On Mon, Oct 12, 2026 at 9:24 PM dbernat <xxxxxx@gol.com> wrote: > Why would Paratimers have limited Styphon to only one timeline? First of all, because that's the way Paratimers operate their trade routes, at least in inhabited sectors. In all the examples Piper gives us, particularly in "Temple Trouble" and "Time Crime", the Paratimers — either legitimate or criminal — set up trading on only individual (never parallel) timelines in inhabited sectors. I'm not suggesting that makes much sense — if a trade route is successful, why not duplicate it in nearly identical conditions? — but that's what the canon says, so we can't just hand-wave that away. (Just speculating here, but perhaps Paratimers have discovered through experience that operating on multiple parallel timelines exponentially increases the risk of exposing the secret of Paratime travel. Given how paranoid they are about keeping out-timers from discovering that secret, that may be a motive strong enough to restrict them to setting up trading only on individual timelines in inhabited sectors.) Second of all, if they were trying to hide the operations (if, for example, they were criminal Paratimers operating a secret trade route), then expanding operations to multiple timelines would greatly increase the risk of exposure. > Local timeline production of gunpowder. Sure. That's the story Piper gives us; the gunpowder is being made locally on Kalvan's timeline, by the House of Styphon. If you're making a point here, I don't see it. > Styphon interest in sulfur has other Paratime interest possibilities. Are you familiar with the expression "carrying coals to Newcastle"? That famously makes no sense, because Newcastle is where they mine coal in massive quantities... or at least they used to, when that expression was popularized. Similarly, it would make absolutely *no* sense for Paratimers to mine sulfur in Kalvan's timeline, using local labor and hand tools, and then rather than use that sulfur to make the gunpowder they make and sell locally, to ship that sulfur to another timeline... ...and then have to go the "bringing coals to Newcastle" route to bring more sulfur in, thru the bottleneck of a Paratime conveyor, from another timeline! Let's not forget that the Kalvan stories involve the Hostigians (is that the right term?) taking over House of Styphon gunpowder works, and using those same manufacturing works to produce their own gunpowder. Let's also not forget the talk from Kalvan's comrades about how extensive the efforts of the House of Styphon have been in harvesting sulfur and saltpeter. If those gunpowder works were fakes, just for show, then the Hostigians would very quickly realize that when they started trying to make their own gunpowder there. Pretty clearly they aren't just *pretending* to make the gunpowder locally! If you want to come up with a highly convoluted conspiracy theory as the basis for a new story line, then of course you are free to do so. But let's not pretend that such a far-fetched conspiracy theory would be based on anything indicated by, or suggested by, the canon. Furthermore, let's not pretend that there isn't very clear evidence given in the canon to demonstrate, beyond any reasonable doubt, that what you're suggesting isn't happening. Such a conspiracy theory would not merely violate Occam's Razor, it would have to blatantly thumb its nose at the principle! * * * * * Several of the Paratime stories mention Paratimers setting up resource gathering on uninhabited timelines, using "native" workers (altho the "natives" or their ancestors originally come from other timelines) under conditions of either economic slavery or even outright chattel slavery. For bulk mining of such raw materials as sulfur, it makes far more sense for Paratimers to source it that way, rather than go thru some sort of convoluted and restrictive method of trade with a late medieval/early renaissance-tech culture, under the guise of a fake religion. Why go thru all that trouble and expense to get a source of sulfur which, from the viewpoint of Paratimers, would be tiny and insignificant? Setting up sulfur mining on an uninhabited timeline, where they don't have to hide their operations, would allow Paratimers to use industrial mining equipment to mine efficiently in large quantities. The sulfur could be shipped by local rail to a large, bulk transit conveyor head, meaning high throughput and low per-ton cost. Contrast with trade using Kalvan's timeline and a fake religion as a cover, restricted by having to hide their operations and hide the conveyor, so throughput for the trade route would be measured in the occasional wagon-load, and the manpower time-and-cost per ton would be dramatically higher. In fact, I don't think you'll find *any* Paratime story where they are trading on a low-tech inhabited timeline for bulk materials, unless you consider gold and silver to be "bulk materials". Trade routes need to operate at a profit, and a high cost in time and manpower, per ton, for a low value bulk resource is *not* the way to turn a profit. --------------------- Down Styphon! —David Sooby
