More About Multiverser
All of this is made possible by scriff. Scriff--named by one of the first versers in an attempt to put a rational theory on an unexpected situation--is the universal element. Whatever variations in chemistry and physics exist from world to world, scriff is always there, and always behaves in the same way.
To call scriff an element is inaccurate; it appears to be a sub-elemental substance, for it infects molecular structure and then somehow enhances the relationship between molecules by remembering the pattern. When scriff infects a life form it has the power when severely stressed to incohere and pass into the fabric between the universes, reemerging seemingly at random in another universe, and recohering in the same pattern in the new world. In doing this, it takes the molecules with it, duplicating the entire creature in the new world. All that is left behind is a small pile of dust from certain impurities burned off by the energy surge; versers are usually presumed dead.
This is all theoretical, and hotly debated. Some versers refuse to allow that anything so major could happen at random. Such versers perceive the accident by which they were scriff-infected as providential, and seek in each world to discover for what providence has moved them. (Note that this providence may be of any sort. The Alchemist believes that each world is an opportunity for him to teach, learn, and help others in the name and ways of Jesus the Christ; Michael sees himself as one of Odin's chosen warriors, honing his battle skills in preparation for Ragnorak.) Others regard this as the ultimate proof that there is no god, or at the very least not one who cares about people, as they wander aimlessly from world to world until they wish they could finally die. (Again, there is disagreement between these. Peter perceives that they have entered alternate universes. Dan thinks they have passed into the real world of human fantasy. Bob thinks the whole thing is an army experiment inducing mass hallucination, and that if he just acts crazy and defiant enough and kills enough of the unreal creatures he meets, the army will terminate it.) The very existence of scriff has not yet been proved, as no verser can produce a sample of it (although some claim to have seen this golden-hued liquid metal before the first scriff journey), and its function is still a mystery. The scriff thesis remains the preferred one principally because no better one has ever been proposed.
Most versers are infected by the accident which causes their departure from earth. Many were involved in secret government experiments as early as 1987, but by 1993 scriff was being used in experimental microwave ovens, video games, computer hardware, musical and radio equipment, televisions, and other bits of modern electronics; a few of these shorted out, were smashed, or exploded. Electrically charged scriff is highly active, and immediately clings to any electrical system it encounters; it is especially attracted to biological nervous activity. The infection is permanent, but it appears to be transmissible, generally in body fluids such as donated blood, or through physical intimacy, but it has been theorized that saliva can carry it even in so little as a shared drink. Occasionally an individual killed in a particularly messy accident or combat with a verser found that in his dying moments scriff from the mangled body beside him infected him and took him away. In short, the referee can scriff out just about anybody whenever it suits his purpose.
The Bias Concept