and "Crackdown 1963". But other superhuman worlds are inaccessible. The Earth of the Pax Universalis (where most of our world's superhumans came from) is still gone.

The results have been published as a tourist brochure. The World Journal Monthly has obtained a copy. If you have a trans-universal portal, feel free to go travelling - but you may still want to stay away from New Mordor.