I fancy myself a writer. Not that I’ve written a lot of fiction, at least on paper. I’ve created characters, stories and worlds for my gaming group, and have other stories knocking around in my skull that I need to write, which I haven’t done as I have self-confidence issues when it comes to writing fiction. In that I think most of what I’ve tried to write sucks.

I have also created many characters for my MMORPG of choice, City of Heroes, which I have been playing since the beta. That’s eight years of characters and story-lines that I’ve played out with my friends that I have made there. I love this game, and could play it forever.

Sadly, the company that runs the game shut it down tonight. No one’s sure why, as the game seems to still be making a profit. There’s a huge effort being put forth by the CoH community to save the game, and I hope that it’s successful, in that either the game’s owners change their minds, or let someone else take over the servers. But it’s a long-shot.

As I’ve thought about this game coming to a close, I’ve thought about all the characters I’ve created, and what their reactions would be to this event. The end of their multiverse. And I’ve thought of transplanting a few to other MMORPGS. Or other games in general. This got me to pondering how characters in CoH would view these other game worlds.

So let me present a piece of useless fiction (useless in that I can’t publish it) from the POV of one of my characters. I hope you enjoy it.

Escape Clause
by
Gary Mitchel

I don’t know for sure why I’m writing this.

Well, that’s not totally true. I’m writing this because I feel like someone has to write something. Someone has to talk about what’s coming. About what’s passed. There should be some kind of document, something that says “We were here! We mattered! We existed!”

But I’m not sure why I’m writing it, as I’ve never really written anything like this before, and to be completely honest, I’m not sure who is ever going to read it. Not with the complete and utter end of the multiverse that’s heading our way.

I suppose I should start from the beginning, though for a lot of you, this is not going to be new information, as I’m going to post this all over the internet, as well as the Longbow, Crey, Portal Corp and Arachnos servers. I’m also spending a lot of cash and burning a few owed favors to get this message out to the magic and psi communities, and over to Praetoria. There are people working together on this that I never expected to see cooperate. But the end of existence will give people some new motivation.

My name is Alphaea. At least, that’s the name anyone who’s heard of me will know. My real name is irrelevant and my own business. I live in Paragon City. I used to belong to an organization called the Knives of Artemis, before they became a bunch of cultists to a death god. Paragon City, known through the multiverse as the City of Heroes. A shining beacon of heroism, justice and all that jazz. Sister city of the Rogue Isles, which is run by a ruthless dictator, under the law of Might Makes Right. I’ve worked in both, and neither is as good or as bad as their publicity and detractors claim.

Both reside in a world where superpowers exist. A world where people fly. Where people can crush cars with their mind. Control the weather. Run at super speed. Faster than a speeding . . . well, you get the idea. A world where the impossible is usually quite possible.

This is why no one is handling the upcoming end very well. Not at all.

It’s not like this hasn’t happened before. Hell, there have been undead uprisings. Alien invasions. The death god that I mentioned before. Power-mad would-be dictators. Other-dimensional gods. Even an impending war from the end of time, which is what we were all worried about, until this new doom was discovered. One that even the time-travelers from the future didn’t see coming.

As I mentioned before, Paragon City is part of a multiverse. There are at least 15 known “prime” dimensions, as the scientists at Portal Corp have explained it to me. Each one is an echo of the others; with some people having versions of themselves existing in all of them, while others are unique to that one dimension.

It all has something to do with quantum mechanics, chaos theory, and some other stuff that’s beyond my pay grade. Then there’s Pretoria, which the Portal guys can’t stop arguing about if it’s a separate dimension, or a pocket dimension, or something, as there’s a Pretoria to go with each of the main 15 universes, and not some single Pretoria.

On top of that, there are the other dimensions, the ones without a Paragon City, or ones where Paragon was destroyed or conquered by various people like the Clockwork King, Requiem or Nemesis. None of that touches on how some of the stranger places, like the Shadow Shard, other mystical realms or time travel factor into all this.

Frankly, thinking too much about all this gives me a headache.

All you need to know is that there are a myriad of universes out there, and almost all of them can be reached via different ways, be it science, magic or some other bizarre way. Each rolling along, going their own way, usually reflecting each other, with people living their lives. Heroes, villains, and everyone in between, doing what they can to survive. People and beings beyond counting.

It can really stagger you to think about how vast that number has to be, and make you wonder about your place in the universe. Your significance. So I try and not think about it, and go day by day. I don’t have the head for that kind of philosophizing. Like I said, it gives me a migraine.

What we didn’t know is that apparently, there were other, even higher dimensions out there, where decisions are made that shaped all the known dimensions. Decisions made by powerful, godlike beings that shaped the general destiny of our worlds. They would set events into motion, like the alien invasions that I mentioned before. Then it was up to all of us to respond to those events. It was up to us to be heroes or villains. To save the world, or to find ways to use these events to our own advantage.

There are a lot of people who’d like to get their hands on these beings, for what they’ve put everyone through. I’m one of them. Though right now, I’d give anything to have them back.

