S C G—1 8 6 8

RANK: EPSILON — CODENAME: THE MULTIVERSE HOTLINE

DESCRIPTION

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DIRECTIVES

The Technician will pick up the phone, which will automatically connect to the Multiverse Hotline. The caller on the other end will state where their bomb is from, followed by three digits. Pick up the phone again to make the caller repeat the message.

The Advisor will use the caller’s origin and Addendum A to find the target universe.

The Technician will dial the universe ID for the target universe (see Addendum B) into the keypad, then pick up the phone again. This will connect the phone to the target universe.

The Advisor will change the three-digit number from the origin’s numeral system to the target’s numeral system using Addendum B.

The Technician will input the modified number into the keypad. This will read the number to the caller on the other end. The caller will then read three digits. Inputting those digits disarms the component.

Note: Inputting an incorrect universe ID or number will incur a strike and force the Technician to restart with a new caller.

ADDENDUM A — LOCATING THE RECIPIENT

The bomb production company varies from universe to universe. Using Figure 2.1, start at the cell given by the caller

STEEL CRATE GAMES	STAINED CRYSTAL GLASSMAKERS	SOCIETY OF CHEWING GUM	SACRAMENTO COUNTY GAZETTE
STUPID CHEAP GROCERIES	SEATTLE COAST GUARD	SILK CLOAKS & GARMENTS	SHANGHAI COLLEGE OF GEOLOGY
SUPREME COURT OF THE GEESE	SECRET CARPENTERS’ GUILD	SYNDICATE OF CRIMINAL GUYS	SACRED CHURCH OF GARY
SUPER COMBUSTIBLE GADGETS	SCHOOL OF CAT GYMNASTICS	STAMP COLLECTORS OF GEORGIA	SENATE OF CLASSY GENTLEMEN

Figure 2.1

Different universes also use different numeral systems, found in Addendum B. Convert the caller’s three-digit number to our universe’s numeral system (by reordering its digits from most to least signicicant and converting that to base 10), then convert them into directions using Figure 2.2. If the result is longer than three digits, use the three least significant digits.

0	UP	1	RIGHT
2	DOWN	3	NONE
4	LEFT	5	UP
6	RIGHT	7	LEFT
8	NONE	9	DOWN

Figure 2.2

Returning to the starting cell from Figure 2.1, repeatedly move in these three directions (skipping over already-visited cells and wrapping around the grid) until you end up in a loop (you cannot move anymore in the current direction). The last cell visited before ending up in the loop is your target universe. For an example, see Figure 2.3, starting from SEATTLE COAST GUARD and using the direction pattern right, down, up.

9	13	4	5
	1	2	6
10	11	3
8	12		7

Figure 2.3

ADDENDUM B — UNIVERSE IDS AND NUMERAL SYSTEMS

The first column of Figure 3.1 lists the companies of origin that are accessible with the Multiverse Hotline. The second column lists their Universe IDs. The third and fourth column list the base and digit order of their universes’ numeral systems.

To convert numeral systems from an origin universe to a target universe:

• Reorder the digits from most to least significant.
• Convert from the origin base to the target base. If the result is longer than 3 digits, only use the last 3 digits.
• Order the digits into the target universe’s digit order.

BOMB ORIGIN	ID	BASE	DIGIT ORDER*
SACRAMENTO COUNTY GAZETTE	256	8	213
SACRED CHURCH OF GARY	448	5	231
SCHOOL OF CAT GYMNASTICS	517	8	321
SEATTLE COAST GUARD	156	9	312
SECRET CARPENTERS’ GUILD	393	9	123
SENATE OF CLASSY GENTLEMEN	573	10	213
SHANGHAI COLLEGE OF GEOLOGY	285	6	123
SILK CLOAKS & GARMENTS	637	8	132
SOCIETY OF CHEWING GUM	428	7	312
STAINED CRYSTAL GLASSMAKERS	719	10	231
STAMP COLLECTORS OF GEORGIA	391	6	132
STEEL CRATE GAMES	241	10	123
STUPID CHEAP GROCERIES	962	7	321
SUPER COMBUSTIBLE GADGETS	627	9	132
SUPREME COURT OF THE GEESE	861	5	321
SYNDICATE OF CRIMINAL GUYS	184	7	312

Figure 3.1

* 1 represents the most significant digit, and 3 represents the least significant digit. For example, “123” means the digits are sorted from most to least significant.