A while ago, we were talking about divergents. MJ wanted to know non-specific details of where our lives diverged. Here's the thing that I was thinking about though. It could be that your parents were killed in a car crash when you were 2 months old, and you were raised in a different state by completely different parents. You might even have a completely different name. Perhaps you grew up in an orphanage. Who knows? So, your life could diverge in ways that you could never predict.
Certainly could. Of course, part of the question of divergents remains how you would know that it was you. If I created such a divergent of you in some universe, you probably would not recognize him nor he you, and there would be no points of contact. The only way it might become interesting would be if you decided to look yourself up, and discovered that you weren't in Columbus and tried to track down your existence. You might think you never existed, unless you managed to locate the information about the deaths of your parents and realized that you were already born by then, and then tried to track down your adopted self.
And what would you say when you found him? "Hey, kid, you're not who you think you are; in fact, you're me"?
--M. J. Young
Certainly could. Of course, part of the question of divergents remains how you would know that it was you. If I created such a divergent of you in some universe, you probably would not recognize him nor he you, and there would be no points of contact.
Unless you recognized him purely on physical resemblance. But, again, what are you going to say? It would be extremely odd to run into a random stranger who looks like you and start quizzing them about their background.
But what if it's someone you're in regular contact with for some reason? If you have reasons to get to know them, people might joke about you being "separated at birth" and you might get to chatting about your backgrounds.
Then again, physical resemblance is a tricky thing. I can easily picture a version of me 30 pounds lighter or 30 pounds heavier--or maybe she cut her hair short, or got Lasik surgery (or just has better luck with contacts than I seem to). Besides which, the things you do as a verser are likely to change your physical appearance from its original. I'd wager that the Kelly who's been working as a spy and doing a bunch of martial arts practice has a good bit more muscle tone than the Kelly who has a desk job.
If I walked past alt-Kelly on the street, and she had short blonde hair, no glasses, and a 30-pound weight difference (up or down), would I even recognize her? Probably not. Would she look at a glasses-wearing brunette and say, "Hey, she looks an awful lot like me?" Probably not.
Yeah, but even if you saw yourself, would you recognize them? Most of the time, when you see your own face, it's a mirror image reflection. Looking at it straight on would look different to you.
Of course, in Verse Three, Chapter One, Lauren Hastings does recognize a somewhat different version of herself. The Lauren she spots never married, never had three kids, never moved to the country, had finished both an undergraduate and a graduate degree beyond what she had done, worked in radio, and was about five or six years older. She undoubtedly had a more sophisticated look in her dress and makeup, and wore her hair differently (probably short, since Lauren Hastings wore hers long in part because her husband liked it, and Lauren Meyers would have thought short hair looked more professional). As with Kelly, Lauren Hastings had had quite an athletic workout for long enough that she would have had clearly different muscles. Yet I have them recognize each other, and readers don't balk at that. I also make them both uncertain, though, as each realizes the other looks a lot like her but not exactly like her, and they have to ask to determine whether they really are the same person.
On the other hand, in The Prisoner of Zenda, the book (and movie) version postulates that the visiting Rudolph is a distant relative of the king Rudolph who happens to have come up looking just like him, but the Multiverser version has it as one of those incredible coincidences that sometimes happen. Just because he looks just like you doesn't mean he is you. People think they see me elsewhere quite often--I just look like a lot of other people.
Although I did take a copy of Game Ideas Unlimted Volume 1 to motor vehicles last week to use the picture on the back as a photo ID when I had to replace a stolen drivers license. They accepted it; but a couple of the people there know me by name anyway, so the ID was pretty much a formality.
--M. J. Young
<i>Yeah, but even if you saw yourself, would you recognize them? Most of the time, when you see your own face, it's a mirror image reflection. Looking at it straight on would look different to you.</i>
I think most of us see enough photographs of ourselves that we'd recognize a stranger with our face--as long as the other differences weren't too great. If you verse into a world where there's no photography, or it's limited for whatever reason, you might recognize your alternate, but they might think you really don't look that much like them.
Its true that most readers haven't thought out the implications of divergents looking different so you're able to get away with a lot. I blame movies and SF television.
Divergents...
1. Someone much like me who chose instead to be a sketch artist instead of a writer.
2. Vampire Hunter/Preacher (MJ's creation).
3. The guy who got up five minutes before midnight and left the SF con where he would meet his future wife. Instead, he's become...philosophical. He knows an insane amount of SF (more than the insane amount I know), and he's eventually adjusted to life as a single although he's not entirely happy about it. Stoic, literate, thoughtful...the kind of guy who doesn't look that special but when you talk to him seems to know...well everything or at least a bit about everything. Isn't really arrogant about it as he's a tiny bit depressed. Basically me as a Single Stoic Scholar.
4. Political Science/Creative Writing majors in college. Instead of messing around, he went straight to what were probably his better choices. Now he works for a Republican senator as a senior aide and lives in Washington DC, carries a taser, and writes fund-raising letters....has a serious case of stress. Reads SF occasionally to relax, but not often.
5. Navy nuke. I considered at one point going off to sea and passing nuke school. If I were successful, and the whole 'round peg/square hole' thing got resolved, I might be doing the lifer thing on an aircraft carrier as a Nuke Tech, staff sergeant. Possibly world-class as a gamer in certain board games. Met Jhiaxus in a Hackmaster tournameant.
6. Hermit. I've considered trying to live off the grid. Build my own house with some strange technique like pole-built house or hay bale housing and live way-way-way in the sticks. Create a mini-hydropower system for electricity. Have some animals....subscriber to Mother Earth News. But a lot of the off-grid people are fairly conservative or a lot so (a lot are way liberal too). I'd probably be in the extreme conservative end of things. Have a rifle I'm fairly good at. Have a ton of skills I'm moderately decent at ranging from slaughtering pigs to re-shingling houses. Be married, likely to some extreme liberal hippie chick, have some kids. Occasionally write small articles for small magazines about country living.
7. Geek it. Force myself to learn IT early, go into it, and learn to enjoy it over a few years of pain and suffering ameliorated by the decent money made. Pain and suffering=some bad personal choices and some wild choices(drugs and hang-gliding)=experience which leads to better coping. Eventually adapt. Spend lots of time at SF cons all over the Southeast (go at least once a month). Become seriously pot-bellied and geeky. Chase a number of SF geek girls...eventually learn enough about being human to catch one.
My father died when I was 6 years old. God only knows where my life would have gone if he had lived. My father was an army brat who grew up in military bases in Europe and Africa. (He himself had flat feet, so he couldn't do the army) In a lot of ways, I'm glad he's dead. He was a real hard nose. I probably would have grown up with a much more violent personality. Violent personality AND psychotic could not possibly be a good mix.
About 5 years ago, I probably blew the chance to get married and be happy for the rest of my life. I was pursuing an online relationship with a woman in California, and didn't see the lady that I had right in front of me. That saying "You don't know what you have until you lose it" I didn't realize what that meant until I stopped talking to Janie (Yes, the same Janie that I accidentally threw the knife at) I could have married her and been happy for the rest of my life, I'm certain of it. She was an airhead, but she was a sweet airhead.
Several members of my family are into the wilderness survival. I'm into urban survival. (Basically, I know how to survive as a homeless person) I could imagine a divergent me who lives "Off The Grid" as well.
One thing I've learned in life is all of the Would haves, Should haves, and Could haves in the world don't cancel out a single "Didn't".