Yes, back. It seems like these beings had even more powerful entities that they worked for, in some way. They kept our universes going, and in their own way, wanted what was best for us. They caused suffering and chaos and death, but at the same time they made it possible for the heroes of these universes to shine. To save the day. To make a difference. In doing that, they kept their superiors happy, and the universes kept on rolling.

Until now.

We don’t know why, but for some reason the greater powers have decided that it’s time for the universes to end. All of them. All at once. All to the surprise of the beings that ran our universes. No warning, no hint that things were not going according to plan. Just . . . the end.

Thankfully, shutting down a multiverse seems to be something that can’t be done quickly or easily. So the guiding beings sent word to us, all of us in all the dimensions, that the end is coming, and that we should prepare.

There are a lot of people trying to fight it. There have been massive gatherings of heroes and villains, all working together, trying to find some way to get these greater beings to stay their hand. Or to pass off control of the multiverse off to other powers that be, and let them keep things going. I’m not sure how that’s supposed to work, as I said before, that’s above my pay grade. It seems like a lost cause, but since when has that stopped heroes from fighting the odds? Who knows, they might even win.

I’d like that. Even if I don’t consider myself a hero.

There are also many who have not taken this news well at all. Some have crawled into bottles of booze or drug-fueled benders. There have been suicides. Some have gone home to their families, either to be with their loved ones while they can, or reconcile past differences. I’ve never seen the streets or the D (our inter-dimensional neutral ground club) so empty. So many have just . . . given up. It breaks my heart.

Which is something that I thought could never happen again.

That’s why I’m writing this, I think. I was expecting to die at some point. However, I was expecting it to happen as I tried to get revenge against the death god which turned my former allies into a crazed cult. I’d given up on anything else happening in my life. I’d made my peace with that fate. Not this utter annihilation. Not being plunged into utter, meaningless non-existence.

So I reached out to old allies. And some old enemies. Like I said, the end of everything puts your grievances with people into a whole new light. From this alliance, working with Portal Corp, Crey, Arachnos’ mad scientists, mages and other beings, we might have found a way out, for those who are willing to take the risk.

A very big risk.

The idea came to one of the mad science types when they were told that it was possible for other greater beings to take control of the multiverse, and keep it going. Her idea was that if there are other beings out there capable of doing that, it stands to reason that those other greater beings might already be running other multiverses. Ones that we haven’t ever seen. Multiverses not usually connected to ours in any of the standard ways. Ones that are not going to be affected by ours ending. This unlikely alliance has used the past few weeks to search for these realms.

And they found them. Some of them, anyway.

Let me tell you, there are some strange places out there. There are two that seem similar to Paragon. Worlds of heroes and villains. They’re different, but not so dissimilar that most people from Paragon wouldn’t be able to adapt, eventually.

There’s one of magic and tech, but not like here. A world where those with power seem to be fighting in the shadows, in a battle for the fate of the world.

There are worlds where humans and aliens travel between the stars, waging war in the silence of space. Human and alien empires struggling for dominance, some with strange, magic-like powers and fancy energy swords, others with just commerce and lasers as their weapons.

There are other worlds nothing like Earth, still caught in some feudal society. Where wars are fought with sword and shield, using powerful magics and other crafts. Not to mention the dragons.

There’s one insane universe where two groups of men fight a nearly constant battle, killing each other, only to be resurrected and plunged back into battle. Killing and dying, killing and dying, over and over, again and again, all to claim dominion of small pieces of land, or find different versions of their weapons. And for some reason they are all obsessed with new, unique hats.

These universes exist, and we can reach them. Some of them might even appeal to you.

This is why I’m writing this message. The first thing I’m going to do, is send this out to everyone that I can. To let everyone know that we can escape this ending. It does not have to end here for us.

Then I’m going to broadcast this message into those other universes. To let them know that some of us are coming. Not to invade, or to take over, but to find refuge. We need somewhere new to call our home, and we hope that you will take us in.

Getting there will not be easy. Going through the gates to these worlds will change us, irrevocably. These universes function under their own rules. When we arrive, we will be as weak as any new hero or villain hitting the streets. We might even forget our homes, or who we used to be. But we’ll still be alive, in our new worlds.

Unless the ones fighting to save all the Paragons are successful, it’s going to be a one-way trip. Because once our multiverse shuts down, there won’t be anything to come back to.

I haven’t yet decided where I’m going to go. I’ve only decided that I am going to go. I am not going to end here. I am going to defy those greater beings who want to end these universes, and live on. Even if it’s elsewhere.

And it doesn’t have to end for you, either. Make your way to the Pocket D, or any of the arenas. We’ve tied into the arena network, and will get you to an escape facility. We’re in all the multiverses. Bring whoever you can with you. There is an escape clause.

Though a part of me does still hold out hope that we won’t have to use it. That the heroes will do what heroes always do, and save the day. I’m afraid that they won’t be successful, and I’m pragmatic enough to plan for their losing this fight.

But I hope they win.

I hope.